Country Report - INDIA

1. Country Report - INDIA KIOST – AMETEC Workshop Geoje, Korea 12 – 21 June 2013

2. INTRODUCTION • My report will include: 1. Introduction to India, IMF, and country coordinator 2. Analysis of marine debris problem in India 3. Govt. of India policy on marine debris 4. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India 5. Other programs on marine debris (monitoring, education, etc.) and others.

3. Introduction to India

4. INDIA - Geography • India has a land area of 3,166,414 km2(1,222,559 sq mi) with a coastline of 7,517 km (4,671 mi). • Coasts • The Eastern Coastal Plain is a wide stretch of land from Tamil Nadu in the south to West Bengal in the east. • The Western Coastal plain extends from Gujarat in the north and extends through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala. Numerous rivers and backwaters inundate the region. Mostly originating in the Western Ghats, the rivers are fast-flowing, usually perennial, and empty into estuaries. • Islands • The Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are India's two major island formations and are classified as union territories. • The Lakshadweep Islands lie 200 to 300 km (120 to 190 mi) off the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea with an area of 32 km2 (12 sq mi). They consist of twelve atolls, three reefs, and five submerged banks, with a total of about 36 islands and islets.

5. INDIA - Geography • The Andaman and Nicobar Islands consist of 572 isles, lying in the Bay of Bengal near the Burmese coast. The territory consists of two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. The Andaman Islands consists of 204 small islands across a total length of 352 km (219 mi). • Other significant islands in India include Diu daman, a former Portuguese enclave; Majuli, a river island of the Brahmaputra; Elephanta in Bombay Harbour; and Sriharikota, a barrier island in Andhra Pradesh. Salsette Island is India's most populous island on which the city of Mumbai (Bombay) is located. Forty-two islands in the Gulf of Kutch constitute the Marine National Park.

6. Introduction to INDIA • Water bodies • India has around 14,500 km of inland navigable waterways. There are twelve rivers which are classified as major rivers, with the total catchment area exceeding 2,528,000 km2 (976,000 sq mi). • The Himalayan river networks are snow-fed and have a perennial supply throughout the year. The other two river systems are dependent on the monsoons and shrink into rivulets during the dry season. The Himalayan rivers that flow westward into Pakistan are the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghana system has the largest catchment area of about 1,600,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi). The Western Ghats are the source of all Deccan rivers, all draining into the Bay of Bengal. These rivers constitute 20% of India's total outflow.

7. Introduction to INDIA • The Arabian Sea lies to the west of India, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean lie to the east and south, respectively. There are four coral reefs in India, located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Gulf of Mannar, Lakshadweep, and the Gulf of Kutch. • Wetlands • India's wetland ecosystem is widely distributed and most of the wetlands are directly or indirectly linked to river networks. The Indian government has identified a total of 71 wetlands for conservation and are part of sanctuaries and national parks. Mangrove forests are present all along the Indian coastline in sheltered estuaries, creeks, backwaters, salt marshes and mudflats. The mangrove area covers a total of 4,461 km2 (1,722 sq mi), which comprises 7% of the world's total mangrove cover.

8. Introduction to INDIA (contd) • The Sundarbans delta is home to the largest mangrove forest in the world. It lies at the mouth of the Ganges and spreads across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but is identified separately as the Sundarbans (Bangladesh) and the Sundarbans National Park (India). Its most famous inhabitant is the Bengal Tiger. • The Rann of Kutch is a marshy region located in northwestern Gujarat and the bordering Sindh province of Pakistan. It occupies a total area of 27 900 km² (10,800 mile²). • Bekalfort beach in Kerala A map of the Indian SunderbansSunrise-Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_India

9. Introduction to Indian Maritime Foundation • The Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) was established in Dec 1993 by a group of officers who have served in the Indian Navy, the Indian Merchant Marine, and other professions. They have dedication and a high sense of commitment to this cause of public service that they have embarked upon. The IMF is a non profit organization, registered in Pune as a charitable trust. It has branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. • The Indian Maritime Foundation joined the ICC programme in 2003 and has been conducting the event throughout India, on the third Saturday of September every year. It is our endeav-our to identify new community leaders among the young people to lead and organize the cleanup in their areas and to thereby continue to expand the ambit of the ICC in India.

10. Introduction to India Coordinator – Cdr. Mukund Lélé • Commander Mukund Lele retired prematurely in 1982, after serving in the Indian Navy for 17 years, including tenures on the aircraft carrier and other warships. He taught Electronics at the Naval College, and was Project Manager for a number of warship design projects. • For ten years after leaving the Navy he worked in India. Thereafter he worked in Saudi Arabia, and from 1996 to 2008 was in Dubai as General Manager of a marine safety company. He has completed the ISO 9001:2000 Lead Quality Auditors course, and undertakes Quality Audits on behalf of ABS. • Mukund is active in social service in Pune, supporting NGOs in environmental-friendly initiatives. He is a council member of the Indian Maritime Foundation, and also the ‘National Society for Clean Cities’. He takes an active interest in children’s education, particularly in spreading awareness of the Ocean, and preserving our ocean resources. He has been coordinating the ICC in India since 2011, and was appointed ‘Country Coordinator’ in 2012.

11. What do you expect from participating in this Program? • In India we face several hurdles including public apathy and a Government which constitutes laws, but does not have adequate machinery to enforce implementation. The largely rural population have poor literacy levels and are so burdened by their difficult financial position, that they do not have the motivation to visualize the consequences of neglecting the environment. • My object in participating in this workshop is to understand the problems faced by other country coordinators and to share information about the obstacles and hurdles that I have experienced. We can support each other by sharing information, by generating ideas and concepts to help overcome these issues, and thus accelerate the spread of awareness to protect our ocean environment.

12. National situation of marine debris problem • The marine debris problem in India is focused on the incessant and indiscriminate use of plastic bags. This problem is largely aggravated inland, where rivers and lakes and dams are choked by debris dumped by humans, with steadily growing and disastrous consequences on aquatic life. • Coastal debris is largely around beaches and is either a result of a lack of solid waste management (SWM) in the coastal villages and towns, or due to thoughtless (mainly domestic) tourists. •   Some amount of marine debris is due to coasting ships or large commercial vessels, clandestinely and illegally clearing their bilges offshore before entering harbor.

13. Brief analysis of problem of marine debris in India Strengths Population: • India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people (2011 census), and has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25, and more than 65% below the age of 35. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_India). • 84 % of the population lives in rural areas (http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/india/Rural_Urban_2011.pdf). • With the exception of India, the bulk of Asia’s population is coastal, or near coastal. Of the region’s collective population of 3.5 billion, 60% or 2.1 billion — live within 400 kilometers of a coast. (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/websites/retiredsites/natdia_pdf/3hinrichsen.pdf).

14. Analysis of problem of marine debris in India (contd) Weakness • In such a vast land it is only natural that there will be huge diversity. There are over 1500 mother-tongues in India, and though Hindi is the national language, it or its dialects are spoken by only 73% of the population, thus communication with the masses is not simple. The culture and habits across the country vary greatly, which again makes communication with the masses an obstacle. • While on the one hand, India has a huge and growing bank of engineering & IT graduates, when we look at the rural masses the picture is quite different. Education, and state-supported infrastructure, has not reached far enough into the interior. It is not easy to inculcate a sense of self-discipline and the need to protect the environment, to people struggling to earn enough to feed themselves and their families. On the other hand, in urban areas, more recently, a rapid increase of purchasing power among the ‘middle class’ has fuelled consumerism, which in turn means more plastic bags and polystyrene packing material, etc. Sadly, far too many city corporations and councils are filled with less-educated citizens (voted to power by a combination of money and muscle), so ‘Solid Waste Management’ is often just a hyped-up term, and far too much debris and chemicals pollute the rivers that pass through our towns and cities.

15. Analysis of problem of marine debris in India (contd.)

16. Analysis of problem of marine debris in India (contd.) • This photograph actually reveals the shocking extent of pollution of the Yamuna River in India that has caused a thick layer of foam to completely cover it. Parts of the Yamuna are now described as a 'dead river' meaning the pollution level is so bad that there is not enough oxygen in it for fish or other marine life to survive. Taking a bubble bath: A Hindu devotee offers prayers after a dip in the Yamuna River, surrounded by industrial waste, during the religious KarthikPurnima ceremony in New Delhi, India

17. Analysis of problem of marine debris in India (contd.) Opportunities • In urban areas it is relatively easier, as children are ideal targets to sow the seeds of environmental consciousness. With 314,914 middle & senior schools and 9,906 colleges (Annual Report 2000-01, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India) in the country, this is a huge base to work with to reach the masses. Thus, school and college students in urban areas are the greatest opportunity for spreading awareness. • While there is some awareness of environmental (earth & air) conservation in the country, there is unfortunately a complete lack of attention to marine conservation. In fact, though the high school curriculum does include “environment” as a subject, there is no mention whatsoever of protecting and conserving the marine environment. • In India, efforts to protect the marine environment from marine debris and pollution is pursued almost entirely by NGOs and non-profit organizations. Although a sizeable number and they are doing stellar work, there is little or no effective support from government agencies. There is a Ministry of Environment, and there are laws to protect the environment, but no purposeful action and implementation, and very little if any focus on the marine environment.

18. Govt. of India policy on marine debris • The Govt. of India has a Ministry of Environment and Forests, and State Govts. similarly have their Env. Depts., which govern this subject. Unfortunately the focus of rules, regulations and governance is on land and atmospheric pollution, and the little attention paid to marine/ water pollution is restricted to river (fresh) water. Awareness of the looming dangers of marine/ ocean pollution due to man-made debris is entirely lacking. • The only Govt. effort to curb debris is banning the use of plastic bags less than 50 microns. Sadly, there is woefully poor enforcement of this regulation. Consequently, during cleanups, most of the debris collected is almost exclusively some derivative of plastic.

19. Results of International Coastal Cleanup in India • Our historical results are as follows: YEARPERSONSQTY (KG) DIST (KM)BAGS {P} {P} {M} 2007 6,873 58,147 9,002 104 2008 6,808 10,728 1,816 82 2009 18,284 5,288 8,981 185 2010 34,753 83,175 12,109 322 2011 23,496 77,409 5,412 528

20. ICC 2011 – Dept of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Port Blair

21. ICC 2011 – Secondary school, Mithivirdi, Bhavnagar, Gujarat

22. ICC 2011 – EcoleMondial World school, Juhu Beach, Mumbai

23. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India

24. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India

25. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India

26. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India

27. Results of 2012 International Coastal Cleanup in India

28. ICC 2012 – Top Ten Countries

29. Results of ICC 2012 in India India dropped from fourth position in ICC2011, to seventh position in ICC 2012

30. Analysis of Results of ICC 2012 in India • The number of volunteers in ICC 2012 were 16,756 compared to 23,496 in ICC 2011. • Factors: • The main reason for the fall was that two organizers (both in South India) of large volunteer groups were not able to reach out to the villages in time. A third organizer decided not to participate, as they were busy with other projects. • Because of inclement weather, the turnout was poorer than expected. September is the monsoon period for the West Coast, and the East Coast also has occasional storms during this period. • Lack of knowledge of English among a large proportion of potential volunteers precludes them from completing Data Cards. • Lack of access to computers in a number of organizations. • Because of the local language issue, a number of organizations are unable to record and forward PPM results in English. • A few organizations are keen on participating in the cleanup but find filling up Data Cards a tiresome process and try to avoid it. • Absence of the country coordinator during the period immediately before and after the cleanup, led to lack of effective follow-up and data submission.

31. Analysis of Results of ICC 2012 in India (contd.) • On the other hand ,in 2012 we achieved two major successes: • Firstly, three schools located inland participated for the first time and organized their cleanups very successfully. • Secondly, for the first time we were able to arrange underwater cleanups. • Cleanups in more locations serves to spread greater awareness, compared to more volunteers at the same location.

32. Other programs on Marine debris, education, etc. • The Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) conducts lectures for graduate students at the Univ. of Pune, in Maritime Strategy and Ocean resources. • IMF conducts seminars on underwater technology in conjunction with the local Chamber of Commerce, to encourage entrepreneurs to undertake research in alternative wave energy, and manufacturing of parts and or sub-assemblies of autonomous underwater vehicles. • IMF conducts lectures in schools and colleges on Oceanography.

33. Conclusion • Spreading awareness among the public is not a simple or easy task. It requires dedicated and sustained efforts. • Citizens must realize that the indiscriminate pollution of river waters and water bodies spells doom. • The enormity of the problem of marine debris has yet neither been understood, nor addressed, by the Government. • Making rules that only govern protection of the earth and air environment and completely neglecting the marine aspect is fraught with grave consequences for future generations.

34. Conclusion (contd) • Many of the problems and issues stated in this presentation may sound familiar to other participants of this workshop. • Finding solutions to the problems and sharing them with each other is vitally important. • I must express my gratitude to the KIOST for organizing this AMETEC 2013 workshop and for creating this platform for countries in the Asia-Pacific region. • I would also like to thank KIOST for bearing the entire expenses for this program, and I look forward to building on this over the next few years, for our mutual benefit.

35. THANK YOU Thank you for your patience, and for giving me the opportunity to present this country report on INDIA. 감사합니다.