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Ecology and Environment
Problems of hill states and hill areas and ways to ensure that they do not suffer in any way because of their peculiarities - Report of the Task Force - Planning Commission
Posted on 01 Nov, 2011 09:37 PMThis report by the Task Force, constituted by the Planning Commission, Government of India in April, 2008, is an outcome of the need expressed by the Prime Minister of India for a fresh analysis of the problems of the hill states and hill areas of the country in a manner that suggests that these areas do not suffer in any way on account of their peculiarities.
Opinions have been expressed that the pace of development of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has been slow when compared to the rest of the country. At the same time, its fragile nature and difficulty of taking up conventional development initiatives has not been appreciated. In this report, arguments have been presented recommending reshaping of policies to bring in the “mountain perspective” for the IHR, in the national planning. Emphasis has also been laid on developing norms for good governance and for harnessing social capital at the grassroots.
Lakes in Mumbai – A draft report by WWF India
Posted on 01 Nov, 2011 08:59 PMThis draft report on the study of lakes by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (India) documents the physical condition of the lakes in Mumbai. Apart from the three lakes - Tulsi, Powai and Vihar that used to provide water to Mumbai residents, there are many lakes in the Bombay Municipal Corporation jurisdiction that are either polluted by human sewage or industrial effluents and have remained neglected with increasing urbanization.
There is very little to no data available on the existence of lakes of Mumbai. Several RTI’s to the government bodies also revealed that there was a lacuna in terms of the availability of the data; as a result most of the water bodies are easily exploited. Under this study the baseline data was prepared with the help of Google Earth website. The areas appearing to be lakes were marked on the Google Earth Images. These were verified by the field staff through onsite visits. The survey was conducted during September and October, 2008 and March, 2009. The study considers only the fresh water lakes which were accessible and saline water impoundments have not been considered.
Himalayan glaciers: A state-of-art review of glacial studies, glacial retreat and climate change – A MoEF discussion paper
Posted on 30 Oct, 2011 09:02 PMThe MoEF discussion paper on Himalayan glaciers studies the phenomenon of glaciations and glacier dynamics, a phenomenon that has attained significant attention in recent years, on account of the general belief that global warming and climate change is leading to fast degeneration of glaciers in the Himalayas. It is argued that this would, in the long run, have an adverse effect on the environment, climate and the water.
Alternative national water policy - A critique - Economic and Political Weekly
Posted on 30 Oct, 2011 04:04 PMThis article published in the discussion section of the Economic and Political Weekly is a critique of the National Water Policy: An alternative draft for consideration, proposed by Ramaswamy Iyer, published in the Economic and Political Weekly, June 25th 2011.
Fisheries and livelihoods in Tungabhadra basin: Current status and future possibilities – A working paper by Institute for Social and Economic Change
Posted on 30 Oct, 2011 01:02 PMThis study by Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) aims at understanding the livelihood patterns of fishermen within the Tungabhadra sub basin, a tributary of river Krishna located in peninsular India. Lack of integrated approach in development initiatives and water management plans warrants the need for Integrated Water Resource Management to support livelihoods. The study focuses on fisheries as a source of livelihood, current status and institutional support available, people dependant on it, development initiatives and suggestions for improvements.
Sustainable resources management for food security and sustainable livelihoods - Action - A Newsletter of AFPRO
Posted on 30 Oct, 2011 07:46 AMThese technologies include soil and water conservation measures, integrated farming, diversion based irrigation systems, sustainable agriculture, tree-based farming to name a few.
Environmental flows in water resources policies, plans, and projects - Case studies by IBRD
Posted on 29 Oct, 2011 06:34 PMThis report comprising a set of case studies by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) presents how environmental flows is dealt with in water resources policies, plans, and projects. It focuses on the integration of environmental water allocation into integrated water resources management (IWRM) and so fills a major gap in knowledge on IWRM.
An inventory of Greater Himalayan wetlands – A manual by ICIMOD
Posted on 27 Oct, 2011 03:00 PMThis manual by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) deals with an inventory of Greater Himalayan Wetlands and has been developed to assist governm
Mapping drought patterns and impacts: A global perspective – A research report by IWMI
Posted on 26 Oct, 2011 08:11 PMThis study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) examines the global patterns and impacts of droughts through the mapping of several drought-related characteristics – either at a country level or at regular grid scales. Characteristics cover various aspects of droughts – from global distribution of meteorological and hydrological drought risks to social vulnerability and indices related to water infrastructure.
Climate change impact on hill agriculture and farmers adaptive strategies – A case study of Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh
Posted on 26 Oct, 2011 06:35 PMIt takes apple as an indicator crop to investigate the positive and negative effects of climate change on farm economy. The research is a field study to determine the agricultural and socioeconomic impact of climate change on the farmers apple economy of the Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh, India.