The dark years of the green revolution
Managing to feed its burgeoning population while freeing itself from two centuries of British colonialism in 1947 was undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges facing India. Its strategy: to organize an intensive agriculture, sprayed with pesticides, introduced only one year after independence. So much so that three quarters of the drinking water wells in Rajasthan are now contaminated at levels exceeding WHO recommendations. This period, which reached its peak in the 1960s, has been called the "Green Revolution". In Rajasthan, where there are arid areas, it did even more damage than elsewhere since it pumped out water that was already scarce. In addition to this, Rajasthan is facing a major desertification phenomenon. It is estimated that 60% of its soils are cracking and being destroyed.
The "Green Revolution" has also had a considerable social impact. Between landslides due to an unsuitable agriculture, important pollution and its batch of intoxications, scarcity of water and decrease of cultivation surfaces: the situation of the farmers is more and more precarious. Rajasthan has not escaped the wave of farmer suicides that has affected India since the 1990s, and that the government has not been able to control.
These last years have seen the emergence of an organic agriculture, still a minority, but terribly determined. The Green World Foundation, in Chomu, on the outskirts of Jaipur, combines ecotourism and agriculture. In this organic farm, one can sleep in a mud house inspired by the traditional houses of Rajasthan. Much more than a vacation spot, the farm has already welcomed 8,000 farmers to whom it has taught the precepts of organic farming. Is another green revolution in the making?The first environmentalist people
Since the 15th century, a community of ecologists has populated Rajasthan. It is the Bishnoi, a group composed today of 700 000 people, who follow the precepts erected by their spiritual master, Jambeshwar Bhagavan.
Respect for life, in all its forms, is what guides the community. One of the foundations of the current is not to kill any animal, and not to cut down any green tree. The Bishnoi are therefore vegetarians, like many other Indians. Another measure is to share 10% of the crops with the wild life.
The community is marked by the massacre of 1730, when the followers protected with their lives trees that the maharaja had sent his soldiers to cut down. A total of 363 people perished. The ruler, impressed by the Bishnoi's dedication to nature, ordered the protection of their territory. Even today, they are ready to sacrifice their lives to save a living being, as in 2000, when one of them interposed himself between a gazelle and poachers, to end up buried next to his protégée.The thirsty Rajasthan
Drought events are becoming more frequent, and more intense. In 2019, the state experienced a national record heat high of 50.8°C in Churu. This semi-desert climate region receives 90% of its rainfall in a few days, and has to design with a few drops the rest of the year. Traditionally, the inhabitants have designed basins to store this water for the rest of the year, a technique called water harvesting. But the ancestral means are no longer sufficient, while the climate is increasingly uncertain. The lack of infrastructure, water pollution, and overexploitation of groundwater, mainly by agriculture, which pumps 80% of the water, are leading the entire country to thirst. The drought of 2019 was followed by the exceptionally early drought of 2022. It pushed India to stop wheat exports, to ensure the food security of its population, threatening that of the world. These crises are expected to become increasingly frequent, as an estimated 40% of India's population will not have sufficient access to water by 2050. An Indian government report predicts that 21 major Indian cities, including New Delhi, will have exhausted their resources by 2030.
Waste higher than the Taj Mahal
Everywhere, waste accumulates until it forms mountains. The Ghazipur dump in New Delhi is over 75 meters high, higher than the Taj Mahal. A paradise for rats, it has become a hell for local residents, who are exposed to numerous diseases, in addition to the odors and toxic fumes that emanate from the pockets of gas formed.
Waste is the third largest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, with cars leading the way. This makes Delhi the most polluted region in the world, according to the WHO. In addition to contaminating the air, these numerous waste dumps, which plague the country, dirty the water tables, but also the rivers, such as the Yamuna, a sacred river that crosses New Delhi, and provides water to 57 million people.
A fight, still fragile, in front of the extent of the problem, is however organized. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a "Mission Clean India" campaign in 2014, although it has been strongly criticized for its budget, which is considered insufficient, and for some of its inadequate infrastructure. On the agenda: street cleaning, solid waste management and the implementation of recycling. Thus, 80,000 neighborhoods now have access to recycling. Since July 2022, several single-use plastics have also been banned, such as cups, straws and plastic cigarette wrappers.When the air becomes unbreathable
In 2019, of the 21 most polluted cities in the world, 19 were in India. Indian industry alone is responsible for more than half of this pollution. Vehicles, meanwhile, account for more than a quarter of emissions. The last quarter is due to various factors, such as the incessant practice of agricultural burning, or urban fires, such as the famous Ghazipur landfill, which went up in flames in 2020, thickening a little more the heavy cloud of pollution that weighs on New Delhi. The Indian capital, with the most polluted air in the world in 2020, according to the Swiss organization IQAir, has even temporarily closed all its schools in 2021, in the face of pollution. This measure was accompanied by a ban on heavy trucks entering the capital, the interruption of construction sites and thermal power plants, as well as a call for confinement, while anti-pollution cannons were blasting to limit the damage.
Attempting to take control of the problem, India launched the National Clean Air Programme in 2019, with plans to reduce certain pollutant emissions by 20-30% by 2024. Other local measures have been implemented, such as alternate traffic, in Delhi, or stricter vehicle pollution standards. The increasing use of renewable energy should also help to curb the problem. They already account for a quarter of India's energy mix, making the country one of the world's leaders, with solar, hydro, wind and geothermal energy in particular. This share is set to increase, as the Indian government announced in 2015 an ambitious program to develop renewable energy, especially solar. Rajasthan, with its 300 to 330 days of sunshine per year, is a good student in this regard.The country of a hundred national parks
India has over a hundred national parks, five of which are in Rajasthan. The oldest of them is the Desert National Park, created in 1980. It covers more than 3,000 km2 of the Thar Desert. In this fragile ecosystem, many species of birds find refuge, including the Black-headed Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps
), a bird endemic to India that is on the 2012 list of the 100 most endangered species in the world.Ranthambore National Park covers an area of 400 km2 of deciduous forest. In what was once the hunting ground of the maharajas of Jaipur, biodiversity now flourishes, so much so that the park is renowned for being one of the best places to see wildlife in India. Bengal tigers are no longer hunted here, but instead are being managed under " Project Tiger
," which has increased the cat population from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990. Tigers are also protected in Sariska National Park, which was also once a hunting reserve. It is even the first reserve in the world where the reintroduction of tigers has been successful! In Keoladeo Ghana National Park, birds are king, so much so that it is considered one of the most important birding sites in the world. There are 360 species, including the rare and highly endangered Siberian crane.
