:: Delhi Greens ::

The Asian Citizens Assembly (ACA) 2010 concluded recently in the South Indian city of Bengaluru and succeeded in bringing together citizens from across Asia to share and discuss the challenges, hopes and aspirations of the people inhabiting the largest landmass on the face of the Planet. The ACA was themed on the 5 Es of Ethics, Equity, Economy, Education and Ecology and included workshops on these to spell out the contemporary status of these indicators and the need for action for peace and sustainable development in the region.

Citizens’ Assemblies gather women and men, association and organizations that would want to participate in renewing democracy and act in significant changes in their society and at global level. The Assemblies are not a kind of new parliaments or new institutions. The citizens’ assemblies are a result of challenges and mutations of the 21st Century: globalization, intensity of inter-dependencies from domestic level to a global one, a multiform crisis of the democracy, development and production models which have become predators and non-sustainable.

The rise of Asia in the 21st century with the booming economic growth of the two giants, China and India in addition to the economic growth of Japan, and military modernization of South Korea among other developments is only one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is alarming and the challenges of a scale never experienced before. Today, lasting peace remains elusive as armed conflicts based on religion, nationalism, ethnicity, land and natural resources wage ceaselessly across the continent, killing thousands and capturing millions more in the tentacles of poverty and hunger in the process.

Illiteracy and lack of quality education throughout Asia is undermining the ability of people to avail gainful employment, and from achieving a satisfactorily good standard of living. Lack of access to basic services is causing immense suffering, especially amongst marginalized populations and poor people, while ineffective, disorganized  and non participatory governance and political institutions are further impeding development. Environmental degradation is reaching epic proportions, with pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases constantly on the rise, deforestation occurring faster than ever before, and natural resources being plundered relentlessly.

With participation from countries stretching the length and breadth of Asia including Iran, Jordan, Afghanistan, China, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka,  Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan to name a few and led by the Global Citizens for Sustainable Development, the ACA 2010 was more of an experiment set in space and time. Organized in collaboration with Delhi Greens, the assembly also marked the International Year of Youth by beginning the ACA with a two days Asian Youth Assembly. The Asian Youth Assembly encouraged young people to dedicate themselves to fostering progress, including the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which seek to slash a host of social ills, ranging from extreme poverty and hunger to maternal and infant mortality to lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015.

Throughout the ACA, a parallel Silk Route Art and Culture Festival hosted a range of manifestations in culture and art related both to the quickly advancing modernity and the firmly rooted cultural traditions of Asia. The festival was an attempt to create a forum where cultures, religions and ideas meet with the overarching theme of Peace, and acted as a meeting place for interesting artists and arts management experts and also as a platform for participants to dialogue using the medium of art and culture during the Assembly. The participating delegates took back a better understanding of cultures and cultural affinities of Asia and a network of committed youth and adults all of whom having the will to act.

Previously on Delhi Greens:

• Essay Competition: Towards a United, Peaceful and Sustainable Asia

Delhi rendezvous with Monsoon 2010 finally took place in the week starting July 5th and the city has since then given a mixed response to the rains. The Monsoon itself is such that the city is experiencing only intermittent rains with the sun not refusing to give in. It came as a shock to us when the old chaiwallah at Roshanhara Bagh–a not so well kept historical green space in the city–looked up at the sun among the clouds to say, “aajkal ke baadal bhi aajke naujawano ki jawaani ki tarah hi hain. Chadne se pehle hi utar jaate hain.”  While we took that with a pinch of salt, for we wanted to disagree but didn’t know how, we just decided to put the salt in our tea in the best interest of our throats.

The first rain, as we remembered was told to us in our even younger days, settles the dust and impurities from the sky above and should be avoided. Unfortunately, the city’s infrastructure either did not know this, or could not avoid it and part of it crumbled under the Monsoon effect. The first rain may have settled the dust and the impurities, it definitely did “resettle” a lot of other ‘loosely packed’ materials! Other than that, we saw chidlren playing, roadside vendors running for cover, trees washing themselves, cars getting auto-cleaned and amidst all that, a concrete mixing truck which was in the middle of covering a drain, stop and stand aside.

In the coming few days, we would be following the monsoonal rains as they interact with the various facet of the city life as part of the Delhi Monsoon 2010 campaign. We also look forward to hearing your suggestions, comments, feedback and receiving your photographs, stories and bytes. Leave a comment or send it to monsoon2010@delhigreens.org  

Image courtesy Impuri Shimray

In order to check the continued abstraction of ground water leading to severe depletion of ground water resource in the National Capital, the Lt. Governor of Delhi has issued an order, through the Dept. of Environment, GNCT, that no person, group, authority, association or institution shall draw ground water through bore-well or tube-well (both new as well as existing and drawing ground water without permission of the Central Ground Water Authority) for domestic, commercial, agricultural and/or industrial uses. Only after a prior permission from the “Competent Authority”, which could be the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) or the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is obtained, can the ground water be drawn for use.

The order, under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, also promoted ground water recharge by laying greater emphasis on rain water harvesting (RWH). Those seeking permission for drilling a bore hole for a building plot size greater than 200 sq. meters, the permission shall be granted subject to the condition that the occupier shall install a RWH structure in the building. Permission seeked for commercial or industrial uses shall also require, in addition to the  RWH, reuse of water in horticulture or cooling or toilet flushing or any other similar suggestion given by the concerned Advisory Committee.

Genuine agriculturists in the capital can obtain permission for setting up tube-wells from the Advisory Committee under concerned Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) based on the recommendations of Block Development Officer and Agriculture Department/ Irrigation & Flood Control Dept., GNCT. The Order is timely and required, at a stage of urban development when there is tremendous pressure on the ground water resource in Delhi. Any violation of the stated directions are punishable under Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. However, implementation is both the key as well as the limiting factor when it comes to enforcing such laws where the utmost indirect significance is not properly understood by the masses. That would be the greatest challenge in this case as well.

Water is essential to people and the largest available source of fresh water lies underground. Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. Increased demands for water for drinking as well as urbanization purpose have stimulated development of ground water resources. But it is difficult to understand the pressure on this resource as it exists away from our sight, down below. While non-functioning hand pumps and increasing depth of bore holes are instanced experienced by some of us living in Delhi, there is no real appreciation of this deepening water crisis.

There are reports now being filed on the depleting quantity as well as quality of Delhi’s ground water and concerned individuals working to prevent the South and South-west districts of Delhi from becoming a desert. This Order, if properly implemented, would indeed go a long way in ensuring a sustainable water availability for the NCT and an overall sense of environmental security for the capital.

It’s almost as though it is a legend. I’ve heard about it from many people by now and was reminded of it last by Mr. Shashi Pandit – a panel member at the recently concluded Delhi Youth Summit on Climate 2010. There is no real written or documented evidence of it so to say, at least none that I have ever come across. And the very structure that was both the culprit and the victim, and must surely be the witness to it all, was brought down about one-two years back. Luckily I did get to to see it twice before it was dismantled–without any prior notification to anyone–to know that it was for real.

The Nehru Vihar Waste to Energy Plant, that was set up in North Delhi after purchasing everything from abroad (no names, for lack of a more irrational government) and installed in full glory to convert Delhi’s waste into electricity DID NOT WORK FOR EVEN A SINGLE DAY. Reason, figured after making all the payments to the seller country: Delhi’s waste does not have the required calorific value to burn and produce electricity. Legend has it that the seller country then got away with (in addition to the Indian tax payer’s money) saying it was never asked whether such a cleantech will work for Indian cities or not.

In his speech at the PHD Chamber on the occasion of World Environment Day, an event we (perhaps) missed to cover in Delhi’s WED 2010 style, Mayor P. K. Sawhney announced at least two such waste to energy plants in the coming years. Last weekend, Delhi CM Shiela Dixit laid the foundation stone of the “first-of-its-kind” Rs. 200 crore plant at Okhla for not just “treating” 1950 metric tonnes of solid waste each day but also generating 16 MW power from it in an “environment-friendly” manner. As has been the trend lately, the project has already registered itself with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is on its way to earn some Carbon credits!

The Chief Minister was quoted saying that the Plant will not only generate “clean” power but will also help dispose off more than 25 percent of the 7,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated daily. Reports also suggest that the launch saw opposition from local residents who raised issues about the health impact of the gases released from the incinerator after burning the waste. Previously emails and comments from citizens have explicitly suggested that the waste segregation scheme of the Government has not been able to work as planned. Decentralized measures have rarely been tried and reduction at source has been targeted mainly for polythene.

Interestingly enough, no adequate measures have been taken for methane recovery from any of the landfills so far, even when this could mean both free energy and carbon credits. The Biogas holder at the Ghazipur landfill which was a site for the second Delhi Greens Urban Ecotour was not working in any of our trips later as well. Not only is this is a viable option but the technology for this already exists in the city. In any case, it remains to be seen how well such a plant(s) perform this time around. It will surely be a comparative study as well as an interesting project to follow. Thank you Mr./Ms. Taxpayer!

A man selling peacock feathers at ITO tries to stop us from capturing him on camera

In response to numerous requests from various stakeholders, the central Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) is in the process of completely banning the trade of peacock feathers. Despite this, the selling of feathers of our National Bird is rampant across the Delhi NCR. Though the usual street shops are no longer selling these openly, the feathers can still be seen being sold on the streets around CP and ITO and even in markets like Kamla Nagar and Sarojini.

The demand for the feathers far outsrips the supply leading to rampant poaching and killing of the birds. Sections 43(3)(a) and 44 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 relates to the transfer and sale of the tail feathers of peacocks. Currently, the Act prohibits the killing of peacocks as well as export of tail feathers or articles made from them. But domestic trade in feathers or articles is allowed under the assumption that these are naturally shed. This is what is exploited by the domestic traders and is therefore being amended by the MoEF.

Delhi has a healthy peacock population thanks to the patches of green spaces in almost all districts of the NCT. In fact, we have received numerous emails especially from residents of Palam about the issue of too many peacocks and therefore the birds becoming easy target of children and even dogs. Even the Central Delhi area has a rich peacock population which is rivaled only by Delhi University even though rampant construction in the city and consequent habitat destruction is now threatening their safety.

While this ensures that at least some of the feathers being traded may well be fallen ones, that still does not help in any manner. The feathers, as do any other part of the bird or animals, belong to nature and need to be left at that. These enrich the soil with nutrients and inputs that were supposed to remain in the top soil, not in your living room. Just like a tiger skin is best on the tiger, peacock feathers are best on the bird, or in the soil. Taking them away is like burning the fallen leaves instead of letting them decompose, and should be banned likewise.

Top image by Impuri Shimray, bottom image courtesy AnitaWPANewDelhi

Also See:

• A peacock welcome dance for the rain Gods!
  

Delhi Greens is the official nominator organisation for the Sierra Club’s Green Energy & Green Livelihood Achievement Awards. Launched in 2009, the objective of these Awards is to build public support for community organizations that are fighting climate change through grassroots projects that create green livelihoods. The award will be given to one or more exemplary environmental, or environmentally-related organizations that satisfy pre-determined criteria for constructive community-based work.

In this regard, Delhi Greens requests the help of concerned citizens in gathering information about grassroots organisations that are working on environment in a dedicated manner. We would like to invite you to join us in recognizing India’s other outstanding environmental leaders and help us nominate the right community based organizations that are promoting positive societal change and green economic development. Please send us any information on such organisations that you may have come across or are otherwise aware/ part of. You can mail it to us at contact(at)delhigreens.org to reach us on or before July 15th, 2010.

Please remember that the award aims to build public support for community organizations across the country that are helping India to combat climate change by leapfrogging outdated and inefficient polluting technologies in order to create green jobs and a green economy. Any organisation that you think and know has been working on this now or since a long time deserves to be noticed. So help us help them help the country and the Planet! The 2009 award was shared by the Barefoot College in Rajasthan, EcoSphere Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Gujarat.

Image courtesy Sierra Club

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is organising a National Workshop on Reforms in Environmental Regulation on Tuesday, the 25th of May 2010 at the Godrej Auditorium, WWF-India (Lodhi Estate, New Delhi). This event is intended to be a platform to discuss environmental governance in India, and aims to engage the States, members of civil society and industry, and other stakeholders in the development of the proposed National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA).

The Workshop will be chaired by the Hon’ble Minister for Environment and Forests. Over the course of two sessions, panelists will focus on the proposed role and function of NEPA and, solicit feedback on the design of this Authority. Rapid industrialization and infrastructure development in the last decade coupled with rates of accelerated migration, population growth and urbanisation has exerted tremendous pressure on the environment. The existing regulatory institutions at the Central and State levels have been unable to cope effectively with the resultant environmental challenges.

It is now well recognized that the hiatus between the environmental statutes and their enforcement is becoming wider. While the number and complexity of the projects being processed for environmental clearance has increased manifold, the capacity and resources available with MoEF and its agencies to manage them have remained limited. Thus, a very strong need has now been felt for the NEPA. (Click to read NEPA discussion paper)

For more information and to participate, contact:

M A Khan (+91.11.2436.1727)
Lakshmi Krishnan (+91.11.2436.3958)

Delhi CM Smt. Shiela Dixit, Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta and Environment Secretary Dharmendra planting a tree sapling at the ABP. Also seen are Prof. C.R. Babu and Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar

Top Delhi Government officials came together on May 22nd to plant trees and greet the students and citizens gathered at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park (ABP) to mark the International Biodiversity Day (IBD) 2010. The theme for this years IBD was declared to be Biodiversity, Development and Poverty Alleviation. Hosted by the Dept. of Environment (DoE), GNCT and the park management at ABP, the event saw participation from students from some six schools and residents and citizens from around the Park. Key officials from the DoE including the Environment Secretary arrived well in time to receive the CM and the Chief Secretary. On their arrival, they were escorted to the plantation area for sowing the tree saplings.

Dr. Anil Kumar, Director, Dept. of Environment invited all distinguished guests on the stage and welcomed everybody who had turned up for the day. This was followed by a street play organised by the students of St. Francis School who emphasized on the need to initiate green action, spread awareness and go green. A short speech by Prof. C.R. Babu, Emeritus Professor, CEMDE, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi followed where he explained the importance of the Biodiversity Parks in Delhi and urged the children to keep themselves aware and make themselves involved in green action in the city. A series of other speakers followed Prof. Babu.

Mr. Rakesh Mehta, Chief Secretary then took to the podium and highlighted the might of the Nature and that no matter how hard we try, we cannot control it in any way. His short speech pressed upon the fact that in order to survive and prosper, we must respect Mother Earth and all development activities should be in harmony with Nature. The audience was then greeted by the Chief Minister Smt. Shiela Dixit, who began by congratulating the children for coming up with good grades in the Class 12th Board results. She then encouraged the children to take forward the green cause and appreciated the street play that was organised.

The CM agreed that the greatest challenge we are facing today is that of environment versus development, and that until the developing economies like ours make some transition towards being developed, we will never be able to make environment as the top priority. The CM also congratulated Prof. Babu and the entire Park team in reclaiming the mining affected Aravalli with biodiversity of all sorts. Before concluding her speech, the CM informed the audience of the tragic Mangalore air crash and observed a moment of silence. This followed feedback from the audience and concerned residents from across the Park raised some issues which were answered by both the CM and Prof. Babu.

The theme for the International Biodiversity Day 2011 is Biodiversity and Forests.

The Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA), a nation-wide network comprising 127 research institutions working on science and impacts of climate change for the MoEF, filed a report on India’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2007 last week.  The report, released by Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia at an INCCA meeting, makes India the first “non-Annex I” (developing) country to publish such updated numbers on global warming and climate change. The INCCA meeting was chaired by the Environment Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh who congratulated the entire team of scientists involved in putting this assessment together. The last such report was released in 1994.

According to the report, India’s ranking in 2007 in aggregate GHG emissions in the world is 5th, behind USA, China, EU and Russia. The report also points out that the 2007 emissions of USA and China are almost 4 times that of India. What is also highlighted in the report is that the emissions intensity of India’s GDP declined by more than 30% during the period 1994-2007, which is largely attributed to the proactive efforts and policies being put in place by the Ministry from time to time. The 84 page report mainly focuses on emissions from different sectors such as Energy, Industry, Land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUF) and Waste.

The net Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from India, that is emissions with LULUCF, are reported to be 1727.71 million tons of CO2 equivalent (eq) in 2007. Out of this, CO2 emissions were 1221.76 million tons; CH4 emissions were 20.56 million tons; and N2O emissions were 0.24 million tons. The largest percentage of GHG emissions (58%) is from the Energy sector followed by Industry, Agriculture and Waste sectors in that order. Within the Energy sector, 65.4% of total CO2 eq were emitted from electricity generation while the transport sector contributed to 12.9 % of the total CO2 eq.

The report also points out that for the estimation year 2007, LULUCF sector was a net sink. It sequestered 177.03 million tons of CO2. The report calculates India’s per capita CO2 eq emissions including LULUCF for the assessment year 2007 at 1.5 tons/capita. The report is also a step further towards incorporating the 3 M’s” – Measurement, Modeling and Monitoring in the essence of formulating policies on climate change.  By releasing such updated figures well before the COP at Cancun in Mexico, the Govt. of India has indicated its seriousness on the issue of climate change and its willingness to take on global leadership.

The INCCA’s next major publication will be a “4X4” assessment of the impacts of climate change on four sectors – water resources, agriculture, forests and human health – in four critical regions of India – the Himalayan region, North-east, Western Ghats and Coastal India. It is said to be released in November 2010.

Mother Nature, as Gaia–the Greek Goddess or our very own ‘Dharti Maa’ personifies the entire ecosystem of Planet Earth. Mother Nature is always working to achieve and maintain harmony, wholeness and balance within the environment. Mother Nature heals, nurtures and supports all life on this planet, and ultimately all life and health depend on Her. In time, Nature heals all ills.

This Mother’s Day, as you do those small things for your mother, that cannot even come closer to repaying for all that she’s done for you, also give a thought to Mother Earth.  To all that she’s given to you and to all that you are taking from her. And spend a moment to ponder up on how good a child have you been to her. This Mother’s Day, make sure you take responsibility and then live up to it. A very Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Artwork courtesy the walls of NMML during LKA week.