(पानी पर विशेषांक)
(15-30) APRIL 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN
FEATURES
- जलवायु,
पारिस्थिकी
-
प्रदूषण
- आदिवासी विमर्श
- कृषि और किसानी
- जल दर्शन
- देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ
- विविध
पानी पर
विशेषांक
विषयवस्तु
|
जलवायु :
·
Greenland’s Ice Melt Breaks Record, Starting Nearly Two Months Early
·
Largest Coral Atoll in the World Lost 80 Percent of Its Coral to Bleaching
·
पेरिस समझौता
·
हरित ऊर्जा को सस्ता बनाना ही समाधान
·
पानी को मोहताज सारस ने बदला आशियाना
पारिस्थितिकी:
·
Shifting tigers to Cambodia from India impractical: experts
·
Rare primate sighted in Arunachal Pradesh
आदिवासी विमर्श:
·
Royal repast
जल दर्शन:
·
Undisposed toxic waste still haunts Bhopal’s groundwater
·
अकाल मे मिसाल रामगढ़
·
कुदरत नही, मनुष्य की देन है सूखा
देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ:
·
Local entrepreneurship : Seeds of hope in the times
of corporate chaos
विविध: पानी पर विशेषांक
·
अब चूके तो हाथ धो बैठेंगे पानी से
·
Hoarders
loving a good drought?
·
पानी को तरसते आईपीएल के कई
मेजबान शहर
·
जल-सांखयकी
·
तपिस
से बचने के लिए हमे लगाने होंगे ओर 3 लाख पौधे
·
19 districts in Rajasthan drought-hit
·
It is now Congress’ turn to visit drought-hit Marathwada
·
सूखे तालाब से पानी लेकर जाता एक व्यक्ति (चित्र:
जनसत्ता से)
·
Action,
not symbolism, will save Planet Earth
·
Optimizing
our forests
·
Ghaziabad
wrestles with groundwater depletion
·
सूखे
इलाके पानीदार बनाने की मुहिम
·
Across the border, Bhutan too is struggling with water
shortages
जलवायु
|
Greenland’s
Ice Melt Breaks Record, Starting Nearly Two Months Early
Climate Nexus | April 13, 2016
Gyldenlove
Glacier, Greenland. Photo credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenland’s melt season typically
runs from June until September, but almost 12 percent of Greenland’s
ice sheet was melting as of Monday,
which scientists say is unprecedented.
“We had to check that our models
were still working properly,” said Peter Langen, a climate scientist at
DMI.
Maps show the current melt area
centered around southwest Greenland. The graph shows the current melt season in
blue and the average in black. Photo credit: Polar Portal
Areas of Greenland recorded
temperatures this month that would have been unusually
warmeven in July and scientists expect
more temperature records to be broken before the season is over.
Largest
Coral Atoll in the World Lost 80 Percent of Its Coral to Bleaching
Climate Nexus | April 13, 2016
The
largest coral atoll in the world, Kiritimati, has lost 80 percent of its coral
in the past 10 months due to this year’s devastating coral bleaching event and
another 15 percent is likely to die, scientists reported.
The Pacific has been experiencing
abnormally warm water temperatures for months, causingextreme stress to corals and the species that rely on them. This is the longest coral bleaching event ever recorded and scientists are becoming increasingly
pessimistic that the affected reefs will recover.
Julia Baum from the University of
Victoria described the atoll as a “horror show” and Kim Cobb of Georgia Tech
called it “a wake-up call.”
Source: Hindustan; 22 April 2016
पानी को मोहताज सारस ने बदला आशियाना
Ecology
|
Shifting tigers to Cambodia from
India impractical: experts
Big challenge: Eight tigers from India were planned to
be translocated to Cambodia where the big cats are extinct.
While
the proposed reintroduction of Indian tigers in Cambodia seems “fine” from a
genetic perspective, it may not be practical if the aim is to establish a
viable population of tigers in the country, conservation biologists say.
“It is
not a practical idea if the objective is to establish a viable population of
tigers. If they do release tigers, they are more likely to get killed in
incidents of conflict with local people rather than survive and establish a
population,” tiger ecologist K. Ullas Karanth told IANS.
Eight
tigers from India — six females and two males — would be translocated to
Cambodia where the big cats have been declared extinct.
The
Indian tigers would be “re-introduced” in two different locations in Cambodia
over the next five years. This was discussed at the recently concluded 3rd Asia
Ministerial Conference on tiger conservation.
According
to molecular ecologist Uma Ramakrishnan, known for her work in saving Indian
tigers, behavioural issues and habitat challenges need to be addressed.
“As
suggested by a recent study, the tigers in Cambodia are not that different from
tigers in India. But looking at the genome could highlight more differences,”
Ramakrishnan, associate professor at the National Centre for Biological
Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, told IANS.
Behavioural
issues
“Successful
reintroduction is very difficult, more because of behavioural issues (will the
new individuals adjust to a new place?) Additionally, it’s important to
understand whether the habitat can support more individuals (is there enough
prey?) and that the animals will survive (and not be hunted). From a genetic
perspective, this is probably fine,” she said.
Karanth,
who is one of the four experts who recently refuted a report claiming the
world’s wild tiger population is on the rise, says he does not believe there is
any site in Cambodia where certain conditions are met for the reintroduction.
“Reintroduction
of tigers is justified only if there is evidence that problems why it went
extinct originally have been fully addressed and as a result 3,000-4,000 square
km of forests, with sufficient densities of wild prey is available, there are
no human settlements and minimal or no impacts from resource extraction by
people and livestock presence and of course no illegal hunting,” said Karanth,
director for Science—Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society.
“If the
introduced animals do not survive, the issue of genetics is not relevant. If
one is talking about genetic viability, an even larger area would be needed,”
Mr. Karanth added. — IANS
If they do release tigers, they are more likely to get killed in incidents
of conflict with local people
Source: The Hindu; 23 April 2016
Rare primate sighted in Arunachal
Pradesh
A group of wildlife photographers and biologists in India
have reported sighting of a new species of primate, the White-Cheeked Macaque,
in Arunachal Pradesh.
A group
of wildlife photographers and biologists in India have reported sighting of a
new species of primate, the White-Cheeked Macaque, in Arunachal Pradesh.
They
narrowly missed being the first in the world to report the species after
spotting the primate on March 30, 2015 and discovering that a group of Chinese
researchers had already beaten them to it by days. The group from China, led by
Cheng Li formally reported the discovery of the species, from bordering south
eastern Tibet, in the American Journal of Primatology in March, 2015.
Formally reporting a find in a journal takes precedence over spotting a
species.
Macaques,
which are distant cousins of langurs and gibbons, are a hard catch and when
reported by Dr. Li, it was only the third macaque ever discovered since 1903.
The Mentawai macaque (Macaca pagensis) was found in Indonesia in 1903 and
Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) in 2005. The new species becomes the 22nd
known macaque species and the 9th in India.
Uday
Borthakur, a geneticist and part of the research and conservation group,
Aaranyak, thought he had found something new. “It looked different …maybe a
hybrid of two existing species. Later we heard about the Chinese group’s
discovery,” he told The Hindu.
The
researchers were confident about the newness of their find on the basis of
photographic records and its several distinguishing characteristics from
similar-looking macaque species, such as the Rhesus Macaque, Arunachal Macaque,
Tibetan macaque and Assamese macaque. “They have an even fur, a
relatively-hairless short tail, prominent pale to white side-and chin-whiskers
creating a white cheek and round facial appearance, dark facial skin on the
muzzle, long and thick hair on its neck, and a round male genitalia,” said a
statement by Aaranyak.
Typically
the process of reporting the discovery of a new species to science is rather
elaborate, with a DNA sample and a requirement that a specimen of the species
be deposited in an accredited registry, preceding peer review. “I’m not sure if
the Chinese group has reported DNA,” said Mr. Borthakur.
Along
with Mr. Borthakur, the Aaranyak team included biologists and wildlife
photographers, namely Ranjan Kumar Das, Dilip Chetry — a primatologist — and
professional bird guide Binanda Hatibarua. They were on a bird-watching trip to
the easternmost district of India in March 2015, when they had this sighting
and managed to take photographs.
“This
is an important find for biodiversity in India and shows white-cheeked macaque
has a wider range and population spread than we’ve thought,” said Anindya
Sinha, a primatologist at the National Institute of Advanced Studies,
Bengaluru.
Source:23 April 2016
आदिवासी विमर्श
|
Royal repast
Celebration
time:A Tiwa tribal pours water from a bamboo tube to cook during the ‘Raja
Ulowa Mela’ festival in Morigaon district of Assam on Friday. Tiwas celebrate
this festival for the well-being of their king.— Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar
Source: The Hindu; 23 April 201
जल दर्शन
|
Undisposed toxic waste still haunts Bhopal’s
groundwater
A
report says that many locals in Bhopal are dealing with “high rates of birth
defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual
cycles and mental illness".
“When cool air
blows over the city and it rains in Bhopal bringing welcome respite to its
people, I fear that toxic waste is spilling into its groundwater”, says Rajesh
Kumar who shows me around the 68-acre plant site of Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL). He drives an auto for a living and is just one more person from the neighbourhoods
of Bhopal dealing with respiratory problems, an exposure-related
illness. 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas leaked on the fateful night of
December 2-3, 1984 creating a toxic cloud. A backflow of water into a methyl
isocyanate tank triggered the disaster killing thousands and injuring over 5.58
lakh people. Contamination from that accident still hounds those who stay
near the erstwhile pesticide plant site.
Thirty years
later, the toxic waste at the site is yet to be cleaned, mainly due to legal
disputes with UCIL-- they are reluctant to pay for it. In 1998, after years of
legal wrangling with the company, the government of Madhya Pradesh took
responsibility for the site but the clean-up hasn't yet happened. Dow Chemical,
which acquired UCIL, also took over all its assets and liabilities--all except
the responsibility of clearing up the polluted site. The result is that the
Indian government which owns the land today is burdened with the clean-up even
though it is not the polluter.
Every time there are plans to dispose of the toxic
waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide plant there is a hiccup. Trial runs of
the process of disposal have been conducted following the Central Pollution
Control Board’s (CPCB) green signal, yet the final disposal is nowehere in
sight.
How toxic is the site?
A report
in Infochange India puts the amount of toxic waste as 8,000 tonnes, all of
which lies out in the open in the factory’s premises. The same report claims
that Indian authorities have done little to address the issue. Activists in
Bhopal claim
that around 40,000 people in Bhopal have been drinking the contaminated waters.
Rajesh, who stays at Chandbari, fears that the toxicity at the site threatens
the health of his children who were born twenty years after the gas leak. He
only has to point to the puddles and the squelchy mud at the plant site to make
his case.
Another report
by the Peoples Science Institute (PSI), Dehradun says that while the litigation
was ongoing, “little attention was paid to the fate of the accident site of the
abandoned UCIL factory”. Solid toxic waste
has been lying at the site of the gas tragedy for 30 years now. The same
report, which assesses the degree of groundwater contamination also says
that the toxins leaching through the soil into the aquifer are poisoning its
waters.
Post
disaster, it came to light that untreated effluents had been dumped into a
large pit inside the plant premises for over ten years. The study indicated the
presence of a high concentration of mercury especially in the areas immediately
adjoining the UCIL plant. This point was also corroborated by environmental
studies conducted by government institutions such as National Environmental
Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), 1993, which suggests
that “toxic substances stored inappropriately inside the plant site were
mingling with the soil. This contaminated the aquifers”.
A
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study
of 2009 found pollutants ranging from pesticides and other organic chemicals to
heavy metals like mercury, lead and chromium in areas as far as three km from
the site. It also said that the presence of pesticides was way above the
national standard. The drinking water supply for 15 colonies and slum clusters
near the site remains contaminated, as per a report by U K based advocacy group - Bhopal Medical
Appeal and Bhopal based Sambhavna
Clinic and pools of mercury-laden
water can be spotted in the plant premises.
Authorities in denial
Authorities insist that there is no
danger. The Madhya Pradesh Government continues to deny public health threats
but the abovementioned report like many others suggests otherwise. “It would be
nice to think the contamination had cleared up, but that’s not true”, Rajesh
says. People with long term exposure to the waters have had adverse health
consequences ranging from “high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer
rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness",
the report says. It’s emotionally wearing to live like this. I
got tired of it”, Rajesh says. “It could take a few years where it's somewhat
rehabilitated, or it could be decades. It really depends on when the State
Government gets out of denial”, he notes.
Moving forward from the mess
Most would agree that there is a
need to do away with the institutional logjam. Now that we are out of the
litigious muck, there’s one strategy the government, environmentalists, social
activists and citizens should agree on: the need to deal with the toxic waste
and detoxify the water. What is required is an independent environmental
assessment of the project followed by an analysis of the site water quality
through a long-term groundwater monitoring project.
अकाल मे मिसाल रामगढ़
कुदरत नही, मनुष्य की देन है सूखा
Source: http://epaper.jansatta.com/785006/Jansatta.com/21042016#page/6/1
 |
देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ |
Local entrepreneurship: Seeds of hope in the times of corporate chaos
India, as most other countries,
needs communities that are significantly more resilient, with less dependence
on externally sourced products and services for basic needs fulfillment.
It is imperative, therefore, that transformation towards a truly sustainable
society be driven through business models with distributed epicenters of local
value creation. These models rely on the regeneration of natural resources,
access to energy, right-sized technology and skilled human resources.
This will need innovation at system levels higher than that of simple products
and services.
Paper recycling unit at TARA gram
Supply chains that
transport finished products across vast distances and through a large number of
intermediaries are more than likely to get stretched and eventually, broken.
Large businesses of the future will therefore, be compelled to market goods and
services through business networks that empower the micro-and small-scale
service provider to create value locally by up-cycling a diverse range of materials,
particularly waste, into safe, strong, energy saving and easily usable building
material.
Typically, as big
brands continue to become valuable assets for both large corporations and small
entrepreneurs, franchising models would be placed to deliver solutions at
scale; particularly to millions of households that still have unmet basic
needs. Collaborative “incubation models” between large corporations and social
businesses such as TARA could use their respective strengths to put together
“business-in-a-box” packages of technology and know-how for local
entrepreneurs; adding a few critical inputs to secure their own revenues on a
recurring and long-term basis.
In recent years,
the focus of our work has been on the incubation of social equity enabled, commercially
sustainable, entrepreneurial value chains for last mile delivery of basic needs
products and services for the poor. Increasingly so, it places emphasis
on how critically needed investment from large pools of underutilized capital
can be drawn into disaggregated business models; driven in part, by much needed
changes in the policy environment.
In our view, the
development trajectory stands out as an absolute imperative, not only from the
point of view of accelerating local transformation, but also on account of the
broader, global environmental, social and economic goals of sustainable
development.
Shrashtant Patara spatara@devalt.org
The views expressed in the article are those of the
author’s and not necessarily those of Development Alternatives. Source: http://www.perspectives.devalt.org/?p=2039
.
पानी विशेषांक
अब
चूके तो हाथ धो बैठेंगे पानी से
Source:
Hindustan, 22 April 2016 http://epaper.livehindustan.com/story.aspx?id=1070867&boxid=68717808&ed_date=2016-4-22&ed_code=1&ed_page=12
Hoarders
loving a good drought?
Source:
Apr 22, 2016 : The Times of India
(Delhi)
1.35L Tonnes Of Pulses Seized In
Five Months
As India stares at a second
consecutive drought and prices of essentials skyrocket, the black market is
hoarding essential pulses, prompting the Centre to urge state governments to
remain vigilant.
From
October 2015 to March 2016, the government has seized over 1.3 lakh tonnes of
pulses and officials say this is only a portion of the hoarded pulses.In the
same period, India, including private players, imported over 50 lakh tonnes of
pulses to meet the domestic demand.
The
retail prices of pulses on an average have remained in the range of Rs 90 to Rs
190. According to information accessed from the ministry of consumer affairs,
food and public distribution, of the 1.35 lakh ton nes of seized pulses,
Maharashtra and Karnataka account for 1.12 lakh tonne or 84% of the pulses
hoarded. All other states put together saw seizures of 21,492.64 tonnes of
pulses.
While
the government has conducted several raids across the country and even imposed
stock limits, traders TOI spoke to from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh said the seizures are an eyewash by the government which has
failed to manage the situation. “The cost of stocking even the allowed quantity
of pulses is becoming difficult.So, where is the question of hoarding?“ they
ask. India Pulses and Grains ssociation vice-chairman Association vice-chairman
Bimal Kothari said: “There is definitely no hoarding of pulses by traders.
There's just a huge deficit and the government cannot blame traders of hoarding
only because the price is not under control.“
Traders
from Pune and Bengaluru too were unanimous in saying if there's any hoarding,
it's being done by multinational companies that can afford to hoard pulses. A
pulses association in Bengaluru has even written to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi requesting the government not to “harass“ traders.
Source:
Hindustan 22 April 2016
Source: Times of India, 22April 2016
Source:
NaiDunia, 22 April 2016
19 districts in Rajasthan
drought-hit
State govt sending water trains to parched Bhilwara and
tankers to other affected areas
Quenching thirst:The desert State is
in the grip of an acute water crisis.- FILE PHOTO
The
desert State of Rajasthan is in the grip of a water crisis with 19 out of the
33 districts being drought affected, with the government sending water trains
to parched Bhilwara and tankers to other areas facing acute shortage.
Nearly
17000 out of the total 44672 villages are facing water crisis and
transportation of water through rail in Bhilwara and by tankers in other areas
has already started by the state public health and engineering department.
“We
have already allocated Rs.50 lakh to each district to carry out necessary works
to improve water supply.
Transportation
of water has been started from Nasirabad to Bhilwara and water is being
supplied through tankers in other parts of the state where it is required,”
PHED Minister Kiran Maheshwari said.
“90 per
cent of water—related schemes in the state are dependent on ground water but
the ground water table is going down therefore surface water is also being
used. Repairing of handpumps is underway in the State and alternate
arrangements are also being made,” she said.
She
said that 2-3 handpumps are being repaired in a day by labourers and the
department has decided to procure mechanized vehicles so that 7 handpumps could
be repaired in a day.
Presently,
421 teams are working to repair nearly 7 lakh handpumps.
She
said that at the cost of Rs.10 lakh per day, water is being supplied to
Bhilwara through trains. Water tankers are also being sent to the places facing
water shortage.
Ajmer, Banswara,
Baran, Barmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Churu, Dungarpur, Hanumangarh, Jaipur,
Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur and
Pratapgarh are the districts which are affected.
7364
villages
worst-affected
Superintend
Engineer of the department Akhil Kumar Jain said 7364 villages are the worst
affected due to water shortage and said efforts were being made to minimise the
drinking water Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded relief works
from the government.
Mr Gehlot
demanded an emergency plan to meet the challenge and to provide relief to
people in water crisis.
“The
government should ensure water supply through tankers otherwise it may create a
law and order problem in the state. The government has not started relief work
which should have been already started,” Mr Gehlot told reporters.
Mr
Pilot also said that the government should prepare a policy to provide relief
and should make proper arrangements for fodder and water for cattle, and
potable water for public.
This
year, rainfall was deficit in nine districts of Bhilwara, Bharatpur, Dholpur,
Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Jaipur, Alwar, Dausa and Pratapgarh.- PTI
Source:
The Hindu; 19 April 2016
It is now Congress’ turn to visit
drought-hit Marathwada
Other parties are already on the move even as officials are
weary of VIP visits
Painful chore:People of Mhaismal
village in Nashik, Maharashtra, walk at least 2 km to get drinking water from a
well that isalmost drying up.- Photo: Ajaj Shaikh
The drought in Maharashtra has led to
a flurry of visits by political leaders to Marathwada. Senior Congress leaders
are the latest addition to the list of those visiting the region.
Maharashtra
Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Ashok Chavan on Friday announced that
all senior leaders of the party would travel to the drought-hit districts to
take stock of the relief work being provided by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led
State government.
Mr.
Chavan said the party leaders were already undertaking “review trips” across
the State, but from May 5 to 7, they would go on an “organised” trip that would
include interaction with people, party activists and government officers. “The
State government has announced several measures to fight the drought in
Marathwada but we need to see what is happening on the ground,”
he
said.
While
the Congress has planned its tour in the first week of May, leaders of other
parties have already started visiting the areas or have sent their deputies to
the drought-hit regions.
Shiv
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray went on a tour of Marathwada last week where he
also attended mass wedding ceremonies organised by his party workers.
Maharashtra
Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray is already touring several districts
and reviewing relief work carried out by his party and the government.
Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule too visited drought-affected Beed district
along with her party legislators to take stock of the situation.
‘Serves
no purpose’
A
senior officer, who is associated with the relief and rehabilitation work, told
The Hindu that visits by Ministers and MLAs did not serve any purpose.
“They
come, they see and give statements. The entire government machinery travels
around them. They must supervise what is going on, but constant VIP visits
hardly help to speed up relief work,” he said.
Source:
The Hindu; 23 April 2016
Action, not symbolism, will save Planet Earth
While we observe Earth Day in India in
2016, we need to reflect on the mindless damage that we are carrying out on the
ecosystems of the planet, the disadvantage we are increasing for the poorest of
the poor
Organisations and
people round the world celebrate Earth Day on April 22 each year, but it is not
clear if all those participating in this event are fully aware of the threats
that human society is imposing on Planet Earth and how this particular day
became a global event 46 years ago. The reality is that human activities have
progressively expanded their footprint on the earth’s ecosystems to a point
where they are leading to rapid damage and degradation of the very support
systems that sustain all forms of life on this planet. In itself, the huge
increase in human population may not have posed a global threat if it were not
for the fact that the spread of uniform aspirations to consume more and more is
leading to the production of goods and services that are leading to pollution
of the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, the food that we eat and
to an increase in the use of toxic substances in many products, all of which
lead to health hazards for across the globe.
The Living Planet
Report brought out annually by WWF estimated in its 2014 version that for 40
years in the immediate past, humanity’s demand has exceeded the earth’s
bio-capacity. It estimated that we need 1.5 earths to meet the demand humanity
currently makes on nature. Forests, which are being destroyed across the world,
and seriously degraded in India as well, provide shelter, livelihoods, water,
fuel and food to two billion people. Environmental damage, therefore, damages
the welfare of the poor. Perhaps, the most serious threat resulting from our
unsustainable pattern of growth and development emanates in the form of human
induced climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
which I had the privilege of chairing for 13 years, has in its Fifth Assessment
Report, brought out the extent and nature of climate change taking place across
the globe, the intensity and seriousness of its impacts and the means by which
the challenge can be met through a combination of adaptation as well as
mitigation measures, which the world must implement with a sense of urgency.
The IPCC was established in 1988, but concerns about the damage we are
inflicting on the planet began to be articulated much earlier through the work
of pioneers like Rachel Carson, whose book, Silent Spring, shocked the US on the
extent to which toxic substances were being produced and released into the
soil, air and water streams of that country. However, the credit for bringing
environmental issues into the domain of policymaking and collective public
action, particularly in the US, goes to a remarkable leader, the late Senator
Gaylord Nelson.
Gaylord Nelson was
a visionary and a crusader who realised that legislation on environmental
issues presents certain limits, and therefore what would work in practice is
action by the public. It is reported that Nelson, while cognizant of the
prosperity that some achieved in the US during the 1950s, never lost sight of
those in the cities and countryside who were disadvantaged. He was also fully
conscious of the social and ecological implications and costs of technological
innovation and industrial expansion. Once he entered the US Senate, he worked
with President John F Kennedy to undertake a tour of the country for
conservation and the environment. He also worked closely with President Lyndon
B Johnson to advance civil rights legislation and the fight against poverty.
While in India, we have not fully understood the nexus between environmental
degradation and poverty, he saw the fight against poverty as an essential part
of his environmental agenda. He believed that “environment is all of America
and its problems. It is rats in the ghetto. It is a hungry child in a land of
affluence. It is housing not worthy of the name; neighborhoods not fit to
inhabit”. In some sense, this echoed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s reference
to poverty being the worst polluter, while addressing the UN Conference for the
Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972, when she stated, “Are not poverty and
need the greatest polluters?” She added further, “It would be ironic if the
fight against pollution were to be converted into another business, out of
which a few companies, corporations or nations would make profits at the cost
of the many.” Gaylord Nelson believed that environmental protection did not
have to be at odds with economic development, and in his efforts the record
shows that he pushed programmes like Operation Mainstream, allowing for
appropriation of millions of dollars meant for creating conservation jobs and
skills training for the poor and the elderly under what he labelled as the
Green Thumb project. Interestingly, as Chairman of the US Senate’s Select
Committee on Small Business, he referred to the work of a middle level official
in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, by the name of Ram Bux Singh, who did
pioneering work in that State in the establishment and upkeep of biogas plants.
The record of the Senate holds references to Ram Bux Singh’s work in the form
of an ‘Interview with India’s Gobar Gas Expert, Ram Bux Singh’, which Senator
Nelson introduced and discussed in 1975.
Not satisfied with
Government decisions and actions, Gaylord Nelson decided in 1969 to call for a
day when the whole of the US would arrange teach-ins to raise awareness among
the public on environmental problems. The media and communities on the
country’s campuses responded enthusiastically to this call and termed the
intended day as Earth Day. Nelson set up a small office to coordinate
activities that were planned, and put a young 26-year old Denis Hayes as the
head of his establishment. He, however, shunned a top-down approach, and
appealed to the public to organise themselves at the local level to ask for
action from their officials on what had to be done to protect the environment
around them. On April 22, 1970, an estimated 20 million Americans, young and
old, were reported to have become an active part of this event by gathering
together to highlight the ecological problems in their cities, states, the
nation, and planet earth — and to demand action from themselves and from their elected
officials. With the resounding success of the very first Earth Day celebration
in 1970, Denis Hayes set up the Earth Day Network, which extended to 180
countries, and created the Earth Day into a global event.
While we observe
Earth Day in India in 2016, we need to reflect on the mindless damage that we
are carrying out on the ecosystems of the planet, the disadvantage we are
increasing for the poorest of the poor. This is a day when the youth of the
nation in particular must organise to join hands and change direction, so that
the pattern of development we pursue is truly sustainable.
Earth Day 2016
should be a day when the youth of the world take the environmental destiny of
this planet into their own hands. The youth must lead in the fight for
sustainable development.
Source:
The Pioneer; 22 April 2016
Optimizing our forests
New Bill raises hopes; Parliament holds key
With the Union
Cabinet having cleared the amendments to the Compensatory Afforestation Fund
Bill, 2015, it is hoped that the green legislation will pass through Parliament
and come into force. The Bill is an important piece in the Government's
commitment to a sustainable development model and will be necessary to mitigate
the ecological costs of the large-scale infrastructure projects that are in the
works. The Bill paves the way for utilising the large amount of money that's
lying with the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning
Authority. For quite some years now, when projects requiring diversion of
forest land for non-forest purposes have been sanctioned, they have been done
so on the condition that developers would pay an additional amount for planting
trees in other areas so as to compensate for the loss of green cover at
the first site. However, while large amounts of money have been paid up and put
in to the Compensatory Afforestation Fund, they haven’t been utilised in the
absence of a proper implementation framework. This is the gap that the new law
will plug and in the process, release more than Rs40,000 crore for the
purpose of compensatory afforestation.
The benefits of
compensatory afforestation are obvious, at least on paper. However,
implementing the scheme on the ground is complicated, and unless the new
afforestation projects are properly planned and executed, the money will fuel
corruption, if not do further ecological damage. This is because the basic
concept of compensatory afforestation wherein trees cut in one location
are replaced with new trees in another is a delicate one. The first
problem is the quality of afforestation projects. In some cases, the money has
been used for secondary activities like buying computers and vehicles for the
forest department. These may be important investments but they are not to be
made with CAF money which is something that the new amendments make
clear. The bigger problem though is that in many cases the loss of forest cover
is sought to be compensated with artificial plantations. Not only are these
plantations no match for the loss of bio-diversity in the forests, they often
do not thrive themselves because of the use of non-native plants
and also disturb the ecological balance of their surroundings. This was
seen in Karnataka, where the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited, to compensate
for its mining in Kudremukh National Park, planted hundreds of trees in the
adjoining grassland in the Bhadra River watershed. The second problem is land
availability. A 2013 report by the Comptroller and Auditor-General showed that
of the 1,03,381.91 hectares of non-forest land that the Government was supposed
to receive between 2006 and 2012, it only got 28,086 hectares. Of this, only
7,280.84 hectares was actually afforested.
In general,
compensatory afforestation has a bad track record in India, going back several
decades. Even a highly-scrutinised project like the Narmada dam wasn't able to
deliver on its compensatory afforestation goals. The new Bill should help
navigate some of these issues but, ultimately, much will depend on how accountable
and efficient the new system proves itself to be.
Ghaziabad wrestles with groundwater depletion
Friday, 22 April 2016 | SP Singh |
GHAZIABAD
The groundwater level in Ghaziabad is
going down sharply, claims statics of Central Public Information Office (CPIO)
of Central Ground Water Authority of India (CGWAI).
Revealing the
statistics of last four years, Akash Vashishtha, environmentalist and convenor
of Society for Protection of Environment & Biodiversity (SPEBIO), said
groundwater of Ghaziabad is going down at the rate of 1.5 metre to 2 metre
annually. He disclosed that the Government attitude is indifferent towards this
problem despite the fact that five blocks of the district had been declared
dark zone.
The local
monitoring agencies are not equipped even with the necessary instruments of
piezo metres (a device used to measure liquid pressure in a system by measuring
the height to which a column of the liquid rises against gravity).
According to the
data provided by the CPIO, the ground water level in 2006 was found 16.95 metre
below ground level (MBGL). It was found 17.89 MBGL in 2008 and again it went
further at 17.96 and finally crossed to go 20.21 MBGL in 2010. “It is true the
water situation is critical in the city. We shall write to concerned
departments to enforce the Government orders” said Additional District
Magistrate (ADM) City Preetie Jaiswal.
As per parameters
laid down by the CGWAI, water extraction is allowed in notified areas whose
four blocks are in dark zone but the water extraction is continuing on the
massive scale in the city. The water harvesting system has not been enforced
despite being made mandatory by the local authority before approving maps. The
main defaulters are the Government buildings, institutes, group housing
societies. The administration is apathetic towards the problem.
Vashishtha said it
is shocking to know that Ghaziabad is the only city from UP which has been
included in the notified area out of 162 areas from across the country. The
Government merely issues orders to preserve water but ground realities are
totally different. The enforcing agencies are not acting in accordance with the
Environment Protection Act despite it coming into existence way back in 1996,
added Vashishtha.
Source: Dainik bhaskar, 22April
2016
Across the border, Bhutan too is
struggling with water shortages
South Asia’s most water abundant country is facing scarcity
because of poor management and accessibility
Every other day, Phub Dem, from the
remote village of Phangyul in western Bhutan, travels up to three kilometres to
fetch drinking water. Sometimes she gets a lift in her neighbour’s tractor but
most of the time she has to walk.
The
community has faced growing water shortages over the past decade as nearby
streams and other water sources have completely dried up. Around 700 acres of
land in the area has been left fallow and some farmers have migrated to towns
because of the lack of water.
There
are similar reports of local water shortages across the country – both in rural
villages and around the capital city of Thimphu.
The
surprising thing is that Bhutan is not water scarce. In fact, Bhutan has “has
an abundance of water,”
said Lance Gore, water resource specialist with the Asian Development Bank. The
country needs better development and coordinated management of existing water
resources, he added. This is the conclusion of studies by the National
Environment Commission and Asian Development Bank carried out for Bhutan’s
first National Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, which was inaugurated on March 22 coinciding with World
Water day.
The
new plan is based on analysis of the country’s hydrology and the future impact
of climate change which will only worsen the problems, said Tenzin Wangmo,
chief environment officer with the National Environment Commission of Bhutan.
Lack
of accessibility, not water
Bhutan’s
per capita water availability of 109,000 cubic metres every year is one of the
highest in the region, said Tenzin Wangmo. This is in stark contrast to the relative water stress suffered by
neighbouring countries India and China.
Despite
this abundance, water availability varies between seasons and there are many
localised problems. Access to water is the biggest challenge for scattered
communities living on the mountain slopes where they draw water from small,
sometimes distant, streams and springs.
Shortages
have been reported in the eastern areas including Trashiyangtse, Trashigang and
Trongsa, as well in the southern districts of Gelephu, Dagana and Samtse, said
district officials. It’s not just rural villages; in the southern part of
Thimphu the Babesa community has reported water shortages even though it is a
fairly big town by Bhutanese standards.
A 2014
inventory of rural households carried out by the health ministry found that
13,732 rural households across the country faced drinking water problems (17%
of the total number of households).
Delivering
a stable water supply is inherently costly, especially in a mountainous country
like Bhutan. There has been a lack of investment in water storage, reservoirs,
pumps and operation systems, said Tenzin.
Projected
threats of climate change
ADB’s Lance
Gore said one of their findings was that climate change is already affecting
Bhutan – in both negative and positive ways. This will change farming practices
and access to water in the long-run. Overall, “with climate change in many
parts of Bhutan there will be more water throughout the year,” he said.
Climate
impact assessments show that temperatures in Bhutan are expected to rise,
particularly in the north of the country. Increased snow and glacial melt will
have an impact on river discharge.
Rainfall
will become more erratic and intensive, particularly in the south of the
country during monsoon season when water is already abundant. This will
increase the runoff and sediment load in rivers during summer, increasing the
risk of floods. Lower river flows are expected in winter, although no overall
change in minimum flows.
All this
may seem at odds with the frequent reports of water sources drying up. However,
the new water plan says that rainfall has declined over the last two decades in
a number of stations spread over the country. “This shows how delicate it is
with still limited data to draw conclusions in relation to climate and climate
change,” it states, while proposing building storage for monsoon water where
possible.
Bureaucratic
solutions
The water
problems are made worse by the lack of coordination between different
governments agencies involved in the water sector, said Tenzin Wangmo. This
includes the ministry of health, responsible for rural water supply, the works
and human settlement that supplies water in urban areas and the ministry of
agriculture responsible for irrigation and hydropower.
The new
national water plan has developed a framework to better coordinate between
departments and a more integrated approach to water resource management. The
new plan also recognises that water pollution is becoming a problem in some
places in Bhutan, while the country’s institutional mechanisms to monitor water
quality and impose sanctions on polluters remain ineffective.
Source: Tuesday, April 26th
2016; Scroll.in
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