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Culture and Nature Prof. P. C. Joshi The present ideological conflict has also affected the approach and direction of eco-restoration. The paradox of our planners is obvious. When the plans are made in line with the needs and aspirations of the people why we do not succeed? When everything possible is done to involve people in their welfare then why they do not cooperate? Why do people view their own programmes as 'sarkari melas' (government funded fairs)? Are tribals and communities living in close proximities of the forests really guilty of destroying the forests? Instead of making a generalization here, let me refer to Uttarakhand, where this notion is far from true. The Uttarakhand forests have been destroyed for commercial use and it is the resistance of people through movements such as Chipko that has put a check on deforestation process. A simple question, which will be pertinent to pose here, is how have these forests have survived in the past? Forest management and policing is largely a gift of the Britishers who made stringent forest rules for forest protection. They imposed strict forest laws not because they were great lovers of nature but primarily because they wanted to exercise more or less exclusive control over commercial gains out of the forests. Forest resources were put to commercial use to a great extent. In many areas, the traditional species were replaced by commercial plantation of beneficial trees. In Uttarakhand, chir-pine replaced broad leave forests. The people who were living in the neighbourhood were slowly dispossessed of their own forests. The British also opened gateways to the commercial and market use of the forests. From wall panels to furniture, railway sleepers to teakwood coffins, precious forest wealth from India found a place in materialism and luxury.
Changing the ‘Climate’ for Climate Change ProfessorDr.Bharat H.Desai UNFCCC, based upon precautionary approach, is still shrouded in uncertainties. There are ‘calculated ambiguities’ in the convention itself for the political convenience of the states. The ‘in-built’ law making mechanism is conditioned upon several factors: political, scientific, and economic. The notion of taking the lead (by developed country parties) on the part of only one group of parties to the Convention is unique in the treaty-making process. This is the very soul of the FCCC in attaining the goals of combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof as well as provides a central basis for trade off between the developed country parties and developing country parties under the climate regime.
Global Warming and the Challenges Posed by Climate Change Deoki Nandan, Vinod Joon, Vaishali Jaiswal The industrial revolution which started in mid 19th century has resulted in severe exploitation of natural resources and degradation of environment by human population which is presently posing the greatest threat to the globe. Earth is warming at an unusual rate. Evidence of warming is present in different forms. The most obvious is data of temperature records. There are many temperature dependant phenomenons that also indicate the earth is warming. Scientists suggest that the cause for increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and ultimately for planetary warming are anthropogenic activities. The main sources for the increased CO2 are the combination of burning fossil fuels and deforestation to clear land for agriculture. Changes in temperature and precipitation may adversely affect freshwater availability and quality in many areas. Climate change could also aggravate current problems of biodiversity loss and desertification. The changing climate will inevitably affect the basic requirements for maintaining health: clean air, water, sufficient food and adequate shelter. Even if the concentration of green house gases were to be stabilized at current levels, the impact of climate change would continue for several decades making adaptation to climate change an essential part of immediate policies. There is an urgent need to raise public awareness on climate change. We need to focus on renewable options in energy sector. Also Issues related to equity and ethical dimensions of climate change need to be addressed as poor communities are more vulnerable.
Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management in India Mahesh Babu The waste characteristics in India (close to 60% is bio-degradable) make composting one of the most convenient and economical processing technologies for solid waste. The Committee constituted by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in 1999 had suggested composting as the main technology of MSW processing in the country. In the past, compost plants have been a failure due to lack of offtake and not acceptability as a fertilizer on a large scale. The agro policy framework still foresees massive subsidies for chemical fertilisers. Bank also consider composting, a venture which entails high risk due to its lack of long term success and hence, the collateral securities are unreasonably higher.
Continuous overuse of subsidised chemical fertilizers over the years and neglect of organic manures have resulted in skewed N:P:K (Nitrogen: Phosphorus: Potassium) ratios and falling soil productivity. This necessitates the promotion of Integrated Nutrient Management which stipulates, soil test based judicious use of chemical fertilizers, in combination with organic compost and bio-fertilizers.
Natural Disaster Management –An Overview Prof. Vinod K. Sharma and Dr. Ashutosh Deo Kaushik
The natural disasters directly impact economies, agriculture, food security, water, sanitation, the environment and health each year. India is hit by one major natural disaster or the other almost every year wherein the loss of life is accompanied by losses of the magnitude that is difficult to comprehend. The decade (1990-99), which was the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-99), it witnessed a spate of large-scale disasters that defied all attempts to stem them. These included the Latur (Maharashtra) Earthquake of 1993 killing about 10,000 persons, the Andhra Pradesh Cyclones of 1990 and 1996, killing about 1000 persons each, the Gujarat Cyclone of 1998 killing over 3,500 persons and the Orissa Super-Cyclone of 1999 killing about 10,000 persons. Besides these major events, there were smaller earthquakes in Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Jabalpur, and frequent floods in the north-east, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala. Unfortunately, these disasters were not taken up as learning opportunities, and lessons were not drawn from them to the extent to be prepared in combating future disasters. What happened in Gujarat in 2001and the way it was handled are grim reminders of the fact that we still need to learn and improve much.
Sustainable Development and Paper Industry Dr. Ing. Abanish Panda The Pulp & Paper industry both emits and removes carbon dioxide. Trees, which are the main raw material for paper, take up carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Growing trees in plantation may reduce CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. It is estimated that doubling the area of present plantation would be needed to balance the CO2 uptake. This is perhaps an unviable proposition. Improvements in energy efficiency, both in generation and consumption is the urgent need of the industry. Most of the mills have now the co-generation of heat and power (CHP) system, which reduces theCO2 generation by almost 30% compared to one with power generation only. Waste paper in landfill has been a source of methane gas, which is 21 times more potent than CO2 in its green house effects. Recycling of waste paper worldover has been increasing and it is estimated that it would be the prime raw material for paper making next to wood pulp
Global Environment: A NAFTA Perspective Shveta The inability of GATT to address environmental issues works to the detriment of NAFTA. In the absence of GATT guidance on environmental issues, NAFTA negotiators forged their own environmental policy. The environmental parallel accord for NAFTA is the beginning, not the end, of negotiations on natural resource issues in North America. The ability to assimilate polluting industries varies from country to country and region to region21. However, in the regional context there was concern about environmental issues in relation to NAFTA. The NAFTA trade agreement is also said to have focussed ‘concern on protecting the environment’. The three NAFTA members (US, Canada and Mexico) and the environmentalists worked to make NAFTA the first trade agreement to have supplemental agreements on environmental issues. This side agreement was grafted onto the core at the initiative of President Clinton.
Environmental Rights, Values and Duties By Sailaja Gullapalli
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