Blaise Fernandes
“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words”, we recently heard young climate activist Greta Thunberg say to world leaders at the 2019 UN climate action summit in New York. Like it is said “Little drops make an ocean”, so also every tree makes a forest, an ecosystem, the environment and ultimately, global climate.
It seems that carbon is the culprit, but carbon has always been around, and the world has been a better place than it is now. So, what has changed? The population, the way we commute, produce and utilise energy among a host of other changes. Some of these changes cannot be helped but some can, and some changes must be controlled. One of the main parameters for a healthy environment is the forest and the ecology it sustains.
Ecological sustainability is not as simplistic as some may make it out to be. It is a complex interaction of living organisms, the terrain, the physical elements present and the overall climate. Ecosystems have developed over great times spans, in favourable conditions without much negative human impact. But we have reached a point where the human being and all other life forms are in conflict, to the detriment of each other. We have the double whammy of climate change as well as human activity and population pressure like never before.
Though there are many schemes to help the ecology, it remains a fact that these are far below what is necessary. Tree planting is one of them and it is a very welcome effort. But the effectiveness cannot be judged merely on the number of trees planted. In the natural environment, a sustainable and symbiotic relationship exists according to the area, elevation, climate and other factors.
In Goa for example, we have four main types of forests: Estuarine, Coastal strand vegetation, Open scrub jungle and Semi-evergreen forests. Each type has its own unique combination of species and challenges of sustainability. Take for example, the lateritic plateau top forests: these have evolved over thousands of years as trees, shrubs and plants took root on rocky, dry and hostile regolith. The primary growths have in turn, produced soil which sustains further and more complex growth. It is a fragile ecosystem which cannot be artificially replicated. Tree-planting may increase green cover, like tea or teak plantations, but these cannot be said to be sustainable or equivalent to the natural ecosystem. Some aspects of nature can develop only over large timescales. The current forests that we cut down, were not planted by any human beings, but are a gift of God’s creation! Thus, preserving them is of utmost urgency.
Attempts have been made to plant forests, but few have thrived as sustainable or replicative of the natural ecosystem of the place before it was destroyed. We plant some trees now and then and give ourselves a big pat on the back. This because many have not yet understood the true nature of nature. In Goa, attempts were made to reforest mining dumps, but these were never really successful. Trees like Australian Acacia were planted, but after decades, there is a realisation that they ought to be removed as they are found to be an invasive species. They allow very little of the native flora to survive and this affects all the other erstwhile organisms of the land. The forests that were destroyed cannot and have not yet been restored.
Unplanned development brings unplanned vexed issues. The ongoing Aarey forest metro rail issue is a case in point. First, we create a problem by overpopulating an area because of convenience. Thereafter, the issue is exacerbated when those seeking large pecuniary benefits, capitalise on this tendency by building high-rises. Then we create more problems to address the previous problems, building extensive metros, etc. In much larger States like Maharashtra, as compared to Goa, dense urbanisation may be tolerated with a view to generate economic growth, albeit with health and other urban consequences. Delhi’s air pollution without a tangible solution is sight, is due to same problem: over-urbanisation, overpopulation and the resultant excessive pollution. But Goa has never been an urban or metropolitan area. We have every opportunity to prevent Goa going the same way as the major cities who unwittingly reached their current predicament. Very importantly, Goa is a State with a very small area, being only 85% of the Mumbai Metropolitan region and only 1.2% of the total area of Maharashtra!
What use are all the advances in science and technology and its education if we cannot apply it to avoid grave mistakes? We find that in Goa, there is slow but sure creep of urbanisation onto forest land. This is taking a severe toll on the fragile ecology. The incidences of pythons in habited areas is greatly increasing even killing domestic animals. A python was recently found in the one of tyres used as fendering on one of the casinos in the Mandovi river. Crocodiles have also greatly increased. This does not bode well for the even the near future. The very unpleasant weather that we face in recent times just goes to prove the situation. Air-conditioning may temporarily give some relief, but will cause more havoc as it increases its carbon footprint and India desperately explores clean electricity solutions.
Recent disasters like the Kerala floods give a glimpse of things to come. After disasters occur, we conveniently point fingers that recommendations like the Gadgil Report were not taken seriously. But at the time the report was published, did we support it? If some were ignorant, did they try to either study it or take the advice and opinions of those who had the knowledge? In a stressful life-situations, there is a tendency to be concerned with the needs of ourselves and our families, but if we do not take some time to advance the well-being of the general population, all will suffer.
Most Goans have been connected to the soil, our centuries old Gaonkari system being the pride of Goan community cooperation. Goa is one of the few places where the agriculturally challenging terrain of plateaus has been put to good use. Cashew trees and their prized products are one example. Some very important herbs also grow on these plateaus which develop their therapeutic properties, because of the harsh terrain. But these plateaus are rapidly becoming covered with concrete. The onslaught of an induced overload of population and their accompanying ills must be quickly mitigated. Goa’s popularity is now working against it as more and more people make a beeline for it and as those who profit from business on lands and construction destroy the environment with impunity. Elected representatives are not effectively compelled to hear the voice of their electors when they are able to dangle personal lollies and quieten those who dissent.
There will be conflict between ‘developments’ for mass convenience vs sustaining the environment for the present and future. But there are better ways than those currently being adopted in a rash and flagrant manner. Goa is blessed to have high calibre experts in science and technology as well as institutions like the NIO and the natural science related departments of the Goa University. While most Goans can boast of their education and other distinctions, it remains to be seen when they will wake up to save their land and themselves. All, especially the youth should rally around this cause rather than expect a handful of their compatriots to do their work for them. Or else, voices saying “How did you!” will be heard plaguing the consciousness of those ignore the voices now.
