Photograph by Hemant Ogale.
It is ironic then, that the two years since Nagoya have seen several decisions made by the Indian Government, clearly placing industrial interests above those of biodiversity conservation. This can be seen in government measures to increase coal mining in tiger forests, hasten the construction of destructive, large-scale dams in the Northeast (one of the world's most biodiverse regions), and push through industry-friendly regulations in India's coastal areas.
Let's look further at the coal mining issue. The Aichi Target 2 enjoins countries to ensure that “By 2020, biodiversity values have been integrated into national and local development, poverty reduction strategies and planning processes and are being incorporated into national accounting, as appropriate, and reporting systems." However, under pressure from the coal lobby and its own members, the UPA government scrapped the “no-go" policy that sought to protect dense forest areas from mining, signalling that all forests would be “open for business" - irrespective of the impact on wildlife, water sources and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Needless to say, this is not in keeping with either the spirit or the letter of the CBD.
By locking India into a path of coal dependence, as it is currently doing, the government is ensuring that any biodiversity protection targets remain aspirations in perpetuity. India cannot simultaneously make coal its main source of energy and also hope to protect its forests and biodiversity. The reason is simple: arithmetic.
According to Planning Commission projections, our coal consumption is set to more than double, and possibly even triple, by 2032. Since coal imports are costly, meeting this demand will mean increasing domestic coal production, and therefore mining, by the same factor. The last five years have already seen over 26,000 ha. (260 sq. km.) of forest cleared for coal mining. Since 2002, over 152,000 ha. of forest land has been diverted for mining and power projects. But as shocking as these figures are, they are a tiny foreshadow of what is to come if the coal lobby has its way and India expands her coal production.
A recent Greenpeace analysis shows that over 1.1 million ha. of forest is at risk in just 13 coal fields in Central India. One shudders to think what the figure would be if all 40 coal fields in Central India were analysed. Much of this 1.1 million ha. area is prime habitat for the tiger, leopard and elephant. Central India is, in fact, the country's largest contiguous tiger habitat, harbouring over 30 per cent of India's tigers. Coal mining threatens corridors between important tiger reserves, including Tadoba, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench. As corridors are sacrificed for an ephemeral nine per cent GDP growth, tigers are isolated into smaller populations, which are more prone to poaching and local extinction, as was seen in Sariska.
Given the scale at which the Central Government wants to expand coal use in India, it is understandable that those with their finger on the pulse of both the energy and wildlife fields have termed coal mining as the single largest threat to wildlife in Central India. That India only has enough coal for the next 40 years is little consolation - by the time the coal is exhausted, our children and their children will have neither tigers nor forests - just barren, toxic wastelands.
Photograph by Raman Kulkarni.
The solution is twofold: India must first declare a moratorium on further forest diversion for coal mining. The government must develop and put in place a transparent policy akin to, but more robust than, ex-Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's “no go" policy. This should take into account endangered species' habitat, the value of connecting corridors, hydrological factors, forest density and community dependence to demarcate forest areas that should be off-limits to coal mining. Such a policy could truly integrate biodiversity values into national development strategies, as required by the Aichi Targets.
The second part of the solution is to re-assess how much coal India really needs, given the rapid advances made in solar, biomass and wind power in the last few years. India receives, every day, several times more energy than she could ever need in the form of both wind and the sun's rays. Such energy is, in some places, already cheaper than grid energy from coal. Where it remains, the price gap is fast closing. Economics and energy security provide us with sound reasons to switch to renewables - countering the climate change impacts of coal are a bonus. Isn't it time then, to start calling for an end to the age of coal, and the beginning of a new era in biodiversity conservation?
by Bittu Sahgal, First appeared in: Sanctuary Asia, Vol XXXII No. 5, October 2012
