Union Environment Minister today said that we as a country make targets not under any global pressure but for our own country’s real sustainable development, and as in the past India will play a leadership role and will lead by example in combating desertification. Speaking at an event in New Delhi on the occasion of World Day to combat desertification and drought Shri Javadekar announced that India will be hosting the fourteenth session of Conference of Parties (COP - 14) from 29th August – 14th September 2019.

The Union Minister further highlighted that with about 30% of country’s total geographical area being affected by land degradation; India has high stakes and stands strongly committed to the Convention. Shri Javadekar said that various schemes have been launched by the Government of India such as: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Soil Health Card Scheme, Soil Health Management Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PKSY), Per Drop More Crop, , etc. which are helping to reduce land degradation. The Union Minister also unveiled the logo of COP-14 on the occasion.

CEO , NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant who was also present on the occasion said that the World Day to combat desertification is a unique occasion to remind global community that desertification can be effectively tackled, that solutions are possible, and that key tools to this aim lay in strengthened community participation and cooperation at all levels. Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri C.K. Mishra said that The World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) in 2019 will retrospect and celebrate the past years of progress made by India on sustainable land management.

The Union Minister also launched a flagship project on enhancing capacity on forest landscape restoration (FLR) and Bonn Challenge in India, through a pilot phase of 3.5 years implemented in the States of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Karnataka. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in partnership with The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), through this flagship project aims to develop and adapt best practices and monitoring protocols for the Indian states and build capacity within the five pilot states on FLR and Bonn Challenge. This will be eventually scaled up across the country through subsequent phases of the project.

The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.At the UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India also joined the voluntary Bonn Challenge pledge to bring into restoration 13 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by the year 2020, and additional 8 million hectares by 2030. India’s pledge is one of the largest in Asia.

United Nations has 3 Rio Conventions namely, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda. In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared 17 June the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" to promote public awareness and the implementation of the UNCCD in the desertification affected countries.

India is hosting the Fourteenth session of Conference of Parties (COP - 14) from 29th August - 14th September 2019 at India Expo Mart Limited, Greater Noida. One of the primary functions of the COP is to review reports submitted by the Country Parties detailing how they are carrying out their commitments. India will take-over the COP presidency from China for two years until the next COP is hosted in 2021.

What is it? The World Organization of Animal Health, commonly known as OIE (an abbreviation of its French title), summarises the One Health concept as “human health and animal health are interdependent and bound to the health of the ecosystems in which they exist”.

Is it a new concept? The philosophy of One Health recognises inter-connectivity among human health, the health of animals, and the environment. Circa 400 BC, Hippocrates in his treatise On Airs, Waters and Places had urged physicians that all aspects of patients’ lives need to be considered including their environment; disease was a result of imbalance between man and environment. So One Health is not a new concept, though it is of late that it has been formalised in health governance systems.

Why it has received renewed interests? As human populations expand, it results in greater contact with domestic and wild animals, providing more opportunities for diseases to pass from one to the other. Climate change, deforestation and intensive farming further disrupt environment characteristics, while increased trade and travel result in closer and more frequent interaction, thus increasing the possibility of transmission of diseases.

Key facts: According to the OIE, 60% of existing human infectious diseases are zoonotic i.e. they are transmitted from animals to humans; 75% of emerging infectious human diseases have an animal origin.

Of the five new human diseases appearing every year, three originate in animals. 80% biological agents with potential bio-terrorist use are zoonotic pathogens. It is estimated that zoonotic diseases account for nearly two billion cases per year resulting in more than two million deaths — more than from HIV/AIDS and diarrhoea. One-fifth of premature deaths in poor countries are attributed to diseases transmitted from animals to humans.

Need of the hour: There is need for strengthening veterinary institutions and services. The most effective and economical approach is to control zoonotic pathogens at their animal source. It calls not only for close collaboration at local, regional and global levels among veterinary, health and environmental governance, but also for greater investment in animal health infrastructure. This calls for strict health surveillance to incorporate domestic animals, livestock and poultry too.

Humans require a regular diet of animal protein. Thus, loss of food animals on account of poor health or disease too becomes a public health issue even though there may be no disease transmission, and we lose 20% of our animals this way. There could not be a stronger case for reinventing the entire animal husbandry sector to be able to reach every livestock farmer, not only for disease treatment but for prevention and surveillance to minimise the threat to human health.

Early detection at animal source can prevent disease transmission to humans and introduction of pathogens into the food chain. So a robust animal health system is the first and a crucial step in human health. Disease surveillance has to go beyond humans and encompass preventive health and hygiene in livestock and poultry, improved standards of animal husbandry for greater food safety, and effective communication protocols between animal and public health systems.

Challenges for India: Developing countries like India have much greater stake in strong One Health systems on account of agricultural systems resulting in uncomfortably close proximity of animals and humans.

The size of India’s human and animal populations is almost the same; 121 crore people (2011 Census) and 125.5 crore livestock and poultry. A network of 1.90 lakh health institutions in the government sector form the backbone of health governance, supported by a large number of private facilities.

On the other hand, only 65,000 veterinary institutions tend to the health needs of 125.5 crore animals; and this includes 28,000 mobile dispensaries and first aid centres with bare minimum facilities. Private sector presence in veterinary services is close to being nonexistent.

The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2019 theme is ‘Let’s Grow the Future Together’ (Reflecting on 25 years of progress and envisaging to the next 25) encouraging people against depleting the land of its inbuilt resources.

Desertification and the Sustainable Development Goals: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development declares that “we are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations”. Specifically, Goal 15 states our resolve to halt and reverse land degradation.

What is Desertification? Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use. Poverty, political instability, deforestation, overgrazing and bad irrigation practices can all undermine the productivity of the land.

Facts for Prelims: About UNCCD: Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

Concerns for India: India has witnessed increase in the level of desertification in 26 of 29 states between 2003-05 and 2011-13, according to the State of India’s Environment (SoE) 2019 in Figures. Twenty-one drought-prone districts, of the 78 in the country that were identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation, have more than half of their areas under desertification.

Of these nine have also witnessed over two per cent increase in the area under desertification between 2003-05 and 2011-13. More than 80 per cent of the country’s degraded land lies in just nine states: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

Top three districtswith highest area under desertification or land degradation are Jaisalmer, Rajasthan (92.96 per cent during 2011-13 and 98.13 per cent during 2003-05), Lahaul and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh (80.54 per cent during 2011-13 and 80.57 per cent during 2003-05) and Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir (78.23 per cent during 2011-13 and 78.22 per cent during 2003-05).

Main reasons that cause desertification in India are: Water erosion (10.98 per cent). Wind erosion (5.55 per cent). Human-made/settlements (0.69 per cent). Vegetation degradation (8.91 per cent). Salinity (1.12 per cent). Others (2.07 per cent).

Simultaneous elections refer to holding elections to Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Panchayats and Urban local bodies simultaneously, once in five year.

Problems associated with frequent elections: The massive expenditure that is currently incurred for the conduct of separate elections. The policy paralysis that results from the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct during election time.

Impact on delivery of essential services. Burden on crucial manpower that is deployed during election time. Frequent elections affect policymaking and governance as the government is trapped in short-term thinking. It also destabilises duly-elected governments and imposes a heavy burden on the exchequer.

It also puts pressure on political parties, especially smaller ones, as elections are becoming increasingly expensive. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which comes into force with the announcement of poll dates, prevents government from announcing any new schemes, make any new appointments, transfers and postings without the approval of election commission. This brings normal work of the government to a standstill. It also increases the cost of management to the election commission.

Merits of Simultaneous elections: Governance and consistency: The ruling parties will be able to focus on legislation and governance rather than having to be in campaign mode forever. Reduced Expenditure of Money and Administration: The entire State and District level administrative and security machinery will be busy with the conduct of elections twice in a period of five years as per the current practice. Expenditure can be reduced by conducting simultaneous elections.

Continuity in policies and programmes. Efficiency of Governance: Simultaneous elections can bring the much-needed operational efficiency in this exercise. Populist measures by governments will reduce. Simultaneous elections can also be a means to curb corruptionand build a more conducive socio-economic ecosystem. The impact of black money on the voters will be reduced as all elections are held at a time.

But, why it is difficult to go for simultaneous elections? The biggest challenge is achieving political consensus, which seems to be “chimerical”.

Regional parties will be more opposed to the idea than national parties because there is always a tendency for voters to vote the same party in power in the state and at the Centre in case the Lok Sabha polls and the state elections are held together. Also, according to IDFC, there is a 77% chance that the Indian voter will vote for the same party for both the state and Centre when elections are held simultaneously. For simultaneous elections to be implemented, Changes to be made in Constitution and Legislations:

Amendments needed in the following articles:- Article 83 which deals with the duration of Houses of Parliament need an amendment Article 85 (on dissolution of Lok Sabha by the president) Article 172 (relating to the duration of state legislatures) Article 174 (relating to dissolution of state assemblies) Article 356 (on President’s Rule).

The Representation of People Act, 1951 Act would have to be amended to build in provisions for stability of tenure for both parliament and assemblies. This should include the following crucial elements: Restructuring the powers and functions of the ECI to facilitate procedures required for simultaneous elections A definition of simultaneous election can be added to section 2 of the 1951 act.