A new ethics for a sustainable planet.

GS-III: A new ethics for a sustainable planet

Context

Brazil’s Amazon forests are ablaze with dozens of fires mostly set intentionally by loggers and others seeking greater access to forest land. They are paving the way for a global climate catastrophe.

Climate Change

Energy and transport are mainly responsible for the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
Changes in land use patterns also have made significant contributions.
Deforestation, industrial agricultural systems and desertification are major drivers of climate change.
Agriculture, forestry and other land use activities accounted for a little less than a quarter (23%) of the total net anthropogenic emissions of GHGs between 2007-2016.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently brought out a special report on Climate Change and Land that covers desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. It makes it clear that unless land is managed in a sustainable manner, the chances for humanity to survive climate change will become smaller.

Examples of Climate Change

Many cities in Europe and elsewhere have seen high temperatures never before experienced.
Heat waves have also accelerated melting of glaciers in Greenland at a rate that was not anticipated by scientific models until much later this century.
The burning of the world’s largest forest reserves as witnessed in Amazon .

Importance of Land Management:

Land is part and parcel of people’s lives. It provides food, water, livelihoods, biodiversity and a range of other benefits from its ecosystems.
Decades of poor land management in the agricultural system destroyed farm systems.
Soils have become depleted with the heavy use of chemicals
Farms have few or no friendly insects.

CONCLUSION

Land use policy should incorporate better access to markets for small and marginal farmers, empower women farmers, expand agricultural services and strengthen land tenure systems.

Source: The Hindu

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