Wednesday, 7 September 2016

August 2016:15-30 (FORTNIGHTLY)



August 2016:15-30 (FORTNIGHTLY)
  (15-30)  August 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN      FEATURES

                                                     - जलवायु संकट, पारिस्थिकी
                                                     - प्रदूषण                
                                             - आदिवासी विमर्श
                                              - कृषि और किसानी
                                        - जल दर्शन
                                                    - देशज ज्ञान और स्वास्थ्य
                                     - विविध

Ministries pooling data to account for environmental damage in GDP

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/ministries-pooling-data-to-account-for-environmental-damage-in-gdp/articleshow/53780045.cms

NEW DELHI: India has taken the first step to account for environmental damage while calculating its national income or gross domestic product. Various ministries have begun pooling data to create environment accounts for forest cover, water, waste and soil resources, among others, under a newly introduced System of Environmental Economic Accounting.

The work has just started on the system which can eventually yield benchmarks such as
sustainability index and biodiversity index, officials said. The system, similar to the System of National Accounts that is followed to calculate economic growth, has been mandated by the United Nations Statistical Division, they said.

"We are in the process of collecting data, but there are many gaps. This is the preparatory stage...We are talking to other ministries if they can give us some data," said a statistics ministry official, who did not wish to be identified. The statistics ministry has circulated a framework to other ministries to provide data for this endeavour which is designed to present a comprehensive picture of India's growth. 





An expert committee set up by the statistics ministry in 2013 chaired by
Partha Dasgupta, emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, had said that the system of national being used across the world suffers from "extreme narrowness".

The committee said that the demand for green national accounts has arisen because of a growing recognition that contemporary national accounts are an unsatisfactory basis for economic evaluation.


A biofortified rice high in iron and zinc is set to combat hidden hunger in developing countries
August 18, 2016 by Andrew Trounson
Rice is the staple food for billions of people throughout the developing world. But beyond easing hunger pains and providing carbohydrates for energy, it has little nutritional value.
It means many people who depend on rice as a staple food are effectively being starved of essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc and pro-vitamin A.
Nutritionists call it "hidden hunger."
The World Health Organisation estimates two billion people, or 30 per cent of the world's population, are anaemic, in many cases due to iron deficiency. This condition leaves people weak and lethargic and poses a significant and even fatal health risk to pregnant women and their children. Equal numbers are at risk of zinc deficiency with severe health consequences including stunted growth and impaired immune function.
But researchers are now on the cusp of making a real difference. University of Melbourne plant geneticist Dr Alex Johnson and colleagues have created a genetically modified (GM) rice that produces grain with significantly more iron and zinc through a process called biofortification. And field trials have now shown that the biofortified rice is just as high yielding as conventionally bred rices.
Field Trial Success
In results recently published in Scientific Reports, an open access journal from prestigious scientific publishers Nature, Dr Johnson and colleagues describe how they were able to grow iron and zinc biofortified rice plants in the field. Rice grains usually contain just 2-5 parts per million (ppm) of iron. The researchers were aiming to increase that to at least 13 ppm to address iron deficiencies in rice-based diets. They managed to get to 15 ppm. Similarly, they had been targeting to increase the amount of zinc from 16 ppm to 28 ppm, but they managed to get to 45 ppm.
"The results shows that this technology actually works in the field, not just in the glasshouse," says Dr Johnson, from the School of BioSciences. "We exceeded our biofortification targets and the rice was just as high yielding as existing rice varieties.''
Crucially, the field-testing also showed that while the genetic modification had enabled the biofortified rice to take up more iron and zinc from the soil, it didn't increase the take up of harmful heavy metals such as cadmium.

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Prime Minister's Office

17-August-2016 11:51 IST

PM greets the people on the start of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam New Year

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has greeted the people on the start of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam New Year.

“On the start of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam New Year, my greetings to the Malayali community. May the year bring joy & peace,” the Prime Minister said.

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Prime Minister's Office
17-August-2016 09:57 IST

PM greets the people on Navroz


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has greeted the people on the occasion of Navroz, the Parsi new year.

“Navroz Mubarak to the Parsi community. May there be an abundance of happiness, success & good health in this coming year,” the Prime Minister said.

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
17-August-2016 10:49 IST
National Commission for Scheduled Caste Submits Three Reports to President of India
The National Commission for Scheduled Caste headed by Shri P.L. Punia, Chairman, Shri Rajkumar Verka, Vice-Chairman and Shri Raju Parmar, Shri Ishwar Singh, Smt. P.M. Kamalamma, Members have submitted the following reports on 16th August 2016 to the Hon’ble President of India.

The reports are:-

1. Annual Report of NCSC 2015-16,

2. Report on the Effective Utilization of Funds under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP)-2016, and

3. Report on Atrocities against Kuravan community in Tamil Nadu-2016.v The report contain various recommendations on the issues entrusted to the commission regarding protection of Constitutional Safeguards of the Scheduled Castes as enshrined in Constitution of India on effective utilization and formation of schemes under Scheduled Casts Sub Plan (SCSP) and steps to end atrocities on the Kuravan Community in Tamil Nadu.

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
AYUSH
18-August-2016 13:35 IST
NMPB to launch National campaign on Medicinal Plants at Jaipur
National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) of the Ministry of AYUSH will launch a National campaign on Medicinal Plants on 20th – 21st August, 2016 at Jaipur. The campaign will be organised at State Institute of Agriculture Management (SIAM), Durgapura, in Jaipur. Approximately 500 farmers who are cultivating medicinal plants from across the country will participate. During the event, an Interactive Meet cum Seminar will also be organized on Medicinal Plants involving farmers, experts, traders, industries and other stakeholders of medicinal plants sector. Most of the stakeholders will be benefited through this event.

NMPB has been working for the growth and development of medicinal plants in the country since its inception in year 2000. At present, NMPB promotes medicinal plants conservation, cultivation, research, marketing, quality and other activities under Central Sector Scheme for "Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants" and Medicinal Plants component under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission for cultivation of medicinal plants.

Centre to begin fresh consultations with states on Western Ghats
if the Centre accepts recommendations of these reports, 60% of the Ghats will be opened up for development and will affect the water security of millions.
Millions of Indians living in the six Western Ghat states will have to wait longer before the Centre takes a final call on eco-sensitive areas in the 1,600km long fragile mountain chain. The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) is set to initiate a fresh round of consultations with state governments on the contentious issue which has been hanging fire for over two years. The ministry's decision comes even as over the last year all Western Ghats states, except Tamil Nadu, have submitted ground survey reports recommending reduction in eco-sensitive areas. Only Gujarat, which has the least land under eco-sensitive areas, recommended an increase of the protected area.
The state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Kerala have recommended that only 19,702.85 sq km of eco-sensitive area (ESA) should be retained as against the 56,825 sq km that was identified by the K Kasturirangan-led committee and as was declared by the Centre in its draft notification. Environment minister Anil Dave said that he has planned to visit all six Western Ghats states to interact with locals. "People want access to roads, water and power. I want to understand the entire subject and hence I will try to meet people residing in these states. We will have a decision within six months," said Dave. Speaking on the state government reports, Dave said, "All reports, including the Gadgil and Kasturirangan report, are a bunch of thoughts and the decision is up to the government."
On Thursday, Dave met with seven Members of Parliament from Western Ghats states including Sharad Pawar, Shashi Tharoor, DMK's Tiruchi Siva and Shiv Sena's Sindhudurg MP Vinayak Raut. Speaking to dna, Raut said, "We have asked the ministry to clarify whether they are going to consider both the Madhav Gadgil committee report and K Kasturirangan committee report or only one of them. Besides, we stressed that the final notification while protecting the environment should be in consonance with the everyday demands of locals."
The ground survey reports that state governments submitted to the ministry are voluminous and were based in part on meetings with Gram Sabhas. If the Centre accepts the recommendations of these reports, 60 per cent of the Ghats will be opened up for development and will affect the water security of millions.
Energy Vikalp Sangam
Energiewende: The German Experience link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpYJaDOxZtg

FARMERS AND FOOD:

"We need to ensure that small farmers retain complete control over their land and farming" http://indiafdiwatch.org/?p=485
A millet revival could solve India's Malnutrition problem. "Indian food was never about just wheat and rice. But the green revolution made it so."
Mumbai’s first farmer-to-consumer market http://linkis.com/C3kuF
Food safety regulator FSSAI has decided to allow up to 5 per cent use of vegetable fat and artificial sweetener in chocolates. This is bad news for consumer health while it benefits importers. http://bit.ly/2aWnYeX
An interesting Q&A with a reporter traveling Brazil and Latin America to learn about the food reforms taking place. "Nestlé sends saleswomen door-to-door in poor neighborhoods in Brazil, peddling sugar-filled yogurt and other snacks." https://thefern.org/2016/07/can-brazil-win-fight-junk-food-qa-bridget-huber/

TOI: Forest rights being granted in Melghat core under pressure - The Times of India

The Anthropocene is here: Scientists declare dawn of human-influenced era

Book:Environment, Development and Radical Alternatives

Chandaben Shroff: at the Kutch Vikalp Sangam: A Tribute

Citizenship without bias



The new citizenship legislation should include refugees from persecuted minorities of all denominations who have made India their home
On July 19, 2016, the government introduced a Bill to amend certain provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill has now been referred to the joint select committee of Parliament. The object of the proposed Bill is to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who have fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents, or those whose valid documents have expired in recent years, to acquire Indian citizenship by the process of naturalisation. Under the Bill, such persons shall not be treated as illegal immigrants for the purpose of the Citizenship Act. In another amendment, the aggregate period of residential qualification for the process of citizenship by naturalisation of such persons is proposed to be reduced from 11 years to six years. A large number of people who would otherwise be illegal immigrants can now heave a sigh of relief if the Bill goes through as they would be eligible to become citizens of the country.
Not inclusive enough

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, owes its genesis to the assurance given by the Prime Minister that Hindus from these three countries who have sought asylum in India would be conferred Indian citizenship. But since singling out Hindus alone could be discriminatory, the Bill has extended the right to acquire citizenship to other religious minorities living in the three countries.
The Bill, when passed, would be of immense benefit to the Chakmas and Hajongs of Bangladesh displaced because of the construction of the Kaptai Dam who have been refugees for nearly 65 years. The Supreme Court in Committee for C.R. of C.A.P. v. State of Arunachal Pradesh directed the Government of India and Arunachal Pradesh to grant citizenship to eligible persons from these communities and to protect their life and liberty and further prohibited discrimination against them.
Though India has not enacted a national refugee law, the three principles underlying India’s treatment of refugees was spelt out in Parliament by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 with reference to Tibetan refugees. They include: refugees will be accorded a humane welcome; the refugee issue is a bilateral issue; and the refugees should return to their homeland once normalcy returns there.
The proposed Bill recognises and protects the rights of refugees and represents a welcome change in India’s refugee policy. But it would have been appropriate if the Bill had used the term “persecuted minorities” instead of listing out non-Muslim minorities in three countries. To give an example, the Ahmadiyyas are not considered Muslims in Pakistan and are subject to many acts of discrimination. Other groups include members of the Rohingyas, who being Muslims are subjected to discrimination in Myanmar and have fled to India. Such a gesture would also have been in conformity with the spirit of religious and linguistic rights of minorities guaranteed under our Constitution. Unfortunately the Bill does not take note of the refugees in India from among the Muslim community who have fled due to persecution and singles them out on the basis of religion, thereby being discriminatory.
The case of the Malaiha Tamils

Yet another disappointing feature of the Bill is that it does not provide citizenship to the people of Indian origin from Sri Lanka who fled to Tamil Nadu as refugees following the communal holocaust in July 1983. The Indian Tamils, or Malaiha (hill country) Tamils as they like to be called, are descendants of indentured workers who were taken by the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries to provide the much-needed labour for the development of tea plantations. The British gave an assurance that the Indian workers would enjoy the same rights and privileges accorded to the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan Tamils. But soon after independence, by a legislative enactment the Indian Tamils were discriminated and rendered stateless. In the protracted negotiations that took place between New Delhi and Colombo on the thorny issue of stateless people, Nehru maintained that except for those who voluntarily opted for Indian citizenship, the rest were the responsibility of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Sri Lanka, on the other hand, argued that only those who fulfilled the strict qualifications prescribed for citizenship would be conferred citizenship, and the rest were India’s responsibility.

Nehru’s principled stance was abandoned by Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi when they entered into two agreements with Colombo in 1964 and 1974, respectively. New Delhi agreed to take back 6,00,000 people of Indian origin with their natural increase as Indian citizens, while Sri Lanka agreed to give citizenship to 3,75,000 with their natural increase. The wishes of the Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka were not ascertained. To the ruling elite in Colombo and New Delhi the people of Indian origin became an embarrassing set of statistics. Important national leaders — C. Rajagopalachari, K. Kamaraj, V.K. Krishna Menon, P. Ramamurthy and C.N. Annadurai — opposed the agreement as inhuman, but their views were brushed aside by the Central government in order to befriend the Government of Sri Lanka.
The ethnic fratricide in 1977, 1981 and 1983, which affected the plantation areas, convinced many people of Indian origin that they could not live amicably with the Sinhalese. They never subscribed to the demand for a separate state of Tamil Eelam; in fact, the hill country was relatively tranquil during the protracted ethnic conflict. Even then, they were subjected to vicious attacks by some lumpen sections of the Sinhalese population. They sold all their belongings, came to India as refugees, with the hope of acquiring Indian citizenship and permanently settling down here.
A point of no return

According to informed sources, there are nearly 30,000 Malaiha Tamils in the refugee camps scattered throughout Tamil Nadu. They have absolutely no moorings in Sri Lanka. Their children have intermarried with the local people and are well integrated into Tamil society. The young have availed of educational facilities, but are unable to get jobs commensurate to their qualifications because they are not Indian citizens. The refugees in Kottapattu camp, near Tiruchi, with whom we interacted, told us: “Come what may, we will not go back to Sri Lanka.”
All these refugees qualify for Indian citizenship by registration under Article 5 of the Citizenship Act of 1955. However their plea for citizenship has been negated citing a Central government circular that Sri Lankan refugees are not entitled for Indian citizenship. In a communication dated November 21, 2007 to the Special Commissioner for Rehabilitation, the Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu mentioned that there are strict instructions from the Government of India “not to entertain applications of Sri Lankan refugees for the grant of Indian citizenship”. We submit, in the light of recent developments, the above-mentioned circular of the Central government must be immediately withdrawn.
The tragedy of the Malaiha Tamils, a majority of whom are Dalits, must be underlined.
Immigrants, even those who are termed illegal, are entitled to equal protection before the law and the various rights that flow from Article 21. This was stressed by the Supreme Court in National Human Rights Commission v. State of Arunachal Pradesh while addressing the rights of Chakma refugees. If such immigrants are granted citizenship, the natural progression would mean that they enjoy the benefits of rights guaranteed under Article 19 besides others such as access to the public distribution system, right to participate in the political process, right to secure employment and other rights all of which currently are inaccessible to them. The Bill recognises this in its objects and reasons by referring to the denial of opportunities and advantages to such persons. The Bill therefore should not restrict itself to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh but should include refugees from persecuted minorities of all denominations who have made India their home.
V. Suryanarayan is founding Director and former Senior Professor, Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Madras; Geeta Ramaseshan is an advocate at the Madras High Court.

 Maharashtra: ‘FRA, PESA have replaced government administration with grassroots democracy’

The transition looked all the more positive as top government officials have now made a common cause on the subject with FRA and PESA activists. 

“Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act have removed the patronising role played by government administration to usher in real grassroots democracy for the village communities that were earlier subjected to only lip service,” said Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Anup Kumar at a programme in Gadchiroli on Saturday, signalling that the tide had been decisively turned in favour of the village communities, identified in legal corners as Gram Sabhas.
The transition looked all the more positive as top government officials have now made a common cause on the subject with FRA and PESA activists. A few years ago, the two were locked in heated arguments over who had the ultimate control over forest resources. The programme settled the debate in the favour of the Gram Sabhas.
The occasion was the release of a booklet ‘Margadarshak Tatve ani Margadarshika’ (guiding principles and guide), designed to guide gram sabhas to devise their own working plan of forest management. The booklet is a result of efforts by a committee set up by Kumar in his capacity as Chairman of the Vidarbha Statutory Development Board.
Led by tribal activist Dewaji Tofa, who spearheaded a forest rights movement at Mendha-Lekha village in Gadchiroli over the past three decades, the committee has come out with extensive guidelines for how the Gram Sabhas should prepare their working plan for the forests they have been granted Community Forest Rights (CFRs) over.
Mendha-Lekha’s forest rights story was, in fact, instrumental in inspiring the historic FRA of 2006 as clearly acknowledged by then environment minister Jairam Ramesh.
“The FRA clearly mentions that the government isn’t giving anything to the Gram Sabhas which they didn’t originally own. But with the village community’s forced alienation from their forests and the resources therein for long, the communities had virtually lost touch with their vast traditional expertise and knowledge of sustainable forest management. Hence, it was necessary to reorient them to this traditional knowledge with some modern techniques integrated into it. That is the objective which this booklet envisages to serve,” said Tofa.
Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, who scripted the Mendha-Lekha story along with Tofa through a long process of persuasion and consensus involving the entire community, said, “Gram sabhas managing forests and forest resources under FRA isn’t only about the community’s rights but also about their duties and is hence participatory, transparent and responsible in the real sense.”
Noted environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, who helped the committee in enlisting the various provisions in the booklet, said, “Real development is the one that confers self-respect on people. The FRA has done precisely that. For many decades after Independence, some expert views not rooted in ground reality were prevailing causing a lot of problems to ushering in real development. The tried and tested traditional knowledge of the communities had fallen by the wayside. Acts like FRA and PESA will go a long way in putting the process of development on the right track.”
Chief Conservator of Forest (Gadchiroli) Kalyan Kumar described FRA as “a step in the right direction” but stressed that “self-regulation” was necessary for proper management of the forest resources.
Parimal Singh, Deputy Secretary to the Governor, flagged the issue of “habitat rights” to pastoral and nomadic communities under FRA saying, “The Dindori village in Madhya Pradesh granted such right first to these communities. Gadchiroli, which has emerged as a leader in the CFR movement with maximum number of CFRs granted, should take the initiative in this direction also.”
Singh categorically said that the Gram Sabhas also had the right to grant Transit Passes (TPs). TPs had long been a bone of contention between Gram Sabhas and the forest department.
The booklet contains detailed guidelines about adoptive management of natural resources, EGS linked to CFR and biodiversity management, making detailed maps of village and its resources, enlisting important floral and faunal species, GPS survey of community forest, periodic check of the resources, registration of minor forest produces, nurseries, soil conservation etc.

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