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Ecology and Environment
Alternative National Water Policy by Ramaswamy R Iyer - Comments by Rahul Banerjee
Posted on 28 Dec, 2011 02:24 PMGuest Post: Rahul Banerjee
Ramaswamy Iyer has made a commendable effort to draft a National Water Policy that tries to reform the current unsustainable approach to water resource management in this country (EPW Vol XLVI Nos 26&27 Supplement pp 201). Assuming that this draft is an invitation to a larger public debate on the issues involved I would like to make a few comments on it.
National Alliance for People s Movements condemns arrest and harassment of anti-dam protesters in Assam
Posted on 28 Dec, 2011 12:10 PMContent courtesy: National Alliance for People's Movements
On the 26 December, 2011, at 2:15 am, Assam Police in collusion with other security forces swooped down on the protesters at Ranganadi who have been blockading the Highway since December 16 and thwarting state’s attempt to carry turbines and dam materials to project site of Lower Subansiri Dam. Nearly 200 people have been arrested and earlier also security forces have been harassing the protestors. In past too, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti fighting against the big dams on Brahmaputra have faced government’s ire and often been attacked and jailed. NAPM stands in solidarity with KMSS and other students groups of the region who have been consistently opposed to the big dams in highly sensitive seismic zone. We condemn the sustained action and harassment of KMSS and their activists and targeting of Akhil Gogoi for constantly opposing the destructive development policies and corruption of the government machinery.
Life, livelihoods, ecosystems, culture: Entitlements and allocation of water for competing uses
Posted on 27 Dec, 2011 05:10 PMThis report has been prepared by the members of the working group set up by the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India on the issue of “Entitlements and allocations for livelihoods and ecosystem needs". The introductory chapter sets out the context of the report. The immediate context is the work of the Forum over the last 4-5 years, and the learning that this particular issue leads to many water conflicts in India.
Agriculture, food security and nutrition in Vidarbha: Household level analysis – A special article in EPW
Posted on 27 Dec, 2011 09:43 AMUsing the data generated from a baseline survey on a sample of 6,990 households covering six districts, this paper attempts to assess the relationships between agriculture, food security and nutrition for children, adolescents and married women of reproductive age.
National action plan on climate change (NAPCC) and supporting mission documents (2008-11)
Posted on 24 Dec, 2011 11:46 PMThe National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) is a policy document prepared by the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. It has been prepared keeping in mind that India's economic need to tap its natural resources needs to be tempered with the need to maintain ecological balance.
Confessions of an OD boy: The need to achieve a sustainable open defacation free intervention
Posted on 24 Dec, 2011 07:58 PMAuthor: Mohanasundar Radhakrishnan
International training workshop on "Environmental Statistics for Professional", IIT, December 27-30, 2011, Mumbai
Posted on 19 Dec, 2011 09:04 AMOrganizers: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay
Thadomal Shahani Engineering College (TSEC), Mumbai
Venue: Thadomal Shahani Enginnering College, P G Kher Road, Off Link Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai
Description:
IIT Bombay is organising Workshop on "Environmental Statistics for Professional" jointly with TSEC, Mumbai.
The objective of the proposed Four Day Training Workshop on Environmental Statistics is aimed at familiarizing the teaching community on the application of appropriate statistical techniques, exclusively to environmental systems. The faculty will demonstrate application of various probability and statistics techniques to environmental problems. The training would hopefully help in teaching the subject at their respective Institutions, in a structured manner.
The impacts of water infrastructure and climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Ganges river basin – A research report by IWMI
Posted on 18 Dec, 2011 07:03 PMThe Ganges river system originates in the Central Himalayas, and extends into the alluvial Gangetic Plains and drains into the Indian Ocean at the Bay of Bengal. In the upstream mountainous regions, hydropower is the main focus of development with mega and micro projects either under construction or being planned in both Nepal and India.
After the main river channel reaches the plains, it is highly regulated with dams, barrages and associated irrigation canals. All this infrastructure development and abstractions affects the river’s flow regime and reduces flows, which, in turn, impacts downstream water availability, water quality and riverine ecosystems. Furthermore, there are concerns that climate change is likely to exacerbate the water scarcity problem in the Ganges Basin. Therefore, modeling the hydrology of the basin is critical for estimation, planning and management of current and future water resources.
Yamuna-Elbe - A public art and outreach project at the Yamuna riverscape in Delhi launched on 5 November, 2011
Posted on 18 Dec, 2011 02:02 PMGuest post by: Amita Bhaduri
The public art outreach project was organized by the Max Mueller Bhavan in association with the Government of Delhi and the Goethe-Institut (Hamburg, Germany) as a part of the “Year of Germany in India” programme opened on 5th of November, 2011. The art exhibition which continued till the 19th of November co-curated by artist Ravi Agarwal who is also a practicing environmentalist (Director, Toxics Link) along with German artist, Till Krauser attempted to create a pulsating synergy between the Yamuna and Elbe rivers.
Gigi Scaria’s - The fountain of purification
Photo courtesy: Rocky Thongam
This is a 24 ft installation representing a four storey apartment complex that draws Yamuna water, purifies it at various levels and dispenses it from the top in the form of a fountain.
Traditional water bodies of Delhi
Posted on 18 Dec, 2011 01:56 PMSohail Hashmi, an author, film-maker, one of the founders of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) and a true Dilliwala on 5 December 2011 at the India Habitat Center. The presentation woven around photographs of the city's step well