Thirteen coalfields in the central Indian landscape alone will destroy more than 1.1 million hectare (ha) of woodland. As a consequence of this environmental vandalism, over 14,000 tribal people in one region alone will lose their homes and livelihoods, with many indigenous communities being forcibly removed and placed into so called ‘rehabilitation centres’ with no way to earn a living, says a Greenpeace mapping study.
Commenting hours before the opening of the UN biodiversity conference, Samit Aich, executive director from Greenpeace. a non-profit organisation with presence in 40 countries across Europe, said: “India’s mad dash to mine coal is destroying the precious biological assets that this country should be protecting. Instead of showing leadership as the host of this prestigious conference, the government is leading the way on the destruction of tens of thousands of hectare of forest.”
Stating that the impact on the environment in the short-term was the decimation of a vital part of India’s biodiversity, Aich said they were removing the forests that were the natural habitat of the already threatened iconic Indian tiger. In the long-term, the damage to the planet with increased carbon emissions by burning coal would be irreversible.
“The destruction of the natural habitat and the lives of over thousands of people is not the type of progress India or its people want. The Indian government must take a political and moral lead and end this state-sponsored vandalism by immediately introducing a binding moratorium on new coal mining, given that clearances already exceed government energy targets,” he added.
One of the major areas of discussion at the biodiversity conference will be marine protection and sustainability in international waters. On the agenda will be ways to agree the most important areas globally that deserve protection (ecologically or biologically significant marine areas), sustainable fisheries and the adverse impacts human activities on coastal and marine biodiversity.
Governments must also use this conference to agree to tackle illegal and unregulated fishing practices in order to protect fish stocks for future generations, Aich said, adding that the present 'free-for-all' that is depleting the world’s fishing stocks was unsustainable and that there was a need for an urgent action now to protect marine life before it was too late.
“It is important to recognise that all the world’s oceans are connected. That is why we are asking the Indian government to take a more active role internationally by advocating ocean protection. If the Indian government adopts these measures, then they will become an international leader in supporting sustainable oceans,” he said.