May 2024

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 may 2024

According to the research study, 'Severe decline in large farmland trees in India over the past decade' (Authors: Martin Brandt; Dimitri Gominski; Florian Reiner; Ankit Kariryaa; Venkanna Babu Guthula; Philippe Ciais; Xiaoye Tong; Wenmin Zhang; Dhanapal Govindarajulu; Daniel Ortiz-Gonzalo; Rasmus Fensholt), published on 15 may 2024 in Nature Sustainability, during the period 2018-2022, more than 5 million large farmland trees (about 67m² crown size) have vanished, due partly to altered cultivation practices, where trees within fields are perceived as detrimental to crop yields. The study mapped 0.6 billion farmland trees, excluding block plantations, in India and tracked them over the past decade. The research shows that around 11±2% of the large trees (about 96m² crown size) mapped in 2010/2011 had disappeared by 2018. According to the 'European Space Agency (ESA) WorldCover 10 m 2020 v100 (2021)' (zenodo.org) land-cover map, 56% of India is covered by farmland, and only 20% is covered by forest. Prof. Martin Brandt of Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at University of Copenhagen, says on X.com, 'Large trees within fields and croplands in India are clearly visible in satellite images and examining historical Google Earth images showed him how clear the decline of large trees was.' Prof. Jagdish Krishnaswamy, dean of the School of Environment and Sustainability at Bengaluru's Indian Institute for Human Settlements, commenting on the findings of the study on X.com, says, 'This is so worrying. I wonder whether the huge and lovely Mahua trees amidst the farm fields of Jhabua District in Madhya Pradesh in Central India that I saw over twenty years ago are also disappearing.' According to the study, the findings are particularly unsettling given the current emphasis on agroforestry as an essential natural climate solution playing a crucial role in both climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, as well as for livelihoods and biodiversity. Read on...

The Wire: The Vanishing: Over 3 Years, India’s Farmlands Have Lost More Than 5 Million Large Trees
Author: Aathira Perinchery

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 may 2024

According to the report, 'Climate Change in the Indian Mind 2023' (Authors: Anthony Leiserowitz; Jagadish Thaker; Marija Verner; Emily Goddard; Jennifer Carman; Seth Rosenthal; Naga Raghuveer Modala; Mallika Talwar; Yashwant Deshmukh; Gaura Shukla; Jennifer Marlon; Matthew Ballew; Matthew Goldberg), based on a third nationally representative survey conducted by Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) and the Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research (CVoter), 91% respondents believe global warming is real and happening right now. Indian public is highly concerned about global warming and the related consequences as 59% expressed very worried sentiments about it. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT - 52% believe that if global warming occurs, it is primarily caused by human activities; On the basis of global warming risk perceptions, a large majority believe it will harm flora and fauna (83%), people in India (82%), future generations (81%), people in their own community (78%), and themselves and their own family (74%); About 53% of Indians believe they are already being affected by global warming; 71% of respondents said global warming affected their local weather and 76% said it affected monsoons in India; 79% demonstrated their willingness to act to combat global warming; 78% of Indians expect the government to do more address global warming; About 86% supported the Indian government's commitment to achieve the Net Zero emissions target by 2070. Read on...

DownToEarth: Over 90% Indians want policies to address green issues and climate action, finds Yale survey
Author: Susan Chacko

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