Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
• Socioeconomic benefits
• Products and revenue
• Empowerment of female farmers
• Food security
• Food sovereignty
• Climate justice and shrinking the wealth gap
DRAWBACKS, TRADE-OFFS, AND RISKS
Carbon farming is not a silver bullet. As we implement it, we must consider the
serious risk that it comes with an expiration date. Climate change itself is an
enemy of carbon farming. The increase in temperatures will result in soil and
biomass becoming net emitters of carbon. This will limit and perhaps reverse
hard sequestration work of farmers in those areas. This is not a strategy that can
wait until things have gotten really bad; the time for carbon farming is now! Rapid
implementation of carbon farming, in tandem with massive emissions reduction,
can prevent this alarming situation from occurring.
SOME TRADE-OFFS/DRAWBACKS INCLUDE:
Lower yields
Some carbon farming practices yield less human food per hectare than an equal
amount of industrial agriculture. This can happen because some of the growing
area is taken up with support species that fix nitrogen, stabilize slopes, or provide
mulch, but do not directly provide food.
Other greenhouse gas emissions
Although the sequestration potential of carbon farming is excellent, there are
other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide that get emitted.
Water Use
In arid regions, trees may not be appropriate, because their transpiration can
lower water tables and reduce stream flow, resulting in a negative impact on
Annexures
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