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Droplets: e-Newsletter from Everything About Water - December 2010
The Highlights of the Droplets Newletter - Everything About Water Posted on 29 Dec, 2010 10:56 AM

Article and Image Courtesy: Everything About Water

Droplets newsletter

The December edition of Droplets e-newsletter published by the Everything About Water had the following highlights:

Damming North East India - Juggernaut of hydropower projects threatens social and environmental security of region
168 large hydroelectric projects to be set in the Northeast: Power or more conflict in the altered riverscape? Posted on 28 Dec, 2010 07:49 PM

This report by Kalpavriksh, Aaranyak and ActionAid India deals with the large dams’ juggernaut, which happens to be the biggest ‘development’ intervention in this ecologically and geologically fragile, seismically active and culturally sensitive region in the coming days. With the Northeast identified as India’s ‘future powerhouse’ and at least 168 large hydroelectric projects set to majorly alter the riverscape, large dams are emerging as a major issue of conflict in the region.

Although the current scale of dam-related developments far outstrips anything which took place in the past, the region has been no stranger to dam-related conflicts. For example, the Kaptai dam, built in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in the 1960s, submerged the traditional homelands of the Hajong and Chakma indigenous communities, and forced them to migrate into parts of Northeast India.

Blueprint for farm growth
Acting with determination and firm action, it should be possible for India to step up its agricultural growth rate to 10 per cent. Posted on 28 Dec, 2010 03:12 PM

 

Since the start of the 11th Five Year Plan, the growth rate in agriculture has virtually remained stagnant. A scene at a paddy field in the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Saltscapes - Dholavira, Gujarat - A guest post by Amitangshu Acharya and Ayan Ghosh
Watch the beautiful Kachch unravel itself and its treasures in a video documentary. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:41 PM

Guest Post: Text by Amitangshu Acharya, Photographs by Ayan Ghosh

Kachchh – a brilliant halfway between a turmeric yellow Rajasthan and the emerald green Sahyadris – offers an upside down version of life. It tells you that seeds of life and civilisation are often hidden beneath the sands of time in inhospitable terrains.

Guidelines for water safety plans for rural water supply systems by the Sulabh International Academy of Environmental Sanitation
Developing a village security plan for providing drinking water to rural households is now the focus. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 07:20 PM

This document by the Sulabh International Academy of Environmental Sanitation presents the guidelines for water safety plans for rural water supply systems. The revised National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) Guidelines 2009-2012 issued by Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation has shifted the focus from source development and installation of water supply system for providing drinking water supply to rural household to focus on development of village security plan.

Interlinking of Rivers - Third report of the Standing Committee on Water Resources (2009-2010)
Inter linking of Rivers: studying the consequences of this move two years into implementation. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 04:55 PM

This report of the Standing Committee on Water Resources deals with the action taken by the Government on the recommendations and observations contained in their Eleventh Report on “Inter Linking of Rivers” which was presented to Lok Sabha in October 2008.

Certificate Course in Introduction to Geospatial Tools for Conservation, ATREE, Bangalore
Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 12:52 PM

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)Organizer: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Topics:

  • Basics of GIS/RS data structure and analysis
  • Cartographic principles
  • Basic principles of remote sensing
  • Digital Image Processing
  • Spatial data sources
  • GPS theory
  • Field data collection and processing

Venue: Bangalore

Description:

This intensive course will provide participants with an opportunity to learn the basic principles of remote sensing, geographical information systems and GPS. The course will also provide rigorous, individualized hands-on training in GIS/RS techniques using state-of-the art software.

Water management lessons from the Nandi foothills - SRI technique involves less water
There was a time when one associated the Nandi foothills with the river Arkavathi and a lush green as far as the eye could see. Today, the foothills are populated with eucalyptus plantations. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:10 AM


Role models farmer couple Radhamma and Krishnappa have grown paddy in a region where groundwater levels have depletedThis has resulted in a depletion of groundwater resources. There is a scarcity of drinking water too, in the region.

Save Western Ghats, Alva Group of Institutions, Karnataka
Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:09 AM

Western GhatsOrganizer: Alva Group of Institutions

Venue: Alva’s Health Center, Mijar, Moodabidri, Karnataka

Description:

On behest of the movement, of which you have been an integral part, the Ministry of Environment & Forests had set-up a Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel to pave way for setting up the Western Ghats Environment Authority. The panel has been engaged in public consultations over past couple of months giving us a chance to collectively review its functioning as well.

The Dam Safety Bill (2010) – Ministry of Water Resources
The pending Bill seeks to provide for the surveillance, inspection and operation of all dams of certain parameters to ensure their safe functioning. Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 11:00 AM

The Dam Safety bill, 2010 introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2010 and approved by the cabinet earlier this year was referred to the Standing Committee on Water Resources, which was scheduled to submit its report within three months. The bill which is still pending seeks to provide for the surveillance, inspection and operation of all dams of certain parameters to ensure their safe functioning.