Modern Biology and Environmental Concerns
J. Gowrishankar

Modern Biology may be said to have had its beginnings with the discoveries of the structure of DNA, and of its role in directing all biological functions, just around 50 years ago. Two decades later, the whiff of commerce was felt for the first time in this discipline with the development of recombinant DNA technology, that is, of techniques for introduction of genes of interest from one species into another. Today, the annual worldwide revenues of the biotechnology industry, whose activities are based on the principles and practices of modern biology, are estimated to be in excess of $ 50 billion. In India, research and commercial activities in modern biology are at a nascent stage but are set to expand rapidly in the coming years. Around the same time in the late 1970s that commercial enterprises in biotechnology were setting shop elsewhere in the world, India was awakening to the environmental concerns associated with its own industrial and social progress. Such concerns have led to the enactment of various laws, and to the creation of autonomous regulatory authorities both at the Centre and in the States with powers to control the establishment and operation of potentially polluting industrial units, in particular those which employ or generate toxic and non-biodegradable chemicals. In the months after the successful demonstration of the feasibility of recombinant DNA technology, the scientists in the field themselves assembled in 1975 at Asilomar (California) to debate its potential ramifications and, in an unprecedented decision, imposed upon themselves a voluntary moratorium on future experiments until the possible safety concerns were adequately addressed. The wealth of subsequent experience over the past 30 years has gone to show that these concerns are no longer valid, which is evident also from the fact that the restrictions on recombinant DNA have undergone progressive dilution during this period all over the world. Even in India, the current debate on genetically modified cotton (Bt cotton) in agriculture is not so much related to its environmental safety as it is to its claimed advantages in yield and costs of cultivation over the traditional cotton varieties. In a related context, the R&D and production activities based on the techniques of modern biology would tend to have a far lower pollution potential than, for example, similar activities in the traditional sectors of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, leather or textiles. As is to be expected, the bulk of the materials both employed in and produced by the processes of modern biology are natural products and easily biodegradable; and the quantities of chemicals, toxic metal catalysts, or organic solvents that are used in such processes are also minuscule. For example, an R&D laboratory of 150 people working in any of the areas of modern biology might use just 100 grams of phenol, and an equivalent amount of organic solvents a day. In conclusion, it may be fair to state that the activities of modern biology, both research and commercial, have shown themselves to be reasonably innocuous from the points of view of pollution and environmental safety. Of course, specific concerns might arise in individual instances such as the use of infectious microorganisms, but the issues herein are also relatively straightforward to address. Perhaps most confidence-inspiring in this regard is the fact that many laboratories and institutions working in the areas of modern biology are situated in the heart of some of the most densely populated cities of the world, and the effluents therefrom are indeed released without further processing directly into the city sewerage systems.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 09 July 2006

  Violent, not Gradual, Change
Pearce Fred

Richard Alley's eyes glint as we sit in his office in the University of Pennsylvania discussing how fast global warming could cause sea levels to rise. The scientist sums up the state of knowledge: "We used to think that it would take 10,000 years for melting at the surface of an ice sheet to penetrate down to the bottom. Now we know it doesn't take 10,000 years; it takes 10 seconds." That quote highlights most vividly why scientists are getting panicky about the sheer speed and violence with which climate change could take hold. They are realising that their old ideas about gradual change — the smooth lines on graphs showing warming and sea level rise and gradually shifting weather patterns — simply do not represent how the world's climate system works. The story of research into sea level rise is typical of how perceptions have changed in the past five years. The conventional view holds that sea levels will start to rise as a pulse of warming works its way gradually from the surface through the 2 km- and 3 km-thick ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica, melting them. The ice is thick and the heat will penetrate only slowly. So we have hundreds, probably thousands, of years to make our retreat to higher ground. Recent research, however, shows that this idea is wholly wrong. Glaciologists forgot about crevasses. What is actually happening is that ice is melting at the surface and forming lakes that drain down into the crevasses. In 10 seconds, the water is at the base of the ice sheet, where it lubricates the joint between ice and rock. Then the whole ice sheet starts to float downhill towards the ocean. "These flows completely change our understanding of the dynamics of ice sheet destruction," says Professor Alley. "Even five years ago, we didn't know about this." This summer, lakes several kilometres across formed on the Greenland ice sheet, and drained away to the depths. Scientists measured how, within hours of the lakes forming, the vast ice sheets physically rose up, as if floating on water, and slid towards the ocean. That is why Greenland glaciers are flowing faster, and there are more icebergs breaking off into the Atlantic Ocean. Jim Hansen of NASA, George W. Bush's top climate modeller, predicts that sea level rise will be 10 times faster within a few years, as Greenland destabilises. "Building an ice sheet takes a long time," he says. "But destroying it can be explosively rapid." Alarmist? No. It has happened before, he says. During the final few centuries of the last ice age, the sea level rose 20 metres in 400 years, an average of 20 times faster than now. There is more evidence of abrupt and violent change, most of it culled from ice cores, lake sediments, tree rings and other natural archives of climate. We now know that the last ice age was not a stable cold era but near-permanent climate change. Towards the end, around 11,000 years ago, average temperatures in parts of the Arctic rose by 16 degrees C or more within a decade. All this comes as a surprise to us because, in the 10,000 or so years since the end of the last ice age, the climate has been, relatively speaking, stable. We have had warm periods and mini ice ages; but they were little compared with events before. It is arguable that this rather benign world has been the main reason why our species was able to leave the caves and create the urban, industrial civilisation we enjoy today. But there is a growing fear among scientists that, thanks to man-made climate change, we are about to return to a world of climatic turbulence, where tipping points are constantly crossed. Their research into the workings of the planet's ecosystems suggests why such sudden changes have happened in the past, and are likely again in the future. One driver of fast change in the past has been abrupt movements of carbon between the atmosphere and natural reservoirs such as rainforests and oceans. Hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide can burp into the atmosphere, apparently at the flick of a switch.
Worrying prediction That is why the U.K. Met Office's warning that the Amazon rainforest could die by mid-century, releasing its stored carbon from trees and soils into the air, is so worrying. Other threats lurk on the horizon. We know that there are trillions of tonnes of methane, a virulent greenhouse gas, trapped in permafrost and in sediments beneath the ocean bed. There are fears this methane may start leaking out as temperatures warm. It seems this happened 55 million years ago, when gradual warming of the atmosphere penetrated to the ocean depths and unlocked the methane, which caused a much greater warming that resulted in the extinction of millions of species. All this suggests that, in one sense, the climate sceptics are right. They say the future is much less certain than the climate models predict. They have a point. We know less than we think. But the sceptics are wrong in concluding that the models have been exaggerating the threat. Far from it. Evidence emerging in the past five years or so suggests the presence of many previously unknown tipping points that could trigger dangerous climate change. Can we call a halt? Hansen says we have 10 years to turn things round and escape disaster. James Lovelock, author of the Gaia theory, which considers the Earth a self-regulated living being, reckons we are already past the point of no return. I don't buy that. For one thing, there is no single point of no return. We have probably passed some, but not others. The water may be lapping at our ankles, but I am not ready to head for the hills yet. I am an optimist. [Fred Pearce is author of The Last Generation — How Nature Will Take Her Revenge for Climate Change (Eden Project Books).]
The Hindu (New Delhi), 31 July 2006

  State of Fear
Ganesh Narayani

Imagine London turning into a Venice. Or London-under-sea. By 2100, a submerged London, and a largely inundated Mumbai, New Orleans, Florida, Tokyo, Netherlands and Bangladesh could be part of sub-oceanic landscape – as the Antarctic ice sheets continue to "crumble into the sea". Studying computer models of climate past and present, the US National Center for Atmospheric Research concludes that sea levels could rise by up to 20 feet (six metres) by 2100, if current warming patterns continue. While Washington remains unfazed, the fear factor has spurred Britain into action. Post-Gleneagles – unlike the US that continues to make vague noises about climate change – Britain has gone on an eco-awareness overdrive, promoting privately-funded green projects and encouraging public debate on global warming issues. The "zero-energy (fossil) development system" (ZED), an energy-sufficient model housing society in London, is relevant because more people around the world now live in urban rather than rural areas. The carbon-neutral urban village – of 82 homes and 200 workspaces – in the South London Borough of Sutton, at Beddington, BedZED, has evolved a new generation of building that’s sustainable and economic. The eco-housing complex is not an idyllic community of eco-warriors or Greenpeace activists: The 300 people living/working here are drawn from different professions and services, leading average middle-class lives. They believe that there is another, better way of life – as opposed to current western consumption and production patterns that exalt volume and ostentation – of simple living and high thinking. "If everyone on the planet consumed as much as the average person in the UK we would need three planets to support us", declares an inscription at the entrance to the housing complex. BedZED aims to ‘consume’ zero fossil energy, do away with central heating, reduce capacity space by 50 per cent, increase recycling of waste, minimize rise in production and get more local food to save on "food miles". A third each of an average UK family’s annual carbon emissions are spent on heating and powering their home, private car use, commuting and other land-based travel, and in consuming food miles – with the average UK meal having travelled over 2,000 miles from farm to dinner plate. Visiting BedZED with a media group hosted by the UK government, I was taken in by the quaint multicoloured mini windmills on the roofs of the apartments. Kendall, a BedZED resident – she’s with the bioregional data group, co-promoters of ZED with the Peabody Trust and Bill Dunster architects – explains that the wind-driven natural ventilation chimney system ejects stale air and pre-heats incoming fresh air. All apartments enjoy generous sunlight, and have access to a green roof terrace or garden and conservatory. Office accommodation available encourage local economic development to reduce the need for commuting. Heating requirements are taken care of without recourse to fossil fuels. The ZED system combines heat and power in a unit fuelled by waste diverted from landfills to generate electricity to the entire site with zero net CO₂ emissions. Heat produced as a by product is captured to supply hot water across the development. A connection to the national grid allows electricity to be sold when demand is low, and bought back when there is peak demand. The power generated and used –together with energy-efficient living/working space with solar panels, glazed windows and insulation – is a fraction of that used in conventional development solutions. A Green Transport Plan is shaping up to reduce the dependence of residents and businesses on cars. The homes are designed to be water-efficient and there is provision for on-site water recycling to reduce demand on mains water. Mixed-use development makes sense environmentally, socially and financially. Only one-third of space is up for private sale. Another one-third is key-worker share for those in the service industry like nurses, teachers and firefighters. They pay only 50 per cent of costs, the remaining footed by the Peabody Trust. The rest of the one-third is for social/council housing, so it’s socially inclusive sustainable community. The UKZED example is no laboratory experiment, there’s growing demand for more such developments. Phase I of the next ZED coming up in Leicester will be complete by 2007 and all four blocks will be ready by 2011. Steve Harris, architect, says that despite BedZED costing up to 30 per cent more than the going rate for conventional structures in the same locality, there is a huge demand. The Leicester ZED project will be only 5 per cent more costly than going rates. Already, 1,500 people are on the waiting list. More people are getting convinced that a smaller ecological footprint does not mean a lower quality of life. In India, with our tradition for recycling and conservation, we would do better at probably much lower cost and effort. Gandhi might not have been familiar with the term ‘ecological footprint’, but he certainly understood then what it was all about when he advocated ‘simple living and high thinking’. It’s not enough to have energy-efficient buildings – we need to re-examine the way we handle other key factors that determine everyday life and what parameters we use to determine the growth rate. Whether propelled by fear or good sense, it’s time to recast lifestyles.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 04 July 2006

  What the Mind Conceives, Man Achieves
D. Balasubramanian

A commentary titled `Rearranging the earth's environment' was written recently by Mr. William J. Broad, for The New York Times, and was reproduced in the June 30, 2006 issue of The Hindu. I recommend readers to go through the article and ponder over it. The article talks about how it might be possible to rearrange the earth's environment on a large scale to suit human needs and promote habitability. A new field has emerged called geo-engineering, which addresses the ways and means of such a global rearrangement.
Plight of island states The field got started in a quiet way in the 1960s when scientists began understanding the phenomenon of global warming, its causes and measures to contain or reduce it. Global warming will melt icebergs and the permanent snow and ice in the Polar regions, and cause sea levels to rise. Imagine then the plight of island states of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans; some of them might vanish in the ensuing Pralaya. The causes for global warming are understood, thanks to the work of Paul Crutzen, Mario Molina, Sherwood Rowland, and V. Ramabhadran. Some industrial substances, notably the freon-type gases used in refrigerators, escape to the stratosphere where they break up into very reactive species in sunlight. They react with the ozone belt there, decomposing it. This ozone belt protects the earth from the deadly ultraviolet rays that the sun emits. With the hole in the ozone layer, the earth faces danger from the solar UV radiation. In addition, as we burn more fossil fuels in automobiles, powerhouses and factories, the levels of carbon dioxide and other gases that are produced by them increase. These gases absorb sunlight and emit heat but this heat does not escape out of the earth with any efficiency. As a result, the earth gets heated up much like the inside of a motorcar parked in the sun with all windows closed. Another example is the heat we feel when we walk into a greenhouse. It is clear that we must make a worldwide attempt to reduce global warming. Even as the freon-type industrial gases are being slowly replaced by relatively harmless substitutes, we must make a global effort to reduce the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others. It is here that some nations, notably the U.S., driven by the interests of big industry, are refusing to follow global agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol. It is worth noting that automobiles in the U.S. alone contribute to about one half of the auto-produced carbon dioxide.
Far-reaching, dramatic In any event, we need to find ways of reducing the problem. It is here that geo-engineering ideas have been put forth. Some of them are as far-reaching and dramatic as the Archimedean "Give me a place to stand on and I will move the earth". The astronomer Roger Angel of Arizona has thought up the idea of putting into orbit millions of lenses, each about a metre wide, so as to deflect sunlight away from the earth. Professor Crutzen and Prof. Broecker have suggested injecting sulphur into the stratosphere, so as to cool the planet. Others have suggested floating large white plastic sheets on oceans to reflect off the sunlight to space. Yet others have suggested dumping iron into the seas and create blooms of plants that would sponge off the carbon dioxide. Each one of these ideas, fantastic as they seem, are doable and each, in its manner, tries to mitigate the problem created by man himself in the first place. For those who might think these to be the imaginations of the new age, it is worth recalling that mankind has always tried to fashion the environment around to suit human needs. And to do so, we have used the latest available technology, and even generate new technology to do so. A few years ago, when there was a danger of a huge asteroid coming close to earth and even dropping bang on earth, we thought up a variety of ways to avoid disaster. One was to send targeted space ships to nudge it off its course. Another was to aim a bomb on it and break it to pieces. Fortunately, the asteroid just flew by on its own, posing no danger and needing no intervention. Perhaps the very first large-scale attempt to fashion the environment for human needs was the invention of agriculture. Large portions of the earth were reshaped, vegetation uprooted and cleared off, livestock domesticated and rivers rerouted in small and large ways.
Technological invention Then man invented technologies, be it the wheel, metallurgy or building and architecture. Some of these affected just the neighbourhood while others covered far larger territories. Dams and reservoirs changed the conditions of large areas in ways we are learning to understand only now. One clear effect of agriculture and allied technologies has been the focus on a handful of plants for large-scale human use, in food. Of the innumerable plants and shrubs, mankind has been domesticating and farming but 120; and even among these global scale production is of but a dozen — rice, wheat, corn, potato, tapioca, bean, sugarcane and beet, tea, coffee and banana. The effect on plant and microbial biodiversity can be imagined. And with the technology available today, man is even able to genetically modify several of these to suit his needs, thus inventing plants that never existed in nature.
Transportation area The other major technology that mankind invented and proliferated is in the area of transportation. It was hardly 150 years ago that the automobile was invented, and not even 100 when the airplane was. Together they have changed the environment in many ways, including contributing to the greenhouse effect. And it has been hardly 50 years since we invaded space through satellites and space expeditions. The number of communication satellites orbiting the earth is over 6000, over half of them contributing in some way to human needs. Our environment has gone beyond Mother Earth. We have exploited the skies to suit our uses. Interestingly, the physicist Stephen Hawking has said that it is not just inevitable but desirable that man sets up colonies in other planets and starts using them. We have the ability to do so, and will take tentative steps towards it in the near future. I read an interesting slogan recently: `What the mind conceives, man achieves.' Think about it. The Hindu (New Delhi), 27 July 2006

  Tear in Gangotri Glacier
Chetan Chauhan

The Gangotri glacier is showing probably the first major sign of global warming and the ecological imbalance in the region. Mountaineers from the Himalayan Club who visited the glacier this June, discovered a cleavage running into several metres, resulting in them aborting their mission. Such a wide cleavage had never been seen on the glacier, a Ministry of Environment and Forests official said. The World Wildlife Fund also confirmed the finding, saying the Gangotri glacier was receding 23 meters per year, becoming India’s fastest receding glacier, having melted over a kilometer since 1971. A scientist at the Wadia Institute of Himaalayan Geology, under the Department of Science and Technology, said the impact of global warming on the Gangotri glacier had become more apparent in the past few years. "The new fissures reported will have to be examined before saying why it has happened. There can be many reasons including global warming for the huge cleavages reported," the scientist said. Environmentalists also blame the scanty snow last winter along with global warming and ecological changes in the regions for the unprecedented phenomenon. Samrat Sengupta of WWF, who plans to visit the glacier in September says "till we visit the site it may not be possible to state the exact reasons but such a huge cleavage could have been created only because of sudden climatic changes." Chinks appear in the glacier each year during summer months but are only about a meter wide and can be crossed easily. Moreover, they get filled up during the winter. But the present one is "a huge break and indicates the adverse future of the glacier," he said, adding that at this rate Gangotri will be lost in the next 50 years. It’s not just, the 30.2 kilometer Gangotri glacier that is facing major risk, but also the other 5,218 Himalayan glaciers that are also melting fast. "The Ladakh glaciers are receding at about 50 meter annually and have increased in the past several years," said Fayaz, who recently made a documentary on state of Ladakh glaciers. Similar is the story of Milam, Pindari, Bada Shigri, Kolhani and Machoi glaciers. R.K. Pachauri, who heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says: "In the next 25 years half of Himalayan glaciers will be lost to warming, affecting adversely crops and people of the region."
Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 22 July 2006

  Calamitous Change
Kirtiman Awasthi

Climate, change is forcing plants and animals away from their native habitats to more congenial ones. A recent survey of plants in the UK found that species favouring higher temperatures, like orchids and ferns that used to be found in southern parts of the country, are now flourishing in the north, too. Changes have been observed in populations and distribution of as many as one-third of all species since 1987, says the survey carried out by Plantlife International, a UK-based conservation organization, and the Botanical Society of the British Isles. Climate change such as warming up of the atmosphere affects habitat, forcing plants and animals to disperse and migrate. But if a physical barrier prevents movement, then species could die out. "We are going to see a lot of extinctions, particularly of species that are not able to move quickly enough," says Katherine Stewart of Plantlife International. Climate change has hit insects (like butterflies) and birds the hardest. Migratory birds that cover large distances have been unable to cope. The breeding period of birds usually synchronises with a time when food is available in plenty. But climate change has thrown this system out of gear. According to a study conducted at the Groningen University in the Netherlands, climate change has led to food shortage during the breeding period of several species, causing their populations to decline (Nature, 17 May, 2001). The State of UK’s Birds 2004, released last year, said the numbers of some species considered secure were declining alarmingly. Seven of the nine common species of wading birds shifted from the "warm west" to the "colder east" in response to milder winters, the report said. Climate change is also affecting the seas. In the North Bering Sea, which is frozen for most of the year, the seasonal melt is starting earlier and there is less ice in general, says a US study (Science, 10 March 2006). This is causing grey whales to move farther north to follow the cold water, while animals like the walrus and sea birds are facing a food shortage. A growing body of work is also linking climate change to the spread and re-emergence of certain human and animal diseases. Poor countries face a dramatic rise in deaths from disease and malnutrition as a direct result of climate change, says a study published in Nature (17 November 2005). Increases in temperature and precipitation have facilitated the spread of vector-borne infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue in most developing countries in the tropical region. The World Health Organisation says that at least 30 diseases may be making a comeback in poor countries because of climate change. A warmer climate is causing diseases such as the West Nile virus and malaria to spread to North America. The West Nile virus, which was unknown in North America until a decade ago, has infected more than 21,000 people in the USA and Canada, killing more than 800. Climate change models in the 1990s had predicted change in species’ distribution, habitat, emergence of new diseases and sea level rise – all of which are coming true. In one of its worst effects, climate change altered patterns of a fungal infection, leading to the extinction of two-thirds of tropical harlequin frog species in Central and South America (Nature, 12 January 2006). With the Australian Greenhouse Office recently claiming that global temperatures would rise more than previous studies indicated, scientists say more extinctions seem inevitable.
The Statesman (Kolkata), 03 July 2006

  Chirac Warns Against Climate Inferno

French President Jacques Chirac warned on Sunday that mankind faced an inferno unless the world tackles climate change seriously, in a rebuke to fellow Group of Eight leaders. "We cannot talk about energy security while there is no progress on climate change. Mankind is dancing on the edge of a volcano," Chirac said at a summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations in St Petersburg. The summit host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, has made "energy security" one of the main themes of the meeting pushing environmental issues, which too center stage at the G-8 meet in Gleneagles last year, lower down the agenda. The G-8 leaders agreed to disagree on climate change, as well as the role of nuclear energy, and approved a document on the security of energy supplies on Sunday which recognized that G-8 members would each deal with the issue in their own way. "We will continue to work to reduce greenhouse gas and deal effectively with the challenge of climate change," they said in the statement. But Chirac echoed environmentalists’ views that the G-8 leaders should not ignore alarm bells – such as extreme weather conditions – that they say are already ringing. "Emergency signs are going up right across our planet," said Chirac. France suffered a heatwave three years ago that caused the deaths of many elderly citizens. "Such phenomena are the first pre-cursory signs of even bigger disasters which could lead to millions of refugees fleeing hostile environmental conditions. Green groups want the G-8 leaders to unanimously back the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement on cutting emissions of the "greehouse gases" blamed for global warming. It has been hampered by the fact that US President George W. Bush withdrew support for the protocol in 2001. Chirac said he regretted the fact that the US had not approved it. Referring to Canada, which has said it cannot meet its Kyoto obligations and might not agree to an extension of the pact, Chirac said others had to stick to their commitments. "It is our duty to act, before our citizens, before mankind, before future generations who risk paying a grave price due to the passivity of certain people," Chirac said.
The Economic Times (New Delhi), 17 July 2006

  EIA Clearance to be Made a Must
Neha Kohli

Government has proposed greater environmental scrutiny for the Rs. 2,500-crore ship-breaking industry. The 2005 draft of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification makes it mandatory for ship-breaking companies to get an environmental clearance before setting up shop. This proposal is awaiting approval from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The 2005 draft notification – empowered by the Environment Protection Act – will have to be finalised before September 15, 2006. If this deadline is not met, the draft would lose its validity. Environmental clearance is presently required in the case of 32 developmental activities which does not include ship-breaking. Depending on the investment involved, clearance is decided at the central or state level. Ship-breaking being a highly polluting activity, the proposed EIA notification seeks to bring this segment under the purview of the central government. Nearly 90% of all ship-breaking activity in the country is concentrated at Alang in Gujarat while the remaining 10% is spread over various locations including Kolkata and Mumbai. State maritime boards allocate ship-breaking yards while it is mandatory for the companies concerned to obtain clearances under the Water Act, Air Act and Hazardous Waste Management and Handling Rules of the Environment Protection Act. For entry of ships into Indian waters for ship-breaking purposes, it is necessary to obtain a ‘gas-free certificate’ from the chief controller of explosives under the Factories Act apart from customs clearance and green signal from the state maritime board.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 06 July 2006

  Sethu Environment Impact Report Flawed

The Sethusamudram project was cleared based on a "flawed" Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Report, prepared by the National Environmental Research Institute (NEERI), according to Greenpeace, an organisation working to expose global environmental problems. The Greenpeace, which released a report here on Tuesday, said the EIA report, prepared in a hurry in 2004, did not provide critical data on the impact, and it was engineered to support a number of false recommendations. The report, which the organisation said was prepared in a hurry in 2004, did not address the impact of dredging on the fisherfolks, including displacement. It had undermined and, in some instances, ignored the region's marine biodiversity. It gave false information that the endangered dugongs and dolphins were confined to the borders of the Gulf of Mannar National Park. Without conducting any primary studies, the report said all corals along the alignment were dead reef systems. The dredging was likely to destroy habitats and displace species. The consistent churning of sediment would also smother the coral reefs and damage sea grass, which in turn would affect the species dependent on them. The increase in shipping traffic would result more oil spills and marine pollution. The worst affected would be the fisherfolk, whose fishing areas would be reduced considerably once the canal was commissioned, the Greenpeace said. "High risk factors not considered" The Sethusamudram would probably be the only offshore project in the world, in which the planners admitted publicly that they did not consider the high risk factors and yet decided to press ahead with implementation.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 19 July 2006

The fruits of the international climate change treaty Kyoto Protocol is finally reaching small industries. The World Bank has signed agreements with two Indian companies to promote technologies that will change the resource-intensive and polluting manner in which bricks are made. One of these companies utilizes a more energy-efficient kiln to produce clay bricks, while the other replaces burnt clay brick with fly-ash bricks, manufactured without thermal energy. Both methods cut down on carbon emissions which are sold to the World Bank for a price under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) evolved by the Kyoto protocol to control greenhouse gas emissions. The Protocol provides for developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in clean technologies in developing countries. The reduction in carbon emissions can then be traded. It has been a success story in India with more than 300 projects, valued at Rs. 10,000 crore, being cleared by the national CDM board. "The rise of the carbon market has been even more than the biotech sector," said Prodipto Ghosh, secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests. The estimates that there is a potential of $130 million in India. In this case, the World Bank through its Community Development Carbon Fund, a partnership of nine governments and 16 companies, will purchase the "carbon credits". In return, the Indian companies will benefit from new investments in the sector. In India, the current demand for bricks is 100 billion per year – fuel accounts for 30-40 per cent of the production cost. The cleaner version with an improved "vertical shaft" brick kiln has been made by NGO TARA. The NGO plans to disseminate the technology to 126 plants in MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The project has, over a 10-year period, sold around 4,00,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions at $3.5 million and the NGO has managed to convince brick kiln owners to invest Rs. 10 lakh initially (10 times more than their present costs) with returns promised in the next few years. While a portion of the money will be returned to the kiln owner, the rest will be used to deliver community benefits. The company which has come out with a flyash version is Eco-carbon. Called the Pal-G project, it uses a technology that makes bricks without fossil fuel or clay. The company has patented the blending recipe with flyash, gypsum and lime and will facilitate projects in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian Express (New Delhi), 30 July 2006

  पर्यावरण संतुलन का आयाम है अहिंसा

  तूफानों को विनाशकारी बनाने के पीछे ग्लोबल वार्मिंग

Plant Jatropha, says Raman
Ramu Bhagwat

Can Jatropha, the wonder oilseed plant, bring back cheer in Vidarbha where 634 distressed farmers have committed suicide in the last 13 months due to an unprecedented agrarian crisis? Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh believes it can. Cutting across party lines, BJP CM, Maharashtra BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Nationalist Congress Party MP Datta Meghe and Maharashtra dairy development minister and Congressman Anees Ahmed shared a platform during a national seminar organized here and concluded that Jatropha could go a long way in bailing out Vidarbha’s farmers. Credited with bringing about a revolution of sorts by turning endless tracts of wastelands in his state into oilfields (Jatropha seeds are used to produce bio-diesel), Raman Singh said Vidarbha could emulate Chhattisgarh and take to Jatropha plantation to ensure alternative livelihood for its cash-strapped farmers. "The best part is that the plant can be grown in waste, fallow lands along with a mix of fruits, medicinal plants and bamboo and has enormous scope to provide income source to farmers," Raman Singh said. He also took the opportunity to call for a national policy on use and promotion of bio-diesel. "The country is spending over Rs 2.5 lakh crore on import of petroleum products. Even developed countries like the US are shifting to production of bio-diesel from edible and non-edible oilseeds. It’s high time India also took the plunge," he said. "Chhattisgarh is promoting Jatropha on a large. This year we plan to plant 18 crore saplings. If more states join us, we can surely cut the country’s huge oil imports bill and also provide much needed help to our farmers and create lakhs of jobs," he said. The seminar, in which hundreds of farmers and rural activists participated, was organized by Vidarbha Vikas Parishad, a non-political forum recently started by Meghe for econonmic development in the region. It has over 25,000 members from all 11 districts of Vidarbha and has already launched several projects to provide supplementary income to farmers. On behalf of the state government, Ahmed lauded the efforts of Meghe and his parishad in taking up projects to bring succor to the distressed farmers of Vidarbha. He agreed with Gadkari that it was time politicians set aside their party affiliations and join hands to think of ways to bring smiles back to farmers’ faces.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 11 July 2006 

It is self-evident that biofuels hold out the promise of significantly easing the impact of the ongoing oil crisis. They can lighten the energy burden on economies and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, besides bringing down carbon emission levels. In India, the use of sugarcane-based ethanol as an additive to petrol is on partially, and there are signs of a consensus over Jatropha curcas as the feedstock of choice for biodiesel. It is seen as a suitable tree-borne oilseed owing to its ability to thrive under a variety of geo-climatic conditions, low gestation period, and high seed-yielding potential. It also helps increase green cover and prevent soil erosion. It is claimed that Jatropha cultivation on a mere 11 million ha — out of India's total extent of wasteland of some 63 million ha — has the potential to effect a saving of Rs.20,000 crore a year on the oil import bill, besides providing livelihood to millions of people. At the official level, both at the Centre and in the States, there have been signs of a positive thinking on this issue, notwithstanding the fears expressed by some environmentalists about diversion of potential farmland for cultivating Jatropha and such other crops. There have been a series of exploratory forays and studies. A report by TERI on the National Mission on Biofuel, for instance, points to much valuable study having been done. But the Mission itself, proposed by the Planning Commission, has seen tardy progress. The identification by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research of a certain variety as the ideal one for commercial cultivation is one of the recent developments on the Jatropha front. Yet, in overall terms there is a lack of clarity with respect to the concepts and strategies. Several private players have launched serious pilot projects. At the governmental level, there is still no sign of a comprehensive policy initiative to examine the techno-economic viability and feasibility of large-scale production of feedstock based on Jatropha. For the product to become a significant supplement to diesel, an analysis of its financial and operational viability in the long term will have to be undertaken. Its farming and production still remains a challenging, knowledge-intensive enterprise. If, at the end of a careful process of evaluation, the decision is to go for it, India should do that quickly, turning its vast wastelands into an opportunity. So far there have been only ad hoc measures and tentative forays. Some months ago, state-owned oil marketing companies were directed to set up collection depots to buy Jatropha extract from producers at Rs.25 a litre. There has hardly been any movement on this. On another plane, large-scale commercial cultivation could be facilitated and encouraged. Unless private investment is forthcoming in a good measure, the critical mass that is required to take this option forward may be hard to build.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 06 July 2006

  National Mission for Bio-Diesel may Hit Roadblock
Piyush Pandey

The government’s national mission for bio-diesel may hit a roadblock with no party registering, so far, with any of the purchase centres for supplying the fuel. The ministry of rural development is the nodal ministry for the proposed national mission on bio-diesel, set up with a focus on large-scale Jatropha cultivation, and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas’ role was to promote blending of bio-diesel with diesel. This is despite the petroleum ministry announcing a bio-diesel purchase policy in October 2005, and fixing delivered price of bio-diesel at Rs 25 a litre with effect from 1.1.2006, for a period of six months. Petroleum minister Murli Deora in a presentation made last week to the Consultative Committee on the current issues in the oil and gas sector, said, "In addition to the nil taxes and duties, explicit subsidy will be needed to be given on bio-diesel to make this programme work." Now, the petroleum ministry has requested the Planning Commission to coordinate this matter. The national mission on bio-diesel was launched with the objective for producing bio-diesel required for blending to the extent of 20% with the petro-diesel in the year 2011-12, beginning with 5% in 2006-07. It is estimated that HSD demand by the end of 11th Plan (2011-12) shall be 66.9 mmt, requiring 13.38 mmt of bio-diesel. President APJ Abdul Kalam had called for the national mission on bio-diesel to realise 60 million tonne of production a year by 2030. As a first step, plans should be ready to produce 6 million tonne (5% of present oil import) by 2010. According to the petroleum ministry, a detailed project report on the national mission has been submitted by ministry of rural development to the Planning Commission, which envisages a demonstration project.
The Financial Express (New Delhi), 18 July 2006

  Seeds of Cooperation

After South America, India too is making progress in the cultivation of Jatropha. The seeds of the Jatropha extract bio-diesel, which is renewable, economical, non-toxic, biodegradable and non-polluting. To study the bio-diesel potential in terms of commercial viability of "energy plantations" as well as to explore avenues of cooperation between the two countries, a Chinese delegation of five scientists headed by Dr Peng Daiping, Deputy Director-General, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently visited several areas of Punjab, including Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and the Dhillon farm in Sanaura village, near Jalandhar, and Rajasthan. They were invited by the ICFA (Indo-China Friendship Association). Dr R.K. Kohli of Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Prabhat Garg of Ozone Energy Solutions, which is taking up the plantation of Jatropha, informed the delegation about its potential in degraded land and low-rainfall areas. The delegation has decided to plant the Jatropha and other similar plants on a large scale in the barren areas of China to boost alternative fuel.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 03 July 2006

  Back to Bamboo in the Northeast

The Northeast is all set to capitalise on renewed interest in traditional and natural products, with the promotion of bamboo. Bamboo is being linked with the growth of tourism in the region. After the bamboo cottages in Kaziranga National Park became a rage with tourists, the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) is developing a cafeteria made of bamboo in the city. Another project is coming up at Sualkuchi, about 35 km from here, CBTC Director Kamesh Salam said. The café is being built atop the Sarania Hills, near Gandhi Mandap, in Guwahati.
Gandhian philosophy "The café inculcates the Gandhian philosophy of self-reliance through the use of local resources. Bamboo is found abundantly in the region and we are planning to use it meticulously to promote its utility," he said. The CBTC is promoting bamboo houses and wants to demonstrate to the people that the houses are eco-friendly, durable and cheap. "People in the Northeast traditionally live in bamboo houses. But with modern technology, everyone is now focussed on concrete structures. We want to demonstrate the feasibility of bamboo structures even in this day." According to CBTC architect Nakul Malsom, 75 per cent of the café will be made of bamboo, with the use of wood and steel restricted to the minimum. "Nuts and bolts for the joints are also made of bamboo. The café has been designed on the Naga model." A four-bedroom guest room is also coming up near the cafeteria.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 17 July 2006

  Children to Look after Green

In what is being billed as a maiden exercise, around 1000 students from local schools planted saplings in the Sher-ka-denda ridge as part of a massive week-long drive here on Sunday morning. "As part of this exercise as many as one lakh saplings of oak, deodar, suraeein etc will be planted," informed District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar. "These saplings will be planned in a huge 30-hectare area adjacement to the Old Raj Bhawan building," he told. Starting that the Sher-ka-danda witnessed a massive landslide during the British period he said that the particular area of the ridge had been selected for planting of saplings so that its (ridge’s) geological fragility could be checked. "Another objective behind the exercise is to discourage the encroachers from
occupying the area where saplings are being planted," informed the District Magistrate. Dubbling the project as participatory in nature he said, besides school children hoteliers as well as officials and employees of the Nainital Lake Region Development Authority (NLRDA) and forest deptt will also participate in it. Kumar said the children will also look after all the saplings after the work of planting them came to an end. The 30-hectare area has been divided in nine zones and each is to be looked after by a school, he added. The initiative is to mark Harela, the Kumaoni greenery festival, on Monday.
Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 17 July 2006

  Weeds Fast Making Ridge Their Home
Bindu Shajan Perappadan

It's a dangerous touch of exotica that is chocking the city's green lung. A recent stock taking of the growing weed population in the reserved green area of the Capital revealed that American weeds are rapidly becoming naturalised in the Ridge as undergrowth choking native vegetation and fast working their way to becoming the dominant species in the forest. According to this recent research paper, over 25 exotic varieties of weeds have been identified that are known to be fast spreading and have previously created problem even in their native and adopted homes. The weed species that are fast making the Ridge their home including "parthenium", "acanthospermum hispidum", "croton bonplandianum" and "synedrella vialis". Speaking about the "imported" weed invasion witnessed in the Ridge area, National Co-ordinator of the National Agricultural Innovation Project, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, N.T. Yaduraju, says: "The problem occurs when foreign weeds colonise and slowly establish themselves in green space and do not allow the natural vegetation to flourish. What has us worried is the negative impact that this growing weed population can have on human health. A classic example is `parthenium' that causes trouble for people with asthma and other breathing disorders. Weeds also have a tendency to try and acquire as much space as possible and spreads to other areas." Experts claim that weeds are no strangers to the city's green lung, which is home to several indigenous species of plants. Delhi Ridge is one of the key producers of oxygen and spreads from Delhi University in the north, stretching southward to Dhaula Kuan from Central Delhi and passes along the Cantonment area from South to West Delhi. It also has presence in Mehrauli and Tughlaqabad. "The already abused Ridge has been putting up a stiff fight to remain green and its trouble seems to have increased manifolds now with the native and exotic weeds invading its space. The Ridge has also been abused in terms of space being used for building illegal structures in the area and dumping by builders. Several private builders too are looking at the space for commercial purpose and it is becoming increasing difficult to allow the indigenous plant population to stay and grow," says Vikaram Soni, an environmentalist spearheading a movement to protect the Ridge. Experts in the Forest and Wildlife Department, Delhi, add that there is little that can be done to protect the Ridge from being invaded by weeds. "The weeds that have been identified are the fast spreading variety. When they find the conditions favourable they flourishes and spread to other areas in the city," says an official.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 03 July 2006

  Government Gives Big Push to Herbal Exports

China’s overwhelming success in selling its high-value herbal products in the world market has prompted India to take initiative in raising its export of similar products, which is currently hovering around Rs. 200 crore. The amount looks insignificant when compared to China’s total earnings in this regard, which is approximately estimated around at $6 billion. Altogether, India has earned about Rs. 700 crore from exports of medicinal plants and plant-based products in 2005-06. Of this, less than 30%, or Rs 200 crore, came from exports of value-added products. The reason is that India is still focused on exporting medicinal plants and herbs in its raw forms. This is in sharp contrast to the situation in China where 90% of its last year’s exports of medicinal plants and plant-based products, valuing $7 billion, came from value-added products. This has prompted the Union commerce ministry to chart out a course of action to double exports of value-added herbal products over the next five years. As a major step towards this plan, the ministry has advocated to promote cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs in tune with international demand and standards. For this, it has harped on promoting contract farming in medicinal plants to have a better understanding between growers and entrepreneurs about the international trend in demand of plant-based products. This needs to be supplemented with adoption of the latest technology available in the field of product processing at the entrepreneurs’ level. Finally, the entire endeavour should be backwardly integrated, linking primary producers to the organized market, opined the ministry. In this regard, the ministry has expressed its keenness to test the model, which has been adopted by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) while also effecting backward integration with its milk collection process and production of varied value-added dairy products. As for developing the required infrastructure for promoting exports of value-added medicinal products, the ministry has assured full support in setting up testing laboratories of international standard. After seeing considerable progress towards achieving the target export, the ministry has plans to set up agriculture export zones in major medicinal plant growing states including Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Karnataka, Uttaranchal and some states in the North-East. The Union commerce mininstry’s views on such initiative come to the fore in its recent interaction will all concerned parties which are involved with medicinal plants and plant-based products in various ways. They include growers, processors, producers, exporters, state governments, besides some organizations engaged in the promotion of cultivation of medicinal plants and its exports.
The Economics Time (New Delhi), 15 July 2006

  Jairam Stresses Ayurveda

Expressing concern at lack of planned growth in medicinal herbs and herbal products sector, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh has urged experts to replicate the success story in the processed milk industry to ‘ayurveda’ as well. Delivering the keynote address at a conference on livelihood and trade options in the sector held here on Friday, he stressed on the need to evolve an integrated package for ‘ayurveda’ so that India can become a lead player in the next few years. The minister informed that despite exporting Rs. 700 crores worth of medicinal plants and herbal products in the previous financial year, value added products accounted for barely 40 percent of the total figure. "We are in a paradoxical situation, where we are exporting medicinal plants and importing value added products," he said while stressing on the need to add value to medicinal plants and herbs and also create jobs. Urging experts to concentrate both on the domestic and foreign markets. Ramesh commented on the need to formulate an integrated economic package for the sector and to promote the use of products based on medicinal plants. "With annual exports of nearly 8 billion US dollars, China has a virtual stranglehold in the world market. But if we use our resources and skills efficiently, we can be a major player in the next few years," he stated. In order to ensure success, Ramesh stressed on moving away from the existing process of scattered collection of plants and herbs to a contract farming based, entrepreneur driven and state promoted and regulated medicinal plants industry. Like methods used by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat to regulate the milk sector, he asked state governments to encourage farmers to grow herbal plants in a plantation manner. "For this venture to be competitive and successful in the world market, it will need the best sciences, best technology and engineering and also economic skills of processing," said Ramesh. In order to make ‘ayurveda’ a scientific enterprise, he stressed on a clear roadmap for various stakeholders and the need to launch at least four to five export promotion zones, especially for medicinal plants, within the next 12 months. "We will back this enterprise fully, cooperate with Union Ministry of Health and state governments to transform the existing model and create a meaningful model of farmer industry and government interaction in the herbal sector," said Ramesh.
Hindustan Times (New Delhi), 08 July 2006

  Forests on Fire
Shankar Gopalakrishnan

India’s Adivasis are in the news, on account of the growth of Maoist orgainsations and rapidly escalating conflict and repression in Chhattisgarh. Meanwhile, the report of a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on a Bill for forest rights is a subject of controversy. Not many seem to have noticed that the two issues are intertwined. The links have been ignored since last year, when there was an uproar over the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005. Its opponents dubbed it as being the "most dangerous act of any Indian government since 1947" and "privatising a national resource". "Tribal welfare" can be ensured in better ways, we were told. The sound and fury masked the basic reality of this Bill and the situation in India’s forests. Why are forest dwellers and tribals the poorest and most marginalized people in this country? The actual reply is that "development" has not reached them. There are many areas where "development" – road, schools, hospitals – has not reached ordinary people. Yet those areas do not suffer from the kind of bondage, destitution and inhuman exploitation synonymous with tribal and forest areas. Forest dwellers are not poor by accident. They have been systematically deprived of their lands, homes and livelihood by official policy for more than a century. This policy was initially justified as necessary for Britain’s timber needs, then for the industrial needs of the "nation", and finally for conservation. Whatever the justification, the policy has remained the same: Bring all forests under centralized control of policing agencies, particularly the forest department, and take over the lands and rights of people who live there. The Indian Forest Act, 1927, which is still India’s main forest law, embodied this philosophy. Any area can be declared a government forest, after which a "settlement officer" is to survey and "settle" the rights of people in that area. Anyone familiar with India’s social reality can predict what happened. These settlement officers either did nothing or only recorded the rights of those who were powerful. The result is that millions of people, mostly tribals, found themselves declared "encroachers" in their own homes. This happened time and again. For instance, 82 per cent of Madhya Pradesh’s forest blocks were never surveyed, and 40 per cent of Orissa’s "reserved forests" were "deemed" to be so without surveys. The millions of people who lived in or depended on these forests entered a twilight zone, where their lives and homes were declared illegal. At any time, the forest guards could evict these people, imprison them or fine them. The result again is unsurprising – massive corruption, extortion and even sexual abuse of forest dwellers by the new zamindars, namely the forest department. The issue, in short, is not about "handing out" forests. Nor is it about development alone. It is about the right of forest dwellers to live as equal citizens and not as a permanent underclass, surviving at the mercy of the forest department. The Maoist movement is closely linked to the injustice inherent in the present situation. The Bill ostensibly aims to address this injustice. But it establishes some grand principles and then pulls the rug out from under its own feet. It includes arbitrary and severe restrictions on the rights recognized, allow bureaucrats to retain the power to decide on rights and, finally, a requirement that communities must protect the forest – without any authority to do so. This is a return to the mentality that forest dwellers are trespassers. The JPC’s recommendations in this regard are a breath of fresh air. The report is premised on the need for democratic and transparent institutions, where respect for people’s rights and for protection of the forest become the twin principles of a new system of forest management. The UPA government would do well to listen to the JPC. Rather than treat people as enemies, the government ought to treat them as citizens.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 19 July 2006

  Cancel Land Allotted to Hero Honda: Dhumal

The former Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, today said that the government was giving away prime forest land to industrial houses for the setting up of their units under the garb of industrialisation and development of the state. Demanding the cancellation of the forest land allotted for the setting up of a Hero Honda unit at Baddi and leased out forest land in Mandi, the BJP leader said it was surprising why prime demarcated and protected forest area was being given away when ample land had been identified for the setting up of industry. Mr. Dhumal has personally written to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, demanding that the government should change its decision in this regard. "It is beyond anybody’s comprehension as to why the government is willing to sacrifice 50,000 trees by giving away land which is demarcated as protected forest in records since 1960," he wrote. He said it was surprising that the Hero Honda project had been cleared at the single window authority meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister himself. "Rather than protecting the forest and environment the government is itself giving away prime forest land to private companies," he said. He said the Hero Honda case had become the topic of hot discussion as everybody wanted to know as to why was the government going overboard to help the Hero Honda group. "The death of the DFO, Mr R.L. Thakur, under mysterious circumstances has made the whole issue all the more sensitive," he said. He requested the Chief Minister to immediately cancel the allotment made to Hero Honda and also the forest land leased out to some influential persons from Mandi in the interest of the state. The Tribune (Chandigarh), 07 July 2006

  Soya Threat to Amazon’s Eco-System
Daniel Howden

The scars are unmistakably man made. Hard edged squares and rectangles, hundreds of acres across, hacked and burned out of the Amazon forests, are linked by illegal dirt roads that stitch together these giant clearings. Seen from the air this fearful symmetry marks out the battle lines of an invasion that has seen the humble soyabean emerge as the greatest threat to the world’s most important rainforest. On the ground, what was once a thriving ecosystem supporting at least 300 tree species for every hectare is now a wasteland. Dead roots and dry grass crunch underfoot and the breeze throws up dust from the eroded soil. Three hours drive outside the city of Santarem in Para state, along dirt trails struck by illegal loggers you arrive in a vast monoculture inside the Tapajos National Park. Soya fields laden with the dry brown seed pods stretch in every direction. The Amazon basin is home to one in ten of the world’s mammals and 15 percent of the world’s land-based plant species. It holds more than half of the world’s fresh water and its vast forests act as the largest carbon sink on the planet, providing a vital check on the greenhouse effect. Brazil has overtaken the United States as the world’s leading exporter of soya. The protein rich bean has become a profitable link in the processed food chain and 80 percent of world production is fed to livestock. Brazilian soya beans are feeding Europe’s growing hunger for cheap meat and have overtaken logging and cattle ranching as the main engine of deforestation. Santarem, a riverside city hundreds of miles upstream into the Amazon has found itself at the centre of the Soy boom. In the 12 months up until the end of last year Brazil produced over 50 million tonnes of soya across nearly 23 million hectares, an area about the size of the United Kingdom. Soya production remains relatively contained within the Amazon biome but the decision to locate a major soya port this deep into the basin is inviting a catastrophe, according to conservation groups. In the last three years nearly 70,000 square kilometres of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. The smoke from burning trees pushed Brazil into the top four of global greenhouse gas producers in 2004. According to government figures based on a satellite survey there was a 32 percent decrease in the rate of deforestation last year. With satellite monitoring stations now in place and delivering an annual overview of the Amazon basin, accessible to the general public, the deforestation is no longer taking place unknown to the authorities. But that may not be enough. The cycle of deforestation where state owned reserves is infiltrated by loggers and ranchers looking for "free land" now has a third and more lethal phase where the cleared land is sold to soya producers who intensively farm the soil until it can no longer bring a harvest. The cutters move to new areas and the process is repeated. Within as little as three years rich and fertile rainforest supporting incredible biodiversity can be reduced to desert. Cayetano Scannavino Filao has been working with indigenous people inside the Tapajos for nearly two decades and can remember life before the soya invasion. "We used to fight the loggers but the loggers, they eat the Amazon in small bites, the soya is eating the Amazon in big bites."
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 18 July 2006

  Forest Policy to Focus on Eco-Tourism

The new forest policy formulated by the government will enable the hill state to exploit potential for medicinal plants and eco-tourism besides preserving biodiversity. The state has a vast reserve of forest wealth valued at over Rs 1 lakh crore which needs to be protected and preserved. The thrust of the new policy is that forest could be preserved only if people could be ensured security of livelihood. A new functional classification of forests has been made where, the value of forest to meet the needs of conservation, production, community needs and urban services have been recognised. In addition to these new shifts, there is a greater recognition of environmental and watershed services of forests in the new policy. It recognises the fact that hill state had uncultivable, barren land, snow covered peaks, which cannot sustain forests. As such a realistic target bring 35.5 per cent of total geographical area under forest and tree cover had been set. A rehabilitation programme of degraded and open forests and available non-forest land has also been envisaged. Keeping in view the increasing demands of people and commercial needs, the rights and concessions in forest areas will be reviewed. The timber distribution rights will be routed through the institution of gram sabha and periodicity, quantity and rates for timber drawing (TD) rights will be rationalized. Similarly, for grazing rights of both, migratory and otherwise, population, a consultative mechanism will be evolved along with the gram sabha. A special focus on medicinal and aromatic plants as part of non-wood forest product management would be developed with an emphasis on livelihood security in both public and private lands. It is envisaged that the government will develop incentives to encourage forest-based industries and procured raw material for such industries from sources other than government forests.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 17 July 2006

  First Phase of Rs.2.5-Crore Eco-Tourism Project Nearing Completion in Kerala

Konni, with its verdant forest settings, is set to develop into a major tourism destination. The first phase of a Rs.2.5-crore eco-tourism project, jointly promoted by the Eco-Tourism Department, Forest Department and the Tourism Department with its base at the century-old elephant camp in Konni, is nearing completion. The elephant `kraal' in Konni, located in an area of about 10 acres, was set up a century ago to train wild elephants. Talking to The Hindu, Eco-Tourism director and chief architect of the Konni project K.G. Mohanlal said eco-tourism implied enjoying nature's bounty and learning the cultural history pertaining to the environment. Care should be taken not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem while tapping the economic benefits from the resources of nature and environment, he said. The Konni eco-tourism project envisaged setting up of a full-fledged elephant camp by expanding the existing elephant `kraal' on the basis of a scientifically designed master plan. The work on the proposed project would be completed in four stages. The first phase of the project proposed an elephant museum, administrative complex, mini-movie theatre, elephant shelters, rain shelters, bio-gas plant, facility for elephant ride, trekking and elephant shows, Mr. Mohanlal said. He said work on the first phase was nearing completion and it was expected to be commissioned within the next three months. The department is planning to enlist the services of the Vana Samrakshana Samitis (VSS) to run the project, said Mr. Mohanlal. The VSS comprises committees of local people constituted by the Forest Department with a view to ensuring the participation of the local people in the protection of forests and conservation of the environment. If properly developed and managed, eco-tourism can be compatible, complementary and sustainable, he said. Development of retiring facilities and a mini-park in aduvathumoozhy in the interior forest areas of Konni, construction of a watch tower on Kottaparamala, a hill facing the elephant camp ,and linking of two hills, Kottapparamala and Sukhiyanmala, with a ropeway are also part of the Konni eco-tourism project in its later phases. The elephant shows at the Konni elephant camp on Sundays have been drawing a moderate crowd of tourists from the nearby districts since the past one year. At present, the camp houses five captive elephants, including the two-year old calf-elephant, Kalpana.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 01 July 2006

  11 Tiger Reserves have Lost Forest Cover
Aarti Dhar

There has been a decrease in forest cover in 11 of the 28 tiger reserves in the country while 5 reserves have shown an increase in the same. The forest cover in the remaining 12 has remained unchanged, according to a report brought out by the Forest Survey of India and Directorate of Project Tiger. Titled "Forest Cover in Tiger Reserves of India — Status and Changes,'' the report says that moderately dense forest has decreased by 251 square kilometres while very dense and open forests in these reserves have shown an increase of 33 sq km and 124 sq km respectively between 1997 and 2002. The major loss in forest cover has occurred in Nameri, Buxa, Manas, Indravati and Dampa Tiger Reserves, primarily due to socio-economic reasons and natural disasters. Forest cover in the outer surround (10 km radial distance from the periphery) has decreased in 21 tiger reserves, increased in 21 reserves and is unchanged in five. The total forest cover in the outer surround of the 28 tiger reserves has decreased by 124 sq km, according to the report. The decrease in forest cover has been significant in Nameri, Buxa, Indravati, Manas and Dampa (45 sq km, 22 sq km, 11 sq km, 11 sq km and 7 sq km respectively) while the remaining six have shown a marginal decrease of 1 to 4 sq km only. These include Bandipur-Nagarhole, Dudhwa-Katarniaghat, Kanha, Pakhui, Palamu and Sunderbans.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 11 July 2006

  Seven Hills Reserve Forest under TTD Mooted

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has decided to transfer the control over the reserve forest around the seven hills of Tirumala to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). As the TTD does not have any authority over this reserve forest, the Cabinet authorised Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to write to the Centre to transfer the control to the temple authority. Once this is done, the TTD will be in full control over a greater extent of area instead of the present seven hills. Besides, it adopted a resolution stating that the Tirumala hills area consists of seven and not two hills. This is a reiteration of the original Government order specifying an area with a radius of 27 km from Tirumala as being part of the religious township. These decisions assume significance in light of the hue and cry raised by various sections, including the Sangh Parivar, over the alleged move of the State Government to reduce the area under TTD's control to two hills. Although this was denied by Endowments Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, temple archakas, employees and some Hindu organisations threatened to launch an agitation. The Cabinet took note of the recent promise by TTD chief priest R.V. Ramana Deekshitulu that there was no evangelical activity either by any group or person on the Hills. The chief priest and TTD employees called on the Chief Minister recently to dispel the apprehensions. Sources said that if the Centre decided to permit the transfer of reserve forest, it would lead to an increase in the extent of area under the TTD control. Earlier, the Chief Minister reportedly directed Ministers to effectively supervise the implementation of Indiramma programme, referring to some complaints. Coupled with Jalayagnam, it could transform the face of the rural economy, he said.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 28 July 2006

  Forest Department in a Fix over Incorrect Enumeration
Rakesh Lohumi

Failure to identify correctly the forest area to be diverted for the Kol Dam project has landed the Forest Department in an awkward situation. The department has not included some thickly-wooded forest areas with standing trees worth over Rs 2.5 crore, which will be submerged due to the construction of the dam, in the diversion plan while seeking the mandatory forest clearance from the Centre. The department has obtained permission for the diversion of 954 hectare of forest land for the project but the area which will be actually submerged is about 100 to 120 hectare more on which 40,000 to 45,000 trees are standing. The faus paux has virtually made the forest clearance granted by the Centre for the project redundant, as trees could not be felled without permission. More importantly, the left out forest areas formed part of the Majathal wild life sanctuary, which provides habitat for a host of species particularly birds like the cheer pheasant. The diversion of protected wild life areas is allowed only if equivalent area is included in the sanctuary. This has not been taken care of in the environment management plan. The issue was discussed at a high-level meeting between the Kol Dam Project authorities and the Forest Department. Mr. Ashok Thakur, Principal Secretary (Forests), said the Principal Chief Conservator of forests had been asked to look into the matter and find out how such huge area was left out of the diversion plan. Whatever be the reasons the department will have to seek the forest clearance afresh otherwise permission to fell the trees will not be granted and it will also not able to claim the value of the trees from the project authorities. Discrepancies have also come to light in the implementation of the catchment area treatment plan. In Shimla division only, 1,100 trees per hectare have been planted as against the normal 1,500 per hectare. Last year, 200 hectare was planted under the plan, which means that 80,000 less trees were planted. In monetary terms it will cause a loss of Rs. 9-10 lakh to the department.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 30 July 2006

  Forest Survey Misses the Woods for the Trees
G.S. Mudur

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) has vastly underestimated forest loss from degradation, according to scientists who used software instead of human eyes to interpret satellite images of forest cover. The scientists applied a new method to estimate forest cover through satellite images of the central Himalayas and found that the proportion of forest loss was much higher than estimates made by the FSI. "The problem appears to lie in the method that the FSI uses in its interpretation of satellite images," said Eswaran Somanathan, an environmental economist at the Indian Statistical Institute in New Delhi. "Whether satellite images are interpreted visually or with software, errors always creep into the process. But the FSI does not take into account the possibility of errors in their estimates," he told The Telegraph. In the latest issue of Current Science, Somanathan and his colleagues have described their new method to determine forest cover in two regions of the central Himalayas in Uttaranchal. Without error factors in their estimates, the FSI had said Almora and Bageswar districts have 19 per cent degraded forests. But the new study has shown that a more realistic figure of degraded forest is 78 per cent. Similarly, in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts, the FSI estimate of the loss of dense forest was 31 per cent. But the new study says the extent of degraded forestland is actually about 58 per cent. This is not the first time that the forest department has been charged with overstating forest cover in the country. During the 1980s, the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), under the department of space, had analysed satellite images and come up with estimates much lower than figures provided by the forest department. Environmental scientists believe the creation of the FSI was a response of the forest department to the challenge posed by NRSA figures. Forest officials had argued that the NRSA did not have the expertise to determine forest cover. The new study shows that there are problems even with FSI figures. "We looked at a small part of the Himalayas, but discrepancies that showed up there might appear elsewhere because the FSI uses the same method," said R. Prabhakaran, an ecologist in Bangalore and a study team member. Satellite image interpretation may be done visually with experts peering at the images to distinguish dense forests from degraded forests or with software. The scientists used commercial software to assess forest cover over a vast area. Then they used one-metre resolution satellite images to calculate likely errors in interpretation. Counting trees on a tiny patch of land, they found that their own assessment suffered from an error of 10 per cent. When we say 58 per cent, we’re absolutely sure the figure’s somewhere between 48 and 68 per cent," said Prabhakaran. "Without an error range in the FSI estimates, it’s hard to have confidence in its figures," he said.
The Telegraph (New Delhi), 24 July 2006

  We Need a Land-Use Policy for Forests
Shali Ittaman

What are the current big dangers to Indian wildlife? There are many dangers depending on the region; loss of forests, fragmentation of wildlife habitat, degradation due to invasive weeds and poaching. There are also the pressures of development activities such as mining; road and rail traffic; and tourism. When one talks of danger, it must be understood not just from the point of risk to flagship species such as elephants and tigers, but also from the perspective of risk to flora and fauna which is everything from forest floor to treetop. Eco-tourism seems to be the byword near sensitive zones. How do you see it shaping vis-a-vis conservation? It is difficult to ban people from going into the forests. After all, forests are a common resource and belong as much to the common man as to the conservationist. Responsible eco-tourism can lead to sensitisation of the masses towards wildlife conservation. It can also bring in much-needed money for conservation and to local economies, though this is not happening now. Currently, poor farmers are selling their land at cheap rates for commercial development. I propose an alternative model: Commercial ventures should be permitted on land near wildlife reserves only through long-term leases, say 30 years. In this way, subsistence farmers are not deprived of their land but have a regular source of income. You have in the past talked of a land-use policy for land close to critical forest areas. I think there has to be a clear land-use policy for the entire country including all forest areas, not just critical ones. With respect to our protected areas, tiger and elephant reserves or biosphere reserves, this should include management plans that define not just what is to be done within the forests but also along the periphery. But there has got to be a balance. When one area is marked out-of-bounds, other areas can be opened out. In the case of tribals, I can understand the historical injustices done to them. They surely need to be compensated. But where and how are issues that need to be studied and then addressed. For instance, you should not give away large tracts of land to tribals in critical areas such as wildlife corridors. In such cases, there has to be an honourable package for settling them elsewhere. In other non-critical areas, land can be turned over to them.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 29 July 2006

  JPC Report on Forest Rights Hailed

International environmental groups have welcomed the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill that has recommended inclusion of traditional forest dwellers within the purview of the legislation. They also hailed the renaming of the Bill as the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2006. "We appeal to Parliament to accept the Bill in its JPC-amended form, as it implements the international environmental commitments and principles of forest biodiversity protection and protected areas in respect of the indigenous forest communities," a joint statement issued by the groups said here on Saturday.
Consistent with principles The JPC-amended Forest Bill is consistent with and promotes the implementation of the international commitments on sustainable use and management of forest biodiversity in relation to indigenous forest communities, they said. It also prevents the eviction of indigenous forest communities from forestland, and addresses the international principles of environmental conservation organisations on forest biodiversity. The JPC-amended Bill complies with commitments and principles set by the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, U.N. Forum on Forests, V IUCN World Parks Congress, WWF Statement of Principles on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation. However, the statement points out that the views of the National Forest Commission were not consistent with the principles of forest biodiversity protection and thus the assumptions that the JPC-amended Bill would weaken forest biodiversity protection were baseless.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 23 July 2006

  BBMB Violates Forest Act

The BBMB has once again started dredging silt from Balancing Reservoir in Sundernagar and started dumping it into Suketi Khud which is a forest area, in violation of the Forest Conservation Act and orders of the Supreme Court. The BBMB started dumping silt into Suketi Khud from June 30. The water of the river has been diverted from Pandoh by constructing a dam on river Beas. The water is stored at Balancing Reservoir so that silt settles there and then it is diverted through a tunnel to produce 990 MW of electricity at Dehar Power House. The main purpose of constructing the Balancing Reservoir is to store the water so that it can be used during peak load hours and also to get silt-free water at Dehar Power House. But dumping of silt by BBMB is against the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act. Interestingly, the BBMB has been committing this offence from the day one of the enactment of the Forest Conservation Act. The matter was highlighted by The Tribune (May 25, 2004), after this the Forest Department started sending notices to the BBMB for violating the Forest Conservation Act. Now as per a plan prepared by the National Environment Engineering Research Institute the dredging has been restricted to two months (earlier it used to continue throughout the year) and for the past two years the BBMB has been dredging its silt from the reservoir to Suketi Khud from July 1 to August 31, but interestingly in Environment Management Plan prepared by NEERI the aspect of violation of Forest Conservation Act was not discussed at all. The Chief Engineer BBMB, Mr D.P Goel, admitted that dredging of silt had begun from June 30 midnight. He told that one dredger of 3 acre feet per day capacity had been pressed into service. He also told that at present 1400 acre feet silt was accumulated in the reservoir. When asked about the violation of the Forest Conservation Act he stated that the matter was pending in the High Court. Last year on July 1 the Forest Department had lodged a complaint against the BBMB regarding violation of the Forest Conservation Act. Interestingly, officials of the forest department had different opinions on the issue. Mr Susheel Kumar Singla, DFO, Sundernagar, said the matter was pending in the High Court and BBMB had been allowed to continue dumping during the monsoon season and there was no violation of the Forest Conservation Act in this. Interestingly, the matter which is pending in the High Court pertains only to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Pollution Act, 1974, as the BBMB has challenged that the provisions of this Act are not applicable to it but in the petition filed by BBMB it is no where mentioned that provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, are not applicable to BBMB. According to Mr. C.S Singh, Conservator of Forest Mandi Circle, the act of throwing silt in Suketi Khud is an offence under the Forest Conservation Act and is in violation of Supreme Court orders. He said that the BBMB would be dealt with as per the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act and necessary direction to DFO, Sundernagar, would be given soon. He further stated that no one can use forest land for non-forest purposes without prior permission of the Centre and BBMB had not applied for permission from Centre in Spite of several notices issued to it over the past few years. Meanwhile, the farmers of Balh valley, from where the Suket Khud passes, have expressed resentment over the dumping of silt into Suketi Khud as it would ultimately flow into their fields and ruin the most fertile valley of Himachal Pradesh.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 03 July 2006

  People First
B.G. Verghese

India’s 80 million tribal population, the largest in the world, is also India’s most exploited and disadvantaged community. Tripura’s forest department has reportedly identified 43,215 tribal families as being in illegal occupation of 14,000 ha of forest land in violation of the Forest Conservation Act of 1980. They face eviction, as has been the fate of countless thousands of others in an ongoing process of rendering traditional homelands and related livelihood habitats as "reserved/protected" forests or national parks/sanctuaries for the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity. Conservation is vitally important to preserve and sustain the nation’s dwindling natural resource base against mounting demographic and developmental pressure. Yet people matter and must remain at the centre of our concerns for they are the ultimate custodians and beneficiaries of Planet Earth. India has to reconcile the apparent conflict between conservation, development and the tribal people. Tribals have suffered almost 150 years of historical injustice as they have been increasingly confined to shrinking homelands or enclaves. They continue to face acute insecurity from concepts of habitat and livelihood that tend to exclude them by default. Town and country, industry and agriculture, are established categories of national habitat and livelihood. But this political and development discourse tends to ignore forests, which traditionally hold the same meaning for tribals and other forest dwellers. These rights or interests, though admittedly competing at the margin, are not irreconcilable. Confrontation most often stems from the extreme positions taken by impatient conservationist and development fundamentalists who have unthinkingly failed to take a holistic and inclusive view that comprehends tribal rights and constitutional obligations. Fortunately, there is now opportunity to right ancient wrongs and end an ongoing and ruinous internal "clash of civilisations" through the mediation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2006, vastly improved as a result of the exertions of a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Bill is scheduled to come up in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament and merits wide support and early passage. This will not only go a long way towards rolling back the historic injustice done to tribal India by arbitrary forest reservation but could indeed promote both conservation – by recognising the symbiotic relation between tribals and forests, of which they are the prime guardians – and growth through a new development paradigm. The Indian Forest Act, as a colonial hangover, sees "reserved" forests and national parks as official property for purposes of extraction and earning revenue or species conservation. Tribals are regarded as illegitimate intruders and encroachers, despite Fifth and Sixth Schedule constitutional protection, whose traditional livelihood rights have been curtailed to some "concessions". Moreover, the tribes have suffered neglect, poor governance and development support, despite budgetary allocations, on account of exploitation by contractors, rent seeking officials, weak administrative delivery systems and widespread graft. The Report of the Expert Group on "Prevention of Alienation of Tribal Land and its Restoration" (October 2004) speaks of land and rights alienation, even of minor forest produce and corporate intrusions into tribal domains to exploit its forest, mineral and water wealth, as constituting unequal bargains with inadequate compensation or poorly implemented R&R. It concludes that this has given rise to what it calls the Tribal Dilemma: "Submission to ‘nationalism’ through ‘mainstreaming’ would lead to ‘sub-infeudation’ and ‘bondage’ while more vigorous assertion of their rights through ‘sub-nationalism’ leads to falling a victim to the lures of ‘radicalism’ and even to ‘irredentism". Indeed this is what has happened with the spread of Naxalism on the one hand and insurgency on the other. These are not mere "law and order" problems, though violence has to be put down, but have deeper and long-gestating socio-economic and cultural causes that have simply not been understood or been wilfully swept under the carpet. The country can no longer continue on this destructive path and faces hard choices in correcting past wrongs. The Tribal Forest Rights Bill rejects the theory that forests are wilderness areas rather than traditional tribal habitats. Therefore their stewardship under law offers the best hope of conserving and sustaining the nation’s forest wealth. For this they must be restored their rights and empowered to discharge their obligations. Conservation must lead to integration not exclusion. There is no dichotomy between tribes and wild life or bio-diversity. The JPC includes tribes living in or proximate to forests and non-tribal "encroachers" (who have been officially resettled in or around forests) within is protective ambit. It would restore the habitats of evicted peoples within a cut-off date of December 2005 (when the Bill was introduced) and substitute "core areas" in relation to wildlife protection with a concept of "critical wildlife habitats". The definition of minor forest produce is expanded and its collection and processing de-nationalised. Tribals are sought to be made partners in natural resource exploitation through industrialisation, and the gaon sabha empowered as the basic democratic entity for consent to and regulation of development decisions affecting tribal rights for proven "public purpose". This is a Bill that the Tribal and Environment and development ministries should jointly work with enlightened public opinion to see enacted as it accords with the nation’s best interests.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 07 July 2006

  जड़ी-बूटियां – एक अनमोल संसाधन
डा. एम.ए.हक

  जड़ी-बूटी एवं मसाला खेती का प्रशिक्षण शिविर आयोजित

  वनों में खुफिया तंत्र मजबूत करने की तैयारी

  बायोडीजल के लिए रतनजोत उपयोगी
रजनी दीक्षित

  दावे व हकीकत
फूल वाले पौध की प्रजातियां पर मंडराया विलुप्ति का संकट

  राजधानी को फिर से हरा-भरा बनाने की कवायद

  आक्सीजन और जंगली ‘आग’
राम नयन सिंह

  जंगल की आग से राहत दी बारिश ने

  नीम के पेड़ों का शहर होगा नोएडा

  धनोपार्जन के लिये करें बांस पौधारोपण

  एक लाख वृक्षों का रोपण होगा

Scientists have long been concerned about declining coral reef health off the southeastern Florida coast, in the Florida Keys and worldwide. The World Research Institute's Reefs at Risk programme has listed coastal development and treated wastewater discharge as chronic problems along Florida's southeast coast.
Identifying likely causes University of Central Florida associate professor of biology John Fauth and scientists from the National Coral Reef Institute, Broward County Department of Environmental Protection, the College of Charleston and Nova Southeastern University tracked how quickly coral regenerated lost tissue from lesions they created while collecting samples. Coral tissue damage that normally heals on its own will not mend when the colonies are near pollution sources on land, the researchers found, according to a University of Central Florida press release. Tissue samples from various wastewater outfalls and inlet mouths and control samples from sites away from outfalls and inlets were taken. The researchers used the equivalent of blood tests on humans to identify likely causes of low coral vitality near wastewater discharge pipes and an inlet. Coral that were growing near both areas were unable to repair tissue damage, while colonies at control sites healed the lesions. High levels of a protein GRP 75, were found in samples near the Hollywood wastewater outfalls and in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Excessive levels of ubiquitin, a small protein that attaches itself to already damaged proteins and causes them to degrade more, also were found at those sites.
Metabolically costly At three offshore sites, elevated levels of a multidrug resistance protein were found. That helps the coral defend itself against contaminants, but it is metabolically costly for coral to produce, leaving less energy available to repair damaged tissue.
The Hindu (New Delhi), 20 July 2006

  Viable Car That’s Eco-Friendly

Big oil companies, automobile behemoths and influential governments with hidden agendas for tanking the advent of electric cars, better listen up. A Silicon Valley start-up in the US, called Tesla Motors Inc, has raised millions in financing from San Francisco bay area techno giants such as Google, eBay and PayPal to produce a prototype battery electric car that has the potential to blow away the gas-guzzling, eco-hostile competition. Check these specs: The Tesla Roadster goes from zero to almost 100 kmph in four totally silent non-revved out seconds, has a top speed of over 200 kmph and can zoom for about 400 km before needing a recharge. Also, it’s not the typical wimpy little niche jalopy that electric cars usually turn out to be; instead it’s got sexy sportscar looks and comes with built-in satellite navigation technology and an iPod dock that allows drivers to control the music player via the car’s standard Blaupunkt stereo. Is that enough said already or what? Okey so it costs a bomb at the moment but the price is bound to fall just as surely as petrol prices are guaranteed to keep rising. More importantly, electric cars in general don’t produce exhaust fumes to drift poison in the air. They also reduce dependence on oil, alleviate global warming and are much quieter and more efficient than vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines. And with constantly improving technologies battery life, recharge time and interim charge-hold are going to get better. Now only the market’s mindset has to be changed. But that’s not going to happen till there are people who keep insisting that recharging is really just one step removed from fossil fuel consumption since the power for that is produced by consuming humungous amounts of carbon in the form of coal or natural gas. However, there’s way out. Recharging isn’t a drain when it’s done from a renewable energy source such as wind, wave power, water, solar or geothermal. Which, incidentally, is also a pretty nifty extra incentive towards developing such renewable energy sources.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 26 July 2006

  E-Cars will Diffuse Pollution, not Reduce it

Let’s hold our horses. At $80,000-1,00,000 apiece, the new two-seater electric car-that its creators claim will travel faster and farther-will remain a niche product, meant only for the affluent few who might go for it more for its snob value than its green virtues. What if we assume – as the electric car’s proponents argue – that over a period of time, these zero-emission vehicles will garner enough demand to push up volumes and the technology too will become simpler and less expensive so that the car makes it to the mass-market segment? Will it then help reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality? Not likely. Although the battery-operated car will emit zilch, it will continue to add to atmospheric pollution from electricity generating coal-fired power stations. Since we don’t yet have the technology to generate power through eco-friendly hydrogen, the world is still largely dependent on coal to produce electricity. And batteries need to be charged with electricity, so it’s merely transferring green-house gas emissions and other pollutants from roads to electricity generators. Wind, solar and other non-conventional energy sources are uncommon and so tend to add to costs. If the electric car is going to pollute the atmosphere as much and cost even more than conventional vehicles, hyping its ‘virtues’ is tantamount to misleading the public. There is another dangerous problem: what does one do about the spent lithium-ion batteries? Already, the environment is getting increasingly burdened with poisonous non-biodegradable waste that includes electronic and electric components, mercury films, Styrofoam and batteries. E-waste, plastic and batteries account for most of the toxic pollutants that seep into groundwater from landfills, posing a formidable public health problem. In addition to the poison finding its way into drinking water, vegetables grown in the area absorb toxic substances, and so components like batteries that need to be changed at regular intervals are a serious health menace. Until we find clean sources of energy, we should aim also to reduce overall power consumption.
The Times of India (New Delhi), 26 July 2006

  बढ़ते प्रदूषण का मानव समाज पर दुष्प्रभाव

  प्रदूषण से प्रभावित होने लगे वन्य जीव
कृष्ण किसलय

शुद्ध हवा पानी के लिए हिमालयी क्षेत्र का पर्यावरण दिन-ब-दिन बिगड़ता जा रहा है। बढ़ते प्रदूषण से अब न केवल आदमी, बल्कि वन्यजीव भी प्रभावित होने लगे हैं। प्रदेश की राजधानी देहरादून से होते हुए राजाजी राष्ट्रीय पार्क के भीतर होकर गुजरने वाली कई नदियों का पानी आदमी तो क्या, जानवरों के पीने योग्य भी नहीं रह गया है। इस कारण वन्यजीवों के लिए संरक्षित इस जंगल में भी बाघों व हाथियों जैसे राष्ट्रीय संरक्षण प्राप्त वन्य प्राणियों का अस्तित्व संकट में फंस गया है। सुसवा व सौंग नदियां राजाजी राष्ट्रीय पार्क की जीवन रेखाएं हैं, जो इस जंगल के भीतर जानवरों के लिए पीने का पानी मुहैया कराती हैं और फिर गंगा में मिल जाती हैं। सुसवा नदी में दो मुख्य छोटी नदियां बिंदाल व रिस्पना देहरादून शहर से गुजरकर मोथरोवाला में मिलती है। इनका अस्तित्व लगभग समाप्त हो चुका है। इन नदियों के जरिए देहरादन के कारखानों, अस्पतालों, डेयरियों, नालों आदि और निकट के कस्बों की गंदगी के साथ खेतों में डाले गए उर्वरक व कीटनाशक रसायनों के बहकर सुसवा नदी में पहुंचने के कारण नदी का पानी सीवर में तब्दील होता जा रहा है। सुसवा का पानी पीने व नहाने लायक ही नही है। जैविक दृष्टि से सिंचाई के लिए भी यह नदी उपयोगी नहीं रह गई। प्रदूषण नियंत्रण बोर्ड के मुताबिक नदी में कालीफार्म की मात्रा 16 एम.पी.एन प्रति, मिलीलीटर तक पहुंच चुकी है और घुलनशील आक्सीजन की मात्रा तीन मिली ग्राम प्रति लीटर रह गई है। जबकि आम तौर पर साफ बहते पर्वतीय नदियों के पानी में कालीफार्म की मात्रा आधी .5 एम.पी.एन. प्रति मिली लीटर तक पाई जाती है। पानी में घुलनशील आक्सीजन की मात्रा कम हो जाने से साफ पानी को पसंद करने वाली महाशीर मछली की संख्या सुसवा नदी में बहुत कम हो गई है। बरसात में महाशीर ने प्रजनन के लिए इस नदी का उपयोग करना कम कर दिया है। हाथी, बाघ सहित कई जानवर साफ पानी पसंद करते हैं। जाहिर है कि नदी का गंदा पानी वन्यजीवों के लिए ‘स्लो किलर’ बन चुका है, जबकि जंगल के भीतर वास (वन) विखंडन के कारण भोज्य वनस्पति व भोज्य पशुओं की घटती जा रही संख्या का संकट बाघ जैसे मांसाहारी व हाथी जैसे विशालकाय शाकाहारी वन्य प्राणी पहले से ही झेल रहे हैं। राजाजी राष्ट्रीय पार्क के निदेशक जी.एस. पांडेय ने दैनिक जागरण को बताया कि सुसता नदी के संरक्षण के उद्देश्य से जन चेतना जाग्रति करने के लिए पार्क निदेशक की अध्यक्षता में सुसवा वेटलैंड कंजर्वेशन समिति बनाई गई है। विभिन्न स्थानों से बिदाल, रिस्पना, सुसवा व सौंग नदियों के पानी के नमूने वाडिया हिमालय भूविज्ञान संस्थान (देहरादून) व इंडियन इंस्टीट्यूट आफ टेक्नालोजी (रुड़की) की हाइटेक प्रयोगशाला में जांच के लिए भेजे गए हैं। दैनिक जागरण (देहरादून), 10 July 2006 

How Nasty is a Lizard Bite
Wendel Broere

More lizard families than previously believed are venomous, including several species that are popular pets, scientists said. Until now, pain and swelling from lizard bites, assumed to be non-venomous, was attributed to the bacteria that thrive on bits of meat left between their teeth from their scavenging diet. However, the symptoms are actually from the venom, a finding which could have implications for medical research, said Dr Bryan Fry of the University of Melbourne, author of the research published online by the science journal Nature. "The venom is the perfect knockout punch by monitor lizards to their prey like small mammals and lizards," he said. It stops blood clotting, rapidly drops blood pressure and heightens the feeling of bite pain. His team of international scientists isolated crotamine — the classic venom of rattlesnakes whose bite can be fatal to humans — in the eastern bearded dragon, a popular pet. However, the bearded dragon’s delivery system is primitive and it is present in such small amounts that it would not harm a human. Fry said Indonesia’s Komodo dragon — the world’s largest lizard, weighing up to 160 kg — was also venomous. It had previously been thought that only two families of reptiles were known to have venom systems — advanced snakes and Helodermatid lizards. The study demonstrates there are venom toxins in two more lizard families: monitor lizards, such as the Komodo dragon, and iguania such as the bearded dragon and green iguana, but their toxin-secreting glands are smaller than those of snakes. The study effectively doubles the number of potentially venomous reptile species to 4,600 from 2,300. "There are so many more reptiles with venom now than we previously thought. That fact itself has massive implications for a vast array of areas, whether it be evolution, drug design and development or ecology," Fry said. Snake toxins are already widely used in medicines to treat epilepsy, haemophilia and thrombosis. The new lizard venom toxins and their molecules present a huge unexplored resource for drug design and development, according to the researchers. "Milking the big monitors was quite simple, just gently squeezing the glands would result in 40-50 mg (dry weight) of liquid venom pooling at the base of the teeth," Fry said. This means a big Komodo dragon could have more than 200 mg ready to delivery at any time, he said.
The Tribune (Chandigarh), 16 July 2006