A new study by the International Labour Organization (ILO), released in Geneva, reveals that forced labour generates a staggering $36 billion in illegal profits annually.
Key finding
The report, titled ‘Profits and poverty: The economics of forced labour’, also estimates that traffickers and criminals are generating close to $10,000 per victim, up from $8,269 (adjusted for inflation) a decade ago.
Total annual illegal profits from forced labour are highest in Europe and Central Asia ($84 billion), followed by Asia and the Pacific ($62 billion), the Americas ($52 billion), Africa ($20 billion), and the Arab States (US$18 billion).
The report also said forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for more than two-thirds (73%) of the total illegal profits, despite accounting for only 27% of the total number of victims in privately imposed labour.
After forced commercial sexual exploitation, the sector with the highest annual illegal profits from forced labour is industry, at US$35 billion, followed by services (US$20.8 billion), agriculture (US$5.0 billion), and domestic work (US$2.6 billion).
-These illegal profits are the wages that rightfully belong in the pockets of workers but instead remain in the hands of their exploiters, as a result of their coercive practices.
There were 27.6 million people engaged in forced labour on any given day in 2021, the report said, meaning 3.5 people for every 1,000 people in the world.
Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people in forced labour increased by 2.7 million. it said.
Recommandation
The report also stresses the urgent need for investment in enforcement measures to stem illegal profit flows and hold perpetrators accountable.
It has recommended strengthening legal frameworks.
Providing training for enforcement officials extending labour inspection into high-risk sectors.
Better coordination between labour and criminal law enforcement.
India to join U.S.-led carbon market project
Time to Read :🕑 11 Mins
Why in news?
India has decided to join at least one of the four cooperative work programmes launched last week under the ‘clean energy pillar’ of the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) – the one on facilitating and promoting carbon market activities.
About IPEF
The IPEF, an initiative led by US President Joe Biden, was launched in May 2022, bringing together 14 regional partners – Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.
Pillars of IPEF
An attempt by the US to counter China’s growing influence in the region, the IPEF aims to have a common set of rules and standards around four pillars:
Connectivity and digital trade
Resilient supply chains
Clean energy
Corruption-free fair trade.
Tariff cuts are not on the agenda at all, but India has still decided to exclude itself from the trade pillar, while joining the other three.
Carbon markets
In India, the Ministry of Power, which is working on deepening the country’s carbon markets, brought in amendments to the carbon credits trading scheme (CCTS) recently which puts it on track towards establishing independent standards for carbon trading and also allows non-obligated entities to generate carbon credits.
India, which is developing its own carbon markets, is keen on joining the IPEF work programme on carbon markets, led by the US and supported by Korea.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is the nodal authority working on it.
The idea is to see how carbon markets are developing in each of the economies (of partner countries) and whether there is a rationale for trying to standardise and integrate these carbon markets at some point in time.
Carbon taxes
With trading partners like the EU and the UK putting in place mechanisms to collect carbon taxes, India is focussed on developing its own carbon market fast and wants to learn from others’ experience.
On the co-operative work programme on clean electricity brought in by Japan and supported by many member countries, India is weighing its options.
The Ministry of Power is actively considering whether the clean electricity work programme serves the interest of our country.
Cooperative work programme on sustainable aviation fuel
Similarly, on the cooperative work programme on sustainable aviation fuel, put forward by Singapore, India is in internal discussions on its line of action.
This work programme is largely to see how we can ensure increasing use of sustainable aviation fuel in our civil aviation sector.
India is actively considering this programme.
Indian Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Civil Aviation are engaged in discussions on this.
India haven’t decided yet on joining it.
The fourth co-operative work programme
The fourth co-operative work programme on 'just transition’ launched by the Philippines, which is largely around workforce development, is still under consideration by many countries.
The IPEF is one of the fastest moving negotiations with members having already wrapped up pillar 2 negotiations on supply chains and finalised the text for two other pillars on clean energy and fair trade.
World Air Quality Report
Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins
Why in news?
According to the World Air Quality Report, Delhi held the dubious distinction of being the third most polluted city in India, with PM2.5 levels exceeding those of Begusarai and Guwahati.
More detail about news:
The report was prepared by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company.
It uses data from across the world from monitoring stations of government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organisations.
Key finding
In 2023, Delhi’s annual average PM 2.5 level was 92.7 µg/m3 — placing the Indian national capital at the top of a list of 114 capital cities in the world.
This was followed by Dhaka in Bangladesh, with a PM 2.5 level of 80.2 µg/m3.
Air quality guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that annual average PM 2.5 levels should not exceed 5 µg/m3.
But within the country, Begusarai in Bihar and Guwahati in Assam fared worse than Delhi in terms of annual average PM 2.5 levels.
While Begusarai recorded an average of 118.9 µg/m3 in 2023, Guwahati recorded 105.4 µg/m3.
Delhi’s air quality also worsened in 2023 compared to 2022, the report shows. In 2022, the average annual PM 2.5 concentration was 92.6 µg/m3, 10% lower than the figure recorded in 2023.
The national capital’s most polluted month in 2023 was November with a PM 2.5 level of 255.1 µg/m3, followed by December with an average of 210 µg/m3. The city’s cleanest month was August – with an average PM 2.5 concentration of 34.8 µg/m3.
Meanwhile, out of a total of 134 countries or regions that the report considered, India ranked third with an annual average PM 2.5 level of 54.4 µg/m3, after Bangladesh and Pakistan, both of which had levels over 70 µg/m3.
The report added: “Exposure to these particles (PM 2.5) has been directly linked to health problems including cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, and increased risk of death.”
2023 warmest year on record, 2014-23 warmest decade ever, confirms WMO
Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins
Why in news?
In its latest report, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) delivers a stark message: 2023 is officially the hottest year on record, and the past decade (2014-2023) is the warmest ever.
About Report
In its annual State of the Climate Report, the WMO has said that global mean surface temperature in 2023 was 1.45 degrees Celsius higher than the average of the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.
This is significantly higher than the 1.29 degrees Celsius increase from pre-industrial times that was recorded in 2016.
The decadal average of the global mean surface temperature between 2014 and 2023 was 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average, making it the warmest 10-year period on record.
The WMO report noted that the observed concentrations of three main greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — also touched new records in 2022, the last year for which consolidated global figures were available.
Carbon dioxide concentrations in 2022 had reached 417.9 parts per million, 150 per cent of the levels seen in the pre-industrial times,
Methane concentrations were 1,923 parts per billion, which was 264 per cent of pre-industrial levels.
Nitrous oxide concentrations in 2022 were observed at 335.8 parts per billion, which was 124 per cent of pre-industrial level, the report said.
With 70 per cent of Earth’s area covered by water, the rising greenhouse gases generate excess energy, which remains accumulated in the form of heat and is absorbed by oceans. In addition to this heat, oceans absorb carbon dioxide, which together with warming of the sea waters result in ocean acidification, rising sea level and more.
The ocean heat content in 2023 exceeded the 2022 value, thus reaching a 65-year high record, the WMO said.
According to the WMO, at least 32 per cent area of the total global oceans suffered from marine heatwaves everyday last year (23 per cent area during the 2016 El Nino episode).
On the contrary, just under 4 per cent of the oceanic area experienced a marine cold wave, underlining the extent of ocean warming in 2023.
High temperatures combined with warm oceans led to an unprecedented rate of melting of ice sheets and glaciers last year, resulting in a significant rise in the sea levels during 2023. “The rapid rise in sea level is likely due to El Nino,” the WMO report categorically stated.
The Lakshadweep Islands
Lakshadweep, ‘a hundred thousand islands’ in Sanskrit and Malayalam, is an archipelago of 36 islands located between 220 km and 440 km from Kochi. The islands, only 11 of which are inhabited, have a total area of only 32 sq km.
The Lakshadweep are part of a chain of coralline islands in the Indian Ocean that includes Maldives to the south, and the Chagos archipelago farther beyond, to the south of the equator. Given their location in the Indian Ocean, the Lakshadweep are of huge strategic importance to India.
Minicoy straddles vital Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs) — the world’s main maritime highways — including the Eight Degree Channel (between Minicoy and Maldives) and the Nine Degree Channel (between Minicoy and the main cluster of Lakshadweep islands). In consequence, the Lakshadweep Islands are also vulnerable to marine pollution.
What has caused the water crisis in Bengaluru, neighbouring areas
Time to Read :🕑 11 Mins
Why in news?
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah raised concerns about Bengaluru's water crisis, highlighting a daily shortage of 500 million litres.
About the issue of water shortage
However, the shortage of water is not restricted to Bengaluru, and neither is it only a drinking water problem.
The entire state of Karnataka, as also the adjoining areas of Telangana and Maharashtra, are facing water scarcity.
Much of this has to do with the lower-than-normal rainfall in this area in the last one year and the nature of underground aquifers in this region.
Again, it is not just Karnataka’s reservoirs that have below-normal water levels.
Other states in south India are facing the same problem, with Telangana being in a far worse situation.
But the demands in Karnataka are different, and its reservoirs are depleting faster than those of the neighbouring states.
The state is being forced to draw more from the reserves even before the start of the summer season.
Another direct consequence of low rainfall has been the relatively low level of water in reservoirs.
Latest data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) shows that Karnataka reservoirs are currently holding water at only 26 per cent of their full capacity, which is at least ten percentage points lower than what is expected at this time of the year.
Instead of the nearly 8.8 billion cubic meters of water that is expected in Karnataka’s reservoirs at this time of the year, only 6.5 billion cubic meters is currently available. And this is depleting steadily. A month earlier, the state’s reservoirs were holding 7.78 billion cubic meters of water, CWC data shows.
Reasons behind water shortages in Bengaluru
Prolonged droughts and concretisation: Prolonged droughts and extensive concretisation have worsened the water crisis in Bengaluru. Over the past five decades, the city has witnessed a drastic reduction in green cover, with paved surfaces now occupying a staggering 86 percent of the area.
Dependence on groundwater: Concretisation has not only hindered rainwater from replenishing groundwater tables but has also led to overreliance on groundwater. Approximately half of Bengaluru’s population depends on groundwater, which is being rapidly depleted.
Depletion of native rivers: Native rivers like Vrushabhavathi have been reduced to drainage channels, leaving Bengaluru reliant on distant sources like the Cauvery River, situated nearly 100 km away. This has also led to the depletion of water resources in neighbouring districts.
Unplanned urban growth: Decades of unplanned and unregulated urban growth have exacerbated the water crisis. The rapid erosion of green cover, overexploitation of natural resources, and encroachment of lakes have further strained water availability in the city.
Inequitable water distribution: Despite Bengaluru receiving an annual rainfall of around 900 mm, a significant portion of this water is diverted into drains due to inadequate infrastructure and management. Additionally, the per capita consumption of water is unevenly distributed, with some residents forced to survive on far less water compared to others.
Pollution and encroachment of water bodies: Large water bodies like Bellandur Lake have become heavily polluted due to industrial effluents and untreated sewage flowing into them. Encroachments on water bodies have further diminished natural percolation mechanisms and restricted groundwater recharge, compounding the city’s water woes.
Way forward
Dealing with the water shortage in Bengaluru, there are a lot of long-term structural issues, like unregulated construction, systematic destruction of lakes, hindrances to the natural underground flow of water, and climate change, that affect the availability of water in Bengaluru.
This one has to do largely with the seasonal fluctuation in rainfall and the state’s inability to create capacities to deal with these kinds of variabilities.
The main urban centre with a major international footprint — it was quite likely that the rural parts of the state were facing an even greater shortage. India still has not built capacities to deal with multiple-year droughts.
Addressing these challenges will require concerte efforts to conserve water, restore green cover, and adopt sustainable urban planning practices.
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