The excessive and indiscriminate mining of sand has significantly greater ecological costs than advantages. Talk about the significance of sustainable sand mining in this setting. (Answer in 150 words)
Model Answer Causes of Widespread Soil Degradation in India Soil degradation in India is a pressing issue, with approximately 29.7% of land affected, as reported by the ISRO Atlas in 2021. The primary causes include: Heavy Metal Pollution: Industrial activities such as mining, manufacturing, and impRead more
Model Answer
Causes of Widespread Soil Degradation in India
Soil degradation in India is a pressing issue, with approximately 29.7% of land affected, as reported by the ISRO Atlas in 2021. The primary causes include:
- Heavy Metal Pollution: Industrial activities such as mining, manufacturing, and improper waste disposal lead to soil contamination with heavy metals.
- Climate Change and Natural Disasters: Changing weather patterns result in excessive rainfall and floods, which erode the topsoil. Other disasters like droughts and landslides also contribute to degradation.
- Unsustainable Agricultural Practices: Practices such as excessive tillage, crop residue burning, and overuse of agrochemicals degrade soil health. These practices lead to soil acidification, nutrient depletion, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
- Deforestation: The removal of trees reduces soil cover, affecting its structure and nutrient availability, which in turn diminishes biological activity and water retention.
- Urbanization: Urban development compacts the soil, removes vegetation, and alters drainage patterns, leading to increased runoff and erosion of topsoil.
Measures to Tackle Soil Pollution
In response to soil degradation, the Indian government has implemented several initiatives:
- Soil Health Card Scheme: This program provides farmers with information on soil nutrient status and recommended fertilizer dosages to maintain soil health.
- Parampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): Promotes organic farming practices to reduce chemical inputs.
- PM Krishi Sinchayi Yojana: Aims to improve irrigation efficiency and soil moisture retention through education and technology.
- National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and Green India Mission (GIM): Focus on afforestation to combat soil erosion and restore degraded lands.
- Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Yojana: Enhances soil fertility and productivity through various agricultural practices.
These measures are crucial for restoring soil health and achieving India’s goal of rehabilitating 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, which will also contribute to climate change mitigation by enhancing carbon sequestration in soils.
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Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act), sand is a minor mineral. Main sources of sand are agricultural fields, riverbeds and floodplains, coastal and marine sand, lakes and reservoirs. Sand mining is done for use in the construction sector and to extract minerRead more
Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act), sand is a minor mineral. Main sources of sand are agricultural fields, riverbeds and floodplains, coastal and marine sand, lakes and reservoirs. Sand mining is done for use in the construction sector and to extract minerals such as Rutile, Ilmenite and Zircon which contain useful elements Titanium and Zirconium. Sand is used in making glass, ceramics, silicon chips, solar panels, detergents, toothpastes etc.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), sand, along with gravels, are the most extracted minerals-accounting for 69-85% of the minerals mined every year. Further, the construction sector has grown at a fast rate because of rapid urbanization and infrastructure growth and government initiatives like Housing for All. Thus, the demand for sand is increasing every year leading to excessive as well as indiscriminate and illegal mining of sand.
Adverse impact of excessive sand mining can be seen in following ways:
Sand mining, when done at an optimum level, removes excessive sediment deposit in rivers. However, unscientific sand mining depletes river minerals at rates which the river system cannot replenish. Excessive mining undermines the ability of riverbeds and riverbanks to support the infrastructure built on them.
In this context, sustainable sand mining can help ecology in following ways:
Therefore, to ensure sustainable sand mining, the Government of India has launched a Sand Mining Framework to ensure sustainable sand mining practices. Imported sand is also being promoted as an alternative to excessive sand mining.
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