India

Dear All,

Guest post by Sangeeta Deogawanka

February 2nd, designated as World Wetlands Day, has quietly slipped by with isolated events that speak of the lackadaisical attitude towards this rich ecosystem.

With 67,429 wetlands covering an area of about 5.5 million hectares, [Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), 1990], the wetland systems in India are diverse, found in high altitude cold zones, the hot and humid coastal areas or occurring as scattered inland wetland systems.

Ground Report India

A huge controversy has been generated in recent days over the much quoted lines in the IPCC’s 2007 report: “Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high if the Earth keeps warming at the current rate” (Working Group 2, page 493). We do need to question how a statement of such magnitude, without peer review, made its way into the IPCC report. That it was discovered,externally, more than two years later raises concerns about both the mindset and the weakness of the processes of the IPCC in checking and correcting information they collate, information that is so vital in the global debate. However, to question the credibility of the science of the global warming, supported as it is by a wealth of empirical evidence, or to question IPCC’s work, as is happening in some quarters, is gross exaggeration and sometimes driven by dubious and malafide intentions.

The Geology of India by DN Wadia, a geologist with the Geological Survey of India, is considered to be one of the most important and complete reference works available today on the subject.

The book divides India into three main geological divisions - the triangular plateau of the peninsula, the mountainous or the extra-peninsular region bordering India on the west north and east, and the Indo-gangetic plain extending from the valley of the Indus to the valley of the Brahmaputra in Assam. The desert region of western Rajasthan is considered to be a unique fourth category, as it combines characteristics of two of the three main divisions.

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is an innovative methodology for mobilising communities to completely eliminate open defecation (OD).

Communities are facilitated to conduct their own appraisal and analysis of open defecation (OD) and take their own action to become ODF (open defecation free).

The following document provides information on the procedural rules suggested by the Central Government after consultation with the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution that need to be followed in the exercising of section 63 of the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act made in 1974.

Press release from CII

More Crop per drop: Need of Agriculture today

“The challenge of managing our water resources in a rational and sustainable manner will require action on many fronts and coordination across different sectors of the economy” said Mr. A K Bajaj, Chairman, Central Water Commission and Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India, at the inaugural session of the National Seminar on Increasing Water Efficiency in Agriculture Sector organized by CII. Setting the tone of the deliberations he particularly emphasized on the need to address the complex issue through collaborative efforts of the industry and the Government.