Environmental Performance Index rankings: India needs to create nature-based solutions for sustainable environment

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which analyzes 180 nations based on a number of factors including air quality, sanitation, environmental health, biodiversity, and predicted emissions by 2050, provides an overview of the level of sustainability around the world. In this evaluation, India came in the last place primarily due to its deteriorating air quality and rising greenhouse gas emissions. India has undoubtedly made significant progress in terms of its green cover and sanitation systems, but if air pollution, urban heat island effect, climatic anomalies, and natural disasters continue to rise, we still have a long way to go in terms of enhancing our nation’s environmental condition. In fact, it is obvious that as a nation we do not understand the significance of protecting our environment and natural resources if we continue to see garbage piles on road sides, careless littering, resource waste, and disregard for biodiversity. We are frequently made aware of the poor air quality in our cosmopolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and the like, but have we ever considered how contaminated our land and water resources are? According to a 2018 report by the NITI Aayog of India, 70 per cent of the country’s freshwater sources have been polluted as 60 per cent of untreated water from industrial units and sewerage is being discharged directly into water bodies. According to this report, by 2030, 40 per cent of the country’s population will not have access to safe drinking water. Forests are also being cleared at a rapid rate in the name of economic development. All five of the major environmental health metrics—air quality, drinking water quality, heavy metals, and waste management—were below the regional norm in India. This helps us understand what should be our primary areas of attention. We now have the chance to rebuild our businesses and communities in ways that are more environmentally friendly to protect the improvements in environmental health brought about by the pandemic. While several state governments are putting regulations in place to reduce air pollution, we must make sure that it doesn’t return to its pre-pandemic levels. This entails abiding by the laws and regulations established by the government while also making better decisions on a personal level that can help reduce air pollution. Using less energy, cycling instead of driving, taking the bus or train, carpooling, and switching to renewable energy sources are all easy methods to make a difference and encourage change in the society. We need to understand the importance of natural resources and use them constructively instead of exploiting them. It is important to replace energy from fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like waste, water, air, and sun to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we must intensify our efforts to increase the amount of green cover in our country. As carbon sinks, forests are essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the consequences of air pollution. Only by making extensive plantation efforts in various regions of the nation would this be possible. Plantation drives can be accelerated by gaining assistance from individuals or encouraging businesses to include such plantation activities in their CSR programs. Our strategy for improving our EPI ranking should also include safeguarding our blue-carbon habitats, creating plans to prevent natural disasters in coastal areas, and safeguarding the fisherfolk community. This ranking should serve as a wake-up call to create nature-based solutions to improve our environmental situation and, in turn, the standard of living in our nation. Whether it’s urban planning or altering our lives, we must use nature and natural resources to our benefit and keep them at the forefront of all our decisions. Green walls, for instance, are an excellent way to incorporate plants into the urban environment. They not only improve air quality and lower ambient temperatures but also encourage urban biodiversity. Rural and urban communities must be sensitised to the factors that led India to rank poorly on the EPI. Climate education or environment education must be inculcated in all curriculums so that the importance of environment and biodiversity can be inculcated in children from the formative years itself. This is crucial to changing how our young generation perceives natural resources. A higher EPI ranking is a bonus, but the problems of pollution, climate change, and global warming must be addressed to enhance the quality of life on Earth. Let’s not forget that it is important for man and nature to coexist to enable life on Earth. The entire problem can be solved if we look at this planet as not just as our home, but one that houses many more living species. When we stop someone from littering our streets and water bodies, when we start practicing ‘Reduce. Reuse. Repurpose. Recycle’, when we plant as many trees as we can, and when compromising the environment for our needs is not even a thought, we won’t need to worry about our environmental health. Until then, we have miles to go. The author is the CEO of Grow-Trees.com. Views expressed are personal  Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.