Corporate Responsibility in Conservation of Biodiversity

By Bibhu Prasad Mohanty

Biodiversity is the basic development material of human kind. This paper tries to discuss some of the biodiversity conservation related questions in relation to corporate responsibilities. Taking Development of Jharkhand as the central theme and with a natural expectation and practical apprehension  of macro changes in economy due to mining and industrial growth in the state this discusses future problems and prospects in the state. Although development brings so many socio-political-economic changes, comfortable life patterns and influences the market of local area, there has been concern on conservation of biodiversity at micro and macro level too. Concern over getting clean air, land for the continuation of agriculture in terms of food and job for all, employment for all, survival of culture that ensures survival of animals and manage the sustenance of crop and forest diversity and above all  life of harmony with nature.

Introduction

Biodiversity materials remained as the basic material of development. From time immemorial human survival  and for the sustenance of its socio-cultural and economic activities very often manipulated biodiversity materials available around. Sectors like health, education, infrastructure, food and livelihood are the basic and major areas where biodiversity of one area played the most dynamic role in the process of growth of human race. For last few centuries of last millennium this world has been witness to several wars, conflict, border issues, industrial developments, big dams and infrastructure developments. These activities consumed and caused loss to biodiversity materials. For the sake of human development, to meet the responsive needs of people many development decisions and models were adopted by several political organizations those caused severe threats to future development as the world lost several of basic stock of development i.e., Biodiversity of the region.

The Philosophy

All of us are aware that biodiversity has immense help to mankind. It is being exploited for food, medicine, housing materials, household materials, security stuff, war instruments, transporting equipment, clothes and we can say every aspect of life. Because unlike human , biodiversity is also from ‘Panchbhut’, the five major elements of life system kshiti or bhūmi (earth), ap or jala (water), tejas or agni (fire), marut or pavan (air or wind), vyom; or shunya or akash (aether or void).  Materials from panchamahabhuta are always interconnected. Human sustenance always depends on these elements. Therefore manipulation of these materials by human being is a common phenomenon.

Without biodiversity the sustainability of human race cannot be thought of under present conditions of life system on this earth. Taking this as elementary truth in to consideration when we analyse the development of this race and civilization in this millennium we find so many contradicting and controversial development approaches are adopted to make growth shift of our economy. Our issues of economy have been strategically addressed under agriculture, commerce, infrastructure development, governance and so on for ages. Unfortunately  human greed has damaged the chord of natural progress of this race.

Out of the five elements of life system water is considered to be very much precious and the usable water content for human being is very low. In villages of India we find water is considered as ‘Amrit’ the most aspired material that brings immortality in the life of living beings. It is a fact  that so long as we are meeting the water need of our physical being we sustain our life. On a slightest imbalance in body and environment there is lot of issues for the human species. Particularly in human settlements we see there have been considerable demands for water.

We use water for civilian need, like drinking, bathing, washing, cleaning, agriculture and so on. But there are industrial usages , which are large scale and require very large volume of water. The consumption at micro and macro level adds to the high demand of water in present millennium. It is true that despite of realization in human being about the importance of water, soil and clean air there is an induced demand of development along with greed towards comfortable life tainted with ambition of economic and political power drive the development process. Here this paper will try to discuss existing conditions and possible solutions to manage the natural resources and the biodiversity for future generation and bring a balance between aggressive changes due to aggressive mining and industrial growth in the state.

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Jharkhand

Jharkhand Plateau , (Forest Tract ) is a very rich region of undulated forest of Chhotenagpur Plateau. It  is covered by rivers such as Baitarani, Subarnarekha, Damodar, Barkarar and Brahmani. Jharkhand has two major sub-plateaus, Hazaribag and Ranchi. This is a state where more than 90% of total revenue of Govt is from Coalfield. A population of  about 3.3 crores consisting of 30 tribes in the state. This tribal population is about 26% of total population.

Primitives Tribes: Asur, Birhor, Birajia, Korba, Mal Paharia, SauriyaPaharia, Sabar, or Hill Kharia and Parahiya. (12 nos)

Other Tribes: Biga, Banjara, Bathudi, Bedia, Bhumij, Binjhia, Chero, ChikBaraik, Gond, Gorait, Ho, Karmali, Khadia, Kharwar, Khond, Kisan, Kora, Lohra, Mahali, Munda, Oraon and Santhal (23nos)

Out of 24 districts, their concentration is mostly high in Ranchi, Hazaribag, Dumka, Palamu and Gumla districts in comparison to other districts. Santal, is the major tribe of this state. Oraon and Munda are placed at 2nd and 3rd position. Tribal population of Jharkhand is concentrated mainly in Chhotanagpur plateau (Ranchi, Hazaribag, Giridih, Palamau, Dhanbad, Bokaro, and Singhbhum, districts) and SanthalParganas. As usual tribal population reside in rural area.

More than 80% of population in Jharkahnd are belonging to villages. Jharkhand has total land mass of about 79 .91 lakh ha with uneven rain fall but the quantity of rain is very good distributed across the year. Mines coverage of the state is extremely high. More than 39 lakh ha land is under cultivation. 25% of total land (around 2.2 million ha ) is under forest cover. Most of the forest land and mines cover are close to river basins. In the state  about 17%  of total population are engaged in mines and industrial activities. Rest population is in agriculture and allied livelihood activities.

Jharkhand in a nutshell

Area: 79,914 sq km

Population: 32.96 Million , Capital: Ranchi ,Literacy: 67.63 per cent

Religion: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sarna, Jainism etc.

Languages: Hindi, English, Regional Languages (Mundari, Nagpuria, Kharia, Ho, Santhali, Oraon, Khortha), Bengali, Urdu, Oriya

Temperature: Summer (Min27 C, Maximum 42 C); Winter (Min 4 C,Max 20 C)

Major Industries: Iron & Steel, Alumina, Coal, Heavy Engineering, Automobile, Engineering Goods

Three times growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been achieved during the last ten years (2001-2011).

Over 20 percent of the country’s total steel is being produced in the state. Steel production has increased from 8 million tones to over 12 million tons per annum during the 11th plan period.

17,000 mega watt (MW) power capacity is being installed by private investors. The State is poised to attain self sufficiency in power and become a net exporter of energy by 2012-13.

Several thermal power plants are in various stage of construction in the state such as Maithan Power Limited at Dhanbad (2×525 MW)

It has the country’s 40 per cent mineral reserves with mining and quarrying accounting for 14.3 per cent of the GDP (as compared to 2.3 per cent for the rest of India).

The state saw 0.5 per cent increase in forest cover, which only four states of the country have achieved over the reporting period 2007-09. This is attributed to community participation in forest protection.

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The points of development prospects

We all are aware that cheap raw material, easy availability of water and fuel , easy access to cheap labour force, usually attract the industrial and mining entrepreneurs . Jharkhand is blessed with stocks of several mineral ores , very good number of small and big water sources (rivers, streams rivulets etc), high quality coal stock and a good population of unorganized labour in search of job (which is cheap in comparison to other countries) and so on. The most important is that the intention of Govt is favourable to a significant extent.

Jharkhand Mineral stock and the locations :

 River Basins and Water resources In Jharkhand

Subarnarekha River Basin

Subarnarekha river after originating near Piska/Nagri in Ranchi traverses through Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts. It eventually joins the Bay of Bengal near Talsari in Bengal. It’s important tributary is : Kharkai River: Originates in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa, flows past Rairangpur and heads north of about Saraikela and then turns east to meet Subernrekha in NW of Jamshedpur

Brahmani River Basin

The Brahmani is formed by the confluence of the rivers South Koel and Sankh at VedVyas near Raurkela. Major portion of this river basin lies within the state of Orissa while a small patch lies in the state of Jharkhand. It forms a large delta, the site of the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary before entering into the Bay of Bengal at Dhamra. It’s main tributaries are:

North Karo River: It originates on the Ranchi Plateau, drains the Gumla, Ranchi and West Singhbhum districts and finally joins the South Koel near Serengda.

South Karo River: The river flows through industrial and iron ore mining areas and Saranda forest before joining the South Koel River in Goilkera block of West Singhbhum district.

Deo River: It rises on the western side of the Gamharia plateau flows through West Singhbhum district and joins the South Karo river

Sankh River: Originates near Jharkhand – Chhattisgarh border in Lupungpat village in GumaDistt, flows for a distance of 240 km before it meets the Koelriver in Orissa.

South Koel River: This river rises near Lohardaga on the other side of the watershed that also gives rise to Damodar River. It runs across Jharkhand and Orissa. It enters Orissa and joins with Sankhriver at VedVyas near Rourkela from where it is named as Brahmani.

Son River Basin

Sone river originates near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, flows E-NE through Jharkhand and finally joins Ganges just above Patna. It’s main tributaries are:

Amanat River: It originates on the Hazaribagh plateau flows through Chatra and Palamu districts and then joins the North Koel River five miles north of Daltonganj.

North Koel River: It rises on the Ranchi plateau, enters Palamau division, flows due west for about twenty miles, turns north and falls into the Son a few miles north-west of Haidarnagar.

Auranga River : It originates near Soheda in a pass, flows through Latehar and Palamu districts, flows in a northwesterly direction and eventually meets the Koel near Kechki 10 miles south of Daltonganj.

East Flowing Rivers:

Bakreshwar River: It is a tributary of the Mayurakshi River. It originates in SanthalParganas division of Jharkhand,flows in to the Mayurakshi River in Murshidabad district.

Dwarka River : It originates in SanthalParganas, flows through Birbhum district and then flows through Murshidabad district where it joins the Bhagirathi.

Ajay River : Originates on a small hill in Munger district of Bihar, forms the border between Bardhaman District of West Bengal & Jharkhand. It’s main tributaries are Pathro and Jayanti

Mayurakshi : Rises from TrikutPahar in Deoghar district, flows across Godda, Deoghar, Dumka and Sahebganj districts. There is Massanjore Dam across this river at 30 km NE of Dumka

Bansloi: River:Originates in Bans Hills in Sahebganjdistt, flows through Pakurdistt and eventually flows into Bhagirathi.

North Flowing Rivers:

Kiul River : The Kiul originates from the Tisri Hill Range in Giridih district. It first flows through Jamui and Lakhisarai districts. It falls into the Ganges near Surajgarha.

Lilajan River : The Lilajan originates north of Simaria in Chatra district on the Hazaribagh plateau, south of Gaya It unites with the Mohana River to form Falgu River.

Punpun River: It originates in Palamu district at an elevation of 300 metres, flows in a north-east direction through Chatra, Aurangabad, Gaya and Patna districts and joins the Ganges at Fatuha.

South East Flowing Rivers:

Baitarani River: The Baitarani originates from the Guptaganga hills in Gonasika of Keonjhar district in Orissa. The beginning portion of Baitarani acts as the boundary between Orissa and Jharkhand. A major portion of the river basin lies within the state of Orissa while a small patch of the upper reach lies in Jharkhand state.

Biodiversity in Jharkhand

Jharkhand in terms of mining and industrial development is very important for entire country. It is also one of the biodiversity hubs of India because of undulated plateau status. Several different tables of agro-climatic zones influence the existence of different biodiversity materials. The general useful biodiversity materials we may categorize in to following major sections as per Jharkhand state.

Food crops

Medicinal plants (medicinal values of plants known to people and popularly used )

Plants for Housing materials and other Instruments

Forest species

Domestic animals

Forest animals

Micro-organisms

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Biodiversity materials remained as the basic material of human development. From time immemorial human survival and for the sustenance of its socio-cultural and economic activities very often manipulated biodiversity materials available around.

Sectors like health, education, infrastructure, food and livelihood are the basic and major areas where biodiversity played the most dynamic role in the process of growth of human race. Across the ages our habit of food intake changed. It is the stock of biodiversity only provided us possible food crop which could survive the natural calamities and met our desire and satisfied cultural and health needs. Jharkhand population uses rice, ragi, chana and oil seeds for the food. In rice it has several landraces which are found to be suitable for different land type. Those are selected under traditional knowledge and traditions by rural women and farmers. Thus they increased the varietal stock of rice diversity in this undulated plateau of India.

It is said more than 300 landraces of rice are still under cultivation. Recent study by a group of scientist from Indian Agriculture Research Institute and KPG, College Simbhaoli, Ghaziabad proved that there are 8 landraces of rice which have resistance to Bacterial Leaf Blight. This trait would be lost in time and space if this study would not be conducted. This trait can be transferred to other rice varieties popular in the state so that there can be a protection to crop and yield enhancement will be a reality. Therefore conservation of all the living organisms are must for future development.

It is observed 95 plants are studied in Hazaribag , for their contribution in addressing various medicinal requirements. We can imagine how much would have been there in other regions of this state. A speculation can be made that a minimum stock of 300 plants with traditional medicinal knowledge must be there in this state. It is logical here to state that without the help of the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants a huge population of forest and rural dwellers would be very much difficult for the state to address medical need for each and every thing through existing Govt led health institutions. This state has been the Asia’s larget Sal forest and Elephant Habitat for years. Large scale Sal Forest and Elelphant Habitats are itself describing huge mass of biodiversity stock in the region in terms of forest resources.

The Issue

 It is relevant to mention the  report of  Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi on ‘Effects of Mining on Environment in the state of Jharkhand India. The report says, ‘………… The state of Jharkhand is a part of biodiversity rich regions of India because of its diverse physiographic and climatic conditions. The forests for the most conform to the type –Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, Moist Deciduous Forest, Dry Peninsular Forest and DryMixed Deciduous Forest. The Forests of the state form catchments of the three mainrivers — Koel, Damodar and Subernekha. State is also rich in wildlife. The species found represent a wide range of taxa for both plants and animals. This can be attributed to terrain, variety of terrain and land forms (including water bodies).

Jharkhand forms part of the Chhotanagpur plateau province of the Deccan Peninsula and is very rich in natural resources. Nearly 50 % of the country’s minerals are located in the state — iron and coal being important among the main. About 30 % of its geographical area is covered with forests. Unfortunately the mineral map and the forests overlap for the major minerals. This is also a cause for concern in terms of biodiversity loss.State of Jharkhand supports over 35 no. of tiger population and 700 of elephant population.

The state has following matrix of large fauna :Tiger-34; Leopard-164,Elephant-772; Barking deer-3672; Cheetal-16384; Sambhar-3052; Chausingha-62;Common Langur-44920; Common Otter-98; Hare-2718; Hyena-613; Indian Bison-256;Indian Giant Squirrel-395; Jackal-559; Jungle Cat-11; Monkey-64685; Nilgai-1262;Pangolin-57; Porcupine-425; Sloth Bear-1808; Wild Boar-18550; Wild dog-537; Wolf-874; Dhanesh-56; Peafowl-5684; Jungle fowl-325. These figures give a good account of the faunal diversity of the state.’

All these animal biodiversity require water and food for their sustenance and survival. Their disappearance has been a major risk for mankind and civilisation as well. Continuous un-planned exploitation of minerals and industrial interventions caused several damages to the environment and biodiversity stock.  In addition to this problem the major problem of regular occurrences of flood and flash flood both have been causing several obstacles to development of this state causing economic issues for last 2 decades.

It is reiterated here that the geographical area of the state is 79 lakh ha. and cultivable area is 38 lakh ha. Out of this,80% of the area is drought prone. About 7% area is flood prone. The highly variable rainfall in Jharkhand ranging from 1000 to 1400 mm mainly occurs within four-month period between June to September with the number of rainy days varying between 60 and 80. The estimated average annual availability of water resources consists of 27.726 km3 of surface water and 5.251 km3 of subsurface. Of the 16 river basin systems, more than 50% of this average annual availability is found in the five major river basins (Subarnarekha, Damodar, Barakar, North Koel, Gumani& South Koel) of the State.

These areas are mostly populated areas which are also  under pressure of mining and industrial operations. Here is a growth of population (24% rise). It is observed 524 leases for mining various major minerals are allotted. 206 of total 524 mining lease have been granted for coal alone. In addition, 2,717 leases covering an area of 8,426 ha have been granted for extracting minor minerals in the state. It implies that here has been continuous depletion of forest cover. Thus exploitation of land and forest means that there has been continuous reduction of biodiversity in the region. Along with reduction of forest biodiversity there has been reduction of agro biodiversity too.

Urbanisation, infrastructural developments, industrial and mines operations together made impact on agriculture land. Of course the land utilized for industrial purpose here in this state is mostly not belonging to arable category. This is a wise decision of Govt of Jharkhand taken for last few years. Invasion of mono cropping of different crop materials to get higher yield has increased to a greater level which created massive imbalances in agro-biodiversity too. Introduction of several high yielding and cross breed varieties of domestic animals is also another concern of biodiversity loss. This happened to influence the livestock management to profit end drive.

Unfortunately that impacted negatively on the care of the indigenous livestock materials. So there is a natural disappearance of many indigenous livestock materials from market. It must be mentioned that those materials have good resistance to diseases and environmental stress. There should have been appropriate manipulation of livestock germplasm and good care of those for better yield. Loss of indigenous crop varieties like livestock now faces several stressful situations. Thus there has been several food insecurity and distressful incidents occurring with poor farmers too. Crop varieties appropriate for upland cropping or those require less water are no more available with farmers. That is a great distress for them. Such cases are available with great number without any solution adding to poverty and causing threat to progress of state.

Also Read: Corporate Responsibility in Conservation of Biodiversity

Effort of Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), Patratu

At Kinni village a team of young volunteers , mostly women football team were motivated on soil conservation, and rain water harvesting to save a football at the foot hill from soil erosion. It not only saved the soil from conservation but it brought a new dimension in conservation of biodiversity. A small contribution of 4 hour labour of around 30 young people and JSPL staff could save the small hillock from erosion of soil and it could save existing biodiversity material in that area. Those young women restricted the entry of public and grazing animals into it. That added a great value to it. Today the location has good forest species and good growth of shrubs and small wild animals in the area. There has been effort by JSPL to stop forest fire at nearby forest and hills through awareness and motivation to families.

Recommended  solutions

To solve the major looming issues of loss of biodiversity , increasing occurrence of flood, continuous drought 80% of total arable land resources affecting 75% of total population, looming water crisis due to industrial and mining activities, non-maintenance of river basis due to the large area coverage, there should be interventions at local level in small way in sporadic and distributed manner. Taking above data in to consideration following recommendations are made for the consideration of Govt of Jharkhand  and India .

1. It is very much evident from above data that there have been several MOUs for development of industrial units and mining operations in the state where they require large volumes of water.  State water board and state water policy both have been trying to address the drinking water issue and meeting the risk of drought in the state.  Only option appears to manage and harvest the water at ground table along with depleting biodiversity is watershed approach in and around the region. Precedence is there across the country and globe that watershed has been a boon in human development as well as restricting the loss of biodiversity. All the corporate are responsible to come up with development activities around the set ups they make.

2. As a statutory requirement of the corporate houses (mining, industry etc) and on a commitment to Ministry of Environment ad Forest , Govt of India they have to take care of ground water table, environment, biodiversity, soil conservation, livestock, add to forest resources and economic development of people. There should be a sincere internal policy of corporate houses ratified by right authority of Govt,  in the line of Ministry of Environment and Forest in regard to above concerns. There should be a committee of corporate bodies and experts who would be monitoring the compliance part committed by corporate bodies too.

3. Before establishing any industry and commencement of mining activities it is mandatory to go for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In addition to that there should be People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) so that related knowledge and material available in the locality could be managed to maintain under different scientific conservation approaches. Necessary conservation cum utilization cum future studies could be devised in relation and relevance to future development. There is a great scope to enumerate or keep the data of available flora and fauna under People’s Biodivesity Register. It is relevant to mention here that as the knowledge related to biodiversity material decreases so the material loses its importance and finally nobody cares its disappearance across the time and event of development. Therefore there should be careful scientific approach to retain the traditional knowledge through proper documentation under PBR and true value of the knowledge should be trialed in lab studies and possible development plan should also be made in that line.

4.   The hope associated with biodiversity material may be unrealized and invisible today but tomorrow its existence may ensure life, comfort and may become source of energy, happiness and longevity to mankind and ensure harmony in different changes in environment. We have been facing several problems due to pollution of air, soil, water and sound. With a hope of finding solution there can be  research for solutions to such problems by using local plants and animals those who are acclimatized to the condition and manage normal life without any health and survival problems.

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5.  There may be some materials existing which have the potentialities and scope of ensuring the monitoring of pollution permissible for the area. That will not only reduce the cost of pollution by industrial or mining operation but also warn the operator to take necessary precautionary measure. Under strategic CSR,  watershed is one of the tools that has several benefits. It takes care of environment, economy, care to biodiversity, governance of people , food and livelihood security, skill development, networking with Govt, women empowerment, agri-horti-fishery development and many infrastructure development programs.  Therefore CSR can be one of the widely talked approach to establish and manage biodiversity stock through in-situ and ex-situ conservation approaches.

6.  Jharkhand being a state populated with Govt and Private corporate houses along with a unstable political environment prone to several operative disturbances. That is a reason of low creativity and several losses to many corporate houses. Therefore corporate houses must take initiatives and become more sensitive in managing the biodiversity without compromising their intention to make profit. In this connection it is relevant to mention here that a committee of corporate bodies and experts drawn several institution of high repute should make necessary working connectivity with NBPGR, NBAGR, ICGR and other appropriate bodies to help in designing right prospective plan for the state so that an easy and better sustainable development plan for profit making and environmental balance could be established.

7.  Many of the industries or mines are found to be leaving their infrastructure and excavated places abandoned for more than 7 years after completion of their production activities or when they become sick. At this moment  approaches of Govt should be to either take over the projects or make necessary arrangements to dismantle the equipment and machineries and convert  the space into planned greenery or forest area. Necessary financial arrangements should be part of the project plan of corporate houses. Finance in regard to this aspect should be supported by Govt as a major commitment to its citizens. Central Govt (MOEF) has enough money in this regard which are collected from industries under several mandatory deposits.

About the author

Bibhu Prasad Mohanty a  versatile development professional with 22 yrs of experience as an activist, scientist, researcher, facilitator, evaluator, consultant and environmentalist who has strong acumen and ability in application of science and technology, Food and Livelihood security, ICT promotion, Conservation of biodiversity, Prevention of HIV/AIDS, gender equity , rural development, Human rights , gender equity. He has spent his prime youth under Prof. M.S. Swaminathan as a Sr. Scientist and headed M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Odisha for a long time. He has been involved with several national and  international awards like Equator Initiative Award , several awards related to environment and nature as a jury or technical expert.  His deep involvement in development sector brought several national and international recognitions. He was conferred with a prestigious Karmaveer Award-2010 from ICONGO for  his contribution in Environment sector. Now he is heading the Department of Corporate Social Responsibility at Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. Patratu, Jharkhand. He has contributed several papers in India and abroad on food and livelihood security, conservation of biodiversity, biotechnology, Conflict management and Corporate Social Responsibility. He has been constantly writing on conflict and communication in several popular magazines and e-magazines.