6 min readNew DehliFeb 2, 2023 08:09 AM IST
First published on: Feb 1, 2023 at 04:27 PM IST
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech introduced schemes and policies aimed at ecological conservation. Targeting an array of different issues, these schemes come with the promise of preserving India’s ecological health.
This is part of a larger “green push” with focus on the environment and climate change. The following are the schemes announced.
MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes)
MISHTI is a new programme that will facilitate mangrove plantation along India’s coastline and on salt pan lands. The programme will operate through “convergence between MGNREGS, Campa Fund and other sources,” the FM said.
This new programme will aim at intensive afforestation of coastal mangrove forests. India has such forests on both its Eastern and Western coasts with the Sundarbans in Bengal being one of the largest mangrove forests on the planet.
Why does this matter?
Mangroves are not just some of the most bio-diverse locations in India, they also protect the coastlines from the vagaries of inclement weather. As climate change increases the incidence of extreme weather events across the world, mangrove plantations have shown to make coastal lands resilient, preventing flooding, land erosion and acting as a buffer for cyclones.
Furthermore, they are also excellent carbon sinks. Mangrove trees can grow in saline waters, and can sequester up to four times more carbon than tropical rainforests.
PM PRANAM (Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth)
This programme will seek to incentivise states and union territories promoting alternative fertilisers and the balanced use of chemical fertilisers. In September last year, The Indian Express had reported that the government plans to introduce a new scheme to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers in the country.
The programme aims to ultimately bring down the government’s subsidy burden, which is estimated to reach Rs 2.25 lakh crore in 2022-23: 39 per cent higher than last year’s figure of Rs 1.62 lakh crore.
Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres
To further facilitate the adoption of “natural farming,” 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertiliser and pesticide manufacturing network. This will impact over 1 crore farmers over the next three years, the finance minister said in her speech.
Why do these matter?
Chemical fertilisers revolutionised agriculture when they were introduced, more than half a century ago. However, they also pose multiple risks that are increasingly being understood by scientists.
They are known to be a major source of water pollution – impacting both groundwater and rivers, ponds and lakes. Eutrophication caused by excessive use of chemical fertilisers is a death knell for fishes and other aquatic life, often covering lakes and ponds with a thick layer of algae and reducing the oxygen content in the water. Over a long period of time, they can also harm the soil, causing acidification, and hence have an impact on the land’s productivity. Lastly, studies have found a link between the excessive use of chemical fertilisers and incidence of cancer among farmers.
The challenge for today’s scientists and policy makers is to slowly wean the agricultural economy of chemical fertilisers while maintaining the high yields that they provide.
Amrit Dharohar
This is a scheme that will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
Amrit Dharohar will emphasise on the importance of wetlands and their preservation, with an outlook that is inclusive of local communities as caretakers of the ecosystem.
Why does this matter?
The government had previously identified the importance of wetland ecosystems, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying in Man ki Baat, ““Now the total number of Ramsar sites in our country has increased to 75. Whereas, before 2014, there were only 26…”
Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance that have been designated under the criteria of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1971) for containing representative, rare or unique wetland types or for their importance in conserving biological diversity. These sites sustain a diverse variety of flora and fauna, from endangered aquatic life to migratory birds.
India’s 75 Ramsar sites are spread across the country, covering 1326678 hectares, according to a PIB press release. As many as 49 new sites have been added to the list since 2019, with 19 being added in 2022.
Union Budget 2023: All you need to know
Students on their way to school at the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans are among the world's largest mangrove forests. (Express photo by Partha Paul) 
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