Topic : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
5. Pesticide pollution is a major environmental issue in India, which has far-reaching consequences. Discuss while enumerating the various sources of Pesticide pollution. (250 words)
Reference: Down to Earth
Why the question:
Recently the Centre has issued a draft order banning the manufacture and sale of pesticides on grounds of the grave risk they pose to humans and animals.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the issue of pesticide pollution in India and its far reaching consequences along with its sources.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Define what pesticide pollution is.
Body:
Introduce the answer with some statistics on pesticide pollution in India. Enlist the sources of pesticide pollution and their consequences. Pesticide contamination, diminishing ecology and biodiversity, farmer suicides, insect resurgence, the monopoly of a few corporations and food export rejection due to pesticide residue are all to be cited in detail.
Explain the sources like apart from agriculture, the chemical industry also contributes heavily to the source.
Conclusion:
Conclude by mentioning a few measures to tackle the sources of pesticide pollution and that India is at a crossroads where the need is increasingly being felt for a ‘science to live’ and not a ‘science to kill’.
