(1-30) March 2016 (Monthly)
GREEN
FEATURES
- जलवायु संकट,
पारिस्थिकी
-
प्रदूषण
- आदिवासी विमर्श
- कृषि और किसानी
- जल दर्शन
- देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ
- विविध
Swaraj represents a genuine attempt to regain control of the
'self' - our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for
self-realization - from institutions of dehumanization. As Gandhi states,
"It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
विषयवस्तु
|
जलवायु संकट:
· Climate change to force deadly diet shift
आदिवासी विमर्श:
·
Maharashtra Govt. takes back control over tribal forests and trade in
forest goods
·
Bewildering Biodiversity – A Success Story of Food Security for
Indigenous Peoples in India
कृषि और किसानी:
·
Government mulls fresh study on post-harvest loss of farm produce
· Budget allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally
produced, manufactured foods
·
Philippines signs new GMO rules, food industry
relieved
·
Budget
allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods
·
Watch a Punjabi
farmer tell us about the agricultural philosophy around good food!
जल दर्शन:
Women “Water Friends” Script a Success Story
Water: Dr. Sirshendu De
देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ:
·
What Aloe Vera Does In Your Body: Why Egyptians Called
It The Plant Of Immortality
विविध
· Is Budget 2016 all about ‘Swachh Bharat’ and a rustic touch?
·
आवास योजना की दूरी किश्त के लिए भटक रहे वृद्ध दंपति
·
Civil Society to Build Bridges With Private Sector
·
How tech transfer initiative can
deliver the SDGs
*****
जलवायु संकट
|
Climate change to force deadly diet shift
03/03/16; Tania Rabesandratana
Copyright: Jacob
Silberberg / Panos
· *
Temperature and
precipitation changes likely to cut global harvests
· *Fruit and vegetable
consumption set to fall, raising health risks
· *
Earlier study said
climate change-driven undernutrition will kill 85,000
आदिवासी विमर्श
|
Maharashtra Govt. takes back control
over tribal forests and trade in forest goods
Move comes despite RSS affiliated organisation opposing such
regulations (March 9, 2016, business-standard)
Maharashtra government has finalised regulations that will allow it to
wrest back control from tribals over the lucrative forest trade in goods such as bamboo and
tendu leaves worth thousands of crores annually.
This also involves management of potentially 80% of community forestlands in the state after the Union Tribal Affairs ministry’s volte-face on interpreting the Forest Rights Act.
This also involves management of potentially 80% of community forestlands in the state after the Union Tribal Affairs ministry’s volte-face on interpreting the Forest Rights Act.
The Forest Rights Act makes tribal and other forest-dwellers’ gram sabhas (village
councils) as the sole statutory authority to manage, protect and utilise
traditional community forestlands. But, Maharashtra government prepared
alternative state-level regulations that would help the forest department
retain complete management control over such community forests in villages.
The tribal affairs ministry after repeatedly informing the state and other arms of the central government that the regulations were illegal and unconstitutional unless approved by the President of India, eventually relented and gave the nod with some caveats. The Maharashtra government has taken the cue and gone a step further.
The tribal affairs ministry after repeatedly informing the state and other arms of the central government that the regulations were illegal and unconstitutional unless approved by the President of India, eventually relented and gave the nod with some caveats. The Maharashtra government has taken the cue and gone a step further.
State government documents reviewed
by Business Standard show that the state has decided these regulations,
powering the forest department to retain control, will be applicable in all but
three situations.
The rules, Indian Forests
(Maharashtra) (Regulation of assignment, management, and cancellation of
village forests) Rules 2014 will not be applicable in schedule V areas, in
areas where rights of tribals have already been settled under the Forest Rights
Act and in places where claims of tribals are pending.
The state has 16,600 odd villages
with forestlands in their territories. Under the Forest Rights Act, the
government a claim for community ownership arises in each of these villages.
But as per tribal affairs ministry’s latest records, by December 2015, only
7,152 villages had formally put forth claims for community forestlands under
the Forest Rights Act. Out of these 3,957 claims were accepted and 1,843 claims
rejected.
In other words the Maharashtra government will be able to re-impose the forest department’s fiat in around more than 11,000 village forests (excluding those in the schedule V designated areas). As per a conservative estimation of the Washington-based think tank Rights and Resources Initiative, the state has 3.6 million hectares of forests that could legally be handed over to tribals and forest-dwellers as traditional community forests under the FRA. Maharashtra government has so far given community rights over 349,437 hectares in comparison. A large chunk of the rest 3.3 million hectares of these forestlands could now potentially come back under the state forest department’s management control.
In other words the Maharashtra government will be able to re-impose the forest department’s fiat in around more than 11,000 village forests (excluding those in the schedule V designated areas). As per a conservative estimation of the Washington-based think tank Rights and Resources Initiative, the state has 3.6 million hectares of forests that could legally be handed over to tribals and forest-dwellers as traditional community forests under the FRA. Maharashtra government has so far given community rights over 349,437 hectares in comparison. A large chunk of the rest 3.3 million hectares of these forestlands could now potentially come back under the state forest department’s management control.
Documents reviewed by Business
Standard shows that the RSS-affiliated Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram too wrote to the
state chief minister asking that these regulations be done away with claiming
that the imposition of these state regulations was formenting anger in the
state. But the state government has decided to go ahead and retain the
regulations with modifications.
The tribal affairs ministry too had
earlier warned that the identification and settlement of community rights of
tribals was in nascent stage across the country, including Maharashtra and the
state could not impose its own system till all the rights of the people were
settled. It had warned that this would be to the detriment of the tribals and
other forest-dwellers.
But it was eventually convinced to
change its legal stance with the cabinet secretariat weighing in, the
Maharashtra government persistently lobbying and Union environment minister
Prakash Javadekar and Nitin Gadkari – both BJP leaders from Maharashtra –
asking tribal affairs ministry to back off.
The preamble of FRA notes that the
law was passed to correct the historical wrong done when tribal and others’
forest lands were taken over by the government summarily during the colonial
era. Since then the forest department had retained control over these forests
and the trade in forest produce, which the erstwhile Planning Commission
estimated was worth Rs 50,000 crore annually. This also led to hundreds of
thousands of tribals being termed as encroachers on their traditional lands in
government records.
Under the rules that Maharashtra
state forest department is imposing, the state forest department would have the
powers to decide if and how tribals get access to their community forests by
defining them as ‘village forests’. It would get to decide how the tribals sell
forest produce and what revenues they can get from it. The forest department
would also have the powers to withdraw these rights of tribals if it believes
that the tribals and other forest-dwellers are not meeting the standards state
government has set. In contrast the Forest Rights Act makes the tribal and
forest gram sabhas the statutory authorities, without a role for forest
department, to protect and manage their traditional forest resources.
This sets in place a route that
other states also could follow to bypass handing over rights to tribals over
their community forests. Madhya Pradesh has already followed suit
Bewildering Biodiversity – A Success Story of Food
Security for Indigenous Peoples in India
- The 2013 National Food
Security Act of the Government of India seeks, according to its preamble, to
“provide for food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate
quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people”.
Despite rapid economic growth and gains in
reducing poverty, India has with among the highest levels of hunger and
malnutrition in the world.
Although the National Food Security Act is
crucial for the poor, it is especially critical for the persistently excluded
and Indigenous Peoples of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, as the
Irula tribal community in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in
south-eastern India.
The Biodiversity Act 2002, the National Disaster
Management Act 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, the
Forest Rights Act 2006, and the Food Security Act 2013 have helped the near
starving indigenous community of Irulas overcome lack of livelihood and food
security, and has helped in augmenting conservation of biodiversity.
“A very important change which
has taken place in our country in the last ten to fifteen years… is shift from
reappraisal approach to rights approach. The Right to Food. The Right to
Education. The Right to Employment. The right to your biodiversity” said Prof.
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, universally known as “Indian Father of Green
Revolution” for his leadership and success in introducing and further
developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India and former member of the Upper
House of the Indian Parliament.
कृषि और
किसानी
|
Source:
The Hindu 11 March 2016
Budget allows 100 per cent
FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods
Down to Earth
Source:http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/budget-allows-100-per-cent-fdi-in-marketing-of-locally-produced-manufactured-foods-52974
Philippines signs new GMO rules, food
industry relieved
Mon Mar 7, 2016
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-gmo-idUSKCN0W90MK
Environmental
advocates carry over their heads a giant purple globe, which participants say
represents their unhappiness towards genetically modified organism (GMO)
products, in Manila in this October 2, 2014 file photo.
REUTERS/ROMEO
RANOCO/FILES
The Philippines has approved a new set of rules on genetically
modified organisms after a top court demanded an overhaul of previous
regulations, providing relief to farmers and importers worried that any delay
would spark a food crisis.
The five ministers that
needed to sign the rules had done so as of Monday, Merle Palacpac, chief of the
plant quarantine service at the Bureau of Plant Industry, told Reuters.
The new
rules will now be forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, with Palacpac
saying they would likely take effect by April.
The
Supreme Court in December halted the issuance of fresh permits for planting or
importing genetically modified crops until the new rules were in place, putting
in limbo nearly 1 million corn farmers and buyers of GM soybean meal, the
Philippines' top GMO import.
The
court was acting on a petition by environmental activists led by Greenpeace,
with the move likely closely watched by governments elsewhere as the
Philippines is seen as a trailblazer for GMO.
Greenpeace
on Monday said it would take further action against the new GMO guidelines.
"Definitely
there will be action but we haven't decided (what it will be) yet," said
Greenpeace campaigner Leonora Lava, adding that it would discuss options with
other petitioners and allied groups.
The new
rules are expected to improve transparency in the approval process for permits
to plant, import and commercialize GM products, including enhanced regulations
on risk assessment and involvement of local governments, said Palacpac.
"The
technical working group made sure that these concerns by the Supreme Court have
been addressed," she said.
The
government had aimed to have the regulations signed by the five ministers on
Feb. 24, but that was delayed as some officials were traveling.
While
importers of soymeal welcomed the new regulations, they were concerned it could
now take longer to get permission to ship in GM crops.
Under
the old rules, feed millers were only required to get sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance for soybean meal that they shipped in, said an
industry source. But it is unclear whether they now will also have to get a
separate biosafety permit, the source added.
The
Philippines was the first in Asia to approve commercial cultivation of a GM
crop for animal feed and food in 2002 when it allowed GM corn planting. It has
also allowed GM crop imports for more than a decade. Around 70 percent of its
corn output is GM.
GMO's
critics argue the technology poses risks to public health, while advocates say
such fears have not been scientifically proven and that high-yielding
genetically altered crops would help ensure food security as the world's
population grows.
(Reporting
by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Budget
allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods Karnika
Bahuguna
Source: http://bit.ly/216jAHt
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday
announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in marketing of food
products manufactured and produced in India, a move which has drawn mixed
responses from various segments of stakeholders.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2016-17 (April-March),
Jaitley said the FDI policy has to address the requirements of farmers and the
food processing industry.
“A lot of fruits and vegetables grown by our
farmers either do not fetch the right prices or fail to reach the markets. The
food processing industry and trade should be more efficient.”
According to the finance minister, the move would
benefit farmers, give impetus to the food processing industry and create vast
employment opportunities. While industry participants hailed the announcement,
farmer representatives refuted the claim tooth and nail.
“FDI will not benefit small farmers at all because procurement will be done from large farmers whose produce meets the procuring standards of multinationals,” said Dharmendra Kumar, director, India FDI Watch and secretary, Jan Pahal. Kumar has been associated with developing sustainable distribution channels for agriculture produce.
“FDI will not benefit small farmers at all because procurement will be done from large farmers whose produce meets the procuring standards of multinationals,” said Dharmendra Kumar, director, India FDI Watch and secretary, Jan Pahal. Kumar has been associated with developing sustainable distribution channels for agriculture produce.
“It could also push small farmers out of the
local market as their produce is seasonal and small which might not be able to
compete with the flood of processed food by multinationals. Processing also
means adding chemicals to increase the shelf life of food. It is detrimental to
public health at large.”
Another school of thought supported the
government decision and said it would be beneficial for the domestic industry.
Amit Dhanuka, President of All India Food
Processors’ Association, hailed the move saying it was beneficial for farmers
and the industry till the time the riders related to local sourcing were
maintained.
“The positive thing about this move is that
anyone can set up a store in India with 100 per cent FDI provided they are
selling local produce. The sourcing has been linked to Indian products which
will benefit Indian industry and farmers. Through the FDI, multinationals will
invest in backend integration, supply chains, cold storage etc,” he said.
According to Dhanuka, around 70 per cent of
perishable farm produce is wasted due to lack of a proper supply chain.
Investment in supply chains will reduce wastage and ease availability of foods
at reasonable prices, he added.
However, Dharmendra Kumar rebuts the claim saying
only 20-30 per cent fruits and vegetables get wasted due to lack of a proper
supply chain and even the super market model was not waste-proof.
“It is a myth that wastage happens only in the
traditional market. multinationals and retail giants, too, have large wastage
owing to various reasons. For instance, there is hidden wastage owing to
standards like particular size or colour of fruits and vegetables. A large part
of the produce gets rejected because it does not meet those standards,” Kumar
said.
The 100 per cent FDI will be allowed through the
route of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board which offers a single window
clearance for investment proposals.
According to Prashant Khatore, partner, Ernst
& Young, “The move tries to identify the problem between manufacturing and
marketing. The problem is most of the food produced locally does not reach the
market because of the lack of a supply chain. In order to bridge that gap, the
government is allowing FDI.”
However, Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti
Virasat Mission said the move was aimed at shelving the country’s food
security, safety and sovereignty.
“Food is part of our civilisation and bringing
business into it is detrimental. When profit drives decision making, food gets
commoditised which is unacceptable to us.”
Watch a Punjabi farmer tell us about the agricultural
philosophy around good food!
जल दर्शन
|
“तालाब कहीं कब्जे से, कहीं गंदगी से तो कहीं तकनीकी ज्ञान के अभाव से सूख रहे है। कहीं तालाबों
को गैर-जरूरी मानकर समेटा जा रहा है तो कहीं ताकतवरों का कब्जा है। ऐसे कई मसले
हैं जो अलग-अलग विभागों व मदों में बंट कर उलझे हुए हैं। इतने बड़े प्राकृतिक
संसाधन के संरक्षण के लिए स्वतंत्र, अधिकार-संपन्न प्राधिकरण जरूरी है”
Water: Dr. Sirshendu
De
(Dr. Sirshendu De, Professor of the Chemical Engineering
department of the IIT, Kharagpur, has been selected for the Innovation Award
2016 for developing low cost eco-friendly laterite based arsenic filter for
providing safe drinking water for less than 3 paisa per litre. The award will
be given by Indian Desalination Association (South Zone)for this technology.)
IIT
Kharagpur scientist develops low cost water filter :
NEW
DELHI: A leading scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
have developed a low-cost eco-friendly water filter that can provide safe
drinking water for less than 3 paise per litre.
Sirshendu
De, who heads the department of chemical engineering, has been selected for the
Innovation Award 2016 by Indian Desalination Association (South Zone) for
developing this technology, an IIT Kharagpur spokesperson told ET.
The laterite-based filter is maintenance free, easy to operate, and capable of treating 80-100 litres of water a day, the person said. "As the filter does not require any regeneration or backwashing, the costing of the treated water is less than 3 paise per ..
The laterite-based filter is maintenance free, easy to operate, and capable of treating 80-100 litres of water a day, the person said. "As the filter does not require any regeneration or backwashing, the costing of the treated water is less than 3 paise per ..
More
than 200 million people are affected worldwide by arsenic menace and over 100
million people in India and Bangladesh are at risk to arsenic contamination.
De's filter can absorb arsenic to the extent of 32mg per gram of material. It is made from naturally occurring red laterite soil which undergoes chemical treatment to enhance its capabilities to absorb arsenic. The filter has comparatively long life of about five years with no regeneration of the absorbent (filter medium) require .. during its lifetime.
De's filter can absorb arsenic to the extent of 32mg per gram of material. It is made from naturally occurring red laterite soil which undergoes chemical treatment to enhance its capabilities to absorb arsenic. The filter has comparatively long life of about five years with no regeneration of the absorbent (filter medium) require .. during its lifetime.
The
arsenic concentration of filtrate is always within the WHO drinking water
permissible limit, independent of the ground water concentration, the IIT
spokesperson said.
Read more at: Mar 03, 2016
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/51243157.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/51243157.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Women “Water Friends” Script a Success Story
Kamlesh Kumari – a “Water Friend”
in Dharaupur village of north India’s Uttar Pradesh state demonstrates a tool
kit she uses to repair hand-pumped wells. “We don’t want to depend on anyone
for small water problems,” she says. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
- Prema Bai, 58, bends her head and pushes hard her wheelchair on
the village road. In the early afternoon, the village of Mamna appears almost
deserted although it is home to 742 families and is located in Uttar Pradesh –
India’s largest and most populated state. Thanks to a severe drought, every man
and woman under 50 has fled Mamna in recent weeks, leaving behind the elderly
and women with very young children. “They thought we were like cattle, a burden
in this hard time because we only eat but yield no returns,” says Bai whose two
sons and their wives also migrated to Agra — a city 255 km away — to work in a
brick kiln.
They were wrong: despite being paralysed from her
waist downwards, Bai is working along with her women neighbours to end the
water crisis in her village. Dressed in blue that symbolises water, Bai and her
fellow women have a new name for themselves: ‘Jal Saheli’ (meaning ‘Water
Friend’ in Hindi).
Demanding women’s first right to water
Demanding women’s first right to water
Under the Indian Constitution, discriminating
against anyone on the basis of caste or religion is a crime. But in Mamna,,
those from the “higher” castes, enjoy more power or rights than those from the
dalit and tribal communities. So, when it comes to fetching water from the
community pond or well, women of dalit and tribal women must wait until those
from the higher castes have first filled their vessels. Often, higher caste men
also draw water from the community pond for irrigation or bathing their cattle,
without any consideration for women waiting to collect water for their
families.
In 2011, under a European Union (EU)-funded
project, women from dalit, tribal and muslim families in 110 villages in three
districts – Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Jalaun – began to stand up against this
cycle of discrimination and claim their right to local water sources.
“These villages are part of a region called
Bundelkhand. Here, every woman spends about 3- 5 hours daily to get water
because it is thought to be a woman’s duty to fetch water for her family. We
felt that only a women-led movement could ease this huge water burden,” says
Satish Chandra, activist and trainer at Parmarth Seva Sevi Sansthan – a local
charity that works with marginalised people of the region and is implementing
the EU-funded project.
Planning Their Own Water Security
Kunti Devi, another Jal Saheli from
Mamna village, says that as the first step towards making their village water
secure, the women formed a special group called the “water council”. The
council drew a map of their village that detailed all the existing water
sources including irrigation canals, torrential streams, wells, ponds and bogs
and their current status. Next, the council counted the population of the
village and calculated the daily water needs of each family. Families living
close to the water and far from it were identified. Finally, the women made a
detailed plan to cleanse, revive and protect the water sources from
indiscriminate use.
“We call it our water security plan,” says Devi
adding that “it has details of our water vulnerabilities and measures that we
must take to overcome them.”
Facing Climate Hurdles
But, despite their sincere efforts, achieving
total water security has been a long-drawn battle and so far 34 of the total
villages have become water secure, informs Manvendra Singh – another trainer at
Parmarth. The main hurdle, say women, is that the Bundelkhand region has been
hard- hit by successive droughts. For example, between June 1 and September 30,
2015, Lalitpur district received only 321.3 mm of rain, which is 66 per cent
less than normal, says the Indian Meteorological Department. In November 2015,
the government of Uttar Pradesh declared all the seven Bundelkhand districts as
drought-affected.
According to Jal Saheli Kamlesh Kumari of
Dharaupur village, “We wanted to deepen the village pond this year, but dropped
the plan because of the drought. The government has installed a borewell for
watering the wheat fields. Next month (when the fields don’t need any more
watering), we will draw water from this borewell and fill the pond. But because
of the heat, water is evaporating faster than usual, so we have to fill it
every 2 weeks or so.”
Rapidly depleting ground water level has been
another concern. “In 2011, when the project was first launched, the average
water level was 60 feet. Four years later, it has dropped at least by 10 feet,”
Chandra of Parmarth informs.
Learning Skills That Matter
Although a few villages like Bamoria have tap
water — a result of their intense lobbying local officials — most villages
still depend on government-installed hand-pumped wells for their daily water
needs since ponds and streams dried up. However, hand-pumped wells also break
down often, so the women have learned to repair them. “The most common problems
are a worn washer, a broken pin or a loose bearing etc which makes the handle
too shaky to pump water. Now we fix all these problems ourselves. Only when the
water level goes down, we depend on the government to deepen the well,” says
Kamlesh Kumari.
Running for Public Office
Running for Public Office
Jayati Janta – a Sahariya tribal woman and a Jal
Saheli was recently elected the head of Rajawan village council despite
stiff opposition from men of higher castes. Only 2 months into office, Janta is
already implementing the water security plan that includes building a
percolation tank to recharge the ground water in the village. “Every woman is
donating labor for this,” she says.
Others believe that Janta’s election will be a
turning point. “A Jal Saheli knows local women’s struggle for water. If we can
have a few more ‘Jal Saheli’ in the public offices, we can change this region,”
says Lalita Dube, a Jal Saheli in Bhadauna village.
This story is based on interviews of women in
over 20 villages. Additionally, the writer has relied on a documented study of
the project.
देशज ज्ञान
और स्वस्थ
|
What Aloe Vera Does In
Your Body: Why Egyptians Called It The Plant Of Immortality
March 9, 2016 by Alanna Ketler
Known to the Egyptians
as the plant of immortality and to Native Americans as
the wand of heaven, aloe vera comes with a wide array of amazing
healing properties — some of which you may already be aware. You
might even have your own aloe vera plant in your home for those small
emergencies like scrapes, cuts, and burns, but did you know that aloe vera is
not only limited to topical use and is actually even more beneficial to your
body when taken internally?
Aloe vera contains
over 200 biologically active, naturally occurring constituents which include
polysaccharides, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, and minerals that promote
nutrient absorption.
According to The
Journal of Environmental Science and Health, aloe vera also
possesses anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties that
assist the immune system in cleansing the body of toxins and invading
pathogens. But that isn’t all aloe vera juice/gel has to offer.[1]
Minerals
Aloe vera has loads of
minerals including calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, sodium, iron,
potassium, copper, and manganese. These minerals work together to boost
metabolic pathways.
Enzymes
Aloe Vera contains
important enzymes like amylase and lipase which can aid in digestion by
breaking down fat and sugar molecules. One molecule in particular, Bradykinase, helps
to reduce inflammation.
Vitamins
Amazingly, aloe vera
is one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12, which is required for the
production of red blood cells. This is great news for vegetarians
and vegans in particular, who often do not get adequate amounts of
B12 through their regular diet. Aloe vera is also a source of vitamins A, C,E,
folic acid, choline, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), and B6.
Amino Acids
Aloe vera contains 20
of the 22 essential amino acids that are required by the human body. It also
contains salicylic acid, which fights inflammation and bacteria.
Feb 27th, 2016
http://www.ewao.com/a/painkiller-deaths-drop-by-25-in-states-with-legalized-medical-marijuana/
Medical cannabis has shown to be
extraordinarily capable of naturally healing the body. But this report
shows a healthy side of using weed that we didn’t expect.
A study put out by
the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014 made an interesting
discovery. In every state that had legalized medical marijuana between
1999 and 2010 (originally 13 states, and in 2016 has risen to 23 states in all), there was a 25% reduction in deaths related to the overdose of legally prescribed opioids.
The findings
became apparent and was noticed by study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health in Baltimore.
“The difference is quite
striking”, she said. She also notes that the trend became visible in
every state a year after the medical cannabis was legalized.
The Findings … Why Weed Is Safer Than Pills
- Barry says that it is “basically impossible” to die from an overdose on weed and suggests the substitution is the most likely reason for the reduction in deaths.
- The study suggests that patients experiencing chronic pain can substitute or supplement cannabis for their pain prescription.
- Patients are able to take smaller (or no) doses of the prescription drug and are less likely to experience an overdose.
विविध
|
How tech transfer initiative can deliver the SDGs
08/03/16
Nick Ishmael Perkins
http://www.scidev.net/global/capacity-building/multimedia/tech-transfer-initiative-deliver-sdgs.html
Science and technology
underpin the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and without a pragmatic
approach to fostering research and implementing new technologies, the goals
will remain aspirations. Last year, to secure a prominent place for
science and technology in the post-2015 agenda, the Addis Ababa Action action Agenda on development
financing
and the outcome
document on the SDGs both recommended creating a mechanism to assist developing
nations. The Technology Facilitation Mechanism will aid sustainable and lasting scientific capacity building that responds to the
specific needs of each country. It will also help coordinate the activities of
other UN agencies. In this interview, we speak with Elmer William Jr
ColglazieR, a science
diplomacy
expert who is one of the ten members on a UN panel created to support the new
mechanism. He explains the story of the mechanism and what needs it intends to
address, and looks at future challenges.
Civil Society to Build Bridges With Private Sector
UNITED
NATIONS, Mar 2 2016 (IPS) - To successfully implement the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by
world leaders last September, it is time for “Turning Conversations into
Action.”
This
was the theme of the Third Annual Power of
Collaboration Global Summit,
organised by IMPACT Leadership 21 — a global platform which provides inclusive
and innovative leadership solutions driving change.
The
summit, which took place on February 29 at the Economic and Social Council
Chamber (ECOSOC), was the occasion to launch IMPACT Leadership 21 “500”: an
initiative that offers a service aimed at distributing press releases to
international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order
to bridge the gap between civil society and capital markets.
The
project is co-sponsored by media partners iCrowdNewswire and Inter
Press Service (IPS), an international news agency focusing largely on the
developing world.
Hector
Botero, President of iCrowdNewswire, told IPS: “Civil society has been largely
ignored in the financial markets, but there is a growing interest in investing
in issues, causes and in doing impact investments. Like various companies that
use tools to effectively communicate with capital markets, the civil society
needs to do the same.”
For
a long time now, costs have also kept civil society away from engaging with the
private sector, said Constance Peak, chief financial officer (CFO) and
co-founder of IMPACT Leadership 21.
“But
this initiative is free, and NGOs can start having their press releases published
just like the big companies, except they are not going to pay $5,000 to
$10,000. We have finally bridged the financial gap and now we will help NGOs to
craft their messages,” Peak told IPS.
The
aim of the IMPACT Leadership 21 “500” is to recruit 500 organisations from all
countries and regions worldwide, regardless of cause, size or financial
resources, and offer them a space where, through high quality corporate
communications guidance, they can increase their visibility, raise awareness,
and advocate for their goals.
Botero
said iCrowdNewswire — a company founded in 2015 and marketing technology
software — is partnering with IPS, a news agency that has a track record of
nearly 52 years in the field of news dissemination, and is recognised by ECOSOC
as an NGO.
“(We’ll)
be able to deliver these services and help organisations to communicate with
stakeholders, investors, consumers, regulators, institutions and governments.
This is going to be the way to generate the appetite from those that have the
money to invest in civil society projects,” he added.
This
collaboration will guarantee positive results – said Botero. IPS receives over
5,000 to 10,000 press releases a month, from NGOs worldwide, but it is
difficult for the agency to publish all of them, he added.
“Through
our system and our platform, we guarantee publishing and assistance to all
these organisations, at absolutely no cost, while providing them with a voice,
tools to enhance their media exposure and subsidising them.”
Co-sponsoring
the Third Annual Summit along with IMPACT Leadership 21, were in the Foundation
for the Support of the U.N. (FSUN), the Mission of the Czech Republic to the
U.N. and other private partners such as IBM, Microsoft, Bloomberg
Philanthropies and Eclat Impact.
As
Botero pointed out, the summit showed how to build partnerships between the
public and the private sector. “Here, today, are companies such as Microsoft,
and IBM which have the funds, the knowledge, human capital and the financial
resources that the public sector can use, and that it is willing to use,” he
told IPS.
The
message of IMPACT LEADERSHIP 21 is to create a new political and economic
framework, in line with the UN’s Agenda 2030.
In
doing so, the organisation brings together experts from different sectors —
public, civil society, private, academic — and different levels, including
grassroots, national and international, in order to solve the Millennium
challenges of sustainable development and climate change. IMPACT also
accelerates gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment.
“We
hold the conversation that no-one else is doing,” remarked Peak. “Private
sector, entrepreneurs, advocates, governmental and intergovernmental experts
discussing their commonalities and universalities. These people are empowered
to make an immediate change.”
“The
Power of collaboration is social evolution,” said the CFO of IMPACT Leadership
21, “It is in each of us to spark change […] It’s time for adaptation, mutation
and other changes for the sake of sustainability, justice and survival.”
*****
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