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Law in the conservation of urban greensCase study of Delhi, India and Cologne, Germany

Challenges And Opportunities

Dr. Shamita KumarBharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, INDIA

Biodiversity Law Seminar

Legal Syste

ms

What role does the law play?

Loss of biodiversity

Habitat destructio

n

Loss of corridors

Urban expansion

Poaching/

Invasive Species

Lack of incentives

GMOs

Biodiversity conservation

Corridors

Urban Green

Conservation

Protected Areas

India’s biodiveristy: An introduction

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Source: Reitsma, F. (2012) Cities and Biodiversity Outlook - Action and Policy.

Urbanization in India

Urbanization in India

• Traditional focus on rural development has now shifted to urban development

• 2005 JNNURM Program: 63 new cities

• 2014 : 100 smart cities, 500 AMRUT cities

• Industrial corridors, SEZs, etc.

In the last two decades we have seen ..……

• Flooding of Mumbai, Chennai, Srinagar, Uttarakhand

• Water shortages in Bangalore, Pune

• Near disappearance of the common sparrow

• Loss of bees

• Urban heat island effect

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

• Renewed interest in wetlands….

• Protection of ‘hotspecks’….sacred trees, roosting sites….

• Newly emerging…… Terrace gardens, vertical gardens…..

• Reduced dependence of fuelwood..

But we also have seen..….

And also the ..….• Delhi Biodiversity Parks

• Pune Biodiversity Parks (in the process)

• Bhopal Biodiversity Parks (proposed)

• Restoration of wetlands in Pune and Bangalore

• New forms of urban greens and blues….

........and thus urbanization is both a challenge and an opportunity

:

What do we have as urban greens??

Delhi: A historical perspective• The city has more than 18000 Parks, some of them

are from the Mughal and British periods.

• The city had nearly 450 wetlands besides River Yamuna supporting aquatic biodiversity

:

Delhi: The second green capital in the world!

What have been the drivers?

Air

pollution

in Delhi

2010

Common

wealth

games

PublicInterest Litigation

Green Bench of the SC

National Green Tribunal

Reinterpretation of Art 21

Development of the environmental jurisprudence in India

Engaged Civil Society Aware Media

Notification of the Delhi Ridge

YamunaBiodiversity Park

AravalliBiodiversity Park

Source: Own draft

1982

Asiad

Games

Wetlands in 2004 nearly fully developed

Development of wetlands-initial stages in

2003

Site selection for development of

wetlands in 2002

Yamuna Biodiversity Park: Sequential development

Photographs: V.G. Gogate

Pune’s Biodiveristy Parks

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Proposed biodiversity parks in Pune

Source: BVIEER, Pune

Pashan in the 1970s

Pashan Wetland Biodiversity Park

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Clearing the Ipomea belt in 2007 at the periphery

Ecorestoration of the Pashan Lake

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Development of the wetland at Pashan

Photographs: Erach Bharucha

May 26, 2005Apr 23, 2009Jan 18, 2013

Ducks and terns on the island (2013)Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Babool trees at periphery- ideal for nesting of birds (2013)Photographs: Erach Bharucha

Historical City Centre inside the inner Green

Belt

Inner and Outer Green Belts of Cologne, Germany

Source: Stefan Gronnerud

Now it must be decided whether Cologne shall be a desert of stones or a city where the inhabitants live a human friendly life. (…) It must be prevented that we will have an ocean of houses, without light, without green, without a connectivity to nature (…) the utilization of the last free space, which is surrounding Cologne (…), to forest and meadows.

It was a Now or Never Decision!!!

by Konrad Adenauer

Sustainable urban development – 75 years ago..

Source: Stefan Gronnerud

The Outer Green Belt

Different forms of green forming the outer green belt

Source: Stefan Gronnerud

The Inner Green Belt A Park Area for Recreation

The Inner Green Belt

The Outer Green BeltParks, Forests, Agriculture and other Forms of Urban Green

Impressions from the outer green belt

The Third Green Belt

Source: Stefan Gronnerud

Greater London..A National Park City

How do people perceive biodiversity?

Photographs: BVIEER Photo Stock

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Citizens perceptions of the Biodiversity Park

How do we create these?

Amenity green spaces like

housing colony gardens

Public gardens like P. L.

Deshpande garden

Creating a typology of green spaces in Pune

Tree avenues in

Koregaon Park

Temple gardens like

Saras Baug

Cartography: Swaroop Patankar, BVIEER,

April 2016

Cartography: Swaroop Patankar, BVIEER,

April 2016

Cartography: SwSwaroop Patankar,

BVIEER, April 2016

41

Indian Express, October 30, 2016

What are the challenges?

Ecosystem services

Human well being

Ethical/Religious responsibilities

Buffers for environment change

Biodiversityconservation

Steppingstones/corridor

Data

Attitudes

Norms/Standards

Planning /Implementation mismatch

Green India Mission

Guidelines from the Ministry of Urban Development

Guidelines from the Ministry of Environment and Forests

POLICY

Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Biological Diversity Act

State Specific Tree Acts, Town Planning Act

LEGAL

Development PlansPLANNING

Market based incentives

Projects/Events

Voluntary Practices

SMART

CITIES

Which laws in your country support urban green conservation?

………Thank You

shamita@bvieer.edu.in