Ecology and Environment

Guest Post by: Parineeta Dandekar

At the first sight, Daarche Paani (‘water at the doors’) appears unreal.. on a small flat plateau called ‘Sadaa’ in konkan, an elegant cobbled walkway leads a puzzled visitor to stairs carved in stone, which go down to an ancient grove, and here is an intricate system of tanks, channels and falls which supplies water to the Panderi village and goes down as a free flowing stream, to irrigate a plantation of arecanut, pepper and mangoes in a village called Gudaghe. When I visited the place, I could see three eminent visitors, a silent lady washing her load of clothes, a fairy bluebird splashing at a tank and a huge moonmoth in one of the trees.

Stone walkway and ancient mango trees leading to Daarche Paani.
Photo: Parineeta Dandekar

The 24^th National Convention of Institution of Public Health Engineers (India) on the theme “Water & Sanitation Utility Services in India and their health implications” will be organised by IPHE(I), Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar during 12^th -13^th  February,2011.

This pollution has been caused by a paper factory that was set up 16 years ago.  The noise, air, land and water pollution that are a direct result of the factory have changed a beautiful and peaceful rural area into one where farmers’ land and crops have been destroyed, the air is full of fine, crystalline ash, the local river is an evil-smelling, stagnant mire of foam-encrusted sludge and the water table has fallen by over 70 feet.

Dear all,

IUCN, with Zoo Outreach Organisation, have today published a new report, 'The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya', which is available online here

Article Courtesy: Cognizant Reflections
Author: Sangeeta Deogawanka

The year 2010 has witnessed a few climate records that has mounted evidence of climate change the world over.

• It marked the end of the warmest decade since climate records were kept.
• It has been one of the three warmest years recorded, since 1850.

The scarcity value of natural resources has risen due to rising pressure of human population and demands made by modern economics progress. As such managing these resources has become very important.

The three booklets discuss the issues of water quality, river pollution, and rainwater harvesting, in detail.

There are vast areas of fresh water flooded forests in Amazon River, Mekong River and Meghna River (Bangladesh) basins. In these flooded forests, the flora & fauna is richer than tropical ever green forests and many tree species grow more than 20 meters in height. These forests are inundated / submerged by river flood water up to ten meters depth for 5 to 7 months duration at a stretch.

In 2006 Sterlite, a subsidiary of UK mining company Vedanta built a refinery in Niyamgiri Hills, Orissa, India. The intention was to mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri Hills, which is in reserved forest. It is also home to indigenous communities who are dependent on it for their livelihood.

Organiser: EUINEC CSIR, New Delhi

Venue: CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nehru Marg, Nagpur

The Event is hosted by the CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. The comprehensive One Day programme includes presentations from representatives from the European Commission, CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, CSIR National Chemical Laboratory and CSIR- Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute. Indian Institutions who have previously participated in European projects will share their experiences and the New Indigo project will present the funding opportunities offered within the Networking Pilot Programme. The training is implemented by experienced European experts on FP7.