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Society, Culture, Religion and History
Pest and disease management in organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 06:17 PMThis set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with pest and disease management practices in organic farming, which rely primarily on preventive and integrated methods.
Crop production and plan protection in organic farming
This paper by S R Sundararaman presents organic farming as the only recourse for farmers, to save both livelihood and the health of the soil. Organic farming methods enable farmers save money and turn their farmyard waste into value-added products for increasing crop production. Farmers will not have to be dependent on agri-business companies for seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Our self-reliance is thus preserved. A large portion of our country's foreign exchange is used to pay for the import of petroleum products. By going organic we will also help our country save on valuable foreign exchange. Our land will keep giving us returns for extended periods of time unlike farming as per the green revolution, where the land stays productive for a short time and then becomes sterile.
The uppermost question in the minds of farmers who have recently converted to organic farming or who want to turn organic is how to ensure that crop production does not reduce and how to protect the plants from disease, without the chemical fertilizers and pesticides that their fields have grown used to. This paper provides the answers and it also seeks to reassure all farmers that there is no farm which cannot turn around and produce quality crops in sufficient quantity, using organic farming methods.
Preparedness for tsunami-like disasters - MoEF Press release
Posted on 18 Mar, 2011 01:07 PM
In the background of recent Tsunami tragedy that has struck Japan,concern has been raised in India on the safety of critical infrastructure projects located in the coastal areas, for instance, power plants, oil storage depots, refineries etc. More such projects are likely to come up in the coastal locations in the years to come.
Hazard Line Mapping
In this connection, it may be recalled that a very important component of the Rs.1200 crore project taken up by the MoEF for implementation involves identification, delineation and demarcation of the hazard line along the 5400 kms of the main coastline of India.
Call for Entries – Voices from the Waters 2011, 6th International Film Festival on Water - Last date to apply 15th June 2011
Posted on 16 Mar, 2011 05:23 PMBangalore Film Society in collaboration with Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, SVARAJ, Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival (FLEFF) of Ithaca College USA, Christ University Bangalore, VISTHAR, Charter of Human Responsibilities, SAMVADA, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, YWCA Bangalore and Water Journeys – Campaign for Fundamental Right to Water, are organizing the 6th edition of the largest International Film Festival on Water – Voices from the Waters 2011.
Review of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal - A report on Krishna river water allocations
Posted on 08 Mar, 2011 04:42 PMThis is a review of KWDT-2 report analysing how it has failed to protect the long term sustainable productivity and ecology of the river basin. It has also failed to understand the water allocations done by previous KWDT-1. KWDT-2 also negated the earlier KWDT-1 allocations at the same time categorically stating that it cannot change water use allocations of previous award.
Workshop on "Water Conflicts in Odisha: Issues and way forward", Baitarani Initiative, 28th - 29th March 2011, Bhubaneswar
Posted on 04 Mar, 2011 05:31 PMOrganizer: Baitarani Initiative
Venue: Development Resource & Training Centre (DRTC), Centre for Youth & Social Development (CYSD), Bhubaneswar
25 years of the Narmada struggle - Ordinary people, extraordinary movement
Posted on 03 Mar, 2011 11:15 AMArticle and Images by: National Alliance of People's Movements
Lakes of Mahadevpura constituency of Bengaluru: Current status, changes in distribution and recommendations for restoration - A report by ATREE (2011)
Posted on 02 Mar, 2011 09:18 AMThe lakes are now faced with the impacts of rapid urbanization and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been consolidating management of the majority of the city’s lakes under its control in the recent years. The survey dealt with 35 lakes in 10 sub chains in Mahadevpura. The report describes current status, studies changes in extent, and suggests steps for reclamation and conservation.
Socio-economic implications of depleting groundwater resource in Punjab: A comparative analysis of different irrigation systems - An EPW paper
Posted on 01 Mar, 2011 06:00 PMIt argues that while the consequences of negative groundwater draft have mostly been viewed as an ecological disaster, the externalities of groundwater depletion pose greater concern for socio-economic equity in the access to this resource.