Ecosystem Restoration

             Ecosystem Restoration

                                         What is Ecosystem?

Ecosystem is defined as the functional unit of nature where living organisms interact with each other and with their surroundings.

    Ecosystem represents the basic, fundamental, functional unit of ecology, which comprises of biotic community interacting together with its abiotic environment.

                                  

                                     Composition of Ecosystem

There are mainly two components of Ecosystem,

v Abiotic Components – Physical, Climatic and Non-living components of ecosystem.

Example – Temperature, pressure, humidity, sunlight, soil, water salinity etc.

v Biotic Components- All living organisms of ecosystem on earth, interacting with abiotic components in interrelated manner.

Example – Plants, animals, microorganisms, human beings etc.

                                      Types of Ecosystem

Ecosystem is a type of Open system, which is characterized by continuous flow of energy and circulation of matter through it.

     Ecosystem can be classified as –

v Natural Ecosystem – Completely dependent on Solar radiation.

Example – Forest, Grassland, River, Lakes, Oceans etc

Natural ecosystem is further classified as –

§  Terrestrial ecosystem like forest, Grassland etc

§  Aquatic ecosystem like river, lakes, oceans etc

In Aquatic ecosystems, two types of ecosystem found-

Ø Fresh water ecosystem like rivers, lakes and

Ø Marine ecosystem like sea, ocean

v Man-made Ecosystem- dependent on human interventions.

Example- Agricultural fields, Aquarium, ponds etc.

v Ecotones- These are transitional zones between two or more adjacent ecosystems.

These ecosystems are highly rich in biodiversity in comparison to adjacent ecosystems.

    Example- Estuaries, Mangrove ecosystems.

                                  Functioning of Ecosystem

Functions of ecosystem are as follows –

v Regulate the essential ecological processes, support lfe system and provide stability.

v Responsible for recycling of nutrients between biotic and abiotic components.

v Maintain ecological balance among the various trophic levels in the ecosystem.

v Provide benefits in form of Ecosystem Services to all living beings collectively, free of cost and without any discrimination.

These services are as follows –

Ø Provisioning Services in form of Food, Water, Fresh Air

Ø Regulating Services in form of controlling Drought, Floods, Diseases

Ø Supporting Services in form of nutrient cycling, crop pollination

Ø Cultural Services in form of spiritual and recreational benefits.

v Abiotic Components help in synthesis of organic components which involves Exchange of Energy.

v Ecosystem helps in Biomass Production, Energy Flow through Trophic Level, Decomposition of organic Dead materials etc.

 

                                    Ecosystem Degradation

It is defined as any Undesirable change or Disturbance in ecosystem, which reduces the capacity of environment to meet socio-economic and ecological objectives and needs.

Factors Responsible for Ecosystem Degradation

v Social Factors-

Ø Unsustainable Urbanization

Ø Unsustainable and Faulty Agricultural Practices

Ø Encroachment in Wild Life Habitat

Ø Direct Dumping of Household, Municipal and Electronic waste into environment

Ø Anthropogenic Emissions

v Economic Factors-

Ø Unsustainable use of natural and marine resources

Ø Unsustainable economic development in ecological fragile areas

Ø Unsustainable land use patterns for economic greed

v Environmental Factors-

Ø Deforestation and Land Degradation

Ø Environmental Pollution

Ø Fragmentation and destruction of wild life habitat

                  Impact of Ecosystem Degradation-

v Social Impacts-

Ø Outbreak of new Diseases

Ø Reduction of immunity of people to fight with diseases

Ø Food Insecurity and Water Scarcity

Ø Inaccessibility and unaffordability of basic amenities by poor and marginalized section of society

Ø Vulnerabilities of least developed and island countries

v Economic Impacts-

Ø Reversal of Economic Development

Ø Depletion of resources

Ø Agricultural failure

Ø Loss of GDP of countries

Ø Lack of financial resources to fight with disasters

v Environmental Impacts-

Ø Global Warming and Climate Change

Ø Frequent occurrence of climatic and biological Disasters

Ø Loss of Soil fertility, Soil nutrition and Biodiversity

Ø Thawing of Permafrost and Melting of Glaciers lead sea level rise.

                                           Ecosystem Restoration

It is defined as practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged or destroyed ecosystem by active human interventions and actions.

Measures and initiatives taken for Ecosystem Restoration

v Global Level

Ø Paris Climate Summit-2015  to limit the global temperature below 2-degree Celsius by end of 21^st century

Ø International Solar Alliance launched jointly by PM of India and PM of France to harness the potential of solar energy

Ø Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- 17 interlinked global goals adopted in 2015 at global level to achieve ‘better and more sustainable future for all’ by 2030

Ø Land degradation neutrality adopted at global level to prevent further land degradation and restore degraded land

Ø Great Green Wall Initiative started by African Union in Sahel region to address Desertification, land degradation

Ø In G20 SUMMIT 2020 Green initiative launched by Saudi Arabia to address climate change in middle east region

Ø UN decade on Ecosystem Restoration(2021-2030) have been adopted

Ø Global conventions and protocols have been adopted globally to restore ecosystem, combat climate change, and enhance environmental stability.

Example- UNFCCC, UNCCD, UNCBD, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal protocol, Ramsar Convention etc.

v Steps taken by India

Ø Declared to achieve carbon neutrality by end of 2070 at COP26 of UNFCCC held at Glasgow in 2021

Ø 5 Pledges taken by India at COP26

Ø Recently India hosted UNCCD and CMS conferences in 2019

Ø Launch of SDG index by NITI Aayog to evaluate the performance of states to achieve SDG goals

Ø Adoption of BHARAT VI standards for vehicles, vehicles Scrappage policy, Ethanol blended petrol, Hydrogen Mission etc

Ø India has enacted many laws, adopted policies, launched indices and reports to increase participation of multi stakeholders including citizens

Ø Collaborated with neighboring and regional countries in Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region to enhance maritime security and to build disaster-resilient infrastructure to achieve Sustainable and Inclusive growth.

 

 

There is immediate requirement to take measures at global, national and regional level to restore the degraded and destroyed ecosystem to fight climate crisis and to protect ecology and biodiversity.

                                                                                    -by Pooja Gupta