POLICY BRIEF (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

Adoption of Specific Tree Species to curb Air Pollution in New Delhi, India Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Date (Advocacy) Planting and Caring for Trees to curb Air Pollution in New Delhi, India India is one of the countries in the global south grappling with several environmental challenges that continue to disrupt people’s lives. Five issues are identified: air pollution, water pollution, food and water shortage, waste management, and biodiversity loss. The 2021 World Air Quality Report ranked the country as having the most polluted cities at 63%, with New Delhi topping the list as the capital with the worst air quality in the world (IQAir, 2021). This pollution emanates from a variety of sources, including automotive emissions, industrial wastes, and domestic activities. Fig. 1: The rising air pollution in Delhi. Source: World Bank Group (2021) Exposure to high air pollution is detrimental to people’s health. Researchers have associated persistent exposure to air having PM2.5 to several long-term health issues, such as heart and lung cancer. Fu et al. (2015) also note a direct relationship between exposure to PM2.5 and the risk of lung cancer and mortality. Delhi’s annual average concentration in 2021-2022 was 100 100 μg/m3, which was 20 times more than WHO’s recommendation of 5 μg/m3 (Guttikunda et al., 2023). Consequently, up to half of the children have experienced lung problems (New Delhi Air Quality Index, 2024). If this trend continues unabated, the future generation will be under threat as there is an increased risk of lung cancer, heart problems, and mortality rates. Policy Measures India’s government acknowledges the air pollution problem in its major cities and its impact on the population. Consequently, the government has initiated policy measures to help alleviate the problem. One of the directives to curb pollution was banning polluting trucks and other commercial vehicles from entering the city. Instead, the only vehicles allowed are those operating on compressed natural gas (CNG), electric cars, and those compliant with Bharat Stage VI emission guidelines (International Council on Clean Transportation, 2016). The government further directed that all vehicles carrying construction materials be fully covered and protected. In addition, all the construction materials and their products should be stored on the site rather than being dumped on public roads or pavements (Government of NCT of New Delhi, 2023). These initiatives aimed to reduce air pollution from the automotive and construction sectors. Another initiative entailed banning construction activities relevant to linear public projects in the city. This idea came from the understanding that construction dust is a significant contributor of particulate matter, and thus, limiting such activities would assist in reducing the PM levels in the environment. In the same spirit, the government directed that all medium and heavy goods vehicles not involved in providing essential services would not be allowed to pass through the city. Through the Delhi Pollution Control Committee Guidelines, the government also directed that roads leading to the construction sites be paved and blacktopped as they were also significant contributors to the high average dust particles in the atmosphere. The government has also often encouraged employees both in the public and private sectors to work from home. According to this directive, half of the employees in the civil service and the private sector should work remotely to reduce the trips into the city that result in massive traffic. These measures depict the seriousness of the problem and the government’s commitment to managing it. In addition to the above measures, the government has established a standard of assessment of fuels, which ensures that the fuel used is low sulfur. There are also measures to encourage people at the domestic level to embrace certain fuels and shun those that aggravate pollution. All these initiatives have played a crucial role in reducing air pollution in Delhi and other urban areas. Recommendations Afforestation has been one of the critical initiatives in Delhi that the government initiated to clean the environment because the trees act as carbon sinks. This plantation project occurs in various places, including the Yudhistir Bridge IT Park, Jheel Park, Smriti Van, Golden Jubilee Garden, CWG Village, Green Belt Yamuna, Art of Living area – Yamuna, and Sanjay Lake in the Delhi-NCR region. Trees in these settings play several roles. They increase the forest cover, serving as the habitat for indigenous wildlife species. Most importantly, they help to improve the air quality of New Delhi and other urban areas in the country by acting as carbon sinks. Studies indicate that each mature tree can absorb roughly 20kg of carbon dioxide annually. Therefore, planting trees helps to eliminate particulate matter from the environment, reducing the health hazards associated with air pollution. Trees remove PM from the air via a process known as dry deposition. As the air rich in PM passes through the canopy, the tree acts like a sieve, whereby the particles from the air are deposited on the leaf surfaces, decreasing the atmospheric concentration of PM. The rains eventually wash the deposited particles into the ground, and the cycle repeats consistently, leading to a decrease in the amount of PM in the air. However, several factors determine the amount of dry deposition. One of them is the concentration level of the PM in the atmosphere, whereby the higher the concentration, the higher the amount of deposits formed. Another factor is the leaf’s surface area, in which leaves with a higher surface area can trap more PMs than those with small surface areas. Consequently, when deciding the species to introduce in the urban environment, it is important to consider the leaf’s surface area. The image below shows particulate matter removal by the canopies. Fig. 2: Diagram of PM removal by trees. Source: Zhang et al. (2019). Based on the above information, it is evident that not all trees are effective at cleansing the air. Some of the species that have proven to be the best due to their high tolerance levels include neem, peepal, amla, mango, Christmas tree, and guava. The Delhi government has been working on planting more saplings to enhance its green belts, which is part of its 2041 master plan. While such policy initiatives are commendable, it is essential to consider the specific species that will be more effective in reducing the atmospheric PM concentration. Failure to choose suitable trees is likely to result in suboptimal outcomes. Researchers have also conducted studies to assess additional factors that may determine the effectiveness of the canopies in pollution reduction. The findings have indicated that most PM concentrations reduce when the trees are in a range of 15 to 45 meters (Shao et al., 2019). Therefore, the effectiveness of the tree-planting intervention will also depend on the location of the trees in t...