A subtle need of the hour

The immediate requirement would be to bring as many ports as possible on board to adopt green policies. A directive from the government in this regard will definitely serve the purpose, writes Anand V Sharma.

India conducts around 95 per cent of its trade, in volume, using ports. Hence, ports become the most exposed and utilised infrastructure of all the transport sectors. For a sustainable development of the country and the transport infrastructure, the need for use of environment-friendly technologies and systems has arisen. The concept of Green port starts with the planning of a port to the cargo handling. In a growing country like India where dirty bulk commodities constitute a large share of the traffic, use of environment-friendly technologies and processes is very essential. For a Greenfield port, the implementation of idea of Green port can be summarised as in Figure 1.

In order to cope up with the rising demand for environment-friendly ports, Indian ports have gradually begun implementing initiatives for use of environment-friendly technologies and systems. The response is higher in private ports where efficient equipment and machinery has been installed that generate lesser pollution. However, old government-owned ports still have older equipment and process that generate emission and create pollution. This is true mostly for handling bulk cargo such as coal and iron ore, which is handled in open instead of close conveyors. High growth in cargo traffic injects the need for efficiency with minimal manual interventions, giving birth to technological advancements. However, like most of the countries around the world, technology at older ports in India still needs a lot improvement. There is a need to keep a check the emissions resulting from fuel-consuming machines like vehicles, vessels, cargo handling equipment, etc.

Although most of the ports were conceived away from the densely populated areas of a region, over a period of time, due to steep rise in population, these erstwhile vacant areas are now inhabited by people. Regardless of the proximity of human and other forms of life from the ports, it behoves the administration to carry out their daily operations with minimal impact on its surroundings, assuring a delicate balance between efficiency at the ports’ mechanics and the environment harmony. Since most of the resultant damage from emissions done to the environment and living things is irreversible, it is the relevant authorities’ responsibility to put in place preventive measures to exercise tight control over such eventuality. Also, formulation of practices is of the essence that compensates for any deterioration in the environment quality by enabling developments that promise quality sustenance and help mitigate adverse environmental impacts. It is in this context that devising an ecologically-driven overhaul at ports has taken priority at many ports around the world. Some have successfully been able to implement it, while others’ efforts are in the pipeline. India, too, has started showing signs of heading into this direction with ports like Ennore, Chennai and JNPT evincing interest in "greenlining" their ports.

The idea of Green Port

Green Port is an infrastructure that factors in the stability of the ecosystem it operates in the midst of. Also, well-planned environmental initiatives are put in place to minimise, if not totally eliminate, the negative impacts a port’s workings may have on its environment. Furthermore, a green port is a sustainable development port that not only adopts stringent policies in regard to the environment but also emphasises their economic interests. Ideally, a port’s economic social development should not exceed the total capacity of its natural resources. Simply put, any development should take due consideration of how much of emission the port’s ecosystem can absorb before it reaches an unacceptable level.

The visual representation in Figure 2 demonstrates subset of tasks that have been adopted by international ports to realise the objective of "greening" a port. Different ports in different regions execute the greening in their own fashion, but they all are a slightly-varied version of the Figure 2 illustration. This outlined frame¡work is an ideal benchmark that every port looking to go green should strive towards.

Proper funding to take up studies that would highlight the ways and avenues technology can create an impact will be required by such ports. Technology employment in terms of engines that conform to the latest emission standards, customisation of vehicles/vessels used in port premises allowing them to emit lesser pollutants, and evaluating port infrastructure on the basis of guidelines that are technologically driven. For instance, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have been put in place to gauge the sustainability of port terminals. A certification of such an order will surely help the cause of ports’ greening. Also, policies in terms of improving air quality and maintaining that standard throughout the port’s operational lifespan are also required. Ships calling at a port are known to be a source of close to tow-third of diesel particulate matter emitted at a port.

Low-sulphur fuels, engines with lower emitting standards and requiring ships to draw power from port’s power source are some of the ways of reducing the aforesaid emissions. Even if the measures are put in place by the ports and involved stakeholders, the initiative needs to be shown by the governing authorities like the port association, Ministry of Environment and Forest, coastal regulators, etc. Policies and laws encompassing and encouraging all of which have been illustrated above, and more, need to be ratified by these governing bodies. These entities need to recognise the importance of these changes and act as facilitators and mediators in realising green governance at ports.

In the Indian context

Under the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17), a provision of around Rs 202 crore has been proposed to support the said greening initiatives. Following are some of the broad recommendations proposed as per the report:

Recommendations at policy level:

• Slow-steaming – Reducing ship speed as it app¡roaches the port
• Voluntary fuel incentive programme – For switching from bunker fuel to cleaner-burning fuel
• Shore-side power (Cold ironing) – Drawing power from an onshore source
• Emission trading – Economic incentives for reducing emission
• Green tariffs for green ships – Concession in tariffs to ships with lower emission
• Emission Control Area – Limit of sulphur content in fuel oil in such an area is fixed
• Emission inventory and auditing – Keeping track of emission from the port

Recommendations at port level

• Cleaner fuel – Using low-sulphur or alternative fuels in vessels/vehicles and equipments at port
• Renewable energy – Conversing energy and adopting solar and wind power
• Priority berthing – Green ships to be given priority berthing
• Sustainability clause – Environmentally-driven clauses in tender/lease agreement of a port
• Technology – Use of appropriate technology, howsoever simple or elaborate, to be put to use in daily activates at the port

Despite such suggestions and inputs coming in from various sections of the maritime industry, nothing concrete has been attempted on this front so far. This claim is apparent at most of the ports in India, especially the ones that handle dry bulk cargo, which includes commodity like coal and iron ore. These ports still haven’t employed proper dust-suppression systems to keep dust particles from escaping into the atmosphere. Spill over from dirty-cargo handling can be spotted not only in the port premises but also outside the port gates when these goods are transported for distribution. However, there are ports that have shown signs of taking up green policies. Ports like Ennore and Chennai floated tenders for a consultancy report that would help them convert their ports into a Green port. Back in 2010, JNPT had also shown interest in transforming itself into a Green port. Steps included using alternative power sources, using CNG vehicles in port area, water harvesting, forestation, etc. However, emphasis was more on the onshore part, while polluting source from the offshore side like older vessels, ballast water, etc, were absent from the proposition. Also, some were of the belief that more than a container terminal, it would have been wise to implement these policies at dry bulk ports like Ennore, Vizag and Paradip.

There are also ports like Mundra that have already made inroads in terms of going green. Despite the harsh climate and semi-arid conditions, the port has carried out considerable plantation spanning from the nearest airport to the port. Water is recycled and used through drip irrigation to irrigate plants.

They also undertook huge plantations of mangroves, the most natural filter system, in and around the port. As a result, in one of the international seminars for green ports, Mundra was declared as one of the 30 greenest ports in the world. This development reflects gradual shifts of ports and their commitment, especially the private sector, with respect to adopting green policies.

Most of the ports, regardless of ownership, haven’t given environment harmony due consideration. Apart from the ports mentioned above, there haven’t been any initiatives from the port fraternity in this direction. Evidently, ports are content with the current state of affairs, or environmental concern is not one of the topmost priorities for them as no perceptible intent is shown by these entities. Therefore, the immediate requirement would be to bring as many ports as possible on board to adopt green policies. A directive from the government in this regard will definitely serve the purpose. Such a directive should be complemented by incentives for green-policy adopters, and these efforts will go a long way in serving the cause.