Archive for April, 2009

Early on a moderately hot March morning, a motley group of individuals assembled outside the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station milling about a DTC bus with a banner that read ‘Urban Ecotours’. Amidst queries from Rickshaw wallahs and the curious stares of passers-by, there seemed to be a palpable sense of excitement just beneath the surface. The Delhi Greens Urban Ecotour of North Delhi was about to begin! The bus made its way across the north of Delhi to the Bhalswa Lake and Landfill complex, which boasts of “water sports for the whole family”; but it was only when we reached that we found that Sundays are not necessarily the best day for family water sport events... But after calling out to the guard through locked gates, the group did finally manage to enter the complex and see the lake itself.  In the words of Govind, “Imagine a lake and a hill at the head of it. Now imagine that the hill is a landfill and the water a three-and-a-half foot deep, shrinking water body.” For most participants, the visit was an eye opener. A fifteen minute discussion later, the Urban Ecotour Bus moved on to the Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), where led by Dr. Faiyaz Khudsar, Scientist-In Charge at the YBP, the group toured the Biodiversity Park. One of the capital's prominent centres for learning and understanding the environment, the Yamuna Biodiversity Park has become a home for biologically rich wetlands, grassland communities, a wide variety of fruit yielding species and an abundance of medicinal herbs. Twittering birds, thriving wetlands, and the once-extinct natural fauna that the YBP is home to are all enough to take one’s breath away. Add to that a picturesque bridge, and a walk through what seems a million miles from the concrete jungle of the city’s heart, and it all adds up to one memorable experience! After a rather adventurous lunch at the Nature Interpretation Centre, the group moved on to the next leg of the tour. Turning off from the Wazirabad barrage, a few hundred metres along the side of the river, one reaches a rather strange and unexpected sight in Delhi – a turquoise blue, startlingly clean river. “Wait a minute,” said one of the students on the tour, “are you saying this is the Yamuna?!” The answer to that is, thankfully, affirmative. As born-and-brought-up Delhiites climbed down a rocky path, bent down to actually touch the river, and arose with an almost-pious expression on their faces, we knew that the tour had been a success. It was almost as if the human excreta that mauled the visible and the olfactory senses along that trek down to the river paled in comparison to the glorious sight of a flowing, living Yamuna. Full story

The Climate Project – India (TCP-I)  is holding an Environment Sustainability Leadership Program aiming to equip teachers  and volunteers with inspiring and comprehensive tools for the teaching of environmental subjects, especially in relation to climate change. Through inspired teachers and volunteers, TCP-I hopes to create student leadership on tackling environmental issues. Date: ... Full story

We are all starving for attention and it is very encouraging to know that you are there reading and thinking about what you read. Your feedbacks are very encouraging and valuable and I greatly appreciate them. This has prompted a new idea…. By way of background here is how it all began. Together with six global ... Full story

The Centre for Social Markets (CSM) has an immediate opening for a COP15 Campaign Co-ordinator in its Delhi office. CSM is a leading non-profit organization with offices in India and the UK working to promote leadership on climate change and sustainability issues. 2009 is the year of action on climate change and ... Full story

          Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) invites people to participate in its Green Rating programme. Under this programme, CSE rates industries based on their environmental performance.  Information for the programme is collected directly from the industries as well as from other secondary sources such as State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)s, local newspapers ... Full story

In Delhi more and more of us are living in multistoried apartments, with barely a balcony or a veranda, as our window to the clear blue sky. That too often gets enclosed in glass to expand the living spaces. Every inch of space is so darn expensive. We too, when we moved from Madras ... Full story

Wondering what to do this June? Hoping to understand more about climate change and learn grassroots organizing skills from experts? We’ve got your ticket! Join us at this year’s Climate Advocacy Institute, sponsored by Bloomfield College, the International Debate Education Association and 350.org. The Climate Advocacy Institute will be held in Decemco, ... Full story