India in 2023: strides in climate action, criticism of conservation

Subject : Environment

Section: Climate change

Context:

India spurred meaningful action to combat climate change and enhance wildlife conservation in 2023, but criticism arose regarding the cheetah translocation project and changes in forest and biodiversity laws.

India’s efforts to combat climate change:

India proposed to host the U.N. climate conference in 2028, or COP33, and also launched a ‘Green Credit Initiative’ focused on creating carbon sinks to address the challenges posed by a rapidly warming world.
At the climate summit in Dubai, developing countries, including India, asked rich nations to vacate carbon space by achieving negative carbon emissions (removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than emitted), not merely reaching net zero by 2050.
A group of international scientists said in December India’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions rose by around 5% in 2022 to reach two tonnes but these were still less than half of the global average (4.7 tonnes).
India reduced GDP emission intensity by 33% between 2005 and 2019, achieving the target 11 years in advance.
It also created an additional carbon sink of 1.97 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent during this period.

Wildlife conservation:

The tiger population in India increased from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, showing a six per cent annual rise. Madhya Pradesh leads with 785 tigers, followed by Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra.
While tiger numbers increased in some regions, habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching led to declines in the Western Ghats and Northeast-Brahmaputra Plains.
Cheetah conservation faced setbacks as imported cheetahs developed unexpected winter coats during Indian summers, causing fatal infections.
India launched the International Big Cat Alliance to conserve seven principal big cats, including tigers, lions, and cheetahs, open to 97 countries and organizations.
Forest law amendments sparked criticism, exempting certain forest lands from protection laws. This move impacted states and traditional forest communities, prompting concerns about forest conservation.
Changes to the Biological Diversity Act aimed to protect plants and resources, encouraging the growth of medicinal plants and easing research and patents. However, concerns arose as the new law reduced penalties for not sharing benefits with local communities holding traditional knowledge.