News and Articles

Importance of protecting and improving ecosystems for reducing disaster risk - A report by NIDM

Evolution in the paradigms of disaster management concept and framework from ‘response and relief’ to ‘mitigation and preparedness’ has brought in the light four major approaches, namely – (1) Engineering based solutions, (b) Community based disaster risk reduction, (c) Ecosystem approach to disaster risk reduction, and (d) Externality based response and relief approach. This report by National Institute of Disaster Management deals with this.

Anil K Gupta

Posted on 03 May, 2012 02:53 PM

The interception of ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approach manifests conflicting situations in ground despite of visible synergies in top level policies. ‘Sustainability quest’ is the emerging concern in disaster management as a consequence of improved understanding of ‘disasters’ as environmental processes or rather as ‘environmental extremes’.

Climate-change adaptation in rural areas of India

Climate change is already taking place. Rural areas will be particularly affected as it impacts water resources, agriculture, overall biodiversity and ecosystems like forests and coastal zones, as well as human health. This report by GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit deals with the issue.

Anil K Gupta

Posted on 03 May, 2012 02:33 PM

The report suggests that -

Environmental knowledge for hydro-meteorological disaster management: Capacity development in disaster risk management

Hydro-meteorological disasters particularly floods, drought, desertification, cyclone, extreme weather events, pest attack, forest fire, man-animal conflict are inextricably linked with environmental systems, resources and ecosystems. Environmental challenges and their complexities have been growing with the advancement in human development and economic stewardship. This report by National Institute of Disaster Management deals with this issue.

Anil K Gupta

Posted on 03 May, 2012 02:27 PM

Poor understanding of the environment – its structure, function, resources, especially at the level of planners and policy makers, have resulted in increasing frequency and intensity of hazards in nature. Understanding of the environment, its processes and resources are important for the early detection of hydro-meteorological hazards, prediction of disaster risk and scenarios and in evolving m

"Excreta Matters" - A profile of the water and sewage situation in 71 Indian cities - A report by the Centre for Science and Environment

The just released Citizens’ Seventh Report on the State of India’s Environment, “Excreta Matters: How urban India is soaking up water, polluting rivers and drowning in its own excreta” deals with where Indian urban centers get their water from and where their waste goes. The report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) calls for using correct technology, planning for cost recovery and resource sustainability, building and renewing local water resources and designing sewage systems differently. It also calls for a law on the right to clean water.

Amita Bhaduri

Posted on 02 May, 2012 12:24 PM

Guset post: Amita Bhaduri

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Source: Excreta Matters, Centre for Science and Environment, 2012

People in National capital territory of Delhi are far away from safe drinking water: Role of governance and civil society

Dhobi Ghat, a slum area with a majority of Muslim population , is situated on the bank of river Yamuna, near Batla House, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi with around 150 families. These families are mostly deprived and poor, surviving with low literacy rate, malnutrition, hunger and lack of sanitation. This report by Ravi Nitesh deals with how people in Delhi do not have access to safe drinking water.

Ravi Nitesh

Posted on 30 Apr, 2012 09:56 PM

Adaptive sustainable agriculture: Crop system intensification in Andhra Pradesh

Along with the soil and water conservation programmes, promotion of agricultural techniques and practices is equally important in sustaining the livelihoods of the people in the long term. All too often, market considerations exert undue pressure on the agricultural practices, which in turn affect the production base and cause irreversible imbalances in the eco system. This report by WOTR deals with the issue.

Chandrasekhar Nemani

Posted on 30 Apr, 2012 07:01 PM

WOTR has been extensively promoting sustainable agriculture practices as part of its adaptive sustainable development approach. The objective is to promote low external inputs, increase land productivity, use of indigenous seeds, and reduce cost of cultivation.

Physicochemical assessment of water quality with respect to remote sensing and GIS techniques - Paper published in the journal Advances in Pure and Applied Chemistry

This paper published in the journal Advances in Pure and Applied Chemistry, sheds light on the serious problem of the increasing levels of pollution of water bodies in India due to escalating populations, urbanisation and increasing economic activity and highlights the urgent need to conduct effective and efficient water quality assessment measures. The paper highlights the limitations associated with the conventional water quality assessment methods and discusses the recent advances in Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques and their relevance as promising alternatives for effective water quality assessment to the conventional water quality assessment methods.

Rajnee Naithani

Posted on 30 Apr, 2012 12:43 PM

The paper informs that current techniques normally used in the country for monitoring and assessment of the quality of water bodies involve in situ measurement and/or the collection of water samples for subsequent laboratory analysis of the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water.

The original Jungle Book: A visit to Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

A recent trip to Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh in search of the elusive wild tiger was an eye opening experience. Note to fellow travellers and wildlife enthusiasts: never go to a national park or game sanctuary hoping to see wild animals (especially big cats) on a long weekend. Other than that though, Kanha itself is a spectacular forest with a teeming ecosystem - deer, samba, chital, bison, peacocks, jackals, wild dogs, civets and birds. The forest itself is surprisingly well maintained, a far cry from some of the forest reserves in South India.

Priya

Posted on 28 Apr, 2012 12:37 AM

Kanha Kanha

Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Draft National Water Policy 2012 and mainstreaming climate change adaptation

Now-a-days, climate change or global warming is one of the growing concerns in the natural resource management. According to the United Nation 2008 report ‘Humanitarian implications of climate change - Mapping emerging trends and risk hotspots’, India is one of the largest and most important regions of high overall human vulnerability. Climate change phenomenon is closely related to changes in monsoon behaviour and temperature. Variability in rainfall and temperature has a definite impact on water availability, groundwater recharge, agriculture and livestock production, livelihoods and health. Eshwar Kale of WoTR, Pune writes about the issue.

Eshwer Kale

Posted on 27 Apr, 2012 01:58 PM

Climate change issue is being loudly debated on international level to reduce emission of various gases, and each nation’s responsibility to control the emission.

Treating waste water using natural substances: Sol gel immobilization of humic and fulvic acids using microfibrillated cellulose

Microfibrillated nanocellulose has large pore sizes (100 to 1000 nm) and provides a large surface area of contact with surroundings. When manufactured by acid hydrolysis of substrate i.e. wastes from wine and sugar industry by acetobacter xylinum, it is lignin free and has a more intricate structure. (nanocellulose obtained as water suspension).

Piyali Dhar

Posted on 27 Apr, 2012 01:49 PM

Humic acids and fulvic acids - Sol gel immobilization

Humic acids and fulvic acids have been known to remove heavy metals, toxins, viruses and other inorganic matter and convert them to organic matter. These acids can be obtained from dried cowdung by mild alkaline treatment and filtration.

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