Renewable Energy
Pest and disease management in organic, natural, sustainable agriculture - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 06:17 PM
This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with pest and disease management practices in organic farming, which rely primarily on preventive and integrated methods.
Crop production and plan protection in organic farming
This paper by S R Sundararaman presents organic farming as the only recourse for farmers, to save both livelihood and the health of the soil. Organic farming methods enable farmers save money and turn their farmyard waste into value-added products for increasing crop production. Farmers will not have to be dependent on agri-business companies for seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Our self-reliance is thus preserved. A large portion of our country's foreign exchange is used to pay for the import of petroleum products. By going organic we will also help our country save on valuable foreign exchange. Our land will keep giving us returns for extended periods of time unlike farming as per the green revolution, where the land stays productive for a short time and then becomes sterile.
The uppermost question in the minds of farmers who have recently converted to organic farming or who want to turn organic is how to ensure that crop production does not reduce and how to protect the plants from disease, without the chemical fertilizers and pesticides that their fields have grown used to. This paper provides the answers and it also seeks to reassure all farmers that there is no farm which cannot turn around and produce quality crops in sufficient quantity, using organic farming methods.
Water job via Devex dated 4th February, 2011
Posted on 05 Feb, 2011 10:09 AMContent courtesy: Devex
- Energy & Water Analysts
Social Impact
Location: India
Last Date: 10th February, 2011
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Towards adopting nanotechnology in irrigation: Micro irrigation systems
Posted on 21 Jan, 2011 07:36 PMIndia is predominantly an agricultural country and even with current orientation towards services, still agriculture contributes ¼th of total GDP of the country, 15 percent of total export and 65 % of total population’s livelihood.
Sustainable water management initiatives in Konkan under threat - A report
Posted on 21 Jan, 2011 02:09 PMGuest 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
Invitation to register for participating in the UNDP/GEF Global Solar Water Heating Project
Posted on 19 Jan, 2011 02:38 PMThe Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing a National Programme on Solar Water Heating aimed at peak shaving, conservation of electricity and fossil fuels and providing a clean, non-polluting solution for water heating in housing, institutional, commercial and industrial sectors. About 4 million sqm. of collector area has so far been installed in the country. A target of 5 million sqm. of collector area has been set for the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12). The web-site of the Ministry www.mnre.gov.in may be visited for information about the National Solar Water Heating Programme and the Guidelines for Off-Grid and Decentralized Solar Applications under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).
Assessment of the status of environment and forest clearances of hydropower projects on river Mandakini – A report by MoEF
Posted on 27 Dec, 2010 02:08 PM
This report by MoEF regarding the environmental impact of Phata-Byung & Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects on the river Mandakini deals with the additional safeguards and proper monitoring & supervision to help protect the environment in these project areas. It says that since a fairly large portion of the works has been taken up it may not be worth to abandon the project. It has proposed certain remedial measures to mitigate the damage if caused to the environment and local villagers.
The Phata-Byung and Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects, are Run of the River (RoR) projects on the river Mandakini. The series of RoR projects proposed and under construction as a part of cascade development are to generate electrical energy which is considered to be clean power as it is non-polluting and renewable in nature.
Climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation - Science for generating policy options in Rajasthan
Posted on 20 Dec, 2010 09:14 PM
This paper by Rajasthan Pollution Control Board on climate change impacts in the context of Rajasthan seeks to address the issue of need of the society for robust knowledge to pursue strategies for mitigation as well as adaptation in order to address the challenges associated with global warming and climate change.
Accordingly, here a brief review of the available literature and an annotated bibliography of published research on climate change impacts, mitigation and adaptation in order to facilitate the identification of policy options in Rajasthan is provided.
Also included is the literature on how human societies contribute to environmental change and how, in turn, become vulnerable to these changes. It also explores the available knowledge on how likely ecosystem goods and services are impacted to climatic oscillations (environmental sensitivity) and the ability of rural communities to cope (social resilience) with those changes.
Can India be firm with China on Brahmaputra dams ? - An article by Himanshu Thakkar
Posted on 20 Dec, 2010 02:34 PMForwarded to the Portal by: Himanshu Thakkar
Article and Image Courtesy: SANDRP
Author: Himanshu Thakkar
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s forthcoming India visit (15-17 Dec 2010) provides another useful opportunity for India to be firm and forthright with China on India’s concerns about Chinese dam and hydropower projects on the shared rivers, including in the Brahmaputra basin. The importance of this issue cannot be underscored considering that this issue has been raised in the Parliament several times, even the Prime Minister has had to make clarifications in the recent past, the people and governments of several states, including Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have been agitated about this. India’s Planning Commission, Environment, Water Resources and Power Ministries have also been raising these concerns.
Environmental compliance of hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh - Shukla committee report (2009)
Posted on 20 Dec, 2010 12:43 AMThe terms of reference for monitoring included the following:
Mining - An increasing threat to our rivers - Article by Nitya Jacob
Posted on 20 Dec, 2010 12:29 AMContent Courtesy: Solution Exchange and Nitya Jacob
Author: Nitya Jacob
India’s arteries are choking. Her rivers, the lifeline of hundreds of millions, are over-taxed, polluted and encroached. They are being mined, dammed and emptied of water. Save for the four monsoon months, most rivers are streams of drains, depending on how many cities they pass through. This year people gaped in awe at the River Yamuna (I am sure they were over-awed by other rivers elsewhere too) as for the first time since 1978 looked like a river and not a drain.