refractory minerals in india

                                  REFRACTORY MINERALS IN INDIA :

DEFINE 

USES

TYPES 

RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION

MAPPING 

   MATERIAL THAT IS RESISTANT TO HEAT, PRESSURE & CHEMICAL REACTIONS. SUCH MATERIAL IS USED IN BLAST FURNANCE, KILN INDUSTRIES, SMELTING, GLASS MANUFACTURING, FLAME DEFLECTORS FOR ROCKET LAUNCHES, INSULATORS IN ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES,ETC .TODAY MORE THAN 70% OF REFRACTORY MINERALS IS USED IN METAL INDUSTRY ESPECIALLY IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY.


REFRACTORY MINERALS MAINLY COMPOSED OF OXIDES OF SILICON. MAGNESIUM, ALUMINIUM, CALCIUM AND ZIRCONIUM . THEY ARE MAINLY INORGANIC,POROUS AND NONMETALLIC MINERALS WHICH REMAIN UNAFFECTED UNDER HIGH TEMPERATURE. IN METALLURGY USED FOR KILN AND LINING FURNANCE, & VESSELS HOLDING AND TRANSPORTING HOT MEDIA LIKE SLAG AND METAL.

 MINERALS WITHSTAND MORE THAN 1500 DEGREE CELCIUS TEMPERATURE AND CAN BE MOULDED INTO BRICKS OR OTHER FORMS, RESIST CRACKING UNDER TEMPERATURE CHANGES AND NON-REACTIVE WITH REFRACTORY MATERIALS. THESE MINERALS SHOULD HAVE HIGH MELTING POINT AND RESIST THE HEAT.

  REFRACTORY MINERALS INCLUDES MORE THAN10 SUCH MATERIAL WHICH IS CRUCIBLES AND USED AS LINING FOR FURNANCE, KILN(OVEN), REACTOR(NUCLEAR) AND INCINERTORS(WASTE TO ENERGY) ARE :

1) FIRECLAY
2) BAUXITE
3) GRAPHITE
4) CHROMITE
5) DOLOMITE
6) MAGNESITE
7) SILLIMINITE
8) MICA
9) KYOLIN(CHINA CLAY)
10) PHYROHYLLITE
11) QURTZ
12) ZIRCON

IN INDIA REFRACTORY MINERALS GREATLY INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC INDUSTRIES SUCH AS STEEL, GLASS,CEMENT,ETC AND ALSO WE ARE LEADER IN EXPORT OF RAWMATERIAL TO THE WORLD AND MORE THAN 3000 CRORE FROM THIS SECTOR. IT INDICATES THE PACE AND GROWTH OF INDUSTRIES AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION .THIS INDUSTRY IS GROWING AT THE RATE OF 10% PER YEAR.

CHINA IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC REFRACTORY MINERALS BUT SINCE 2016 THEY CHANGED THEIR POLICY SITING ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS LEADING TO FALLOUT AND REDUCED PRODUCTION ADVERSELY AFFECTING INDIA'S STEEL PRODUCTION . INDIA DEPENDS ON 30% IMPORT OF REFRACTORY MINERALS FROM CHINA AS WE KNOW REFRACTORY MINERAL CONTRIBUTE 3% OF TOTAL STEEL MANUFACTURING COST.

USE OF REFRACTORY MINERALS IS INDICATIVE OF PERFORMANCE OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES , SMELTING IN ALUMINIUM,COPPER ,ETC, STEEL INDUSTRY IN INDIA DEPENDS ON REFRACTORY MINERALS.WE ARE SELF-SUFFICENT IN SOME OF THE REFRACTORY MINERALS SUCH AS DOLOMITE BUT SOME WE IMPORT MAINLY FROM CHINA

MAGNESITE : IT IS BASIC MAGNESIUM ROCK USED FOR BRICK MANUFACTURING FOR STEEL ,FIRE PROOFING FLOORING, TILES. SPECIAL CEMENT. INDIA'S STATE WISE PPRODUCTION IS :1)TAMIL NADU   2) UTTARAKHAND   3) KARNATAKA   4) RAJASTHAN

IMPORTANT MAGNESITE MINES IN INDIA ARE : 1) SALEM --CHALK HILLS --, OTHERS IN T.N. ARE COIMBATORE,NILIGRIS,PERIYAR,TIRNEVELI  2) ALMORA--UK.3) HASSAN-KARNATAKA  4) PALI-RAJASTHAN  5) CHAMBA--H.P.

BUT INDIA IMPORT MAGNESITE FROM CHINA, PAKISTAN, TURKEY AND IRAN IN DECREASING ORDER.
INDIA'S MAGNESITE IS CHARACTERISED BY LOW LIME AND HIGH SILICA IN TN; BUT REVERSE IN UTTARAKHAND.

FIRE CLAY :--
 
           India possesses substantial reserves of fireclay. The best deposits occur in association with the coal seams in the Lower Gondwana Coalfields of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Neyveli lignite fields in Tamil Nadu. Notable occurrences of fireclay, not associated with coal measures, are reported in Gujarat, Jabalpur region of Madhya Pradesh and Belpahar-Sundergarh areas of Odisha. The reserves of fireclay are substantial but reserves of high-grade (non-plastic) fireclay containing more than 37% alumina are limited.

RESERVES IN DECREASING ORDER IN INDIA : 1) ODISHA (24%); 2) MP (18%)  3) T.N. (16%);  4) JHARKHAND (9%) 5) GUJARAT & RAJASTHAN (8% each);

Fireclays are used in the manufacture of cement, bricks, blocks, retorts, crucibles, mortars, masses, pottery, floor tiles, etc. Low-grade material is used for manufacturing heavy sanitaryware, such as, pipes and bath tubs. Firebricks are used where heat generation is involved. Firebricks are used extensively in furnaces, kilns and ovens. Firebricks are required chiefly by metallurgical industries. The fireclays are graded into: i) low duty ii) intermediate duty iii) high duty and iv) super duty, depending upon their capacity to withstand high temperature before melting.

MAJOR PRODUCER STATE OF FIRECLAY ARE  :-- RAJASTHAN, >> TAMILNADU, >> JHARKHAND >> WEST BENGAL >>MP >> GUJARAT >> A.P>> KARNATAKA >> MAH & CHATTISHGARH.

BAUXITE :--
 INDIA IS 5TH LARGEST PRODUCER AND 10TH RANK IN TERMS OF RESERVES OF BAUXITE.
ODISHA IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF BAUXITE USED AS A PRINCIPLE ORE FOR ALUMINIUM.

 MAJOR PRODUCER STATES ARE : RANKWISE ---
 1) ODISHA--51.3%   2) GUJARAT--14%    3) CHHATTISGARH--11.4%    4) MAHARAHTRA--9.1%;
MAJOR RESERVES STATEWISE ARE :-- 1) ODISHA >> AP>>GUJARAT>>JHARKHAND

WORLD LARGEST PRODUCER ARE : AUSTRALIA
WORLD LARGEST RESERVE AND EXPORTER : GUINEA
WORLD LARGEST IMPORTER : CHINA

IMPORTANT BAUXITE MINES IN INDIA :
1) PANCHPATMALI  MINES --KORAPUT ,ODISHA
2) BAPHLIMALI MINES ---RAYAGADA ,ODISHA
3) ASOTA MEWASA & GHANGURA MINES--DWARKA,GUJARAT
4) BODAI -DALDALI MINES --KABIRDHAM, CHHATTISGARH
5) SARJUGA --CHHATTISGARH
6) GUMLA,LATEHAR & LOHARDAGA--JHARKHAND
7) KOLAPUR AND RATNAGIRI--MAHARASHTRA

DOLOMITE :-->
 
IT IS FAIRLY ABUNDANT IN INDIA CONSIST OF 40-45% OF MgCo3, Dolomite is consumed by iron & steel, ferroalloys, fertilizer, glass, alloy steel and other industries.   Major share of about 88% resources is found distributed in eight States, namely, Madhya Pradesh (27%), Andhra Pradesh (15%), Chhattisgarh (11%), Odisha (10%), Karnataka & Rajasthan (7% each), Gujarat (6%) and Ma harashtra (5%). The remaining 12% resources are distributed in Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal .

major producer of dolomite are :-- chhattisgarh(36%) >> odisha >> andhra pradesh >> gujarat >> telangana >> maharashtra >> rajasthan

KYANITE :-
   

Used in glass and ceramics industries , electrical, spark plugs of vehicles
India has the largest deposits in the world
It is metamorphic aluminium rock
Statewise reserves: AP, Karnataka,Jharkhand,Kerala,Maharashtra, Rajasthan,tamilnadu
Statewise production : Jharkhand (90%+), Maharashtra, Odisha,Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh
Important mines :- 1) Lapsa Buru to kharsawan in saraikela.-130km stretch largest in world in Jharkhand 2) other in Jharkhand are Ghagidih, bakra, padampur 3) bhandara and Nagpur in Maharashtra

Sillimanite 

Uses is same as kyanite also as rare earth mineral along with refractory mineral
Major reserves : Tamil Nadu, Odisha, UP, AP, Kerala, Assam
Major producers are : 1) Odisha -Ganjam district, 2) Kerala - beach sand of Kottayam,palakkad, ernakulumn, Kozhikode. 3) Maharashtra - Bhandara,  4) Rajasthan - Udaipur,  5) Karnataka- Hasan, Mysore,  6) Meghalaya - Khasi hills,  7) Assam - Karbi Anglong.  8) M.P.- sidhi.

Steatite mineral or soapstone or talk

It is hydrous magnesium silicate, it is soft and  soapy in nature.

Used in variety of applications due to its extreme softness & smoothness,lustre,lubricating, low moisture content, ability to absorb oil and grease, chemically inert, high fusion point, low electrical and heat conductivity, high specific heat,etc

Talc, soapstone and steatite has been declared as a minor mineral by GOI in 2015.
Major reserves: Rajasthan (57%), Uttarakhand (25%) and remaining 28% to others like AP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, MP, Odisha, Sikkim, TN, and Telangana.

Consumption sectors : paper & textiles, Insectcides, cosmetics, ceremics and paints,

Major producers are : Rajasthan followed by AP, Gujarat......
Mines at jaipur, Bhilwara,sawai Madhopur, Udaipur

Interstate river water disputes in India

Interstate river water disputes in India

Interstate River water sharing disputes is accelerating in India. River water disputes within the country is more common in peninsula component than Himalayan.

As rivers crossing more than one states to become interstate rivers. The water is a state subject under the 7th schedule (list 2), entry 17 of Indian Constitution as water is being used by state for agriculture through canal irrigation development ,hydro power generation and water storage for drinking and industrial useage. Since river  water has a development role every state want to capitalise more and more on it.

Even though, demand for water is increasing due to:

--- to extend the irrigation area, to increase the agricultural production and productivity ,to make agriculture cycle free from monsoon, commercialisation of agriculture, useage of more fertiliser and HYV seeds.

--- to increase farm income, ensuring regional development by removing poverty and backwardness, rural development

---- to address the issues of drought affected areas, vulnerabilities to their people, to improve ecology and environment,

--- increasing population is increasing the rate of urbanisation and commercialisation which further increasing domestic and industrial demand for water.

But, water supplies is shrinking due to:

--- overconsumption, wastage, contamination, pollution of river water,

---- less water storage structure such as dams, reservoirs and barrages leading to more than 80% rain water remain unused and goes to sea without use.

---- faulty agricultural practices leads to overexploitation of water resources

--- climate change and global warming is changing weather patterns, rainfall pattern, extreme weather events , floods and droughts, thus decreasing water availability.

--- uneven distribution of water resources both temporal and spatial.

--- lack of infrastructure to divert water to canals, to deficit basins,etc

--- mismanagement of water resources

--- incompletion of projects ,etc.,

Water crisis is deepening due to widening gap between demand and supply of water resources in all the states of India. Under this scenario other factors are complicating the water sharing agreement among the states are :

-- political  ( vote bank politics, appealing )

-- economic

--- environmental

--- social

--- technical

many disputes and disagreement  is being arising or already arised due to deeping of water crisis such as

The details of the Tribunals set up so far by the Government to settle water disputes among the States under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 are as under:-

Present Status

1. Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh & Odisha April, 1969

Award given on July, 1980

2. Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -I

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,

April, 1969 Award given on May, 1976

3.Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra October, 1969 Award given on December, 1979

4.Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan April, 1986 Report and decision under section 5(2) given in April, 1987. A Presidential Reference in the matter is before Supreme Court and as such the matter is sub-judice.

5. Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal

Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puduchery June, 1990 Report and decision given on 5.2.2007 which was published vide Notification dated 19.2.2013. Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by party States in Hon’ble Supreme Court, as such the matter is sub-judice.

6.Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -II

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra

April, 2004 Report and decision given on 30.12. 2010. Further report given by the Tribunal on 29.11.2013.  Term of the Tribunal has been extended for two year w.e.f. 1stAugust, 2014 to address the terms of reference as contained in section 89 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. However, as per Supreme Court Order dated 16.9.2011, till further order, decision taken by the Tribunal on references filed by States and Central Government shall not be published in the official Gazette. As such, matter is sub-judice.

7. Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal

Andhra Pradesh & Odisha February, 2010. Besides, Hon’bleVansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal in its Order dated 17.12.2013 has directed to constitute a 3-member Protem Supervisory Flow Management and Regulation Committee on River Vansadhara to implement its Order.The Vamsadhara tribunal pronounced its final verdict in September 2017 and permitted AP state to construct the side weir at Katragedda and Neradi barrage.

8. Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra November, 2010 Report and Decision not given by the Tribunal.

9. Mahanadi water dispute tribunal  established in March 2018, on the direction of Supreme Court to adjudicate water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh states.

                

  other 3 interstate river disputes is pending in centre and still it's tribunal not constituted . They are follows :--

1. Polavaram (Indira sagar) dam  in Andhra Pradesh is being disputed with Odisha , since it is submerging tribal areas .

2. Bhabali barrage on Godavari river is being constructed by Maharashtra is objected by Andhra Pradesh since, it is submerging the  Pochampad Project (Sriramsagar Project) in violation of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) award dated 7.07.1980.

3. Mulla Periyar Dam in Tamil Nadu. The dispute here is basically about safety of an over 120 year-old dam, which if it beaches, will affect Kerala, when all the benefits are going to Tamil Nadu. Kerala, is demanding the dismantling of the dam

River(s)	States
Krishna	Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
Godavari	Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha
Narmada	Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Cauvery	Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Pondicherry
Krishna	Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra
Mandovi/Mahadayi/	Goa, Karnataka and Mahasrashtra
Ravi Beas mahanadi Vansadhara	Punjab,Haryana ,Rajasthan  and himachal pradesh Odisha and Chattishgarh Andhra Pradesh & Odisha

Lok Sabha has passed the Inter-State River Water disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

The Bill seeks to amend the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 with a view to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and make the present institutional architecture robust.

Features of the bill:

Disputes Resolution Committee: The Bill requires the central government to set up a Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC), for resolving any inter-state water dispute amicably. The DRC will get a period of one year, extendable by six months, to submit its report to the central government.

Members of DRC: Members of the DRC will be from relevant fields, as deemed fit by the central government.

Tribunal: The Bill proposes to set up an Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal, for adjudication of water disputes, if a dispute is not resolved through the DRC.  This tribunal can have multiple benches. All existing tribunals will be dissolved and the water disputes pending adjudication before such existing tribunals will be transferred to this newly formed tribunal.

Composition of the Tribunal: The tribunal shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and not more than six nominated members (judges of the Supreme Court or of a High Court), nominated by the Chief Justice of India. 

Drawbacks of interstate Water Dispute Act, 1956:

The Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956 which provides the legal framework to address such disputes suffers from many drawbacks as it does not fix any time limit for resolving river water disputes.

Delays are on account of no time limit for adjudication by a Tribunal, no upper age limit for the Chairman or the Members, work getting stalled due to occurrence of any vacancy and no time limit for publishing the report of the Tribunal.

The River Boards Act 1956, which is supposed to facilitate inter-state collaboration over water resource development, remained a ‘dead letter’ since its enactment.

Surface water is controlled by Central Water Commission (CWC) and ground water by Central Ground Water Board of India (CGWB). Both bodies work independently and there is no common forum for common discussion with state governments on water management.

Way forward:

The Centre’s proposal to set up a single, permanent tribunal to adjudicate on inter-state river water disputes could be a major step towards streamlining the dispute redressal mechanism.

However, this alone will not be able to address the different kinds of problems—legal, administrative, constitutional and political—that plague the overall framework.

To strengthen the cooperative federalism, disputes must be resolved by dialogue and talks and the political opportunism must be avoided.

A robust and transparent institutional framework with cooperative approach is need of the hour.

Provisions related to interstate river water disputes:

Entry 17 of State List deals with water i.e. water supply, irrigation, canal, drainage, embankments, water storage and water power.

Entry 56 of Union List empowers the Union Government for the regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public interest.

Article 262: In the case of disputes relating to waters, it provides

• Clause 1:Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter-State river or river valley.
• Clause 2:Parliament may, by law provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint as mentioned above

sea floor spreading

SEA FLOOR SPREADING

Researchers in ethopia witnessing the birth of new ocean from the underneath of African landmass .they identified 60km long stretch with width of 8m since 2005,i.e., this process of splitting african plate is increasing .within 10million years somalian ethopian region will be separated from main africa by new ocean .presently, many volcanic activity is undergoing beneath the East African Rift Valleys  .This process  of ocean formation is explained by seafloor spreading mechanism .
 


According to  plate tectonic theory, at the divergence centre ,plates moves away from each other and mantle convection cells pushes the molten magma towards the surface. in the process of rise of magma first, the plates becomes thinner , rocks and blocks  under tensional force splits/break forming the rift valleys/grabben. With the passing time, more magma rises further deepining the riftvalleys and thinning the plates resulting into volcanic basaltic lava reaching the surface .thus,cooling and solidifing the magma in the floor of riftvalleys start forming new basaltic oceanic crust. Even, at the divergence centre magma cools and solidifies forming long under water mountain chain called as mid-oceanic ridges .

In 1960, Harry Hess gave his theory  of sea floor spreading after his research in mid Atlantic ocean. According to him ,from midoceanic ridges new magma seperates the old rock pushing away from each others and replaced by new rocks, these new basatic rocks are denser and  lower  than other and later on these lower areas filled with water forming seas and oceans  .for example atantic ,indian  and  south eastern pacific ocean is spreading see the diagram below .

      Several types of evidence supported Hess’s theory of sea-floor spreading: eruptions of molten material, magnetic stripes in the rock of the ocean floor, and the ages of the rocks themselves

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON HIMALAYAN AND COASTAL STATES OF INDIA

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON HIMALAYAN AND COASTAL STATES OF INDIA 

BY EPATYA

Climate change is one of the major challenges of our time and adds considerable stress to our societies and to the environment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.

India will be affected by climate change in following ways:

 Extreme heat: Unusual and unprecedented spells of hot weather are expected to occur far more frequently and cover much larger areas. Under 4°C warming, the west coast and southern India are projected to shift to new, high-temperature climatic regimes with significant impacts on agriculture.

 Changing rainfall patterns: A 2°C rise in the world’s average temperatures will make India’s summer monsoon highly unpredictable. An abrupt change in the monsoon could precipitate a major crisis, triggering more frequent droughts as well as greater flooding in large parts of India. Dry years are expected to be drier and wet years wetter.

 Drought: Droughts are expected to be more frequent in some areas, especially in north-western India, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Crop yields are expected to fall significantly because of extreme heat by the 2040s.

 Glacier melt: At 2.5°C warming, melting glaciers and the loss of snow cover over the Himalayas are expected to threaten the stability and reliability of northern India’s primarily glacier-fed rivers, particularly the Indus and the Brahmaputra. The Ganges will be less dependent on melt water due to high annual rainfall downstream during the monsoon season.

 Sea level rise: Sea-level rise and storm surges would lead to saltwater intrusion in the coastal areas, impacting agriculture, degrading groundwater quality, contaminating drinking water, and possibly causing a rise in diarrhoea cases and cholera outbreaks, as the cholera bacterium survives longer in saline water.

 Agriculture: Seasonal water scarcity, rising temperatures, and intrusion of sea water would threaten crop yields, jeopardizing the country’s food security. Under 2°C warming by the 2050s, the country may need to import more than twice the amount of food-grain than would be required without climate change.

 Energy security: The increasing variability and long-term decreases in river flows can pose a major challenge to hydropower plants and increase the risk of physical damage from landslides, flash floods, glacial lake outbursts, and other climate-related natural disasters.

Impact of climate change on Himalayan states:

 Melting of Himalayan glaciers: due to climate change led global warming; melting of glaciers is continuously rising. There will be more flood events in short term.

 Glacier lake outburst flow: Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) refers to the glacier floods caused by the drainage of naturally dammed lakes in the glacier, on or at the margin of glaciers. It led to flood in Uttarakhand.

 Seasonal rivers in long term: Himalayan Rivers may become seasonal since they get water supply from these glaciers in winter seasons.

 Agriculture: agriculture will be affected due to lack of irrigation facilities due to less water available in the rivers in the long term.

Impact of climate change on coastal states:

 Threat of submergence: coastal cities will face the threat of submergence due to rise in sea level due to the global warming.

 Uneven rainfall pattern: since climate change has impact on south west monsoon, there will be uneven rainfall pattern. This will have further impact on agriculture in the region.

 Migration: due to threat of submergence, there will be more migration cases from coastal cities towards the interior locations.

 Salinization: seal level rise would result in saltwater intrusion in the coastal areas, which would adversely impact agriculture, degrade groundwater quality, contaminate drinking water.

Thus, there is need for adhering to INDCs targets set by the government in accordance with Paris agreement to tackle the climate change.

International Forest day

International forest day ,21st march 2018 , theme is 'forest and sustainable cities'
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Today, is International forest day proclaimed by UN-General Assembly on 21st march,2012 .This global celebration of forest provides a platform to raise  awareness of the importance of all types of forest and woodland and trees.To celebrate the protection of wildlife,humans and environment.

2018 Theme: Forests and Sustainable Cities

Key Messages: by UN

• Forests and trees store carbon, which helps mitigate the impacts of climate change in and around urban areas.
• Trees also improve the local climate, helping to save energy used for heating by 20-50 percent.
• Strategic placement of trees in urban areas can cool the air by up to 8 degrees Celsius, reducing air conditioning needs by 30 percent.
• Urban trees are excellent air filters, removing harmful pollutants in the air and fine particulates.
• Trees reduce noise pollution, as they shield homes from nearby roads and industrial areas.
• Local populations use the fruits, nuts, leaves and insects found in urban trees to produce food and medicines for use in the home, or as a source of income.
• Wood fuel sourced from urban trees and planted forests on the outskirts of cities provides renewable energy for cooking and heating, which reduces pressures on natural forests and our reliance on fossil fuels.
• Forests in and around urban areas help to filter and regulate water, contributing to high-quality freshwater supplies for hundreds of millions of people. Forests also protect watersheds and prevent flooding as they store water in their branches and soil.
• Well-managed forests and trees in and around cities provide habitats, food and protection for many plants and animals, helping to maintain and increase biodiversity.
• Forests in cities and surrounding areas generate tourism, create tens of thousands of jobs and encourage city beautification schemes, building dynamic, energetic and prosperous green economies.
• Urban green spaces, including forests, encourage active and healthy lifestyles, improve mental health, prevent disease, and provide a place for people to socialize.