Ecology in Crisis: ‘Focus shift’ new threat to the ecology

COVID-19, Corona Virus, or ‘New Normal’ are the words that everyone now has heard enough and we have accepted that it is part of our life now. However, ‘what next?’ is a question that everyone is staring at. We are treating the situation on an ‘as-is’ basis, every day the plans need to be checked, adapted to the everyday new conditions, and set up real short term targets with a clear understanding in mind that ‘this might change’. However, this ‘short-term’ and ‘short-sighted’ actions might create long-term impacts, which are not being considered presently. This op-ed article talks about some of such long-term impact in brief.

Ecosystem Services: amenities provided by nature snubbed by humans:

Ecosystem Services is about all the benefits that we derive from nature and we treat some of these as one of the basic human rights such as clean air and clean water. Along with what broadly classified as nature provides food, raw material, medicinal resources are the provisional services and us. Regulation of climate, carbon sequestration, moderation of extreme events, etc. is certainly Regulatory Services that the ecosystem provides. While all of us love road trips, outings, treks, etc. which gives serene views and ‘break’ from our routine, these are known as Cultural Services provided by Nature.  

These services in India were used to be traditionally well managed. We as a tradition have treated rivers, trees, forests, and animals as a source of energy, and in some communities; they were treated as a god. This perspective of natural resources preservation has helped in the informal protection of resources over the period. However, in recent generations this though process has been palliated, creating more pressures on the ecosystem services, which are finite.  

Forests are known as ‘first producers’ the vegetation (not only big trees but also well-conserved grasslands) are the catalysts of maintaining the balance of all these ecosystem services. Rivers originating in mountains, soil holding, and maintaining its productivity through the nutrient cycle, regulating rains for feeding the plains and the list of such services provided by forests goes on. 

As the data shows, with long-term management plan of forest conservation, India achieved 1.02% increase in forest cover in last 10 years, which is very slow-moving average if we consider on the exploitation scale below:

The above data shows the scale of change of exploitation of water as ecosystem service at one of the sectors viz. Agriculture and increased level of soil pollution by rampant use of fertilizers to increase the crop yield in the same timescale that of forest cover increase. This shows the restoration or repair of the center of ecosystem services; the forests are happening at a very slow-moving average while the exploitation rate is very high.

COVID-19: further deepening the crisis

During Pre-COVID time, various local to international level entities defined the focus areas and the strategy was developed with clear indicators in mind. Sustainable Development Goals, Biodiversity Conservation Targets, various initiatives by state environment ministries of India, and large contributions by CSRs of various companies were clear building blocks for increasing the pace of this slow-moving average of conservation results. 

As reported by CRISIL Limited in 2018, corporates through their CSR contributed INR 1,008 Crore in the field of Environment and Sustainability. The report also shows that contribution to the Environment and Sustainability field has grown from 2014 till 2018 which might be a result of increasing strategic approach by corporates in response to the ‘carbon emission offset’ targets globally and nationally pushed by various forums. 

COVID-19 has force shifted all such focuses and within one month, India has seen the total contribution of around INR 7,000 Crores, which is ~70% of total CSR budgets of the year 2018 moving to the COVID-19 relief work. Though the need for COVID-19 relief is much bigger than what is mentioned here, the crisis has made an unprecedented focus shift from the strategic initiatives planned already early this year to what never planned or expected. As seen during the past three months, this focus shift might linger for a longer time than expected, as it will create many aftershocks in the social landscape of India.

While this all is happening, anthropogenic pressures on ecosystem services will start showing different trends, as around 5 million people have traveled back to their native using special trains started by the government in May 2020. This is the only known official number of people traveled from the train, while there is no official count of workers who walked/traveled by other modes to their native and similarly people who traveled by their own vehicles to their native. As quoted in some of the popular news articles, such an un-recorded number of migrated population is more than five crores. 

The landscape, which humans have classified now as hamlets, villages, towns, and cities have their own carrying capacity. A smaller population level such as villages, ecosystem services is mostly used more systematically. As an example, communities prioritize usage vs. the availability of water resources until the arrival of monsoon and plan their farming, livestock feeds, daily chores, etc. accordingly. Such population flux creates greater instability in the management of ecosystem services and in turn, increases pressure on such resources drastically, pushing them to their maximum limits and triggering scarcity.

The Bigger Picture

The demand-supply curve as mentioned above is, however, is not going to change though the COVID-19 crisis is there, nor the current crisis will reverse the impacts on ecosystem services that occurred to date. Putting economy before ecology is a short sighted strategy and will push the ecosystem services beyond repair. Villagers leaving their native places and migrating in search of new opportunities in cities is an existing shock to ecosystem services at multiple locations. The nature around cities has largely affected due to this and has increased pressure on natural resources by many folds.

Looking at the bigger picture, there is a need for not only strengthening the original strategies devised by local to global institutions but also there is a need for more aggression and disruption in its execution. More innovative ways of restoring natural resources hold key to sustainable lifestyle even in the period of such a crisis. 

About Vanam Ecologics:

We are Pune based Ecological Consultants working in the field of conservation and restoration of natural resources. We specialize in designing ecologically sound developmental and ecosystem management projects. Having a broad range of clients ranging from industries to CSRs and individual farm owners to nature resorts, we work hand in gloves with all stakeholders for strengthening and achieving sustainability of ecosystem services. 

For all queries, please get in touch with us on: [email protected]