Dr. Sharfaa Hussain is serving as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Miranda House College. Her PhD research focused on assessment of atmospheric heavy metal using biomonitoring technique. Her research interests also include linking the issue of climate change to air quality and finding ways to achieve the SDGs.
Dr. Sharfaa Husain, Assistant Professor, Miranda House
Ques1- First question, would you mind introducing yourself to our gripping onlookers?
Ans- I am Dr. Sharfaa Hussain from Assam. I would introduce myself an early-career researcher. I completed my PhD two years ago, so there is still a lot to explore. My PhD was in Environmental Sciences. Before that, I did my bachelor's and master's in Botany. During my bachelor's, I interned in the Department of Environmental Sciences in Delhi at the Faculty of Science, which influenced my transition from Botany to Environmental Sciences.
Ques2- Could you provide some insight into your academic areas of specialization and share what inspired your pursuit of them?
Ans- I had more inclination towards Environmental Sciences, and also because of the changing climate and degrading environment, I thought it is necessary to research this area. I did my PhD from Tezpur University, a Central University of Assam. I used a moss species to study the atmospheric heavy metal composition of the Brahmaputra valley region in Assam.
Ques3- How do you envision the integration of biomonitoring techniques into pollution assessment frameworks to provide nuanced insights into the complex interactions between air pollution, climate change, and ecosystem health?
Ans- To answer this question, I would first tell you how air pollution, climate change, and ecosystem health are interrelated, and how biomonitoring can help here. So, I think that any kind of pollution monitoring is important. Whether you are using biomonitoring techniques or traditional pollution assessment methods, it does not matter; but it is important to continuously monitor air pollution because air pollution and climate change are like the two sides of the same coin; if one is degrading, the other also degrades.
I would like to point to an example here. So, for example, because of air pollution, we have lots of pollutants in the atmosphere, because of which the temperature is increasing, which is why we have climate change. These pollutants are forced to stick in the atmosphere; they are not able to disperse. So, when there is too much of a pollutant in the atmosphere, ecosystem health is obviously going to degrade in a very holistic way.
So now, answering the question of how biomonitoring can help, it is important to constantly monitor air quality. Why biomonitoring has an advantage? It is because it is cost-effective, it does not need any electricity, it does not need any instruments to do, it can help in long-term monitoring, and also it can do large-scale mapping. Moss biomonitoring started in the European countries in the 1960s and 1970s, and they have done extensive mapping studies. They have selected a particular moss, and then they have done the study in the many parts of Europe. They started doing it on a small scale, and then they could increase this mapping study extensively, and that is where biomonitoring has this advantage. And also, I would like to add that biomonitoring is important because they are also bio-remediators. They do not have true roots so whatever nutrients they are taking they are taking from the atmosphere, and that is how they also take the pollution profile from the atmosphere. So, they are bio remediators as well, meaning that they absorb the pollution from the atmosphere and that is how they are doing bioremediation and biomonitoring both.
Ques4-Can you elaborate on the intricate feedback loops between anthropogenic activities, atmospheric pollutants, and climate dynamics and how they complicate efforts to formulate effective green growth strategies?
Ans- Firstly, we need to understand what green growth strategies are. Green growth strategies are things that are very closely related to nature and something that is not polluting. It’s like the use of natural remedies to cut down pollution. The feedback loops between these three are basically negative. As I elaborated in the previous answer as well, that one thing exacerbates the other. Because of the anthropogenic activities, we have atmospheric pollutants, and some of these anthropogenic activities are traffic, rapid industrialization, agriculture, food production, processing industries, and everything impacting nature. Once you release atmospheric pollutants into the atmosphere, they become active members of atmospheric processes, and they take part in all the chemical reactions that are going on, and more and more pollution. It means that there is going to be a lot of atmospheric reactions taking place and the temperature is going to increase.
If we talk about greening like we have a green road concept or greening of a building, vertical garden and everything, so they have been proven to decrease, for example, urban heat island impact in cities like Delhi, but the thing is that it will not help until and unless you are cutting down the pollution at the source because these green growth strategies will definitely have a positive impact but then ultimately it will hinder because there is too much for those plants to tackle. So, until and unless we cut it down, these green growth strategies will be hindered.
Ques5- In what ways can advanced data analytics and modelling approaches be leveraged to analyze the multi-scale impacts of air pollution and climate change on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and inform targeted mitigation strategies?
Ans- So, I think this is a very interesting question and this is something that people are doing. We have advanced very much technologically, and we have various software, specifically modeling software that can carry out scenario analysis. I would like to focus on scenario analysis. Scenario analysis is possible because of advanced modeling techniques and the available present data like how much pollution is there, how much temperature there is on a specific day, and then we can extrapolate the same for future references. We may predict the scenario in 2050 under 2 degrees rise or under 4 degrees rise. This helps the government to formulate their policy for future conditions.
Ques 6- Considering the dynamic nature of environmental systems, how do you propose to reconcile the uncertainties inherent in pollution assessment methodologies with the need for robust scientific evidence to guide policy decisions and interventions?
Ans- So actually, uncertainty is something which has always been there in the scientific community, any kind of research we do, be it something done by secondary data, something which we derive from machineries or primary data which a researcher derives on its own, uncertainty is always there, but then we have uncertainty analysis to cut it down. Uncertainty analysis is of different kinds. Take an example that there is air pollution tolerance index; it is an index where you determine if a plant is sensitive or tolerant towards pollution. So, the parameters that are used, for example, ascorbic acid, total photosynthetic chlorophyll content, pH, these are certain parameters that you integrate to calculate the APTI. Now we will have to understand that these are the parameters that will give us the APTI calculation result and some uncertainties can be related to it. We can use standard error deviation and statistical uncertainty analysis to kind of minimize or create a range. For example, if our answer comes out 10, then we have to apply a standard error or an uncertainty value of 3, so it is 10 plus minus 3. So, it gives a range for scientific calculations.
Ques 7- Given the interconnectedness of global supply chains and economic activities, how can international collaborations and coordination be fostered to implement coherent Green Growth strategy that address problems of climate change effectively?
Ans- There is a global supply chain, there are economic activities going on, and there is interconnectedness also. It’s good that we are going global. Rather than supply chain management, the first step here comes from the governing bodies related to climate change like UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). These supply chain management people, they come in some 2nd or 3rd step. So, the first step has to be taken in.
Ques 8- Can you discuss the ethical implications of prioritizing environmental indicators or certain mitigation measures over others in the context of limited resources and competing societal interests, and how these considerations improve policy formulation?
Ans- When considering which mitigation measures to prioritize, it's important to focus on solutions like NBS (Natural Base Solutions) and Green Growth strategies. We have already depleted many resources in our efforts to benefit the planet, curb pollution, and address climate change. Therefore, we should utilize measures that do not further deplete resources. In this regard, Green Growth strategy is crucial because it involves utilizing natural plants' capability to absorb CO2, pollutants, and increase cooling effects. For instance, we have seen initiatives in Delhi promoting electric vehicles, although CNG is not the cleanest fuel, it's cleaner than other options. However, despite these efforts, pollution levels in Delhi remain high, with the AQI often exceeding 500, sometimes even reaching 700 during winter seasons. Another approach worth mentioning is CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilization). With over 500 global projects underway, carbon capture technology is gaining importance. Utilizing captured carbon, certain methods, like catalytic processes, can transform CO2 into ethanol, which can be used as jet fuel.
Ques 9- Lastly, do you love plants, and if you were to build a garden of your own, what plants would you choose and why?
Ans- Of course, I love plants. Being a botanist, I have always had a passion for them, growing up in a home with a garden. If I were to build my own garden, I would select air-purifying plants such as the money plant, peace lily, snake plant, and broken heart, along with some flowering plants. Seeing the vibrant colors in my garden would not only be aesthetically pleasing but also beneficial for my mental health. Additionally, I would love to have a vegetable garden to enjoy fresh greens and other produce.
Interviewed by: Aditi Sharma and Tanuja (MH Vatavaran Volunteers)
Edited by: Nikita Joshi, Tanuja, Tanu Dayal, Nikita and Neha (MH Vatavaran Volunteers)
Compiled by: Tanu Dayal (MHV Volunteer)
Picture Credit: Tanu Dayal (MHV Volunteers)
Recorded by: Nikita Joshi (MHV Volunteer)
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