Mitigation co-benefits of carbon sequestration from MGNREGS in India.

Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme a large social security programme being implemented in India, with an average annual investment of US$ 7 billion. The bulk of the activities under this programme are focused on natural resources such as land, water and trees, which provide adaptation benefits. In this study an attempt is made to estimate the carbon sequestration achieved and future potential, as a co-benefit, from MGNREGS. The total mean carbon sequestered at the national level, considering the cumulative number of natural resource based activities, for the year 2017-18 was estimated to be 102 MtCO2. The annual mean carbon sequestration is projected to increase to about 132 MtCO2 by 2020 and 249 MtCO2 by 2030. Drought proofing is one of the activities implemented under MGNREGS and it includes tree planting, relevant to achieving the NDC carbon sink target. The cumulative carbon sink created by drought proofing activities is projected to be 56 MtCO2 in 2020, 281 MtCO2 in 2025 and 561 MtCO2 in 2030. This study demonstrates the significant carbon sink potential of MGNREGS and highlights the importance of estimation and reporting climate mitigation co-benefits of adaptation actions such as MGNREGS under the Paris Agreement.

Vulnerability of Forests in India: A National Scale Assessment.

Forests are subjected to stress from climatic and non-climatic sources. In this study, we have reported the results of inherent, as well as climate change driven vulnerability assessments for Indian forests. To assess inherent vulnerability of forests under current climate, we have used four indicators, namely biological richness, disturbance index, canopy cover, and slope. The assessment is presented as spatial profile of inherent vulnerability in low, medium, high and very high vulnerability classes. Fourty percent forest grid points in India show high or very high inherent vulnerability. Plantation forests show higher inherent vulnerability than natural forests. We assess the climate change driven vulnerability by combining the results of inherent vulnerability assessment with the climate change impact projections simulated by the Integrated Biosphere Simulator dynamic global vegetation model. While 46% forest grid points show high, very high, or extremely high vulnerability under future climate in the short term (2030s) under both representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5, such grid points are 49 and 54%, respectively, in the long term (2080s). Generally, forests in the higher rainfall zones show lower vulnerability as compared to drier forests under future climate. Minimizing anthropogenic disturbance and conserving biodiversity can potentially reduce forest vulnerability under climate change. For disturbed forests and plantations, adaptive management aimed at forest restoration is necessary to build long-term resilience.

Toxicity, bioaccumulation and metabolism of phenol in the freshwater fish Oreochromis mossambicus.

The acute toxicity of phenol was determined to be 35.0 mg/l in Oreochromis mossambicus. The fish were exposed to two sublethal concentrations of phenol (2.3 and 3.5 mg/l) for 30 days. The effects of exposure were studied on the bioaccumulation and elimination of phenol from the kidney and biochemical parameters of liver, gill, and muscle at intervals of 10, 20, and 30 days. A statistically significant increase in phenol concentration was noted in tissues from all treated fish groups. Bioaccumulation and biochemical changes were dose and duration dependant. Recovery in fish after post exposure was observed after transferring these fish to normal tap water for 30 days. Elimination of phenol was noted, although the concentration of phenol remained significantly higher than the control after 30 days of the experiment. Total protein, total carbohydrate, and total lipids in the tissues of liver, gill, and muscle of fish decreased greatly. The longer the exposure time, the greater was the percentage reduction of organic matter of the fish exposed to the sublethal concentration of phenol.

Effect of phenol on the metabolism and biochemical composition of the freshwater fish Cyprinus carpio.

The effect of phenol on the fish Cyprinus carpio and the metabolic changes in oxygen consumption and total carbohydrate, total protein and total lipids in the tissues of liver, gills, muscle, brain, and intestine were investigated for sublethal exposure. The oxygen consumption decreased significantly in both toxicants exposed to acute toxicity. Following sublethal exposure to phenol total protein, total carbohydrate, and total lipids in the tissues of liver, gills, muscle, brain and intestine of the fish decreased greatly. The longer the exposure time, the greater was the percentage reduction of organic matter of the fish exposed to sublethal concentration of phenol. Lipid content was not reduced much in exposure when compared with the control.

The role of sustainable agriculture and renewable-resource management in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing sinks in China and India.

This paper contains an analysis of the technical options in agriculture for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and increasing sinks, arising from three distinct mechanisms: (i) increasing carbon sinks in soil organic matter and above-ground biomass; (ii) avoiding carbon emissions from farms by reducing direct and indirect energy use; and (iii) increasing renewable-energy production from biomass that either substitutes for consumption of fossil fuels or replaces inefficient burning of fuelwood or crop residues, and so avoids carbon emissions, together with use of biogas digesters and improved cookstoves. We then review best-practice sustainable agriculture and renewable-resource-management projects and initiatives in China and India, and analyse the annual net sinks being created by these projects, and the potential market value of the carbon sequestered. We conclude with a summary of the policy and institutional conditions and reforms required for adoption of best sustainability practice in the agricultural sector to achieve the desired reductions in emissions and increases in sinks. A review of 40 sustainable agriculture and renewable-resource-management projects in China and India under the three mechanisms estimated a carbon mitigation potential of 64.8 MtC yr(-1) from 5.5 Mha. The potential income for carbon mitigation is $324 million at $5 per tonne of carbon. The potential exists to increase this by orders of magnitude, and so contribute significantly to greenhouse-gas abatement. Most agricultural mitigation options also provide several ancillary benefits. However, there are many technical, financial, policy, legal and institutional barriers to overcome.