In news– The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB)’s decision to set up a bio-shield — a wall of mega plantations — along its western fringe for stopping air pollutants from entering the state has raised questions.
About the green wall-
- It is expected that the project will cover around 800 kilometres (km) across the Purulia, Birbhum, Paschim Bardhaman and Jhargram districts.
- All four districts are part of the Rarh region and lie on Bengal’s border with Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. The West Bengal Biodiversity Board has been entrusted to execute the project.
- The Board’s rationale is that pollution from other states is responsible for close to half of West Bengal’s pollution load.
- Several experts across India have pointed out that WBPCB’s ‘unique’ plan, the execution of which may run into several crores and take years, may not serve its purpose.
- As per the experts, the green wall is not likely to have any direct role in countering the flow of transboundary pollution.
- They further mentioned that transboundary movement of pollution can be curbed only with a regional clean action strategy to cut emissions from a large number of pollution sources spread across the region.
- Green walling with plantations can only filter dust to some extent and that too if it is hugely extensive.
- As per a research, West Bengal receives less transboundary pollution at a proportional scale, compared to many states.
The Great Green Wall or Great Green Wall of the Sahara and the Sahel-
- It is a project led by the African Union, initially conceived as a way to combat desertification in the Sahel region and hold back expansion of the Sahara, by planting a wall of trees stretching across the entire Sahel.
- The modern green wall has since evolved into a program promoting water harvesting techniques, greenery protection and improving indigenous land use techniques, aimed at creating a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa.
- The project is a response to the combined effect of natural resources degradation and drought in rural areas.
- It seeks to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change as well as improve food security.
Source: Down To Earth
