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Today's Headlines - 28 July 2023
Lok Sabha passes forest conservation bill
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)

Lok Sabha a bill that seeks to exempt land within 100 km of the country's borders from the purview of conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill-2023 was passed after a brief debate which was responded to by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

More about the Bill

The bill exempts certain types of land from the provisions of the Act such as forest land along a rail line or a public road maintained by the government providing access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenity up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectare.
Forest land that will also be exempted includes land situated within 100 km along the international borders, Line of Control, or Line of Actual Control, proposed to be used for construction of strategic linear projects for national importance or security.
It also exempts land up to 10 hectares, proposed to be used for constructing security related infrastructure, or land proposed to be used for constructing defence related projects, camp for paramilitary forces, or public utility projects as specified by central government not exceeding five hectares in a left wing extremism affected area.
Yadav made it clear that there was no contradiction between the Forest (Conservation) Act and the Forest Rights Act as the two legislations supplement each other.
The bill also seeks to empower the central government to specify, by order, the terms and conditions subject to which any survey, such as, reconnaissance, prospecting, investigation or exploration including seismic survey, shall not be treated as non-forest purpose.

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Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)

China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.

Why was the initiative launched?

China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.

What has been done so far?

Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.

What are the limitations of sponge cities?

Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.

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