Nations Agree on Climate Road Map

Environment ministers agreed today to a road map to extend the Kyoto Protocol climate pact beyond 2012, breaking two weeks of deadlock at UN talks aimed at curbing global warming. Minutes after passing the Kyoto resolution, ministers also agreed to launch new, open-ended world talks on ways to fight global warming, overcoming objections by the US which had resisted taking part in broader discussions. The Montreal meeting had dragged on till nearly dawn today, in part delayed by last-minute Russian objections. “This has been one of the most productive UN climate change conferences ever. This plan sets the course for future action on climate change,” said Richard Kinley, acting head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat. Environment activists cheered, hugged and some even cried after the delegates passed what they saw as historic decisions tackling climate change. “There were many potential points at this meeting when the world could have given up due to the tactics of the Bush administration and others but it did not,” said Jennifer Morgan, climate change expert at WWF. “And we must count on this resolve moving forward to bring the much deeper cuts in emissions in order to avoid the very devastating impacts of climate change,” she said. The Montreal talks followed a twin track, one pursuing negotiations to advance Kyoto and the other under the broader UN Framework Convention on Climate Convention, Kyoto’s parent treaty. The US, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and Australia have refused to ratify Kyoto but are members of the parent treaty and Washington had initially refused to support a broader dialogue, fearing it might lead binding commitments for cutting emissions. The Kyoto decision urges rich nations to decide new commitments beyond 2012 as early as possible without setting a detailed timetable. Under Kyoto, about 40 industrialised nations have to cut their emissions by an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-12. But developing countries, such as China and India, have no targets under Kyoto and say that rich industrial states have to take the lead in cutting emissions after fuelling their economies with coal, oil and gas since the Industrial Revolution. The agreement on a Kyoto renewal road map would give members seven years to negotiate and ratify accords by the time the first phase ends in 2012. Most countries agree that deeper cuts will be needed to avoid climate chaos in coming decades. Global warming is widely blamed on a build-up of gases from burning fossil fuels in power plants, autos and factories. With the talks over, a huge sigh of relief swept through the vast conference hall after a 20-hour session that left delegates exhausted. Clinton steals the show Washington, Dec. 10: Bill Clinton is no longer US President, but judging by his sudden appearance at a UN Climate Change Conference, it is he — not his successor George W. Bush — who is determining US policy on the ground on environment. His aberration assumes significance as Bush, burdened by Iraq and mounting scandals of corruption and wrong-doing in the Republican Party and his administration, is becoming a lame-duck and Senator Hillary Clinton, the former First Lady, is emerging as an undeclared presidential candidate for 2008. Yesterday, as Clinton made an eleventh hour appearance at the fortnight-long UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Montreal to save it from collapse, the global disdain for the Bush administration’s policies scaled new heights because it is unprecedented for a former US President to slam his successor, that too on foreign soil. Clinton stole the show at the conference attended by environment ministers and 10,000 delegates from 180 countries and received a long, standing ovation after he told them that the Bush administration was “flat wrong” to reject the Kyoto Protocol. “There is no longer any serious doubt that climate change is real, accelerating, and caused by human activities”, Clinton told the conference, adding the earth was “literally a biological miracle... it is crazy for us to play games with our children’s future”. Clinton was invited by Montreal City and the Canadian branch of the environment group, the Sierra Club, in the final hours of the UNFCCC meeting. The official US delegation was said to be deeply unhappy with the invitation and in order to quell speculation that the team tried to block Clinton’s appearance, the delegation issued a statement asserting that it encouraged “stakeholder presentations” like the one by the former President on behalf of organizations like the Sierra Club. The US delegation, which walked out of the talks on the penultimate day of the conference, was further irritated when Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said at a press conference: “To the reticent nations, including the US, I say there is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it.”                                                                     
The Telegraph (Kolkata), 11 Dec. 2005

Going Glocal

Why was Japan's Kyoto being discussed in Canada's Montreal by more than 180 countries, undeterred by sub-zero temperatures? This is no frivolous question. Climate change jargon alone can fob off the most discerning audience. The UN Convention on Climate Change (Nov 28-Dec 9) discussed the future of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol (KP) after 2012 when it culminates. The KP was drawn up in 1997 in the Japanese city of Kyoto. A conference of parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change (formed after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit) agreed that commitments to cut back greenhouse gas emissions — that were accelerating global warming — had to be made by consenting developed countries (Annexe-1 countries) collectively responsible for 55 per cent of the world's GHG emissions. In February 2005 the KP became law. Signatory countries are required to cut back GHG emissions by 5.2 per cent of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The US, the world's largest polluter, has refused, saying it cannot compromise economic growth in favour of the environment. But it pledged clean technology to help reduce atmospheric pollution. The KP is flawed in that its cutback requirements are based on past aggregate pollution output. Which is why developed countries that have benefited most from industrialization are expected to comply while developing countries remain unbound. India is in favour of the KP (for developed countries) but will not commit itself to compulsory emission cutbacks. However, India is engaged in several multilateral projects to develop clean technology, clean coal and renewable energy sources. The principle of contraction and convergence advocates that while everyone makes efforts to reduce GHG emissions, the yardstick for measurement remains per capita pollution output. This is sensible. A US citizen emits 20 times more carbon dioxide than a citizen of India. The Montreal meet has generated greater awareness on issues of human activity-induced climate change; members agreed to hold talks on a post-Kyoto commitment; the US, China and Australia have agreed to talk within the convention but outside of the KP; Montreal recognized the need for us to adapt to climate change and it served as a platform for exchange of scientific ideas and political processes to save the planet. Think global, act local, is the flavour of the outcome – for emissions anywhere affect people everywhere.                                                                                                     
The Times of India (New Delhi), 16 Dec. 2005

Party Politics

There is no magic solution to global warming. But for the 180-plus countries meeting at Montreal at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — it's party-time. Labyrinthine meetings between parties to the UNFCCC or Cop-11 and between parties to the recently ratified Kyoto Protocol or Mop-1 are happening behind closed doors. However, the very holding of the conference is significant for two reasons. One, it is hosting the first meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol that became legally binding in February this year. Two, it is providing a convenient forum for governments, NGOs, scientists and other organisations of countries of different persuasions to thrash out their views in the context of dealing with anthropogenic climate change that is already impacting livelihoods and public health and threatening survival of species. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol makes it mandatory for developed countries signatory to it to cut back their emissions to at least 5.2% of 1990 levels by 2012. the Mop group will discuss ways of taking the KP forward beyond this first phase. The US and Australia are the only two developed countries who refuse to be part of the KP, as they say they do not want to compromise economic growth to help reverse global warming. The ‘either-or’ view is criticized by scientists at Montreal who point out that sustainable development does not necessarily mean taking cuts in economic growth; there are ways of doing one without stalling the other. As an official of India’s ministry of environment and forests put it, even if India and China are being arm-twisted by developed countries like the US and Australia for not being bound (by the KP) to cut back emissions, it is important to continue to engage with them to find alternative solutions, particularly scientific. Will India and China be forced to cut back emissions post 2012? The answer lies in how good we are at negotiating our position. When Russia became part of the KP – giving it the quorum necessary to become law, the protocol had to be ratified by countries that emit totally 55% of the Earth’s greenhouse gases – the world realized it could move even without US support. Even if the climate conference demonstrates that the world is not unipolar, that will be achievement enough.                                                                   
The Times of India (New Delhi), 06 Dec. 2005

Clouded By Talk

The Montreal meet on climate change that ended last weekend lacked the commitment needed to help planet Earth. The only good news is that the Kyoto Protocol signatories have agreed to extend the treaty on emissions reductions beyond the 2021 deadline. More importantly, the US has agreed to ‘non-binding talks on long-term measures’. The US still refuses to accept any deal leading to commitments to cuts, but its apparent readiness to discuss GHG emission controls beyond 2021 (when the current Kyoto runs out) may be a tentative step for the world towards a safer future. But the reduction in GHG emissions achieved by 2012 under current targets would be too insignificant without big polluters like the US chipping in. A generalized dialogue without concrete targets – as the US has in mind – will hardly help check atmospheric change and global warming. This was the last opportunity for the Kyoto Protocol to get the world’s biggest polluter, the US, on board the treaty that mandates industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The reduction was pitched at an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. Although it managed to get through several rounds of tough negotiations, the US had stubbornly refused to endorse it, saying it’d not only damage the US economy, but was also ‘discriminatory’, as it didn’t require developing countries to cut pollution the way developed countries must. But the rate at which worldwide emissions are spiraling, climate scientists have to illusions about countries having to cut their emissions not by the 10 percent as some participants at Montreal suggested, but by a whopping 60 percent within a generation! The need of the hour is to try and keep the rising mercury below the two-degree Celsius mark, given that scientists regard this figure as the ‘tipping point’ that could trigger irreversible global changes. The outcome of the Montreal meet, never mind the powwows on climate change that Washington promises, clearly falls far short of this.                                                                         
Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 13 Dec. 2005

Climate Change Similar to WMD, Warns Scientist
 Steve Connor

Climate change can be likened in its destructive scale to the effects of using weapons of mass destruction, according to Britain’s leading scientist. Lord May of Oxford, the president of the Royal Society, says that the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina is an example of the sort of extreme weather event that climate change can trigger. The impacts of climate change are many and serious, he says. They include rising sea-levels, changes in the availability of drinking water, and an increase in the risk of extreme weather such as floods, droughts and hurricanes. Lord May says the seriousness of these weather extremes, exemplified by Katrina’s impact on New Orleans, “invite comparison with weapons of mass destruction”. In his final address to the Royal Society as its president, and to coincide with the Montreal meeting on climate change, Lord May will criticize President George Bush today for failing to follow through on the climate change commitments made by his father when he was US President in 1990. President Bush failed even to mention climate change, global warming or greenhouse gases in a 2,700-word speech on energy that he made immediately after the Gleneagles G8 communique, Lord May says. “In short, we have here a classic example of the problem or paradox of cooperation… the science tells us clearly that we need to act now to reduce inputs of greenhouse gases, but unless all countries act in equitable proportions, the virtuous will be economically disadvantaged whilst all suffer the consequences of the sinners’ inaction,” Lord May says. “In this sense, the climate change disaster which looms this century is an appallingly large-scale experiment in the social science,” he says. “If this experiment is to end in success for humankind, then it is essential that progress be made at the Montreal meeting.” Carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas generated by man-made emissions, has risen from 280 parts per million (PPM) before the Industrial Revolution to 380 PPM today. It is projected to increase to 500 PPM by the middle of the century. “It is worth noting that the last time out planet experienced greenhouse gas levels as high as 500 PPM was some 20 to 40 million years ago, when sea levels were around 100 metres higher than today,” Lord May says.

The Statesman (New Delhi), 01 Dec. 2005

Climate Change will Hit Least Polluting Countries Hardest
 Ian Sample

The world’s poorest countries face a dramatic rise in deaths from disease and malnutrition as a direct result of climate change driven by wealthier, more polluting countries, scientists said recently. The researchers reached the conclusion after constructing a map showing how climate change will affect different regions of the world by making infectious diseases more rampant and damaging local agriculture. The picture that emerges shows the least wealthy countries with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions as the most vulnerable. Previous study They can expect doubling of deaths from malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and malnutrition by 2030 as a result of climate change. In a previous study, the World Health Organisation said climate change caused by industrial emissions already accounts for at least five million cases of illness and more than 150,000 deaths each year. The scientists, whose research is published in the journal Nature recently, created the map by collating, published studies linking disease and agriculture to temperature and weather variations. One study showed that in certain South American countries, a 1degree C rise in temperature caused an 8 per cent increase in diarrhoeal diseases. "The map shows that the health impact of climate change disproportionately affects poorer countries that in my view have no responsibility for global warming. It's completely unethical and it cannot be ignored,'' said Jonathan Patz, the study's lead scientist at the University of Wisconsin. Regions at highest risk included the coastlines of the Pacific and Indian oceans and sub-Saharan Africa. The report says more resources to combat disease in poor countries combined with long-term cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to limit the effects on poorer countries. Climate change exacerbates problems poor countries face from disease, largely because bacteria spread more rapidly, causing greater contamination of food and water. Erratic weather Forecasts of climate change also predict more erratic weather patterns for many countries, wreaking havoc with subsistence farming. The report comes two weeks before signatories of the Kyoto protocol meet in Montreal for the first time since it was ratified in February. The U.S., which emits 24 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases, has refused to sign up to Kyoto on the grounds that it would hamper financial growth.                                         
The Hindu (New Delhi), 08 Dec. 2005

Improved Climate for Kyoto Agenda

The 11th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in Montreal has certainly brought about an improvement in the "atmospherics" relating to the international campaign to reduce the danger of global warming. The UNFCC's concrete programme, embodied in the Kyoto Protocol, had come under stress following the refusal of the U.S. (besides Australia) to accede to the Protocol and the U.S.' own parallel initiatives in recent months in forging "partnerships" with several countries on climate issues outside the treaty. The Montreal conference has had two major achievements. One was in firming up a plan to start talks on further commitments on targeted emission reductions beyond 2012 by those developed countries which have already undertaken such commitments in the first phase of the Protocol. The second was in trying to bring the U.S. and other dissident members of the UNFCC into the international climate change agenda by initiating what is called a "dialogue process", due to take place in the next two years. The conference has gone out of the way to accommodate U.S. concerns. First it has emphasised that the "dialogue on long-term cooperative action" is based on a recognition of "diversity of approaches to address climate change" and the "essential role of technology". Secondly, it has declared that the dialogue will "take the form of an open and non-binding exchange of views, information and ideas in support of enhanced implementation of the Convention and will not open any negotiations leading to new commitments." It is hoped that the non-binding dialogue process will make it easier for U.S. administration, present or future, to end its boycott of Kyoto. Equally important would be a series of decisions, mostly of a technical and procedural nature, which are intended to take forward the Clean Development Mechanism (C.D.M), one of the main instruments of cooperation between developed and developing countries under the Kyoto regime. The C.D.M., which is a market mechanism facilitating transfer of technology to developing countries for projects based on sustainable development, had been making very slow progress because of the complexity of procedures and vagueness in respect of criteria such as "baseline", "additionality", and afforestation. The institutional framework necessary at the level of individual nations, certified agencies for monitoring and approving C.D.M. projects, and even carbon trading exchanges have all been put in place in the past few years. However, not even half a dozen projects had gone through the whole gamut of approval till now. Accelerated operation of the C.D.M. will be valuable to the global community in forging the broadest possible political commitment to the issue of climate change. The conference's decision to examine the technological feasibility of `capturing' carbon and storing it underground as one method of mitigation of global warming is also likely to widen the support base of the UNFCC's agenda.                                                                                                 
The Hindu (New Delhi), 16 Dec. 2005

Wind can Fight Global Warming
 Andrew Buncombe

Wind power has far greater potential than previously thought for providing countries in the developing world with access to cheap and clean energy, new data suggests. Already China, environmentally, probably the most important country in the developing world, has enlarged its target for wind energy as a result of the findings. The information is based on satellite measurements and computer models that provide a more detailed assessment of a country’s potential for harnessing wind power. This assessment found that 40 per cent of the land in countries such as Nicaragua and Vietnam was sufficiently windy to generate electricity. “The new information suggests that wind power is much more viable,” Tom Hamlin of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said. Speaking from Paris, he added: “This gives us a much broader picture of the wind resources in the areas. “The modeling is able to identify where the wind will speed up going through valleys, for example.” Campaigners believe such studies should be required reading for delegates to the UN climate change conference in Montreal this week, when representatives from 189 countries will meet to discuss future commitments to dealing with climate change. One of the key issues for delegates is how to persuade developing countries such as China to try to ensure their burgeoning economic growth does not follow the example of industrialised nations in terms of their emission of greenhouse gases. China accounts for 16 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but this is expected to grow as the country’s economy expands. This year alone, its economy is expected to increase by more than 8 per cent. It was previously thought that only 1 per cent of the land area in developing countries was suitable for harnessing wind power and providing an alternative to burning oil, gas, and in the case of China, coal. Experts believe this estimate was based on information from meteorological stations sometimes built too close to trees or buildings that blocked winds. In Nicaragua, it was estimated during the 1980s that the nation’s wind power potential stood at just 200 megawatts. The new wind map estimates its potential may be as high as 40,000 megawatts — the equivalent of 40 nuclear power plants. Indeed, the new data suggests that about 13 per cent of the land in the developing world could have potential. The study defines suitable areas as those that could generate 300 watts per square metre, needing winds of at least 6.4 to 7 metres per second at 50 metres above the ground. The UNEP’s $9.3m (£5.3m) Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment focused on 14 developing countries - Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Not all were found to be suitable. In Bangladesh, for instance, the study identified that just 0.2 per cent of the land would be suitable for windmills. But in Nicaragua, Mongolia and Vietnam, the figure was as high as 40 per cent. Mr Hamlin said China had used the data to increase its target for wind-generated power. China now aims to produce 20 gigawatts of power from wind energy by 2020.                                                                                                          
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 05 Dec. 2005

Wind Power Against Global Warming
 Andrew Buncombe

Wind power has far greater potential than previously thought for providing countries in the developing world with access to cheap and clean energy, new data suggests. Already China, environmentally, probably the most important country in the developing world, has enlarged its target for wind energy as a result of the findings. The information is based on satellite measurements and computer models that provide a more detailed assessment of a country’s potential for harnessing wind power. This assessment found that 40 percent of the land in countries such as Nicaragua and Vietnam was sufficiently windy to generate electricity. “The new information suggests that wind power is much more viable,” Mr. Tom Hamlin of the UN Environment Programme said. Speaking from Paris, he added: “This gives us a much broader picture of the wind resources in the areas. “The modeling is able to identify where the wind will speed up going through valleys, for example.” Campaigners believe such studies should be required reading for delegates to the UN climate change conference in Montreal this week, when representatives from 189 countries will meet to discuss future commitments to dealing with climate change.

The Statesman (Kolkata), 08 Dec. 2005

The Ozone Hole will Stay 60 More Years
 Jonathan Amos

It could take far longer than expected for the ozone “hole” over Antarctica to repair itself, scientists have said. New research from the U.S. and Canada indicates that ozone-eating chemicals are still being released into the atmosphere in large quantities. The latest modeling predicts the protective gas layer found in the stratosphere will not now recover its health until about the year 2065. This is a more than a decade later than previous forecasts. “The reservoirs of ozone-depleting chemicals found in old fridges and air-conditioning systems may be greater than anticipated, and if this continues into the future then the projection of ozone hole recovery in 2050 may have to be extended,” said Dale Hurst, from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He was speaking here at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Chemicals found Dr. Hurst was reporting the results of scientific flights through U.S. and Canadian air-space, which sampled the atmosphere for the presence of chlorine-and bromine-containing chemicals. The production of these halocarbons, as they are known, was restricted by the Montreal Protocol that became effective in 1987 – and it has been very successful. But the sharp falls in global emissions seen in the early years of the treaty are now levelling off; and it is becoming clear that some chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), for example, which should have been exhausted in developed countries by now, are still in wide use. ‘Long lifetimes’ “It should be noted of course that CFCs have extremely long lifetimes in the atmosphere,” explained Paul Newman, from the U.S. space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Centre. “CFC-11 [a foam-blowing agent] has a lifetime of 11 years and CFC-12 [a refrigerant] has a lifetime of 100 years, so they are in the atmosphere for a very long time.” Ozone is a molecule that is composed of three oxygen atoms. It is responsible for filtering out harmful ultra-violet radiation (less than 290 nanometres) from the sun. The gas is constantly being made and destroyed in the stratosphere, about 30 km above the earth. In an unpolluted atmosphere, this cycle of production and decomposition is in equilibrium. But CFCs and the other Montreal-restricted chemicals will rise into the stratosphere where they are broken down by the sun’s rays. Chlorine and bromine atoms released from the man-made products then act as catalysts to decompose ozone. This year’s Antarctic ozone hole was among the biggest ever recorded, extending over an area of about 26 million sq km. The thinning that occurs over the Arctic has never matched that in the southern polar region and it is expected to recover sooner, sometime between 2030 and 2040.                                                                                  
The Hindu (New Delhi), 10 Dec. 2005

Polar Peril

The Inuit petition urges the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to investigate the role of the US in accelerating global warming and endangering livelihoods, and to make the US adopt mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Even if a ruling by the commission would be symbolic, it will show up the US as a serious violator of human rights, and set a precedent to hold climate offenders morally and legally responsible for their actions. So far, all attempts by host country Canada and the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change and resolutions passed by parties to the Kyoto Protocol (that requires developed signatory countries to cut back GHG emissions by 5.2% of 1990 levels by 2012) have failed utterly to make the US shift its position. Even attempts by Canada to coax the US into a parallel voluntary agreement to reduce GHG emissions outside the convention have failed. Climate change touches on tribal sovereignty and treaty rights and is an indigenous nation’s security issue that affects future generations, so climate justice is a human rights issue, say the petitioners. And no one could disagree with that. The Arctic is the barometer of the world and the indigenous people there are the mercury, reflecting the pitch of the fever afflicting the planet, says Robert Corell, chairman of the 2004 report on Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. The four-year scientific study discovered that the Arctic region would warm by 17 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The Arctic icecap is expected to disappear in the next 60 years, raising sea levels, inundating several islands and low-lying coastal areas throughout the world. Arctic glaciers are melting rapidly, draining ice sheets and dumping tens of cubic km of fresh water into the North Atlantic. The phenomenon is affecting the flow of ocean currents, hampering movement of warm currents towards the North, and upsetting present climate patterns. While Western Europe is expected to grow colder, Arctic and equatorial regions will become warmer. The worst affected are the people living in the Arctic, whose habitats are warming at twice the rate of the global average. In his address at the UNFCCC, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said, “The developed world cannot walk away from its responsibility”. If the US continues to be a climate-terrorist, the rest of the world will have no option but to boycott and penalize it as part of a global action against terrorism.                                                                                               
The Times of India (New Delhi), 12 Dec. 2005

Greenland Glaciers Retreating

Two of Greenland’s largest glaciers are retreating at an alarming pace, most likely because of climate warming, scientists said on Wednesday. One of the glaciers, Kangerdlugssuaq, is currently moving about 9 miles a year compared to 3 miles a year in 2001, said Gordon Hamilton of the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute. The other glacier, Helheim, is retreating at about 7 miles a year – up from 4 miles a year during the same period. “It’s quite a staggering rate of increase,” Hamilton said at the American, Geophysical Union annual meeting. Glaciers play a major role in discharging water into oceans. Sea levels have swelled globally an estimated 4 inches to 8 inches during the past century due to melting glaciers and polar ice – enough to cause some places to be awash at high tide or during severe storms. Melting of Greenland ice and calving of icebergs from glaciers is responsible for 7% of the annual rise in global sea level. Global warming is frequently blamed for retreating glaciers around the world. The rapid retreat of Greenland glaciers suggest that climate change is a factor, Hamilton said. Meanwhile, one of the fastest melting glaciers in North America has reached the halfway point of disintegration and will continue retreat for another two decades. Alaska’s Columbia Glacier has shrunk 9 miles since the 1980s. It is expected to lose an additional 9 miles in the next 15 to 20 years before the bed of the glacier rises above sea level. The glacier, which moves about 80ft a day, currently releases about 2 cubic miles of ice every year into the Prince William Sound on the south coast of Alaska.                            
The Times of India (New Delhi), 09 Dec. 2005

Glacial Gains in Global Talks on Cleaner Air
 Andrew C. Revkin

Since the first international meeting on the changing atmosphere in 1988, negotiations over what to do about rising levels of heat-trapping smokestack and tailpipe gases have proceeded at a pace similar to that of climate change itself. The two-week United Nations conference that ended here on Saturday was no exception. And as the delegates return to their own countries, with modest, last-minute agreements to keep talking about how to move beyond existing environmental treaties, many scientists and others who keep track of climate change say much more urgent action is needed. Summing up that view, James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said at a conference in San Francisco this week that a continuation of "business as usual" would result in so much warming as to "constitute a different planet." He said that a host of actions could be taken now to keep the temperature increase out of the danger zone, including big cuts in emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas emitted by everything from pipeline leaks to landfills, and shifts to more efficient vehicle designs.But he and other experts who see warming as a threat have begun to worry that existing efforts, both within and outside of international agreements, may not work in time. Under the Framework Convention for Climate Change, in force for 189 countries, has voluntary goals for cutting emissions that were exceeded long ago. The Kyoto agreement, an addendum to the convention agreement that took effect this year, added binding, measurable targets and timetables for cutting emissions, but just for the three dozen industrialized countries of nearly 160 nations in all, that ratified it. Developing countries, which have always been excused from any obligations under both treaties, showed hints that they might be willing to help in the fight to cut emissions, although with no firm targets. Later weary warriors from the talks, including Margaret Beckett, Britain's environment minister and head of the European Union delegation, proclaimed success, saying that a bigger, subtler shift had occurred behind the scenes - a shift in tone from obstruction to cooperation - particularly among poorer countries. "For those who actually take part in these negotiations this is a substantial achievement," she said. She said the Kyoto treaty has created markets for carbon credits, which are earned by cutting emissions that would now expand to developing countries under several agreements completed in Montreal. But an enormous roadblock remains: the continuing standoff between the largest developing nations, China and India, and the established industrial giants.The developing countries have repeatedly refused to commit themselves to greenhouse-gas limits until the established industrial states make meaningful progress.                                                                            
The Indian Express (New Delhi), 12 Dec. 2005

The Meltdown Begins
 Narayani Ganesh

If you thought that global warming is caused by greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), you’re wrong, says Duncan Shiels, a veteran reporter at Reuters news agency. GHGs do not cause global warming, but they are a major contributor, he explained, on the sidelines of the 10-day-long UN Convention on Climate Change happening here. During a training session on carbon finance for journalists. Shiels went on to explode myths about climate change issues that tend to get reported as fact, when writers sacrifice accuracy for speed. Those who promote nuclear power as a clean alternative to carbon-belching conventional power plants downplay the problem of nuclear waste disposal, an equally grave issue for concern as greenhouse gas emissions. If you think the cleaner the air, the better it can fight off global warming, here’s a clarification: Some particulate matter is essential to reflect back into space some of the sunlight that comes to earth for otherwise the planet would get heated even faster. The cleaner the air, the more sunlight it lets through and even that can be harmful. For all US-bashers, here’s an eye-opener: The US was the first ever country to initiate an emissions trading scheme 20 years ago to combat the effects of acid rain. So it was the Americans who invented emissions trading to help contain sulphur dioxide emissions. The general perceptions is that the US is doing little to cut CO2 emissions. While this is true of the central federal government, the regional state governments, particularly in eastern areas, and in California, are initiating GHG containment schemes among power stations; bans have been imposed on volume of vehicular emissions and individual citizens are taking the issue of climate change and its impact on community health and well-being very seriously indeed. Writing on climate change issues can be misleading and confusing, if figures and percentages are quoted without also including comparisons. For instance, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol stipulates that globally, CO2 emissions must be reduced to 5.2% by 2012. Here it is essential to include the information that emissions are to be reduced to 5.2% of 1990 levels, and also that this action is required only of what is called Annexe-I countries (largely OECD countries) who are developed and who have ratified the Protocol. This leaves out the US and Australia, the only two developed countries who have refused to ratify the KT, citing their reluctance to take cuts in economic growth rates. They are also unhappy that developing countries like India and China are not bound to reduce emissions although they are large but developing economies. Also, China is the second biggest polluter after the US and India ranks fifth although per capita figures for India and China are far less than that of the US. Caps on emissions need to be environmentally effective, economically viable, fair and verifiable. Carbon trading needs to be transparent and easy. But the US says all caps are economically unviable and all caps are unfair as long as India and China are not included. So the stalemate continues. There is a great deal of uncertainty about what lies in store post-2012: The KP phase one culminates in 2012 and beyond that, the path is strewn with verification problems, legal challenges, questions about the relevance and effectiveness of the Clean Development Mechanism and the role of Russia who was probably coerced into the KP by the EU to make up the quorum left hanging by the US refusal. Will the Kyoto Protocol retain its relevance beyond 2012? Will India and China by that time be developed enough to take on carbon caps? Canada, host to the conference, has its own plan for honouring the Kyoto commitment. Dubbed ‘Project Green’, the plan includes competitive and sustainable industries for the 21st century, harnessing of market forces, cooperative action between local governments, engaging its citizens, promoting sustainable agricultural practices and forestry, and executing sustainable city and community planning. Canada’s plan is ambitious, purporting to achieve emissions cutback targets even above that laid down by the KP. Though Canada’s intentions are laudable, it has, instead of cutting down its emissions to 6% of 1990 levels, actually increased emissions by more than 20%. And with the Liberals probably on their way out of government, Canada could suffer a terrible setback. With a huge Arctic territory in the North that’s home to a large population of Inuits and other indigenous groups, Canada is going to have a tough time dealing with climate change issues. Nowhere is the Arctic meltdown threat more palpable than in Canada, where representatives of indigenous populations are running from pillar to post to fight for their right to survival. That’s why they keep hammering the point that climate change is a human rights issue. The opinion is seconded by Pacific Islanders – whose homes are endangered by rising sea levels – who ask why they have to pay for the development sins of countries like the US, Canada and Australia.                                                
The Times of India (New Delhi), 08 Dec. 2005

Storm Signals

This is possibly the grimmest end of year statistic. The United Nations Environment Programme has announced that 2005 will go down as the most expensive year due to severe weather conditions around the world. According to UNEP, this rather dubious record has been set in part due to the highest number of hurricanes and tropical storms ever, since such records started being kept. The price of this climatic upheaval has been rather expensive for the world. Munich Re Foundation, an insurance company, has estimated that more than $200 billion was lost in financial terms globally India too had its fair share of problems with the weather. The report mentions the Mumbai deluge as the highest recorded instance of rainfall, a staggering 944 mm in just 24 hours. Many scientists working in this area believe that man-made emission of greenhouse gases could be linked to this climate change. But the bad news doesn’t end there because of the head-in-the-sand attitude of politicians like George W. Bush. It is no secret that the US is the world’s largest polluter. Yet Bush did not sign the Kyoto Protocol as he believes that the Kyoto requirement of the US having to cut greenhouse gas emission to 7% below the 1990 levels would cost 5 million jobs and billions of dollars. The Bush administration has on other occasions even gone as far as to deny the very possibility of climate change. If an adverse effect on economic growth is Bush’s main argument against admitting to climate change, he may like to re-read a secret Pentagon report that some members of the western media got their hands on last year. The Pentagon, which is not normally given to hyperbole and Hollywood-style doomsday scenarios, has predicted that abrupt climate change could lead to anarchy. The analysis predicts, “Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life. Once again, warfare would define human life.” It further suggests that climate change “should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a US national security concern”. The climate affects all of us and is critical to human survival. It is time that Bush realizes what a banner at a recent protest march in Montreal pointed out: “George, your’re not alone on this planet!” and acted in the best interest of everyone – one just a handful of his Texas cronies – for the climate is bigger than all of us.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 10 Dec. 2005

Army Units Allowed to Join Environmental Bodies
 Vijay Mohan

In the backdrop of the men in olive green playing a highly active role in environmental protection and ecological rejuvenation, Army units, formations and establishments have now been permitted to become members of various environmental organisations. Sources in Headquarters Western Command said any unit or establishment could subscribe to the membership of certain organisations involved in environmental protection after obtaining approval from the next higher formation, not below the level of a Division Headquarters or an Area Headquarters. A policy letter issued by the Environment and Ecological Cell in the Quarter Master General's Branch at Army Headquarters a few weeks ago, however stipulates that membership of such organisations should not violate the Army's standing orders on contact with foreign nationals. The letter has also listed three organisations, the Wildlife Trust of India, the World Wildlife Fund (India) and the Bombay National History Society (BNHS), whose membership can be obtained by Army establishments, sources added. In fact, the BNHS introduced a Green Governance Award for Conservation of Flora this year, which was awarded to the Army's famed 8 Mountain Division for launching 'Operation Green Kargil' -- a long-term plantation drive to increase the green cover' in Dras, Kargil, Khumbathang and Batalik sectors. The Army is closely associated with the protection of environmental and ecological upgradation. Besides, the regular Army engaged in greening projects across the country by planting saplings, special Ecological Task Forces have been raised under the Territorial Army. These task forces have turned large tracts of barren land into lush green forests. The Army is also deeply involved in protecting the fragile ecology of the Ladakh area where it has introduced unconventional means of energy, like harnessing solar and wind energy, for the local residents to reduce the dependence of fossil fuel and wood. Wasteland development, garbage management and waste disposal, watershed management and rainwater harvesting are some of the thrust areas identified by the Army. Environment and ecology cells exist at various levels to implement the Army's policy on nature conservation and carry out awareness programmes.                                       
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 11 Dec. 2005

The World can Breathe Again
 Robin McKie

At a time when scientists have been bringing us grim new climatic tidings almost every day, the news that the world's leaders have agreed to sit down to talk about the dangers that our planet faces is encouraging, to say the least. It has been bad enough to learn, as we have over the past few weeks, that the Gulf Stream is threatened; that the Greenland icecap is melting faster than predicted; that the last decade was the warmest for the last millennium; and that the world's oceans are warming at dangerous rates. If we had then been told that politicians could not even bothered to debate these reports, we would have been sent a message of a deeply demoralising nature. Demoralising scenario avoided That scenario has now been avoided and we can now reasonably expect politicians to begin to hammer out some kind of deal to save the world. As Friends of the Earth pointed out on Saturday: "Montreal has sent a clear signal that the future lies in cleaner and more sustainable technologies, and is good news for people everywhere." Of particular note is the agreement of India and China, the world's two new industrial superpowers, to play an active part in future negotiations. These two countries, which are now ranked as developing nations, are exempt from the Kyoto climate agreement, even though they are pumping out massive amounts of carbon dioxide from new power plants. In acknowledging this fact, India and China have sent a signal to the rest of the world that they understand that climate change is their problem as much as it is that of the West. But most encouraging of all — paradoxically — is the stance of the United States. Admittedly, the Bush administration continues to show climatic intransigence of breathtaking cynicism. However, it is also clear that many Americans have privately become deeply worried about global warming, as well they might. As a result, north-eastern American States have announced that they are about to launch their own carbon-trading system and several dozen leading U.S. companies, including General Electric, have begun to cut emissions from their plants. Such actions give us great hope that America will soon see sense. That is unlikely to happen for several years, of course, and it remains to be seen whether the world can wait that long. As Alan Thorpe, head of Britain's Natural Environment Research Council, has made clear: "What the world needs badly are talks about taking urgent action. So far, all we have had are talks about having more talks. If we keep that up, things are going to get pretty desperate around the world fairly soon." As Mr. Thorpe points out, the world faces a rise of a further 2 degrees C or 3 degrees C on top of the 1 degree C raise it has experienced since the start of the Industrial Revolution. A lot to talk However, only a 60 per cent cut in current greenhouse gas emissions will produce a stabilisation around that level. To date, politicians have not even got close to debating the kind of industrial changes that could bring that about. They have a lot to talk about, in other words. Thankfully, that is what they have now agreed to do.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 12 Dec. 2005

Record High Temperatures Threaten Arctic Wildlife
 Johan Vidal

This could be the hottest year ever recorded, posing a threat to Arctic wildlife including polar bears, ice-dwelling seals and several forms of vegetation, according to United Nations scientists collating data from across the world. With 15 days left and information only received until the end of November, this year is certain to be one of the four hottest with temperatures 0.5 degrees C warmer than average. "This year is currently the second warmest on record, and could end up being the warmest once all the figures are in. It has certainly been exceptional in the intensity of its storms," said Michel Jarraud, secretary-general of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organisation, which on Thursday released its annual review of weather data in Geneva. The year broke many weather records, said the WMO. Not only was the northern hemisphere hotter overall than in any year since the start of data collection in 1861, but both October and June 2005 were globally the warmest recorded. Sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic are also expected to be the warmest ever. A pattern of intense droughts and heat waves, followed by major floods and storms, was recorded throughout Africa, Australia, Brazil, China, and the United States, the report said. Severe heat scorched much of southern Europe and North Africa. In Algeria, temperatures rose as high as 50 degrees C. The heat was offset by extremely cold temperatures that affected much of the Balkans in February. In Morocco, a cold wave in January pushed temperatures as low as - 14 degrees C. The WMO expected the southern hemisphere to have its fourth warmest year ever recorded. Australia experienced the hottest temperatures since records began in 1861. It was also the worst year recorded for hurricanes and tropical storms, which depend for their formation on high sea temperatures. Of 26 tropical storms, 14 reached the intensity of hurricanes. Previously the highest number of tropical storms was 21 in 1933, the WMO said. Hurricane Wilma, which hit Florida in October, was confirmed as the strongest hurricane ever recorded. The data fits most of the predictions for global warming. The last 10 years, with the exception of 1996, have been the warmest years on record, with 1998 the hottest so far. "[Global warming] is clearly tied to the increasing incidence of heat waves, and the spread of deserts. We can be confident about saying that," said Mr. Jarraud. But he was reluctant to say that warming had led directly to the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, as some scientists had suggested earlier this year. "The honest scientific answer for hurricanes is that we don't know." Mr. Jarraud said sea-ice was melting more than ever before, and that the average cover in the key month of September was down 20 per cent on the average for 1979-2004. The date was backed by a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund which on Thursday predicted that the earth could warm by 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels as early as 2026 — and by triple that amount in the Arctic. "We are seeing signs of significant change in the Arctic with mountain glaciers retreating, snow cover disappearing, the Greenland ice sheet thinning, and Arctic sea ice cover declining," said WWF climate campaigner Andrew Lee. There is no time to lose — we need to take drastic action now to combat climate change." — (John Vidal is environment editor of the London-based Guardian newspaper.)                                
The Hindu (New Delhi), 17 Dec. 2005

पर्यावरण को बचाने की कवायद
विशेष गुप्ता

कनाडा की राजधानी मांट्रियल में ग्यारहवें संयुक्त राष्ट्र जलवायु परिवर्तन सम्मेलन में हरित पर्यावरण समूहों के प्रेक्षक, वैज्ञानिक संगठन, कारोबारी एवं औद्योगिक समुदाय से जुड़े सदस्य, नगर निगमों एवं प्रांतीय व राज्य सरकारों के प्रतिनिधियों ने भाग लिया। जाहिर है फरवरी 2005 में जब से क्योटो प्रोटोकाल की मान्यता मिली है तब से अब तक संयुक्त राष्ट्र जलवायु परिवर्तन से जुड़ा यह सबसे बड़ा सरकारी सम्मेलन रहा। यह सम्मेलन संयुक्त राष्ट्र क्योटो संधि क्रियान्वयन पर सहमति बनाने के लिए बुलाया गया था। क्योटो प्रोटोकाल अकेली पहली ऐसी अंतरराष्ट्रीय संधि है जिसमें तेजी से असामान्य रूप से बदलती जलवायु तथा इससे उत्पन्न ग्लोबल वार्मिंग को नियंत्रित करने हेतु प्रयास किया जा रहा है। इसका मुख्य लक्ष्य औद्योगिक देशों में 2008 से 2012 तक तीन ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों के उत्सर्जन को 1990 के स्तर पर अर्थात् 5.2 फीसदी तक लाना है। इसके अतिरिक्त इस सम्मेलन में क्योटो संधि के विधिक अनुपालन का स्वरूप, विकसित एवं विकासशील देशों की भूमिका तथा ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों के उत्सर्जन से जुड़े प्रतिबंधित लक्ष्य को प्राप्त करने जैसे मुद्दों को भी तरजीह दी गई थी। इस क्योटो संधि की वास्तविक स्थिति यह है कि अभी तक 157 देश इस पर अपनी सहमति जाता चुके हैं तथा 37 देशों ने इसके विधिक अनुपालन में दिलचस्पी दिखाई है। अमेरिका और आस्ट्रेलिया ने स्वयं को इस सम्मेलन से दूर ही रखा है। ये दोनों ही देश इस संधि के कानूनी दबाव की तुलना में स्वैच्छिक आधार पर ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों के कम करने पर भी जोर दे रहे हैं। अमेरिका व आस्ट्रेलिया के साथ अन्य विकसित देशों का तर्क यह है कि ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों को कम करने के चक्कर में उनकी अर्थव्यवस्था ही चौपट नहीं होगी, बल्कि लाखों लोग बेरोजगारी की चपेट में भी आ जायेंगें। इसलिए विकास की राह में रोड़े अटकाने वाली संधि उन्हें मंजूर नहीं है। इन विकसित देशों की नाराजगी भारत और चीन को लेकर भी है। उनका तर्क है कि भारत और चीन भी ग्रीनहाउस गैसों के उत्सर्जन के लिए उतने ही दोषी हैं जितने कि अमेरिका व आस्ट्रेलिया है। उल्लेखनीय है कि चीन अमेरिका के बाद सबसे बड़ा ग्रीनहाउस गैस उत्सर्जन करने वाला देश है, जबकि भारत पांचवे स्थान पर आता है। अमेरिका के बुश प्रशासन ने स्पष्ट कह दिया है कि यह ग्लोबल वार्मिंग के प्रति गंभीर है तथा उन्होंने अपने यहां ग्रीनहाऊस गैसों के उत्सर्जन में एक प्रतिशत के आठवें-नवें भाग तक की कमी भी कर ली है। उन्होंने यह भी दावा किया है कि उनका देश पृथ्वी के वातावरण को प्रदूषित होने से बचाने के लिए उससे जुड़े शोध और इको फ्रेंडली तकनीक पर पाँच बिलियन डालर सालाना खर्च कर रहा है। उन्होंने तो 2012 तक अपने यहाँ ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों में 18 फीसदी कमी करने की प्रतिबद्धता भी दोहराई है। क्योटो प्रोटोकाल के क्रियान्वयन के प्रति अमेरिका की बेरुखी से इस सम्मेलन के तमाम प्रतिनिधियों ने अपनी नाराजगी जताई है। सच यह है कि दुसरे विश्व युद्ध के बाद वायुमंडल में सबसे अधिक ग्रीनहाऊस गैसें इन विकसित देशों ने ही उत्सर्जित की है। वर्तमान स्थिति यह है कि विश्व में इन देशों की संख्या मात्र 20 फीसदी है, जबकि ये देश 80 फीसदी कार्बन डाई आक्साइड का उत्सर्जन करते हैं। अमेरिका जो अपनी हठ के सामने क्योटो संधि को नकार रहा है, उसकी स्थिति यह है कि वह विश्व की जनसंख्या का मात्र 5 फीसदी है, मगर अन्य देशों के मुकाबले वायुमंडल में अकेला ही 25 फीसदी कार्बन डाई आक्साइड छोड़ता है। आज बुश प्रशासन ने इस संधि को भले ही अपनी अर्थव्यवस्था के लिए घातक बताया हो, परंतु अमेरिका के वैज्ञानिकों ने अपने लेखों के जरिए ग्लोबल वार्मिँग से भविष्य में मलेशिया के फैलने, त्वचा रोगों के बढ़ने तथा ग्रीनहाऊस गैसों के अत्यधिक प्रभाव से ओजोन परत को भारी नुकसान होने की भविष्यवाणी की है। हाल ही में सैन फ्रांसिस्को से जुड़े वैज्ञानिकों और ने स्पष्ट कहा भी है कि ग्लोबल वार्मिंग के चलते पिछले सौ सालों में समुद्री जल का स्तर 4 इंच से बढ़कर 8 इंच तक पहुंच गया है। उन वैज्ञानिकों ने इसके लिए जलवायु परिवर्तन और ग्रीनहाऊस गैसों से होने वाली वैश्विक ताप वृद्धि को ही जिम्मेदार बताया है। अब यह स्पष्ट हो चला है कि सुनामी, कैटरीना, रीटा जैसी घटनाएं मात्र प्राकृतिक ही न होकर, प्रकृति से छेड़छाड़ का नतीजा भी है। आज भारत के ही नहीं, बल्कि विश्व के मौसम विज्ञानी भी जलवायु के इस तेजी से बदलते तेवर के प्रति चिंतित है। पिछले दिनों संयुक्त राष्ट्र विकास कार्यक्रम की प्रकाशित वार्षिक रिपोर्ट में ओजोन परत के क्षरण होने के लिए औद्योगिक देशों को ही दोषी ठहराया था। निश्चित ही अमेरिका, कनाडा, आस्ट्रेलिया, ब्रिटेन व स्कैंडेनेवियाई देशों में पिछले दो-तीन दशक में त्वचा कैंसर के मामलों में 25 से 30 फीसदी की वृद्धि इसी वैश्विक ताप के लगातार बढ़ने का ही परिणाम रही है। इस वैश्विक तापवृद्धि के लिए प्रमुख रूप से वायुमंडल में लगातार कार्बन डाई आक्साइड का बढ़ना भी कम जिम्मेदार नहीं है। असल में वायुमंडल में कार्बन डाई आक्साइड और आक्सीजन का एक निश्चत अनुपात रहता है, परंतु इस अनुपात के गड़बड़ाने से मानव और वनस्पतियों, दोनों ही प्रभावित होती है। एक ओर जहां बढ़ती आबादी के लिए खाद्यान्न में वृद्धि जरूरी है वहीं दूसरी ओर सीमित भूमि में पैदावार बढ़ाने के लिए अत्यधिक उर्वरकों के प्रयोग से भारी मात्रा में कार्बन डाई आक्साइड उत्सर्जित होती है। तरह-तरह की लकड़ियों से निकलने वाले धुएँ, विद्युत तापघरों में कोयले के जलने तथा पेट्रोलियम पदार्थों के प्रयोग से लगभग 5 अरब टन जीवाश्म के जलने से हानिकारक गैसें वायुमंडल में पहुंच रही है। इन गैसों में कार्बन डाई आक्साइड, मीथेन, नाइट्रस आक्साइड, डाई फ्लोरी कार्बन, ओजोन तथा क्लोरो-फ्लोरो कार्बन की मात्रा में अधिकता के कारण पृथ्वी के वैश्विक ताप में वृद्धि हो रही है। तथ्य बताते हैं कि क्लोरीन, फ्लोरीन तथा कार्बन परमाणुओं के तालमेल से बना क्लोरो-फ्लोरो कार्बन का एक अणु कार्बन डाई आक्साइड के अणु की तुलना में 14 हजार गुना अधिक गर्मी पैदा करता है और धरती के तापमान को 25 फीसदी से भी अधिक बढ़ा देता है। मांट्रियल में डेढ़ सप्ताह तक क्योटो प्रोटोकाल के विधिक अनुपालन के लिए जो बहस हुई वह दरअसल वर्तमान में पृथ्वी की बढ़ती गर्मी और उससे मानव जाति को होने वाले भारी खतरों को भाँपते हुए उसके समाधान ढूँढ़ने को लेकर थी। इसमें जलवायु परिवर्तन, जैव विविधता और पेड़ों की सुरक्षा इत्यादि विषय पर सर्वसम्मति बनाने के प्रयास किए गए। इस सम्मेलन में क्योटो संधि के संचालन हेतु ‘मारकेश अकार्ड’ नामक ‘प्रोटोकाल रूल बुक’ पर भी सर्वसम्मति बन चुकी है। कनाडा के पर्यावरण मंत्री एवं इस सम्मेलन के अध्यक्ष स्टीफन डियान ने इस संधि की गतिशील अवस्था में बताते हुए इसे एक ऐतिहासिक कदम की संज्ञा भी दी है। यहाँ कटु सच्चाई यह है कि विकसित देशों, खासकर अमेरिका व आस्ट्रेलिया जैसे देशों द्वारा इस संधि को नकारना अथवा विकासशील देशों पर ग्रीनहाऊस गैसों के उत्सर्जन को लेकर दोषारोपण करना खुद अपनी गलती छिपाने का प्रयास है। यह भी सच है कि जो देश वायुमंडल में जितनी अधिक ग्रीनहाऊस गैसें छोड़ता है उसकी उतनी ही बड़ी जिम्मेदारी उसे कम करने की भी है। अमेरिका और आस्ट्रेलिया जैसे देश भले ही आज इस संधि को नकार रहे हैं, परंतु देर-सवेर उन्हें भी क्योटो-प्रोटोकाल का हिस्सा बनने को मजबूर होना पड़ेगा। वह इसलिए क्योंकि यह सारी की सारी कवायद संपूर्ण वातावरण में पहुंच रही ग्रीन हाऊस गैसों के प्रभाव को कम करने को लेकर है।
दैनिक जागरण (देहरादून), 14 Dec. 2005

तापमान नियंत्रण के बाद ही बंद होगा ग्लेशियरों का पिघलना

यू.पी. रिमोट स्पेस सेंटर लखनऊ के वैज्ञानिक डा. अंजनी कुमार तांगड़ी ने कहा है कि भविष्य में तापमान नियंत्रण के साथ ही ग्लेशियरों का पिघलना कम हो जायेगा। वर्तमान में गंगोत्री ग्लेशियर 22.23 मीटर प्रतिवर्ष पीछे खिसक रहा है। विगत 18 हजार वर्षों के अंतराल में हिमालयी क्षेत्र में कई ग्लेशियर अस्तित्व में आये व समाप्त हो गये। डा. तागड़ी कुमांऊ वि.वि. के भूगर्भ विज्ञान के शोध छात्रों को ‘हिमालयी ग्लेशियरों’ के बाबत व्याख्यान दे रहे थे। उन्होंने कहा कि गढ़वाल के हिमालय तलहटी में स्थित गंगोत्री ग्लेशियर में परिवर्तन जारी है। गोमुख के पास स्थित यह ग्लेशियर 1962 से 1982 के बीच 46 मीटर तक पीछे खिसका है। 1982 से 1990 तक यह 40 मीटर पीछे खिसका है। 1990 से 1994 तक 37.5 मीटर प्रतिवर्ष पीछे हटा है। 1998 में 25 मीटर प्रति वर्ष पीछे खिसका है। इस अध्ययन से यह कहा जा सकता है। कि हिमालय क्षेत्र में तापमान भविष्य में नियंत्रित होगा और ग्लेशियरों के पिघलने की संभावना भी कम होगी। उन्होंने कहा कि शोधों से यह भी पता चला है कि अतीत में गंगोत्री ग्लेशियर 60 कि.मी. लंबा व 30 कि.मी. से अधिक चौड़ा रहा होगा। वर्तमान में इसकी लंबाई मात्र 30 कि.मी. रह गयी है। भैरवघाटी व गोमुख में 100 मीटर तक ऊंचाई वाले पहाड़ों पर उभरी रेखाएं ग्लेशियर के अस्तित्व का प्रमाण है। इससे इसके संपूर्ण विस्तार का पता चलता है। अंतरिक्ष से खींचे गए चित्रों के आधार पर साबित हो चुका है कि आदिकाल से वर्तमान तक असंख्य नदियों का अस्तित्व समाप्त हो गया है। उन्होंने बताया कि ग्लेशियरों की रचना 18 हजार वर्ष पूर्व पृथ्वी पर पड़ी भीषण ठंड के कारण हुई लेकिन एक हजार वर्ष तक तापमान में परिवर्तन के कारण यह प्रभावित हुए। सोलहवीं व सत्रहवीं शताब्दी में हिमालय क्षेत्र में पुनः ग्लेशियरों की उत्पत्ति हुई और तापमान परिवर्तन के कारण फिर नष्ट हो गये। इन ग्लेशियरों से बनने वाली नदियों का अस्तित्व भी समाप्त हो गया। डा. तागड़ी का कहना है कि ग्लेशियरों से प्रभावित गंगा नदी का जलस्तर भी घटा है। वर्ष 1999 से 2000 तक जलस्तर कम पाया गया। मई और जून माह में विगत 15 वर्षों के अध्ययन से यह स्पष्ट हो गया है कि नदियों में पानी का स्तर घटा है।

दून दर्पण (देहरादून), 11 Dec. 2005

ग्लोबल वार्मिंग का खतरा
राखी

विज्ञान का युग है और नित नई सुविधाओं वाले यंत्र ईजाद हो रहे हैं। इस वजह से कई खतरे भी विश्व पर मंडरा रहे हैं। इसमें सबसे बड़ा खतरा ग्लोबल वार्मिंग है। ग्लोबल वार्मिंग के असर से ग्रीनलैंड की 3,000 मीटर की पट्टी पिघलने पर न्यूयार्क व टोक्यो जैसे शहर समुद्र में डूब जाएंगे। अगली सदियों में बर्फ पूरी तरह पिघल गई तो समुद्र का जलस्तर सात मीटर तक बड़ जाएगा। विशेषज्ञों के अनुसार सबसे ज्यादा खतरा आर्कटिक की बर्फ पिघलने का है क्योंकि इससे उत्पन्न खतरे से निजात पाना मुश्किल होगा। इसलिए सबसे पहले ग्रीन हाउस गैसों का उत्सर्जन रोकना होगा। इसके लिए जीवाश्म ईंधनों की जलाने और पावर प्लांटों, फैक्ट्रियों से निकलने वाली गैसों पर नियंत्रण करना होगा।                                                               
अमर उजाला (देहरादून), 10 Dec. 2005

  ओजोन छिद्र भरने में ढिलाई

वैज्ञानिकों का मानना है कि ओजोन परत को नुकसान पहुंचाने वाले रसायनों का उत्सर्जन अनुमान से अधिक होने की आशंका के कारण अंटाकर्टिका क्षेत्र में 2065 के पहले ओजोन छेद नहीं भर सकेगा। ओजोन उपरी वायुमंडल में नुकसानदेह परा बैंगनी किरणों को रोकता है और वैज्ञानिकों का अनुमान था कि भारी मात्रा में रसायनों का उत्सर्जन नहीं होने से ओजोन परत में हुआ छिद्र स्वयं ही भर जाएगा। अमेरिकन जिओफिजिकल यूनियन की बैठक में शोधकर्ताओं ने कहा कि विकसित देशों द्वारा जहरीले रसायनों का उत्सर्जन अनुमानित मात्रा से अधिक होने की आशंका है जिससे ओजोन की परत को 1980 के स्तर तक पहुंचने में देरी हो सकती है। 1987 के मांट्रियल समझौते में प्रतिबंधित रसायनों के उत्पादन पर लगी रोक के बाद वैज्ञानिकों ने 2050 तक ओजोन परत के भरने की संभावना जताई है।                           
हिन्दुस्तान टाइम्स (नई दिल्ली), 02 Dec. 2005

विस्थापन का विस्तार

संयुक्त राष्ट्र के पर्यावरण व मानव संरक्षण संस्थान का आंकलन है कि पर्यावरण के निरंतर बिगड़ने से सन् 2010 तक लगभग पांच करोड़ लोगों को विस्थापित होना पड़ेगा। इस समय विस्थापितों की संख्या एक करोड़ 92 लाख है। विशेषज्ञों का सुझाव है कि विस्थापितों की पहचान कर उनके लिए आवश्यक सहायता के साथ ही पर्यावरण सुधार के उपायों पर अंतर्राष्ट्रीय समुदाय को गंभीरता से पहल करनी चाहिए। यह अध्ययन उस समय आया जब भारत के वन व पर्यावरण मंत्रालय ने राष्ट्रीय पर्यावरण नीति में स्कूलों, अस्पतालों, दक्षता विकसित करने वाले प्रशिक्षण केन्द्रों बिजलीघरों, सुरक्षा केन्द्रों आदि के निर्माण में वन क्षेत्र के प्रयोग की छूट दे दी है। इस नीति में आने वाली परियोजनाओं के लिए केन्द्र की स्वीकृति भी जरूरी नहीं होगी। विकास योजनाओं के चलते वन क्षेत्र के लगातार संकुचन पर लंबे समय से चिंता व्यक्त की जाती रही है। लेकिन सामाजिक वानिकी के वृक्षारोपण अभियान से इसकी भरपाई मान ली गई जबकि यह वृक्षारोपण प्राकृतिक वन का विकल्प नहीं हो सकता। वनों के उजड़ने से न केवल पारिस्थितिकीय संतुलन बिगड़ा है बल्कि वनोपज पर निर्भर रहने वाले स्थानीय समुदायों के लिए आजीविका का संकट भी पैदा हुआ है। यह समस्या हर देश में है। वनों के कटने व प्रदूषण में निरंतर वृद्धि से ग्रीन हाउस गैसों के कारण ओजोन परत क्षतिग्रस्त होने से दुनिया में मौसम बदला है। बाढ़ व सूखे जैसी प्राकृतिक आपदायें अब वहां भी विनाश लाने लगी हैं जहां पहले इसकी आशंका लगभग नहीं थी। इन आपदाओं से हर वर्ष करोड़ों लोगों का जीवन प्रभावित हो रहा है। कृषि योग्य भूमि का बड़े पैमाने पर बंजरीकरण व रेगिस्तानी क्षेत्रों का विस्तार हुआ है। ग्रीन हाउस गैसों में कमी के लिए क्योटो संधि से कुछ आशा बंधी है। लेकिन जिस तरह अमेरिका टालमटोल कर रहा है उससे अभी भी इस दिशा में ज्यादा सार्थक परिणाम नजर नहीं आ पाये हैं। संयुक्त राष्ट्र के पर्यावरण विशेषज्ञों ने अपने ताजा अध्ययन में चेताया है कि युद्ध और रोजगार के संकट की अपेक्षा पर्यावरण संकुचन व प्राकृतिक आपदाओं से लोगों का विस्थापन अधिक तेजी से हो रहा है। बाढ़, सूखा, मरूस्थल के विस्तार, भूकंप आदि से हर वर्ष लाखों लोग अपने मूल स्थान छोड़ने पर विवश हुए हैं। विकास परियोजनाओं से विस्थापित लोगों के लिए पुनर्वास की योजनायें बनती है और प्रतिकात्मक ही सही मुआवजा भी मिलता है लेकिन पारिस्थितिकी से उजड़े लोगों के लिए वह भी नहीं है।                   
दून दर्पण (देहरादून), 06 Dec. 2005

Mangroves Seedlings on Char Land

The Sunderban Development Board for the first time will plant mangrove seedlings on the char land covering an area of 8116 acres in South 24-Parganas to combat tsunami. At a recently held meeting, the state land and land reforms department handed over char land to the Sunderban Development Board for plantation of mangrove. The meeting was attended by the ministers for land and land reforms and Sunderban affairs departments, Mr. Abdur Rezzak Mollah and Mr. Kanti Ganguly. Senior officials of the two departments as well as those belonging to the South 24-Parganas district administration were present at the meeting. Mr. D.P. Jana, member secretary and project director of the Sunderban development department, said steps for wide afforestation within the island areas, especially along the embankments have been chalked out. He said plantation of mangrove seedlings on a regular basis in the Sunderban was taken up a few years ago. Functions were held where representatives of NGOs working in the area, school children along with various state government departments planted seedlings. After the tsunami it was felt that large-scale plantation of mangrove seedlings as a precautionary measure should be taken. A senior official of the state forest department said a survey conducted by the department a few years ago had revealed that there had been massive felling of mangrove trees by poachers and unauthorized timber merchants. To stop illegal felling of mangrove trees small groups comprising local people were formed.                    
The Statesman (Kolkata), 01 Dec. 2005

Jatropha Project Spreading in the Hill State
 Jaskiran Chopra

Fifty thousand families in the hill state have been involved by the government in its Jatropha cultivation project which is spread over one lakh hectors of wasteland and degraded forest land in the state. In consonance with the central governments policy of creating jobs for rural poor the Uttaranchal government decided to implement the project through social forestry on common property basis. The project, which has been set into motion by giving saplings of Jatorpha Curcas to the farmers, fulfils all the parameters set for the National Mission on Biofuels according to official sources. The project covers fourteen thousand villages. Jatropha Curcas, a sturdy, drought-resistant plant, will boost the rural economy and provide raw material for production of bio-diesel. A master plan to set up a model for Jatropha Cultivation had been prepared by the government to benefit the villagers who will be associated with this project which, besides providing gainful employment would also contribute to keeping the environment clean by production and use of biodiesel in vehicles. Biodiesel can be produced from oil extracted from Jatropha seeds. The cultivation of this plant is also helping in regreening the arid areas of the hill state. An MoU has been signed by the state government with the Uttaranchal Biofuels Ltd which has agreed to buy two lakh tonnes of seeds from the forest department of the state every year.                                                                                              
The Times of India (New Delhi), 01 Dec. 2005

Biodiesel Fuel has a Commercial Launch in Maharashtra

The country’s first biodiesel fuel, extracted from karanja seeds, was commercially launched by Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) Director-General Anil Diggikar in Pune on Sunday. The fuel has been produced and marketed by Pune-based Mint Biofuels, which is a subsidiary of Minilec and Intec group. Launching the new age fuel, Diggikar said this was the first commercial production of biodiesel from karanja seeds in India. Mint Biofuels, which started work on bio-fuels two years ago, had installed a pilot plant, designed by its engineers, at Pirangut, about a year ago. Though the plant initially had a capacity of 100 litres per day, it was scaled up to 400 litres per day. Y. G. Ghaisas, CEO of Mint Biofuels, said karanja was chosen over other oil producing plants as it had an edge over other varieties. ‘‘The karanja plant is of Indian origin, remains green during summer and also needs no pesticides,’’ he said. The company will set up a Rs. 30 crore plant at Chiplun, which will have a capacity of producing 5,000 tonne of fuel per day. Plans are afoot to increase the capacity of the plant to 1,00,000 tonne within a period of four years. Meanwhile, the company is also undertaking plantation of karanja saplings. Many transport companies as well as genset renting agencies have already shown interest in the biodiesel produced by the company. During the last seven months the karanja fuel has been successfully used by Skoda Activa and Tata 407 vehicles and also in Kirloskar gensets, the company said. Minilec and Intech are into manufacturing of industrial electronic control, protection systems, conveyors as well as storage systems and had a group turnover of Rs 40 crore in 2004-05.
The Indian Express (New Delhi), 12 Dec. 2005

Exploring Deep Sea Medicines
 Ashok B. Sharma

Although the oceans cover 70% of the planet’s surface, much of their biomedical potential has gone largely unexplored, particularly in the Indian Ocean. Until now Indian scientists have begun collecting various flora and fauna species from the surrounding ocean for developing new life saving medicines and rare biochemicals. Already, eight samples have been identified for new drug development. Under the national project, ‘Development of Potential Drugs from Ocean’, about 1,700 different species of marine flora and fauna have been collected. About 4,500 extract fractions have been screened from these species by a team of scientists for the desired bioactivity in available disease models, says C.M. Gupta of the Lucknow-based Central Drug Research Institute. Various samples are in different stages of trials and analysis. The sample CDR-134, which is derived from the fruit of a mangrove species found in abundance on the coastal regions of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, showed both antihyperglycemic (antidiabetic) and antidiarrhoeal activities. Though the extracts from the whole fruit exhibited antidiabetic activity, they were found to be toxic during experiments made on monkeys. The observed toxicity was mainly due to severe constipation that it caused at high doses in monkeys. However, according to Dr. Gupta, the fractionation of the fruit successfully separated out the antidiabetic activity (referred to as CDR-134-D-123 in scientific parlance) from the constipation-inducing factor (CDR-134-D-125). Both these fractions have been found completely safe during the rodent and monkey toxicity studies and will be initially developed as herbal drugs. Also a few pure compounds with antidiabetic activity have been isolated specifically from CDR-134-D-123 which are currently being used as leads to design new antidiabetic drugs. Preclinical trials have been completed both for CDR-134-D-123 and CDR-134-D-125. Another product (CU1-002/004) isolated from a fish exhibited strong lipid lowering activity and has now been found safe during the rodent toxicity studies, says Dr. Gupta. Commenting on other samples analysed so far, he says two such samples namely CDR-245 and CDR-258 showed antifungal activity, samples CDR-131 and NIO-492 showed antihyperglycemic activity and the sample CDR-134-D-212 showed antihyperlipidaemic activity. All these activities of the samples identified in Phase III preclinical trials have now been taken up for further studies in Phase IV. In the Phase IV, most of these samples have been fractionated, subfractionated and some pure compounds with desired activity have been isolated. The structures of some of the purified compounds have already been determined and attempts are now underway to generate several structural prototypes in order to optimise the bioactivity, he says. According to Dr. Gupta the rich marine biota, comprising of over 5,00,000 species found all along the 7,500 km-long coastlines offer an enormous untapped potential for India to develop new medicines and rare biochemicals. International agencies realised the untapped potential of ocean’s wealth way back in late 1960s, while such efforts was launched in India only in the last decade. Nevertheless, with limited financial resources and marine instrumentation, the scientists have been successful in identifying eight samples for new drug development. He says that to sustain a high momentum of research, the programme needs more skilled divers who can make collections from deep sea, taxonomists for identification of new species and marine chemists for rapid isolation and charcterisation of pure compounds in sufficient quantities. Finally, it should always be noted that any new drug development needs an investment of about $500 million per product and minimum development period of 8 to 12 years, with a final success rate of less than 0.01%. Dr. Gupta also says that several global organisations based out of India have exploited marine resources of Indian Ocean and have produced anti-cancer and anti-fungal drugs. Amongst the various bioactive substances so derived, at least 13 potential anti-cancer agents and one anti-fungal agent have been successfully isolated. However, most of these are only at the preclinical stage, except two products, which have reached Phase-I and II of the clinical development. These two products, Cemadotin and TZT 1027, have been developed from bioactive substance extracted from Indian Ocean seahare, Dolabella auricularia. Cemadotin is a water-soluble pentapeptide which is an analog of dolastatin 15, a compound isolated from Dolabella auricularia. Cemadotin is presently under Phase-II of clinical trials in Abbott Laboratories, US and in other labs in Europe. Another anti-cancer drug, TZT 1027 developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company, Teikoku Hormone, is under Phase-I of clinical development. According to Dr. Gupta, “Apart from several anti-cancer agents developed by foreign institutions, about 3,500 marine organisms have been collected from the west of Felicite Island on the Indian Ocean and screened by MycoLogics and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, US for anti-fungal activity. They have identified the black sponge, Plakinastrella species with promising anti-fungal activity.” He says that Plakinastrella species, when tested, produced a series of 5-membered ring peroxy acids which inhibited the growth of Candida albicans with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 3 to 6 mg/ml and was also active against Aspergillus fumigatus. Further lead compounds are being investigated and their structures are being elucidated he says. Among the other anti-cancer drugs developed developed by global organisations from marine resources of Indian Ocean are Cephalostatin 10 and 11 extracted from Cephalodiscus gilchristi by Cancer Research Institute, Arizona State University, US. University of California in Davis in US isolated extracts from Phorbas species to produce an anti-cancer drug, Phorboxazole B. However, there are no reports of further development of the anti-cancer drugs, Cephalostatin 10 and 11 and Phorboxazole B. after pre-clinical trials. Nevertheless, the University of Minnesota and the Parker Huges Cancer Center have developed another anti-cancer drug, Phorboxazole A by extracting bioactives from Phorbas sp. This drug is under pre-clinical trials. Among others, Pharma Mar has developed an anti-cancer drug, PM 605 by extracting bioactives from Indian Ocean tunicate and this drug is presently under pre-clinical trials. Parker Huges Institute have developed a series of anti-cancer drugs, Spongistatin 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 and Spiket-P by extracting bioactives from a marine sponge in the Indian Ocean. All these drugs are, at present, under pre-clinical trials. According to Dr. Gupta, hundreds of bioactive molecules exhibiting strong activities against a variety of infections like HIV, malaria, Staphylococcal and fungal infections and diseases like cancer including solid tumors and other human disorders like asthama, atherosclerosis, epilepsy, osteoarthritis and inflammation have been isolated and some of these are, at present, in the advanced stage of new drug development. While about a dozen of molecules are in Phase I and II of clinical trials, over 50 molecules are still under pre-clinical trials. A majority of these molecules (over 50%) promise anti-cancer activity.
The Financial Express (New Delhi), 05 Dec. 2005

Bamboo Flowering Sparks Rodent Fear in North East
 Nirmala Ganapathy

A rare phenomenon—gregarious flowering of bamboo plants—is setting off alarm bells in the Northeast, leading to fear of a rodent menace. Flowering on such a scale, which takes place after years and over a long period, has been noticed in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Unlike other plants, flowering in bamboo adversely affects the plant, producing large quantity of seeds. The seeds attract rodents, which turn to other crops, leading to largescale destruction. The last such flowering was followed by a famine in Mizoram. A worried Agriculture Ministry has sent an advisory asking the states to take steps, including use of rodenticide, to nip the problem in the bud. What is worrying the ministry, however, is that some states are reluctant to use rodenticides as they make rat meat unfit for human consumption. Mizoram Finance Secretary Mulfawma said: ‘‘Real flowering is expected next year but in areas where it has already started we are trying to harvest the bamboo as quickly as possible. The priority is harvesting. We have not yet seen an upsurge of rodents. There is no question of using rodenticides until it happens.’’ In Arunachal Pradesh, the East Kamang district has already been affected by increase in rodent population leading to widespread damage to crops. The Agriculture Ministry had sent a team to East Kamang and is preparing an action plan with the help of a rodent specialist. The Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat, under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun, had estimated that gregarious flowering of Muli Bamboo would occur in an area of about 18,000 sq. km. in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura between 2004-07. The ministry officials say that so far, apart from the one district in Arunachal and isolated pockets in Mizoram, other areas are not affected. Arunachal Pradesh has already sought Central funds to tackle the problem. Earlier in the year, the Centre had prepared a Rs 105-cr action plan to tackle the problem and set up a steering committee. The major components of the action plan include resource survey and mapping, resource extraction and management, resource utilisation, regeneration plan, rodent control and precautionary measures to control spread of epidemic, famine control. Bamboo forests in India are spread over 10.03 million hectares—12.8% of the total forest area.                                                            
The Indian Express (New Delhi), 09 Dec. 2005

Bamboo Fest in Kochi Soon

To promote products made of bamboo and explore its export potential, Kerala is organizing a three-day ‘Bamboo fest’ at Kotchi from Dec. 20. Organized by the state industries department, the festival will showcase furniture, plywood, corrugated sheets, gift items and several other products made of bamboo in 80 stalls. C.P.John, vice chairman of the Kerala State Bamboo Mission, said: “The potential for bamboo products is immense because people now look for environmental friendly products to replace plastic. “Already our bamboo products like pens, coat hangers and lamp shades are quite popular. We have a Rs. 2 million ($43,500) order for the supply of bamboo pens.” The Bamboo Mission has trained more than 2,000 artisans and another 3,000 would be trained shortly. John added: “Moreover, several institutions like the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Indian institute of Technology Mumbai and the National Institute of Design are helping us in our efforts to promote bamboo in a big way through research and is coming out with more bamboo products.” The Mission wants to start exporting bamboo products in a big way and the festival would be a stepping stone for it, added John, who is also a member of the State Planning Board. The government decided to organized the festival for the second year running after a good response from last year’s bamboo fest. State industries Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said the government realizes the potential in bamboo and would do its best to promote its products. “A one-day technical seminar is being held on Dec. 19 at Kochi to discuss revival plans for Kerala bamboo,” added Kunju.
The Himachal Times (Dehradun), 15 Dec. 2005

Bamboo-Fuelled Power Plants in Assam Ready

“This would be the first of its kind where we are using bamboo and its wastes to generate electricity,” said Vinay S. Oberoi, director of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA). “This would not only be cost effective but also highly ecofriendly,” Oberoi told IANS. The NMBA is an agency set up by the central government to promote value addition and commercialization of the country’s 80 million tones of bamboo crop annually. The two projects set up at an estimated cost of Rs. 100 million were designed and developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. “We are confident the commercial success of gasification of bamboo for generation of electricity would help us to solve the energy crisis facing India and allow our experts to pursue such ventures on a bigger scale,” Oberoi said. Both the plants are nearing completion at two paper mills in Jagiroad and Silchar towns. “Power from the plants would be now used by the two paper mills although such bamboo-fuelled energy sources could be suitably used in off-grid and remote locations, and to meet captive industry and utility needs,” Oberoi said. “The technology has been developed, tested and stabilized and is now available for large scale induction, suitable for application in the 10 KW-1 MW range.” Experts from the Bangalore-based institute in collaboration with the NMBA are also working to develop a 100 KW power plant for the Indian army. India is the second highest bamboo producing country after China. More than 55 percent of India’s annual bamboo crops are grown in the northeastern region. There were reports of bamboo flowering in the states of Assam. Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura. According to legend, when bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follow. Behind the superstition lies some scientific truth, as blooming can trigger an invasion of rats which proceed to cat away food supplies. “We are trying to harvest flowering bamboos in a big way from Mizoram and other northeastern states so that we could use it for other purposes like making lowcost pre-fabircated homes,” said Jayanta Madhab, NMBA’s economic advisor. “Not only would the scare of famine vanish if we harvest the bamboos but it would also help boost the rural economy to a great extent.” The government in the earthquake-devastated state of Jammu and Kashmir was lifting bamboo shelters in large numbers for rehabilitating victims. “We gave the idea to the Jammu and Kashmir government and now they are placing orders to at least four manufacturers of bamboo shelters in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal,” Oberoi said. “It requires just three hours assembling a 120 to 140 sq ft. bamboo shelter. This could be a successful option for easy disaster relief as the bamboo shelters are comparatively much warmer and insulated than tents and other makeshift shelters.” Pre-fabricated bamboo shelters were also being used by the Indian Army to house troops in remote areas in Assam, besides government primary health centers and schools in the region. “Bamboo grows in the wild abundantly and all we need to do is to further propagate cultivation so that we can use it as an alternative for wood in the near future,” Madhab said.                                                                                                              
The Himachal Times (Dehradun), 16 Dec. 2005

Bamboo Bonanza
 Padmaparna Ghosh

With an increasing thrust on the bamboo sector — on which depends the livelihood of millions — there has been amplified interest in evolving better techniques for propagation and cheaper alternatives to expensive planting material. Recently, KC Koshy and B Gopakumar of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Kerala reported a new method for vegetative propagation of self-incompatible bamboo — which do not produce seeds and, therefore, are difficult to cultivate. The method has been evolved for golden bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), one of the 20 species that the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan has identified for research and development, and Bambusa balcooa. “B balcooa is important in this scenario because it is a widely cultivated species which is also important to farmers,” says KK Seethalakshmi, scientist in charge, plant physiology and propagation department, Kerala Forest Research Institute. The findings appeared in the 10 November 10 issue of Current Science. To multiply non-seeding bamboo, several methods of vegetative propagation using offsets (the lowest part of a bamboo with the rhizome root attached), culm (stem) and branch cuttings, layers, and tissue culture are currently adopted. However, these methods suffer from drawbacks such as bulky offsets, high cost of production (as in tissue culture) and limited scope for largescale plantation. The TBGRI method has improved upon existing techniques to develop saplings of a smaller size at a lower cost. K.C. Koshy and team conducted numerous trials in both the offset and the cutting methods, using planting material (offsets and splits) from one generation and propagating them into the next. In the offset method, the scientists started off with just five bulky seedlings, but ended up with 114 saplings within a year and a half. Moreover, a gradual reduction in culm size was reached by reducing the size of containers. The scientists recommend pots of recycled polypropylene that are strong enough to withstand the pressure of emerging shoots. In the second method of propagation, branch cuttings from one- to two-year-old culms were planted and replanted over six months. Being much quicker, this method yielded as many as 122 tillers (individual thin stems along with rhizome) from a mere 25 cuttings. The TBGRI scientists improved this method of obtaining tillers and saplings from cuttings by introducing the mist technique, which uses a mist chamber to ensure 80-90 per cent relative humidity to speed up growth. TBGRI has been distributing saplings to farmers since 1995, keeping some as stock plants for further multiplication. The casualty rate for the bamboo seedlings they distributed has only been five to seven per cent. The culm production and growth rate are similar to other bamboo plantations. The scientists calculated the production cost at each level of trial. The high cost of seedlings in the initial trial was brought down drastically to Rs 4.61 per sapling by the fifth trial. If 70 per cent of saplings are sold at the rate of Rs 6 each, the cost will come down to Rs 4.14 and Rs 3.32 by the fifth and sixth trials respectively. In subsequent trials, the cost of seedlings will be negligible but some other input costs will remain the same. However, in the cutting method the cost will be even lesser as saplings can be sold from the second trial onwards. Koshy says the results indicate that this procedure can also be successfully applied to seed-producing bamboo such as Ochlandra spp. and Gigantochloa spp., during their non-seed bearing stages. “We hope that this method will give farmers enough material to cultivate these species and make them self-reliant in producing more planting material without the use of chemicals and hormones,” he says.                             
The Statesman (Kolkata), 11 Dec. 2005

Green Bodies Planned For National Parks

The Rajasthan Government is considering appointment of ecological development committees in areas adjacent to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to ensure participation of local people in conservation of forests and wildlife and provide adequate livelihood opportunities to them. The Minister for Forests and Environment, Laxminarain Dave, stating this here on Wednesday, pointed out that the step would provide a significant assistance to the poor tribals living on the margins of forests. He said connecting common people with the conservation activities would not only lead to their participation, but would also inculcate a sense of belonging to the natural heritage of the State. Mr. Dave, addressing the participants in a long march from the Ranthambhore wildlife sanctuary to Jaipur, said an experiment for associating the tribal population with the arrangements for boarding of tourists through the Nature Club had been launched in Udaipur. Similar initiatives could be taken in the forest areas, he added. Referring to the disappearance of tigers from the Sariska wildlife sanctuary, Mr. Dave said the role of a bunch of criminals working for a gang had been exposed in this regard. He said the march would send across a positive message motivating the people at large to join the movement for environment conservation. The rally was organised by Sawai Madhopur-based Mahatma Ishwarnath Seva Samiti.                                                                      
The Hindu (New Delhi), 16 Dec. 2005

The Greening of Calcutta
 Nasreen Khan

You may be familiar with the census that keeps track of the number of people in your house. But now it’s time to answer questions on the number of trees and kinds of plants you have in your backyard, and may be even on your terrace and windowsill. This census proposed by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation is the first of its kind in the country. The brain behind this project, Falyaz A. Khan, member, mayor-in-council (parks and gardens), says, “To date, all plantation, trimmings and felling of trees have been done in a very unscientific manner. No steps are taken to keep track of what happens to the trees after they have been planned, often with a lot of fanfare. So the data on the trees in and around Calcutta will ensure that proper care is taken of the trees. If soil erosion takes place over time, steps can be taken to check that. The data will also reveal where and what kind of trees have been planted and what becomes of them thereafter.” But not everyone has faith in the concept of a plant census. Alka Bangur, president of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India and the owner of one of the best gardens in the city, for instance, expresses doubt. “It is a very difficult and lengthy process. The time, money and energy spent in doing this census could be better utilized by planting more trees,” she points out. But Khan remains unperturbed. In fact, what set the ball rolling, Khan says, was the chief minister’s anger at branches of a tree on Park Street being cut without any permission for the Iskon Rath Yatra in July this year. On enquiring, Khan found that trees are felled indiscriminately and no record is kept of the trees planted or of their maintenance. “the motto ‘one plant equals one life’ has had to be altered to ‘one plant equals many lives’ because of the threat deforestation poses to our environment. Look at what happened in Mumbai. We do not want that to happen here, if we can help it. We will do whatever we can, not just to check deforestation but also to make Calcutta more green.” Highlights the need for a green Calcutta, Deepak Erasmus, secretary and CEO, The Agri-Horticultural Society of India, says, “Making Calcutta green is essential. There are many dwindling varieties in and around the city. The society itself has 15,000 species within its 22 acres which are labelled according to their rarity and availability. The Corporation, too, needs to label trees so that people, particularly children, know which tree or plant is called what.” Khan agrees, adding that they would also concentrate on making the city more environment-friendly by planting trees that are not only green but also those that bear fruits and flowers, so as to lure more birds and butterflies. “Ecological imbalance, especially in the metros, needs to be checked and it must be done fast,” he warns. The census will be conducted on plants and trees that line the streets as well as those in private campuses and homes. The data collected will be documented both on paper as well as on a compact disc that can be viewed, so that information is readily available in ease any follow-up is required. “All trees and plants have their own specific requirements. The manner of their trimmings is not identical nor are the timings of their plantation, their life span and the kind of soil or fertiliser required. So they can’t be treated alike,” says Khan. Mass awareness, then, is another area that needs to be addressed. As Suman Choudhury, an artist and a lover of plants, points out: “Gardens are usually a status symbol for the nouveau riche. So you often find homes with beautiful gardens but the owners hardly take any genuine interest in them. They leave it to the gardeners and caretakers. And in the absence of genuine interest, no one bothers when garbage piles up in vacant plots or when trees are felled in front of their homes.” That is precisely why Khan is also introducing the concept of Tree Wardens – to make people realize that it is in their own interest to protect trees and plants. Khan says that every municipal ward will have a plant lover who will work voluntarily in the area to protect trees and plants. He will look after the trees and oversee their trimmings. He will also liaise with the Corporation to maintain the quality of soil. Elaborating on the need to do a plant census mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya says. “The census will help us evaluate what has been done and what more needs to be done. We are going in for a more cost-effective plantation by introducing a more scientific approach.” There are those, like Prabha Jalan, chairperson of the Calcutta chapter of the FICCI ladies’ organization, and winner of many prizes in horticultural shows, who have already pledged their support for this cause. “A plant is like a child that needs care and attention. The idea of a plant census is a good one. We will learn and benefit from it,” she stresses. She should know. Her rooftop garden houses some 1,500 varieties of plants. Khan’s initiative has already borne fruit in some places. During Durga Puja, many Puja committees had the concrete spaces dug up to plant trees as part of the beautification process, instead of using potted plants brought in for those four days. The Pujas witnessed another first in the shape of utilizing the flowers used for worship. In collaboration with Dr. Siddhartha Dutta of Jadavpur University, the flowers thrown away during immersion were collected at the immersion ghats and taken to the laboratory where they were turned into colouring agents, vermilion, abir and gulal. “The Maharashtra government and Mumbai Corporation took note of this unique scheme and got in touch with us in this regard,” says Khan with obvious pride. The best part is that the State Pollution Control Board too has come forward to support Khan’s initiative. If all goes well, it won’t be long before Calcutta reaps the benefit of the plant census.                                                                                   
The Times of India (New Delhi), 18 Dec. 2005

Treating Scientists Like Animals, and Animals Like Fodder
 Bahar Dutt

Now that the Tribal Bill has been cleared, the animal versus people debate will start all over again. Most of the discussion will miss the central point: Our failure to protect fast diminishing wildlife is embedded in our failure to work with two categories crucial for conservation — wildlife scientists, and local people who live around wildlife-rich areas. Wildlife scientists could potentially be the backbone of conservation practice, but the state has treated them with suspicion. Wildlife scientists are also whistle blowers. Raghu Chundawat, who has been studying tigers in Central India for the last decade, suddenly cannot go back to the National Park where he was doing his research. He has been harassed repeatedly by the state police ever since he reported the disappearance of 12 tigers from the National Park; his research permit too has been cancelled. There are as many as 18 wildlife scientists waiting for their research permits from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Their research could provide important answers on species and their habitat, but permissions are not being given by the State. Why? Well, who wants to know how many animal have been poached? Whistle-blowers are not welcome. The second category we are absolutely clueless of working with for conservation are local people. Here too dogma and ideologies dominate. In fact around the world, the latest buzzword in wildlife conservation is a term referred to as ‘community based conservation'. In India our notions of working with communities still centre on providing ‘alternatives' in terms of relocation of people outside wildlife-rich areas or providing compensations when a farmer's crops are destroyed by wild elephants or his cattle lifted by leopards. Employing a tribal as a servant in an eco-tourism resort, or using him as a research assistant, are again unfortunate ways in which conservationists claim they are doing ‘community based conservation' or have elicited the ‘participation of local communities'. This short-sighted approach is based on a general attitude of mistrust about the abilities of local people to be actively involved in wildlife conservation. Community based conservation however is a much more complex process. It is best demonstrated when communities (and not individuals) or community based institutions take decisions and make active efforts to protect the wildlife and natural resources around them. Examples of this approach abound in other countries. The Gran-Chaco National Park spread over nearly 3 million hectares in Bolivia is co-managed by the indigenous people who have prevented industries from being set up on their ancestral forests. In Tanzania over a 1,67,000 ha region is protected by the Suledo Forest Community where each village has divided its forests into discrete management zones and local environmental committees now patrol the forests. As a result of the Suledo Forest Community's interventions, some of the 27 wildlife species found in the forest and many of the tree species in danger of becoming locally extinct have come back. In India, an organisation called Kalpavriksh has documented over 300 sites across the country, with a number of endangered animals and birds such as the Blyth's Tragopan, the Golden Langur, or Olive Ridley turtles being protected through community based initiatives. In each of these sites, the communities have a system of rules and regulations and customary laws which ensure protection. However, organising communities as allies for conservation cannot happen overnight, by simply ‘handing over' all forests to people living around sanctuaries. There must be a long-term investment in community-based institutions. This is a process based on systems of rules about user-rights over the forest and responsibilities for protecting it. Sadly it has been written off in India before being implemented in its true form. But there is hope. There are a number of young wildlife scientists who have refused to be involved in ideological debates and have shown that bridges can be built and new methods for conservation possible, whether it involves working with communities or the Forest Department. Scientists from the Nature Conservation Foundation have been working in Arunachal Pradesh with the Lisu tribals to declare no-hunting zones in the nearby forest. Someone else works with fishermen in Orissa against big trawling companies to protect the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. In north India, a colleague has been working in eastern Uttar Pradesh, using the landscape approach to conservation and involving upper and lower caste farmers for saving the endangered Sarus crane. My own training in wildlife sciences was in behavioural ecology of an endangered Amazonian primate species. I soon moved to studying the resource dependency of local communities who hunt and use animals for their livelihood. Along with community members who are from the Jogi-Nath community we have been engaged in documenting their indigenous knowledge about various wild animals, particularly snakes. All these scientists are working to build allies for conservation using new methods and recognising the complexities of governance, caste and development which are the challenges to conservation practice. Wildlife conservation thus needs more such scientists, not ideologists. As the Prime Minister calls for a number of meetings to give shape to a stronger and more coherent policy for saving wildlife, perhaps this is what needs to be kept in focus. ‘Mind the gap' warn the signs as you get off the train at metro platforms. Bridge the gap, Mr. Prime Minister — between wildlife scientists and wildlife managers, and local people and the State.                                                                        
The Indian Express (New Delhi), 03 Dec. 2005

Revised Tribal Rights Bill gets Cabinet Nod
 Akshaya Mukul

Ending almost a year of acrimony on providing land rights to forest dwelling tribes, the Union cabinet on Thursday gave its approval to the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill. The Bill will be introduced in the current Parliament session. The final Bill, sources said, successfully straddles the differing world views of conservationists – or the tiger lobby – and tribal right activists. One of the major changes in the final Bill is that unlike the earlier draft, there is no ambiguity on the cut off date for determining tribal right over land. The earlier Bill had fixed “October 25, 1980, or such other date as the Central government may specify” as the cut-off date. The final version makes October 25, 1980, as the cut-off date. The second major change pertains to rights of tribals in national parks and sanctuaries. Tribal inhabitants would be given provisional pattas with a clear caveat that they could be relocated. The third deviation from the earlier Bill, which the tiger lobby can relish it, is that forest officials would be involved at every stage in the process of granting land rights to tribals. “Unlike the earlier Bill which had kept forest officials out of the decision making process, they would now have a major say,” the official said. However, one major demand from many politicians and activists that non-tribal forest dwellers be also given land rights has not been made part of the Bill. The official said. “They would be settled according to the settlement rules of the environment and forests ministry.” But there is no change in the long list of forest rights given to tribals as well as the provision that the right conferred shall be heritable but not alienable or transferable. Similarly, there is no change as far as duties – most concerning conservation of flora and fauna – of the holder of forest rights are concerned.  
The Times of India (New Delhi), 03 Dec. 2005

Infirmities in Tribal Bill, Says Brinda Karat

Communist Party of India (Marxist) M.P. Brinda Karat on Sunday welcomed the introduction of the Scheduled Tribe (Recognition of Rights) Bill, 2005 but said there were many infirmities in it that would hamper the interests of the tribals living in reserved forests. At a press conference here, Ms. Karat said the C.P.I. (M) was against non-tribals encroaching on forestland and opposed to the conversion of forestland into "fields of profit for big mining companies" in the name of development. "Faulty data" Observing that proper data had not been collected on the existence of tribal habitats inside forests, Ms. Karat said manipulation of the statistics should not be allowed. Also, tribals should not be evicted on the basis of this "faulty data." The proposed law should take into account the existence of habitats on an "as is where is" basis and not on the basis of 1980 as the cut-off year. She also opposed tenural right as opposed to the full right of the tribal on the forestland. Another infirmity in the Bill was that the ultimate authority to decide on land rights was not the Gram Sabha, but a committee with forest officials and bureaucrats as members. "The Gram Sabha will not have a role in the real sense."                                                                                                                             
The Hindu (New Delhi), 19 Dec. 2005

Indigenous Groups Seek ‘Pro-People’ Changes in Tribal Rights Legislation

Hundreds of indigenous groups from the tribal-dominated States staged a dharna here on Wednesday, demanding "pro-people" changes in the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Rights) Bill, 2005. The groups from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, led by leaders of the Lok Sangharsh Morcha, said the present Bill would not undo the "historical injustices" done to them.Present Bill will not undo the "historical injustices" to us Timber and poaching mafias plundering the forest wealth. Tribals and other forest dwellers were undergoing trauma and tribulations. They have been debarred from their traditional lands and forest produce, declared encroachers and treated as disposable population by various developmental projects since Independence, the activists said. "The UPA Government, in accordance with its national common minimum programme (NCMP) has commendably acknowledged the historical injustices done to the tribal people. But, in a fashion characteristic to all previous governments, it is now diluting or destroying the very purpose of the bill by fixing 1980 as the cut-off date for conferment of land rights," the Morcha leaders said. Excluding all non-tribal forest dwellers from the ambit of the Bill, thrusting a land ceiling well below the prevailing norms, and desisting from giving any categorical commitment against eviction and displacement without any promise for rehabilitation to the displaced would not help the tribal people, they argued. Grassroots democracy debilitated. The Bill also debilitated grassroots democracy by putting bureaucratic gags over gram sabhas and other statutory bodies prescribed in the legislation. "It is indeed a matter of shame that such a section of peaceful working masses should be denied basic rights enjoyed by all other citizens of the country and be haunted by all sorts of highhandedness of the police and forest officials," the protesters pointed out. The timber and poaching mafias were plundering the forest wealth; the commercial- industrial lobby continued destroying forests in the name of developmental projects and various State Governments were only too eager to hand out on a platter vast acres of forest land to the multinational lobby, they said.                                                   
The Hindu (New Delhi), 08 Dec. 2005

 Forest Bill Tabled in LS

Minister for Tribal Affairs P R Kyndiah today introduced the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005, that recognises and vests with forest-dwelling tribals the rights and occupation of the land, in the Lok Sabha. Introducing the Bill, the minister said the Bill addressed the long-standing and genuine-felt need for granting a secure and inalienable right to those communities whose right to life depended on the right to forests and thereby strengthening the entire conservation regime by giving a permanent stake to the ST dwelling in the forests for generations in symbolic relationship with the ecosystem. Though these tribals had been residing in forests for generations, their rights could not be recorded and the Bill provided for a framework to record the forest rights so vested and the nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting of forest land. The Bill laid down a simple procedure for recognition and vesting of forest rights for the forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes so that the rights became legally enforceable through corrective measures in the formal recording system of the executive machinery.                                                                                                                      
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 13 Dec. 2005

Environmentalists Oppose Changes in Forest Rights Bill

Environmentalists and social activists have opposed changes in the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill. The Government must address the shortcomings in the draft and ensure its passage in the current session of Parliament, they say. "We wish to express our solidarity with the ongoing protests for the tabling and passage of a fair and effective Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005," a recent statement signed by 119 activists, in support of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, said. The Campaign has demanded amendments to the draft to include non-forest Scheduled Tribes forest-dwellers under the purview of the Bill. "We support the main demand of these protesters for an amendment to address its shortcomings and the passage of the Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament. We believe that the recognition of forest communities' rights is non-negotiable and should occur in all forest areas. In addition, we also agree with the protesters that necessary amendments include bringing non-ST forest-dwellers under the Bill, instituting a rational cut-off date (within the last few years) and ensuring that recognition of rights cannot be the subject of bureaucratic or government interference should be addressed." The signatories include K.G. Kannabiran, People's Union for Civil Liberties; Jean Dreze, G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad; Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre; Gautam Navlakha; Souparna Lahiri, Delhi Forum; Prashant Bhushan, senior Supreme Court advocate; Neema Pathak, Kalpavriksh; Swami Agnivesh; Pradip Prabhu, convener, Campaign for Survival and Dignity; Smitu Kothari, Intercultural Resources and Lokayan and Suhas Chakma. On November 15, the Campaign— a federation of tribal and forest-dwelling community organisations from 10 States — called for a nationwide "jail bharo andolan," demanding legal recognition of forest rights. More than 75,000 people courted arrest. Primary authority According to Campaign activists, the gram sabha should have clear and primary authority over the process of recognising and managing forest rights, with no scope for arbitrary interference from state agencies; traditional and marginalised forest-dwellers other than Scheduled Tribes should be included in the Bill; and the community's responsibility and authority for conservation and forest protection should be made clear. The rights of forcibly displaced persons, who have occupied forestlands, should also be recognised and those deemed ineligible for rights under this Bill should have the right to in situ rehabilitation, as the Central Government has already accepted.                           
The Hindu (New Delhi), 18 Dec. 2005

Forest Act Obstacle to Development
 Rajshekhar Pant

With the Forest Conservation Act becoming a holy book against which the government machinery prefers to remain silent much of the developmental work in Uttaranchal is being jeopardized. In the district of Bageshwar alone, around five thousand projects, duly passed by the departments concerned, are reported to have been gathering dust in the files, thanks to the complications caused by the conservation laws. A recent survey by Santosh Fulara reveals that road constructions in the inner reaches of the hills has been worst hit by the conservation laws. Not only the roads running to over 200 km but even those having a total run of barely 50 km or so are waiting for a green signal from the department of forest. As per the conservation laws without paying compensation to the department of forest these projects cannot materialize. For the ten km long Bageshwar-Bilona-Daphot road, pending for the last 25 years, Rs. 90 lacs are reported to be payable to the department of forest. For an eight km. long Dhalan Khimoli road the said amount is 35 lacs while for Jintoli- Udkholi Garkhet (10km) and Baheshwar Amsarkot-Dhari-Girchina Rs. 90 lacs and 106 lacs respectively are payable to the department of forest. The public works department in the district is reported to have over 50 such sanctioned projects. However, the compensation to the department of forest is a stumbling block.
Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 16 Dec. 2005

Forest Scam: Cover-Up Operation on
 Lalit Mohan

Instead of taking an action against the officials involved in the forest scam in Dhar subdivision of the district, the department has started a cover-up operation. When The Tribune team visited the spot today, the department officials had already removed the destroyed saplings. About a kilometre inside, around 20 labourers were busy clearing lantana under the supervision of block forest officials. An official tried to stop The Tribune photographer from taking photographs. The Tribune team also spotted two tractor-trailers of the Forest Department carrying plants toward the Donera area where maximum plantation was carried out under a Japan-aided project. Sources said officials of the department were busy covering up their doing by making new plantations. Some former officials of the department said there was no point in transporting plants from nurseries as neither the farmers nor the department could carry out plantations in this season. They said the clearing of the jungle was generally carried out from July to September or January to February. Provisions were made under the Japan-aided project for periodic clearing of the areas in which plantation had been done. However, a visit to these areas indicated that the clearing exercise was undertaken in papers only. A scrutiny of the muster roles could bring to light a number of discrepancies, sources said. The DFO, Pathankot division, Mr. G.S. Sahota, was not available for comments. He did not pick up his mobile phone despite repeated calls. Despite visits by Vigilance officials to the areas, officials of the Department of Forests were openly carrying out the cover-up operation. Mr. Sunil Kanotra, president of the Shiv Sena at Pathankot, who initially spilled the beans in the case, said only two areas had been maintained properly. Elsewhere, just 10 per cent of the projected plantation was visible, he added. 
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 13 Dec. 2005

Keep Biopiracy at Bay
 Tejaswani Apte and Ashish Kothari

The upcoming World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Hong Kong will be a testing ground for the Indian government’s stated commitment to protect traditional knowledge. For the last few years India has been pushing for an amendment to TRIPS (the International Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement) on the subject of traditional knowledge and biodiversity. India is among a group of17 mega-biodiverse countries that have proposed such an amendment. The proposed amendments could help check corporations and individuals from exploiting biological resources for commercial gain without the permission of (and without adequate reward going to) the communities that have nurtured the resources and developed the knowledge over generations. The demand is that TRIPS should require patent applicants, anywhere in the world, to do the following. Disclose the source of biological resources that have been used in their innovation; acquire the prior informed consent (PIC) of communities that are the customary guardians of biological resources or related traditional knowledge that has been used in the innovation; and provide for equitable benefit-sharing (proceeds from commercial use) with them. Principles of consent and benefit-sharing are already required by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), but need to be incorporated in TRIPS. The rationale behind these proposed amendments is to prevent biopiracy. Biopiracy is the commercial use of biological resources and related traditional knowledge without the consent of their customary holders or originators (usually traditional communities). Well-known examples of biopiracy are the patenting of the wound-healing properties of turmeric in the US, or the patenting of the fungicidal properties of neem in the European Patent Office. There are hundreds of other lesser-known examples of biodiversity and related knowledge exploited for private commercial gain. The government needs to be complimented for taking a stand in international circles. But there remain serious flaws in its position, and in its performance back home. Firstly, it is regrettable it has given up its former position of no IPRs on life forms, which it was championing at WTO. It has now, in its domestic legislation, allowed for IPRs on plant varieties. Secondly, its policy and legal moves towards community empowerment to stop biopiracy are retrogressive. For instance, its interpretation of the concept of PIC is more about taking the consent of governments than of local communities. In domestic Indian law, if a pharmaceutical company wants to make commercial use of a plant and its traditional uses, it will need to get the PIC of the government, but not necessarily of the communities concerned. Under the Biodiversity Act, 2002, enacted to implement India’s obligations to the CBD, powers regarding access to bioresources and IPRs vest largely with the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), and the State Biodiversity Boards (SBB). The NBA grants approval to foreigners wanting access to biological resources and traditional knowledge, and to Indians or foreigners wanting to apply for Intellectual property rights on innovations based on such resources/knowledge. It is also supposed to ensure benefit-sharing with local communities. The SEBs deal with granting access to Indians. The third tier of management under the Act, the local Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), could have also been given powers relating to these aspects. But the Act’s already limited potential to do so was made even weaker by the Biodiversity Rules notified in 2004. First, community representation on state and national biodiversity boards is weak. Second, there is no provision for the participation and decision-making of local communities. It is largely left to the national authority to take the views of communities into consideration. The local committee only responds when consulted, and in any case consulting does not necessarily include obtaining PIC of the local community. Third, the main role of local committees is limited to documenting local knowledge in biodiversity registers; it does not even have the right to protect these registers from misuse or theft. Fourth, the rules regarding equitable benefit-sharing do not define equitable. Payment of benefits is to be made not directly to the community, but through the district administration, which creates an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. Fofth, new plant varieties (mainly crops) covered by the Protection to Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, (PPVFR) are exempted from the provisions of the Biodiversity Act. It is essential for the government to push for the requirements of PIC, benefit-sharing and disclosure of origin at the WTO, and for the international community to amend TRIPS accordingly. But at the same time, given the government’s implementation of these very principles within India itself, its international position rings rather hollow. The Indian government and the international community must interpret PIC to mean prior informed consent and participation in decision-making of the concerned indigenous community, and not simply consent of the national government. Mechanisms of benefit sharing must be on terms mutually agreed between the concerned community and the outsider who desires access, and benefits must flow directly to communities rather than through layers of a non-transparent, unaccountable, and often corrupt bureaucracy. And finally, communities must have the power to say on to patenting of life forms if they believe it runs contrary to their interests and rights.                                                            
The Times of India (New Delhi), 06 Dec. 2005

Tackle Bio-Piracy, Says India
 Amiti Sen

India has called for negotiations on the relationship between Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) agreement and the convention of bio-diversity (C.B.D) in an attempt to check bio-piracy from the developing world. Speaking at the plenary session of the sixth World Trade Organisation (W.T.O) ministerial conference in Hong Kong, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said that there was growing popular discontent among developing countries over bio-piracy and the misappropriation of their traditional knowledge. He said that the Hong Kong ministerial should pave the way for the launch of negotiations linking Trips to C.B.D. India wants that provisions on disclosure of origin should be incorporated in Trips. The Indian minister reiterated his stand that there would not be any agricultural agreement without special products and special safeguard mechanism (S.S.M) which were needed to ensure the livelihood and food security of millions of farmers. If effectively applied, it could be the bedrock of any agricultural development, he said. On industrial tariffs, Mr Nath said that market tariffs was not about tariffs alone, as non-tariff barriers such as abuse of anti-dumping and technical standards hindered market access for developing countries. Stressing on the need for greater liberalisation of services, the minister pointed out that access to overseas markets could be a powerful instrument to banish poverty in developing countries by giving stimulus to economic growth.                                                                                   
The Financial Express (New Delhi), 15 Dec. 2005

Forest Land Under Cannabis Cultivation
 Pratibha Chauhan

With regular raids to check drug trafficking and its cultivation in various parts of the state, people have now shifted their poppy and cannabis plantations from private holdings to the forest areas. Cannabis and opium plantations have come up on large portions of remote and inaccessible forest areas in district Kullu and Mandi, as there is practically no check from either the forest department or the revenue authorities. According to estimates of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), almost 6,000 hectares of forestland in districts of Kullu, Mandi and Chamba is under poppy and cannabis cultivation. Deodar and oak tress along with other varieties are being chopped to make way for cultivating the high-return narcotic substances in areas like Malana, Magic, Bhelang, Melandar and Kutlah in Parbati valley and Thachi area of Mandi. High-yield hybrid varieties imported from Holland and Russia are being planted on big forest patches with practically no fear from any government agency. With the NCB, police and Customs Department undertaking regular operations to check this illegal activity, people have started planting these drugs on forest land as they cannot be punished even if there is a raid. “I would say that this shift from private land to forest land is nothing less than ‘jhum’ cultivation where forest patches are being cleared to grow opium and cannabis,” said Mr O.P. Sharma, Superintendent, NCB. He added that during raids to such remote areas he had seen that vast portions of forests had been cleared as a result of this shift from private to forest land for cultivating opium and cannabis. Earlier, the drug mafia, including a large number of foreigners would take land on lease for cultivating Malana crème, and Parbati crème. However, with regular raids and operations to destroy opium and cannabis crops, the locals have started using forest land as practically no one can be punished for it. In the month of September, the NCB along with the local police had destroyed opium and cannabis on almost 4,200 bighas in Malandar and Kutlah area of Kullu district and 218 bighas in Thachi, falling under Bali Chowki area of Mandi district. Though the government has been talking of launching an alternate farming project in the opium and cannabis-growing areas of the state, the project has only remained on paper. A state level apex committee has also been constituted to prepare a project, which met here almost a week back.                                                                                                                 
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 12 Dec. 2005

  Neglect of Forests

A front-page report in The Tribune on Friday revealed that Punjab forest officials had carried out fake plantations in Dhar subdivision of Gurdaspur district under a Japan bank-aided scheme and the accompanying photograph showed dumped saplings, leaving little for official denials and clarifications that usually follow such reports. This is, to say the least, a criminal act and those responsible for such wastage and callousness towards the fast-depleting forest cover deserves to be sacked immediately. The reality, however, is such reports have ceased to shock those in decision-taking positions. The latest report of the Forest Survey of India, released earlier this year, pointed out that Punjab had lost 852 sq km of its forest wealth between 2001 and 2003. Although Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, too, have performed poorly on this front, it is Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir which have actually enhanced their green cover. But Punjab has the dubious distinction of heading the list of the states and UTs listed for the loss of forest wealth. The criminal neglect of forests is evident from the fact that Punjab has no data on its area under forest cover now. The government actually helps the land mafia swallow areas under forests by taking up its cause (environmental clearance) with the Centre. In 1997 a bank of Japan came forward to finance a Rs 407-crore afforestation project in Punjab. The project has been so badly handled that a bank delegation visited Jalandhar and Ropar districts in September this year after receiving complaints of irregularities and misuse of funds. The Punjab Government, on its part, has not spent a single rupee on plantation since March 2005. As media reports indicate, instead, it has asked forest officials to shut nurseries and sell plants as it had no funds. With a declining forest cover and a falling water table, Punjab is evidently heading for a disaster, which is clearly man made.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 10 Dec. 2005

  नीम तेल से डीजल का कारखाना अगले वर्ष
 कृष्ण किसलय

घटते पारंपरिक तेल ईंधन स्रोतों के कारण अगले दशकों में आने वाले ऊर्जा संकट से निपटने के लिए देवभूमि उत्तरांचल में दूरगामी योजना पर अमल शुरू हो चुका है। इस क्रम में नीम, साल, अरंड आदि के तेल से बायो डीजल बनाने का पहला परीक्षण कारखाना देहरादून में अगले वर्ष स्थापित हो जाएगा। इस संयंत्र के निर्माण का आदेश निर्गत किया जा चुका है। इस परीक्षण प्लांट में उप उत्पाद के रूप में ग्लिसरीन का निर्माण भी होगा। हालांकि, इस कारखाने में बाद में जैट्रोफा के बीज से बायो डीजल का उत्पादन किया जाएगा। जैट्रोफा गुणवत्ता व मात्रा दोनों के लिहाज से बायो डीजल का सबसे बेहतर स्रोत है, जिसे 75 साल पहले ब्रिटेन इंस्टीट्यूट ने पहली ऊर्जा फसल सूची में स्थान दिया था। एक हैक्टेयर में लगे इसके पौधों में वायुमंडल से 10 टन कार्बन डाईआक्साइड गैस अवशोषित करने की क्षमता होती है, जो पर्यावरण प्रदूषण नियंत्रण की दृष्टि से भी महत्वपूर्ण है। अभी उत्तरांचल में जैट्रोफा के व्यावसायिक स्तर पर पैदावार में तीन साल की देर है। यह परीक्षण प्लांट फिलहाल हर रोज 25 टन बायो डीजल उत्पादन की क्षमता वाला होगा, जो वर्ष 2010-11 तक 300 टन प्रति दिन की क्षमता में तब्दील हो जाएगा। उत्तरांचल बायोफ्यूल लिमिटेड द्वारा देहरादून जिले में लगने वाला यह कारखाना देश में अपनी तरह की दूसरी इकाई होगी, जिसमें अगले वर्ष नवम्बर तक उत्पादन आरंभ होना प्रस्तावित है। अभी गुजरात में अरंड के बीज से प्रतिदिन 20 टन क्षमता वाले एकमात्र कारखाने में बायो डीजल का उत्पादन किया जा रहा है। आंध्र प्रदेश में जैट्रोफा से बायो डीजल बनाने के 330 टन प्रति दिन व 25 टन प्रतिदिन क्षमता वाले दो कारखाने स्थापित करने की योजना पर कार्य जारी है, जो अगले वर्ष के अंत तक उत्पादन में आएंगे। भारत सरकार ने 25 रुपए प्रति लीटर (एक किलो में सवा लीटर) की दर से बायो डीजल खरीदने की अनुमति देश की तेल कंपनियों को दे रखी है। एक वैज्ञानिक आंकलन के अनुसार वर्ष 2012 तक देश में 19 करोड़ टन डीजल की जरूरत होगी। केंद्रीय योजना आयोग ने फिलहाल पारंपरिक डीजल में पांच फीसदी बायो डीजल मिलाने की अनुमति प्रदान की है। जबकि पारंपरिक डीजल में बायो डीजल मिलाने के अनुपात को योजना आयोग की ओर से चरणबद्ध क्रम में वर्ष 2012 तक 20 फीसदी करने की हरी झंडी है। उत्तरांचल बायो फ्यूल लिमिटेड के संचालन मंडल के सदस्य व उत्तरांचल बायो फ्यूल बोर्ड के सचिव अतुल कुमार लोहिया ने ‘दैनिक जागरण’ की जानकारी दी कि बायो डीजल कारखाना के लिए मुख्य ट्रांस स्टेरिफिकेशन प्लांट की मशीनें बनाने का आदेश दे दिया गया है। अन्य संयंत्रों के निर्माण के आदेश भी भेजे जाने की प्रक्रिया जारी है। सौ बीघे में स्थापित होने वाले इस कारखाने में प्रीट्रीटमेंट आयल प्लांट, ट्रांस स्टेरिफिकेशन प्लांट, प्रोसेसिंग प्लांट, ग्लिसरीन प्यूरीफिकेशन प्लांट व बायो डीजल प्यूरीफिकेशन प्लांट होंगे। श्री लोहिया ने बताया कि इस कारखाने में 10 फीसदी उप उत्पाद के रूप में प्रतिदिन दो टन से अधिक ग्लिसरीन का भी उत्पादन होगा। आने वाले वर्षों में जैट्रोफा के बीज का उत्पाद आरंभ होने के बाद तेल निकालने के लिए सालवेट एक्सट्रैक्शन प्लांट स्थापित किया जाएगा, जिस पर करीब सात करोड़ रुपए का खर्च आएगा। कंपनी पहले चरण में 15 करोड़ रुपए निवेश कर रही है। जबकि 2011 तक 120 करोड़ रुपए के निवेश की योजना बनाई गई है। अभी परीक्षण प्लांट में करीब सौ लोगों को रोजगार प्राप्त होगा। 2010-12 तक इस कारखाने में डेढ़ हजार लोगों को नियोजित किया जा सकेगा।
दैनिक जागरण (देहरादून), 12 Dec. 2005

जड़ी-बूटी : विशेषज्ञ जुटेंगे चौबीस से

राज्य में जड़ी-बूटी को और अधिक संवर्धन एवं संरक्षण प्रदान करने के उद्देश्य से जड़ी-बूटी शोध एवं विकास संस्थान आगामी 24 दिसंबर से देहरादून में उत्तरांचल हर्बल एक्सपो 2005 का आयोजन करेगा। सचिवालय स्थित वन एवं ग्राम्य विकास सभागार में आयोजित पत्रकार सम्मेलन को संबोधित करते हुए प्रमुख सचिव वन एवं आयुक्त ग्राम्य विकास विभापुरी दास ने बताया कि गोपेश्वर स्थित जड़ी-बूटी शोध एवं विकास संस्थान आगमी 24 से 27 दिसंबर तक देहरादुन के परेड मैदान में उत्तरांचल हर्बल एक्सपो 2005 का आयोजन कर रहा है। उन्होंने बताया कि एक्सपो में जड़ी-बूटी से संबंधित विभिन्न वर्गों के विशेषज्ञ आएंगे और वे अपने अनुभवों को आपस में आदान-प्रदान करेंगें। प्रमुख सचिव का मानना है कि एक्सपो में लगभग तीन लाख से अधिक लोग शिरकत करेंगे, जिससे लगभग एक करोड़ रुपए से अधिक का व्यवसाय होने का अनुमान है। उन्होने बताया कि मेले में 200 स्टाल स्थापित किए जाएंगे। इसमें कृषकों के लिए 50 स्टाल निशुल्क रखे गए हैं। हर्बल क्विज का आयोजन भी किया जाएगा। श्रीमती दास ने कहा कि राज्य में जड़ी-बूटी विकास की संभावनाओं को देखते हुए राज्य को हर्बल स्टेट घोषित किया गया है। उन्होंने बताया कि विगत वर्ष 14 हजार कुंतल जड़ी-बूटियों का विकास कर 6 करोड़ रुपए अर्जित किए गए हैं। जड़ी-बूटी उत्पादन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए 26 प्रजातियों को चिन्हित किया गया है। पहली बार लागत मूल्य का 50 प्रतिशत अनुदान देने की व्यवस्था की गई है। भेषज संघों के माध्यम से ऋण उपलब्ध कराया जा रहा है। सचिव उद्यान उत्पल कुमार सिंह ने बताया कि राज्य में जड़ी-बूटी क्षेत्र से जुड़े लोगों को और अधिक प्रोत्साहित करने के उद्देश्य से पहली बार इस मेले का आयोजन किया जा रहा है, और भविष्य में भी इसका आयोजन प्रतिवर्ष हो इसका प्रयास किया जाएगा। इस अवसर पर अपर सचिव जड़ी-बूटी एस. के. सिंह व विशेषज्ञ ए.आर. पुरोहित उपस्थित थे।                                                                                                     
दैनिक जागरण (देहरादून), 14 Dec. 2005

  जड़ी-बूटियों में 50 प्रतिशत अनुदान

पारंपरिक खेतीबाड़ी में यदि अधिक मुनाफा नहीं हो रहा है, जड़ी-बूटियों का व्यावसायिक कृषिकरण आपके लिए फायदेमंद हो सकता है। सरकार ने जड़ी-बूटियों के उत्पादन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए कृषिकरण की 50 फीसदी लागत खुद वहन करने का निर्णय किया है। यानि जड़ी-बूटी के कृषिकरण में होने वाले खर्च का 50 प्रतिशत किसान को अनुदान के रूप में मिलेगा। सरकार ने ऐसे 26 औषधीय व सगंध पौधों की प्रजातियां चिन्हित कर सूची जारी कर दी। प्रमुख सचिव व आयुक्त (वन एवं ग्राम्य विकास) विभा पुरी दास के मुताबिक यह अनुदान दो हैक्टेयर यानि करीब 40 नाली भूमि तक मिलेगाय़ इसकी अधिकतम राशि एक लाख रुपये है। ऋण भेषज संघों के जरिए मुहैया कराया जाएगा। इस पर दो साल तक कोई ब्याज नहीं लिया जाएगा। इसके साथ ही जड़ी-बूटियों के अवैध विदोहन तथा विपणन पर अंकुश लगाने के लिए वन निगम, वन पंचायत आदि से निर्धारित सभी संग्रहकों को जल्द से जल्द पहचान पत्र मुहैया कराने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है। मंगलवार शाम सचिवालय में पत्रकारों से बातचीत में प्रमुख सचिव तथा उद्यान विभाग के अधिकारियों ने भावी योजनाओं को जानकारी दी। वर्तमान में प्रदेश में 2500 किसान जड़ी-बूटी और 300 सगंध पौधों का कृषिकरण कर रहे हैं। औषधीय पौधों के तहत पर्वतीय जनपदों में करीब 30 हजार नाली भूमि पर औषधीय पौधों और करीब पांच हजार नाली भूमि पर सगंध पौधों की खेती की जा रही है। प्रमुख सचिव ने बताया कि औषधीय पौधों के विपणन के लिए वन निगम की मंडियों का प्रयोग काफी सफल रहा है। इसके तहत अब तक 70 विभिन्न प्रजातियों के 14 हजार कुंतल, जड़ी-बूटियां खरीदी गई। इससे करीब छह करोड़ रुपये का राजस्व मिला है।                                                                                                                  
अमर उजाला (देहरादून), 16 Dec. 2005

  औषधियों की खेती के लिए किसानों का पंजीकरण

श्री बद्रीनाथ-केदारनाथ मंदिर समिति के अध्यक्ष एवं विधायक डा. अनुसूईया प्रसाद मैखुरी ने आशा व्यक्त की कि जनपद चमोली के मंडल स्थित जड़ीबूटी शोध एवं विकास संस्थान राज्य की हर्बल स्टेट बनाने की परिकल्पना साकार करने का विशेष माध्यम बनेगा। बताया गया है कि इन दिनों वन औषधियों की खेती के लिए राज्य स्तर पर किसानों का पंजीकरण किया जा रहा है। डा. मैखुरी का कथन है कि प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री ने विगत वर्ष 2002 में राज्य को हर्बल स्टेट बनाने की घोषणा की थी। इसी क्रम में जड़ीबूटी शोध संस्थान को साधन संपन्न बनाया जा रहा है। अतीस, कटुकी, कूट, जटामासी, चिरायता, कालाजीरा, तगर, मंजीठा, बड़ी इलायची, रोजमैरी आदि 26 जड़ीबूटी कृषिकरण के लिए कृषकों को रोपण सामग्री आदि पर 50 प्रतिशत अनुदान दिया जाएगा। बताया गया है कि अभी तक 1 हजार कृषकों ने पंजीकरण कर लिया है। विधायक ने बताया कि सुगंधित पौधों से तेल निकालने के लिए मंडल (गोपेश्वर) व रूद्रप्रयाग में आसवन सर्वत्र स्थापित किये जायेंगे।                                                                                                            
हिन्दुस्तान टाइम्स (नई दिल्ली), 06 Dec. 2005

  जड़ी-बूटियों से दूर की जा सकती है म.प्र. की गरीबी

आयुर्वेद और योग शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में उल्लेखनीय कार्य कर रहे बाबा रामदेव के सहयोगी बालकृष्ण जी महाराज ने कहा है कि यदि जड़ी-बूटियों की पैदावार एवं उपयोग पर समुचित स्थान दिया जाए तो इससे मध्यप्रदेश की गरीबी दूर की जा सकती है। यह तभी संभव है जब इस दिशा में एक स्पष्ट नीति बने और जड़ी-बूटियों की पैदावार बढ़ाने के लिए भी समुचित प्रयास किये जाएं। उनका मानना है कि देश में आयुर्वेदिक चिकित्सा को बढ़ावा देने के लिए वन औषधियों के संरक्षण, गुणवत्ता और उपयोगिता के संबंध में एक व्यापक नीति बनाई जानी चाहिए। राजधानी में आयोजित वन मेले के समापन समारोह में भाग लेने आए बालकृष्ण जी महाराज ने प्रदेश के पूर्व वन मंत्री हरवंश सिंह के निवास पर आज पत्रकारों से चर्चा के दौरान यह बातें कहीं। उन्होंने मध्यप्रदेश को वन औषधियों जड़ी-बूटियों की दृष्टि से एक संमृद्ध प्रदेश बताते हुए कहा कि आयुर्वेद चिकित्सा के उपयोग में लाई जाने वाली 80 फीसदी जड़ी-बूटियां म.प्र. में आई जाती है। इस ओर समुचित ध्यान दिया जाए तो म.प्र. के गरीब किसानों व आदिवासियों को रोजगार उपलब्ध कराया जा सकता है। एक तरह से जड़ी-बूटियां प्रदेश की गरीबी दूर करने में सहायक सिद्ध हो सकती है। इसलिए यह आवश्यक है कि इनके संरक्षण व सनत् पैदावार की ओर विशेष ध्यान दिया जाए। इसके लिए इसका भी विशेष ध्यान रखना होगा कि जिस जगह या जिस जलवायु में जो जड़ी-बूटी होती है वहां उसकी पैदावार कैसे बढ़ाई जाए। इस बारे में वह म.प्र. सरकार से भी चर्चा करेंगे। उन्होंने कहा कि हरिद्वार में बाबा रामदेव द्वारा संचालित दिव्य योग मंदिर योग प्रशिक्षण और आयुर्वेदिक चिकित्सा के क्षेत्र में देश का एक प्रमुख केंद्र है। इसका प्रमुख उद्देश्य देश के लोगों को रोग मुक्त करना है। इसके लिए देश भर में योग और चिकित्सा केद्रों की संख्या बढ़ाने का भी संस्थान प्रयास कर रहा है। इसी तरह इस संस्थान में जड़ी-बूटियों के वैज्ञानिक परीक्षण की व्यवस्था की गई है ताकि इनकी उपयोगिता को राष्ट्रीय व अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर महत्व मिल सके।                                                                                                                                        
 दून दर्पण (देहरादून), 19 Dec. 2005

अब भूकंप के झटके झेलेंगे ‘बांस हाउस’

भूकंप के झटकों से जूझ रहे प्रदेशवासियों के लिए वन विभाग ने ‘बांस हाउस’ इजाद किया है। इसमें सरिया की जगह बांस का उपयोग किया गया है। बांस हाउस भूकंपरोधी है। इसके निर्माण में खर्च भी काफी कम आएगा और निर्माण के लिए ज्यादा सामग्री लाने का भी झंझट कम है। दक्षिण राज्यों के लोगों को वरदान बने ‘बांस हाउस’ निर्माण काक फैसला पर्वतीय इलाके में निर्माण सामग्री पहूंचाने में आने वाली समस्या और भूकंप से होने वाली जनहानि के कारण किया गया है। हाउस में साधारण मकान की भांति सरिया का इस्तेमाल बिल्कुल नहीं किया गया है। ईंट भी जमीन से तीन फुट ऊंचाई तक लगायी गई है। इसके बाद केवल बांस व सीमेंट के साथ ही दीवार खड़ी हूई है और छत डाली गयी है। ‘बांस हाउस’ का एक माडल शहर स्थित वानिकी प्रशिक्षण संस्थान (एफटीआई) में बनाया गया है। एफटीआई के निदेशक ऐ.के. सिन्हा ने बताया कि माडल 60 वर्ग फुट भूमि में बनाया गया है।                                                                 
दैनिक जागरण (देहरादून), 20 Dec. 2005

 जल्द ही हर्बल राज्य के रूप में उभरेगा हरियाणा

हरियाणा हर्बल राज्य के रूप में विकसित होगा और इस क्रम में हर जिले में हर्बल पार्क स्थापित किए जा रहे हैं। इन पार्कों के नाम भी महत्वपूर्ण औषधीय पौधों के ना पर रखे जाएंगे। वन विभाग के प्रवक्ता ने बताया कि चालू वित्त वर्ष के दौरान राज्य में हर्बल पार्क स्थापित करने के लिए 3.60 करोड़ रुपए का प्रावधान किया गया है। प्रवक्ता ने बताया कि सरकार ने राज्य में जलवायु के अनुरूप दक्षिण पश्चिम (शुष्क तथा आणविक शुष्क) तथा उत्तर पूर्व (सिंचित तथा अधिक वर्षा वाले क्षेत्रों) के रूप में दो कृषि क्षेत्रों की पहचान की है,जिनमें उपयुक्त औषधीय पौधों जैसे इसबगोल, मुलैट्ठी, अश्वगंधा, सनाय, शतावर, गुरमर, अलोवेरा, आंवला, सफेद मुलैट्ठी, सर्पगंधा, कोंच हल्दी, आम हल्दी, हरड़, वच अकरकारा तथा बहेड़ा की खेती होगी। औषधीय पौधों को लगाने के साथ ही सूचना केंद्र स्थापित करने के लिए पंचकूला, कुरूक्षेत्र, पानीपत, सोनीपत, महेंद्रगढ़, रेवाड़ी, फरीदाबाद, झज्जर तथा गुड़गांव में काम जारी है। ऐसे पार्क यमुनानगर जिले में चुहड़पुर, पंचकुला जिले में मोरनी, झज्जर जिले में भिंडावास, फरीदाबाद तथा पानीपत जिले केक घरौडा में पहले ही स्थापित किये जा चुके हैं। उन्होंने बताया कि मेवात में अलोवेरा वाटिका, फरीदाबाद में एनजोत वाटिका, कैथल में जामुना वाटिका, जींद में चंदन वाटिका, रेवाड़ी में अश्वगंध वाटिका, महेंद्रगढ़ में गुग्गल वाटिका, भिवानी में कल्पवरिखा वाटिका, गुड़गांव में आंवला वाटिका, झज्जर में पुरजन वाटिका, रोहतक में नीम वाटिका, सोनीपत में अमलतास वाटिका, पानीपत में चिल्वा वाटिका, करनाल में अशोक वाटिका, कुरुक्षेत्र में अर्जुन वाटिका, अंबाला में हरड़ वाटिका, पंचकूला में कपूरवाटिका तथा यमुनानगर में रुद्राक्ष वाटिका होगी। प्रवक्ता के अनुसार, राज्य के हर जिले में हर्बल पार्क स्थापित करने का उद्देश्य किसानों को उनकी फसलों के विविधिकरण में सहायता प्रदान करना तथा राज्य को हर्बल पौधों में देश का अग्रणी राज्य बनाना है। ये हर्बल पार्क औषधीय पौधों के संरक्षण , काश्त तथा लोगों को इनके बारे में जानकारी देना, शिक्षा तथा अन्य प्रदर्शनों में भी सहायक होगें। ये हर्बल पार्क राज्य में पर्यटन केंद्र के रूप में भी कार्य करेंगे तथा हर्बल औषधीय प्रणाली को बढ़ावा देंगे। प्रवक्ता ने बताया कि हरियाणा में औषधीय पौधों के लिए शिवालिक क्षेत्र में उगने वाले औषधीय पौधों के बारे में एक पुस्तक प्रकाशित की गई है जिनमें 250 औषधीय पौधों की किस्मों के बारे में वर्णन किया गया है। चूहड़पुर का हर्बल प्राकृतिक पार्क राज्य का सबसे पुराना पार्क है, जो लगभग 160 एकड़ क्षेत्र में फैला हुआ है। इस पार्क में लगभग 300 किस्मों के सात लाख औषधीय पौधे लगाए गए हैं।                                                                                                                                                   
हिन्दुस्तान टाइम्स (नई दिल्ली), 06 Dec. 2005

  पहाड़ों की 35 हजार नाली भूमि में हो रहा है जड़ी-बूटी कृषिकरण

राष्ट्रीय औषधीय पादप बोर्ड ने राज्य में पांच करोड़ रुपये से अधिक की 154 परियोजनायें स्वीकृत की है। इसके अलावा प्रदेश में ढाई हजार कृषक जड़ी-बूटियों का कृषिकरण और 300 कृषक सगंध पौधों का कृषिकरण कर रहे हैं। प्रमुख सचिव वन एवं उद्यान तथा आयुक्त ग्राम्य विकास श्रीमती विभापुरी दास ने देहरादून में 24 दिसंबर से प्रस्तावित चार दिवसीय राष्ट्रस्तरीय उत्तरांचल हर्बल एक्सपी 2005 पर चर्चा करते हुए बताया है कि औषधीय पौधों में पर्वतीय जनपदों की लगभग 30 हजार नाली और सगंध पौधों के अंतर्गत लगभग पांच हजार नाली भूमि पर खेती हो रही है जिनका पंजीकरण पूरा होने पर वर्षवार और प्रजातिवार स्थिति स्पष्ट हो जायेगी। उन्होंने बताया कि इस वर्ष वन विभाग ने अपनी चार सौ नर्सरियों में जड़ी-बूटी के 38 लाख पौधे उग आये हैं जिन्हें मिलाकर भेषज संघ, जड़ी-बूटी शोध एवं विकास संस्थान और गैर सरकारी संस्थाओं व किसानों ने विभिन्न प्रजातियों के 77 लाख पौध तैयार कर ली है जिसका परिणाम अगले कुछ वर्षों में सामने आने लगेगा। इसके अलावा वन विभाग ने भी वन भूमि के 477 हैक्टेयर में जड़ी-बूटी की वृक्ष प्रजातियों का रोपण किया है। जड़ी-बूटी कृषकों की सर्वाधिक 550 संख्या चमोली व पिथौरागढ़ में है जबकि अल्मोड़ा में यह संख्या 300 ह