Our choking cities: How we can improve air and water quality in urban spaces

Subject: Environment

Miyawaki Technique-

Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, that helps build dense, native forests in a short time.
In the Miyawaki technique, various native species of plants are planted close to each other so that the greens receive sunlight only from the top and grow upwards rather than sideways.
As a result, the plantation becomes approximately 30 times denser, grows 10 times faster and becomes maintenance-free after a span of 3 years.

Process:

The native trees of the region are identified and divided into four layers — shrub, sub-tree, tree, and canopy.
The quality of soil is analyzed and biomass which would help enhance the perforation capacity, water retention capacity, and nutrients in it, is mixed with it.
A mound is built with the soil and the seeds are planted at a very high density — three to five saplings per square meter.
The ground is covered with a thick layer of mulch.

Benefits of the Miyawaki method-

They help lower temperatures in concrete heat islands, reduce air and noise pollution, attract local birds and insects, and create carbon sinks.
The Miyawaki afforestation method requires quite a small space, at least 20 square feet.
It has revolutionised the concept of urban afforestation by turning backyards into mini-forests.

How can the Miyawaki method transform Indian cities?

Miyawaki projects have been buoyed by India’s promise, under the Paris Agreement, to improve its green cover from 25 to 33 per cent.
A rough count reveals that there are over a hundred Miyawaki forests in India, but no one has kept track.
In Ahmedabad, over 20,000 trees have been planted using the Miyawaki technique in 7,625 sq metres.
Chandigarh has about 1,800 parks.
In Chennai, the NGO Thuvakkam has been able to grow 25 Miyawaki forests, raising over 65,000 trees.
Such plantations are now being replicated in other cities including Tuticorin, Vellore and Kanchipuram.

Airshed management-

Focus on understanding meteorological, seasonal and geographic patterns for air quality across a large region.

Water pollution–

72 per cent of urban sewage is untreated in India’s urban freshwater bodies.
The Central Pollution Control Board reckons that more than 50 per cent of 351 river stretches (on 323 rivers) are polluted.
The problem of untreated waste and sewer water from unauthorised colonies can be solved by investing in a sewerage network.
There is also the threat of climate change.
As of May 2021, only 16 Indian cities had disclosed their plans to tackle climate change to international institutions, with only eight having actual sustainability-related targets in their urban master plans.

What is Blue-Green Infrastructure?

Blue-Green Infrastructure refers to a network that provides the “ingredients” for solving urban and climatic challenges through a combination of infrastructure, ecological restoration and urban design to connect people with nature.
- Blue indicates water bodies such as rivers and tanks
- Green indicates trees, parks, and gardens.

What are the Advantages of Blue-Green Infrastructure?

Utilising blue-green infrastructure in sectors such as transportation, water, and housing can improve ecosystem health, thereby improving human health and the environment.
Green streetscapes and landscapes enhance aesthetic and ethical qualities
Blue-green infrastructure can provide shelter in public spaces and reduce the urban temperature and increase outdoor activities.
Due to low temperatures on building surfaces, diminishes the cooling demand which results in decreasing energy needs.
The life expectancy of the building increases as green infrastructure will protect it from high temperatures, and help in lowering maintenance costs.

Spong cities concept-

A sponge city is a city that is designed to passively absorb, clean and use rainfall in an ecologically friendly way that reduces dangerous and polluted runoff.
Associated techniques include permeable roads, rooftop gardens, rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, green space and blue space such as ponds and lakes.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act was enacted in 1974 to provide for the prevention and control of water pollution, and for the maintaining or restoring of the wholesomeness of water in the country.
The Act was amended in 1988.
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act was enacted in 1977, to provide for the levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons operating and carrying on certain types of industrial activities.
The Act vests regulatory authority in State Pollution Control Boards to establish and enforce effluent standards for factories.
A Central Pollution Control Board performs the same functions for Union Territories and formulates policies and coordinates activities of different State Boards.
The Act grants power to SPCB and CPCB to test equipment and to take the sample for the purpose of analysis.
Prior to its amendment in 1988, enforcement under the Act was achieved through criminal prosecutions initiated by the Boards.
The 1988 amendment act empowered SPCB and CPCB to close a defaulting industrial plant.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act of 1977

The Water Cess Act was passed to generate financial resources to meet the expenses of the Central and State Pollution Boards.
The Act creates economic incentives for pollution control and requires local authorities and certain designated industries to pay a cess (tax) for water effluent discharge.
The Central Government, after deducting the expenses of collection, pays the central and state boards such sums, as it seems necessary.
To encourage capital investment in pollution control, the Act gives a polluter a 70% rebate of the applicable cess upon installing effluent treatment equipment.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)-

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the statutory organization, was constituted in September 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
The board is led by its chairman, who is nominated by the Central Government.

Functions

It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Principal Functions of the CPCB, as spelled out in the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,
to promote the cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution, and
to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control, or abate air pollution in the country.