ENViRO Fortnightly [1st 15th Feb 2015]

[1]. Geneva climate talks: countries agree on draft text for Paris deal The Geneva climate change talks came to a close on 13th Feb 2015 with delegates from 194 countries adopting the 86-page text as the basis for negotiating a climate agreement in Paris, in December 2015. The six-day session of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), United Nations subsidiary body on climate change, made considerable progress on the outputs from the last round of talks in Lima, Peru.

Questions that were debated at Geneva but will be answered by the end of 2015

On what basis and how often should all commitments of countries under Paris

agreement be reviewed?

Should historical emissions not be accounted while apportioning the burden of

climate action?

Will the Paris agreement be mainly about reducing emissions but sideline issue of

technology and finance?

Will a full powerful mechanism to address loss and damage from climate inaction be

part of the main Paris agreement?

Can the world afford a global carbon market even when countries take low emission

reduction targets?

How will existing institutions and actions on climate change fit in to a new agreement

post-2020

[2]. Antibiotic for Superbugs Teixobactin, the first antibiotic announced in decades, successfully treats mice infected with superbug Staphylococcus aureus The world has not seen a new class of antibiotics for the past 27 years. It was in 1987 that a new class of antibiotics titled as Lipopeptides were discovered. How microbiologists develop new antibiotics? They do so by studying the molecules that soil microbes naturally make to fend off their competitors. The problem: Only 1% of the soil microbes can be grown under lab conditions, which means that scientists have not been able to study the other 99%. New tech: The team of scientists, led by Kim Lewis from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, has invented a device that can successfully grow uncultured microbes in labs. iChip is a simple device with 96 chambers that are used to isolate and grow bacteria. With iChip over 50% microbes can be grown under lab conditions thereby opening a whole new world of possibilities in the area of antibiotic development.

Importance of this discovery wrt India and other developing countries A WHO report stated that around 50% of the total drug-resistant cases of tuberculosis live in India, China and Russia. A research done by Timothy Walsh, a medical microbiologist at Cardiff University, UK, has found that more than 95 per cent of adults in India and Pakistan have bacteria that are resistant to -lactam antibiotics, which is the most effective antibiotic available today. Hence, this new discovery will open avenues for development of new antibiotics for the developing countries including India that are worst hit by the Superbugs.

[3]. A peek into the world of fungi Context: First-of-its-kind global study shows soil fungi can directly impact climate change Scientists did a study wrt fungal biodiversity. What was the study about? A team of scientists, led by Leho Tedersoo of the University of Tartu, Estonia, sampled the microbial life of the soil at 365 locations across six continents to know about the basic drivers of fungal biodiversity. They studied the distribution of fungal communities at each site along with soil pH, rainfall pattern, plant diversity and spatial variables. The study classifies fungi into groups on the basis of their ecological role. Two of these groups figure prominently in the carbon cycle. Saprotrophs Also known as decomposers, they recycle the nitrogen in dead plant matter and release it back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). Ectomycorrhizal (EcM) - They exchange nitrogen for carbohydrates manufactured by the plants through photosynthesis. They grow around roots of the woody plants like birch, willow, pine and rose. Specialty of EcM fungi: A 2014 paper in Nature by Averill and scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute shows that soil with EcM fungi can store 70 per cent more carbon than soil without EcM fungi. How this specialty of EcM is related to atmospheric carbon? The study suggests that EcM fungi snatch nitrogen from dead plant matter before saprotrophs can get to it, leaving less nitrogen to saprotrophs for decomposition. The end result is more carbon in the soil and less in the atmosphere. In other words, the relative balance of saprotrophs and EcM fungi determines the amount of carbon stored in the soil and the rate at which carbon is released into the atmosphere as CO2. Since these fungi are directly responsible, a better understanding of the drivers of their global diversity is necessary to fight climate change. Important findings of the study done at the University of Tartu

They found that fungal diversity is not primarily determined by plant diversity.

Mean annual precipitation is the strongest driver of species diversity among soil fungi, meaning a more diverse set of soil fungal communities will be present in areas with large amounts of rain or snow.

Soil pH and soil calcium concentration also significantly increase diversity.

The overall fungal diversity increases towards the Equator, with the notable exception of certain fungal groups such as ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi.

Prevalent climate change might reduce EcM fungal diversity and abundance. This reduction could, in turn, expedite the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, quickening the pace of climate change.

[4]. Right diagnosis, wrong pills Context: While the Centre has rightfully recognised medical devices as a separate category for policy making, its decision to allow 100 per cent foreign investment in the sector will threaten domestic players What did centre do?

Step 1: With the hope of making healthcare affordable, the Centre on December 24, 2014 allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in medical devices sector.

Step 2: The policy also recognised medical devices as a separate category for the first time which was till now a part of drugs. Medical devices will now fall under the medical and dental instruments and supplies category.

Why such steps were taken?

To reduce Indias excessive dependency on imports for medical devices which at present stand at 85 per cent.

The country is ranked among the worlds top 20 medical device users by UK-based research group Espicom and domestic manufacturers say the demand is increasing every year.

Problems with Step 1

The decision will create problems for small manufacturers because device manufacturers in the country are small when compared to global manufacturers .Just 50 domestic manufacturers have over Rs 50 crore turn-over in medical devices and most of the others are even smaller.

The legitimate fear of acquisition of small manufacturer by multinationals. Possible benefits of Step 1

This move will help start-ups get funding Step 2 has been welcomed as it was a long-standing demand of the domestic manufacturers. What do experts have to say? Allowing free flow of foreign funds is a practice followed in the US where big manufacturers control the sector. Experts say India should follow the model found in Japan, Europe, China and ASEAN countries that creates an environment conducive for small and medium manufacturers. Missing preferential clause Foreign investment in this sector is not required as country is already capable of manufacturing most medical devices locally but local manufacturers are unable to reach the people because of a nexus between multinationals and hospitals. This could have been addressed if the new policy had preferential clause to push domestic manufacturers, a practice popular in most developing countries. China, for example, gives a 15 per cent preferential pricing to local manufacturers. Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan and Turkey pay 15 to 20 per cent higher price to domestic producers than MNCs while awarding public health tenders.

Make in India To make manufacturing more viable in India and will attract domestic investors in the sector country should increase import duty on medical devices by at least 10 per cent. Why healthcare devices are expensive in the country? Healthcare devices at present are expensive in the country because the import duty on finished devices is lesser than importing individual parts for a device. Conclusion: Experts say that the countrys growing demand for medical devices should be met by domestic players and not by multinationals. This, they say, will happen only if the government creates a more conducive environment that will allow domestic players to grow.

[5]. At markets mercy Context: The government's decision to phase out procurement of rice from millers for its public distribution system may increase small farmers' susceptibility to market variations How does government procure rice for PDS? It does through two mechanisms,

Customed miller rice (CMR) policy

Levy rice policy.

CMR Policy Under the first system, the government buys paddy directly from farmers at a minimum support price (MSP) and gives it to millers for extracting rice. Levy rice policy Under levy rice policy, the procurement is through local rice millers who buy paddy from farmers at MSP. As per the levy rice policy, millers are allowed to sell a certain percentage of rice in the market, the rest being procured by the government. The quantity allowed to be sold in the open market varies from 25 per cent to 75 per cent in different states. The decision Centre has asked states not to procure more than 25 per cent of its rice under the levy policy. The process will completely stop from the next season. What does this decision mean for farmers? The decision means that farmers would be able to sell paddy either to government procurement centres or to the market. The likely impact of this decision:

The stock previously purchased under Levy policy by the government will now flood the markets where it will sell at a rate below MSP.

The decision will affect erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh more than other states because the share of rice procured by them under levy policy is 75 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.

The decision will have a bigger impact on farmers of states where the market price of paddy is much lower than MSP. These include Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal

The decision will hit small farmers who are not able to access procurement centres

The move is also likely to encourage adulteration. It will provide millers the opportunity of mixing the paddy they get for rice extraction for PDS with that of low quality. This would ultimately affect PDS consumers who will get substandard rice.

Problems with the procurement centres

Non-functional: vast number of purchasing centres do not function

Corruption: Procurement centres also face charges of corruption. They delay the procurement process by 30-50 days to make small farmers, who do not have the resources to store paddy, sell it at a reduced rate to local traders.

Constantly changing locations: Another problem associated with procurement centres is their locations which keeps changing almost every year. The 70th round of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, published in December 2014, says only about 25 per cent of agricultural households are aware of government purchasing centres in their area and about 30 per cent are aware of MSP, but only 13 per cent actually go to procurement centres.

Governments view: This decision will ensure that farmers get paid the price their produce deserves. The government further argues that the move would strengthen the rice market and help farmers in the longer run. It will also save nearly Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore spent on procurement, storage and movement of rice. Why are farmers against it? Farmers and activists have criticised the decision, saying selling paddy to procurement centres is not always feasible because they are often non-functional or located at far-off places. The option of selling it to millers at MSP gave a security which this decision will take away.

[6]. Straw for income Context: Instead of burning paddy straw, farmers in Haryana's Panipat district are using it to farm mushrooms. This has eased pollution, too About 46,000 tonnes of paddy straw produced annually in Israna block of Panipat district is not being burned anymore. Instead farmers are now using it to grow mushrooms and making money out of it. The problem of pollution:

The problem of pollution caused by burning of straws in the agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana was so severe that in 2012 the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration released a satellite image showing fires across millions of hectares of agricultural fields in the region. The smog and haze it caused even affected Delhi situated 100 km south.

Local concerns: The burning of straw heated land and killed soil microorganisms, harming its productivity

What triggered the change?

It is difficult to say if checking pollution was the reason farmers started using paddy straw in mushroom farming. Livelihood and economic problems may have been the key factors. Farmers earlier used wheat straw for making compost, but that was turning out to be very expensive. So they shifted to paddy straw.

Problems associated with Mechanisation: Machine harvesting also damages the rice grain, reducing its market value. Rice harvested by machines gets Rs 400 to Rs 800 less in the market compared to rice harvested manually. These problems associated with

mechanisation made farmers revert to manual harvesting. This caused a considerable decline in the practice of burning paddy stubble.

Why farmers burnt the straw earlier?

The main reason farmers were burning their field stubble was the lack of options to dispose of the straw. The easiest way was to burn it. The government had recommended that farmers should take it to the nearest biomass plant. But transporting it was costly, particularly in cases where biomass plants were not close to the village.

Mechanisation: When paddy is harvested by machines, only the rice grains get plucked and long stumps of the crop are left rooted. In a hurry to prepare the field for the Rabi crop, farmers would just burn the straw but when harvesting is done manually, the crop is hacked almost from its base, removing the need to burn the stumps.