India is one of the most populous countries with over 1.3 billion people. The country is also set to bypass China to become the country with the highest population in the world. However, along with the high population arises certain significant environmental problems. It becomes imperative to keep track of the ecosystem and the corresponding developments that take place. The country is expected to be more environmentally sustainable.
Some of the major environmental issues that the country is facing are groundwater depletion, pollution, water scarcity, climate change, sanitation, loss of ecosystem and biodiversity, etc.
Air pollution is one of the main environmental problems in India. With the development and growing industrial sector, the smoke emitted by those industries is the most important reason for pollution. Apart from environmental degradation, it also causes many health and respiratory problems. According to the International Energy Agency, there is expected to be over 9 lakh premature deaths due to the drastic rise in air pollution in the country by 2040.
Apart from the obvious reasons of environmental deterioration, climate change is said to be a more recent cause. It is related to climate and temperature alterations majorly due to emission greenhouse gases, burning of fossil fuels, global warming, etc. Climate change had resulted in extreme changes in the temperature and weather conditions such as famines, cyclones, floods, cloud bursts, etc including high or low rainfall.
In order to combat these repercussions, some people have been initiating several environmental movements in both national and international domain. Many environmentalists around the world are working towards sustainable management of resources and ecosystem through changes in public policies and behaviours of the people.
One of the most popular movements is the Chipko Movement which was started in 1973 by Sunderlal Bahuguna which the aim to protect the trees on the Himalayas from getting cut down by the contractors.
The villages of the nearby areas stood hugging the trees to stop the trees from being cut. The main demand of the protestors was that the local people should have access to the benefits of the forests mainly fodder. However, the protesters including women were subject to police beatings, firings and torture.
Later, a committee set up to look into the matter had ruled the verdict in favour of the villagers. This movement is considered a benchmark movement in the history of social and environmental movements around the world.
There was also the climate change protest, 2019. The Global climate strike was the initiative of Greta Thunberg, a Swedish activist known for fighting climate change. There have been several protests in India concerning the deforestation of the trees in the Aarey colony, the use of plastics, etc.
Recently, the Bahamas National Trust has released that statement of saying NO to Oil and YES to our oceans. An increasing number of Bahamians has been protesting against the extraction of oil in the country. The people are not willing to combat the environmental effects of setting up the oil industry in the region.
The Bahamians depend on the marine ecosystem and the oceans for their livelihood. Owing to the reliance on marine life and the ocean such as fishing, tourism, resorts including water sports services, the oil operations in the region shall have significant effects. It not only threatens the environment but also the economic sphere.
They have stood up to the United States urging for immediate action against the matter. The country is already facing the threat of climate change, burning of fossil fuels that would result in increased storm activity and sea levels due to global climate change with the effects related to oil exploration.
