Posts
CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin (Septmeber 18, 2013)==============================
CSE's annual South Asian media briefing on climate change begins today in New Delhi, with 100 journalists from nine nations in attendance. Initiated in 2009 to update the region's media on the science and politics of climate change -- just before the UN's Conference of Parties (CoP) every year -- this briefing has become key to fill the gaps in our understanding of some of the most contentious and complex issues (see the details and follow the proceedings onhttp://cseindia.org/node/4977)
More on the climate plate -- Down To Earth online (http://www.downtoearth.org.
Even as we move ahead this fortnight, we are also looking back at the formal release of our most recent publication, First Food, on September 7, 2013. We thank all those who found the time that evening to come and celebrate our tryst with food and biodiversity. We would also like to salute all of you out there who have consistenty stood with us, supported us, and shown us the way -- the immensely satisfying response to this book is indicative of this encouragement.
==============================
Follow Sunita Narain on Twitter at Sunita Narain@sunitanar
You can also follow Down To Earth on iPad, Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Just scroll down to see the details.
To subscribe to this newsletter, or any of our other newsletters, please click on
http://cseindia.my2.in/
Note, our other exclsuive newsletters cover subjects such as rainwater harvesting, air pollution, health, climate change,
renewable energy and environmental governance.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just click
http://www.cseindia.org/
If you have any questions or concerns about newsletter subscription,
please contact Vikas Khanna at vikas@cseindia.org
==============================
EDITORIAL: Call the monitor
by Sunita Narain==============================
In Goa mines are closed. In Bellary, iron ore mines, once closed, have been opened on the condition that they will now follow a plan for environmental restoration and will not indulge in unseemly and distasteful activities. But the institutions for checking the reformed miners are still in disarray. They cannot monitor and enforce the rules. So, believe it or not, little will actually change in the Bellary landscape. The miners will flex muscles again (after a suitable wait) to extract more iron ore than they should; degrade the land and water; encroach on forestland; and cheat the exchequer by hiding the value of their exports. They did this once. They will do it again.
So are environmentalists to blame for the current economic crisis? Or is it that the rapid growth of the past few years is far beyond the capacity and ability of regulatory institutions to manage? If we don’t fix this, then let’s be clear, growth will happen again but will collapse faster than yesterday. It is not the environment that is to be blamed. It is the government.
The iron ore mines in Goa were closed after a government-instituted commission of enquiry charged the state with connivance in illegal mining. First the state government, then the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and then the Supreme Court stepped in to close the mines. Now nobody knows how to reopen them as fast as they would like.
But open they will. And they must, given the fact that we need minerals. And nobody can say that extraction cannot happen in their backyard. The question is: how will Goa restart its mining operations so that the overburden is not dumped in forests and agricultural fields and does not destroy streams and livelihoods? How will it build infrastructure to transport the minerals without causing pollution and hazards? How will it contain the mining activity so that its cumulative impact is not unsustainable? In short, how will it mine so that there is atomorrow?
It can do this only if there are working institutions that can be trusted to take carefully evaluated decisions. More importantly, the institutions should be able to enforce the conditions laid down at the time of clearance so that devastation is mitigated, if not managed well.
But we don’t have such institutions. Instead, there is a growing noise that environment and forest clearances are holding up growth. So, there is a frantic rush to clear everything in sight. But will this repair the economy?
The fact is that clearances have never been the problem. In the past five years, MoEF has granted sanctions to so many thermal power stations, cement plants and iron-ore and coal mines that we should have doubled or tripled the capacity in most cases. But we have not because there are other unresolved issues—from finance to building projects against the will of communities.
If we are serious about doing something then this is where we should focus. First, we should invest in institutions that will provide oversight. This means doing what we mostly avoid—repair what is broken. Pollution control boards remain under-staffed, under-funded and abused by all. But we build new agencies, deluding ourselves that they will take care of all the troubles. The National Green Tribunal has been set up. Now this tribunal needs scientific information, monitoring data and assessment. It has nobody to call upon but the same defunct pollution control boards, so decision-making is seriously impaired. It is a joke.
Secondly, we should set straight the system of clearances. Currently, the entire structure is built on a few committees, manned (since there are very few women) by faceless and mostly retired bureaucrats and other sundry types. The institution is unaccountable. It is supposed to “assess” projects—spending on an average a few minutes on each file—and then take decisions. If the call is tough it will ask many questions of the project proponent. If the project is disputed and in the public gaze, it will ask even more questions and hold many more meetings. Finally, it will clear all the projects but with tough environmental conditions. This, when it knows that there is no monitoring mechanism to check even one of the 100 conditions it imposes.
This is what needs to be reformed, revamped and seriously improved. This will require taking tough positions on strengthening the existing system—bringing in more specialists and streamlining processes so that environment, forests, wildlife and coastal clearances are all brought together and assessed for cumulative impact. Most importantly, there have to be people to monitor post-clearance performance so that we can get development right and the environment safeguarded. We need to tighten enforcement. And we cannot do this without strong regulatory institutions.
But this is the music nobody wants to hear. The cacophony, “growth is dead, long live growth”, works best. It hides the real game that is afoot: the great Indian sale.
- To post your comments on this editorial online, please visit http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
- To share this editorial, please click on the following
Facebook:http://on.fb.me/
Twitter:http://bit.ly/16lEs1q
Google+:http://bit.ly/1aT4CAb
=========================
MORE FROM DOWN TO EARTH
=========================
Cover story: The gas game
Fluorocarbons, which created a hole in the ozone layer, have generated intense global debates. But these have been more about business than environment. The world shifted to other gases twice. Time to make the transition once and for all
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Features: Elementary failure
Down To Earth reporters travel to four states and analyse if the Central Government has managed to achieve its goals set by The Right to Education Act
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Red alert on Indian spices
Spice Board challenges US food department’s claims over salmonella contamination
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Mosquito matters
The blood-sucking pest is altering itself with changing environment. But studies on it are few and far between
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Taken by the horns
Gujarat buckles under farmers’ pressure, shrinks special investment region planned for industries
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Millionaire mukhiyas
Money pumped in development schemes in Bihar is giving rise to a new breed of village heads, flush with money and flexing muscles
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Rain imbalance
Pulak Guhathakurta, senior scientist at India Meteorological Department, Pune talks about his analytical study of 100 years of rainfall data in Maharashtra
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Cool bug
Dung beetles keep methane from cattle in check
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Mind your diet
Eating junk food in early years can cause mental problems later
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Pollution pangs
High ground-level ozone increases appendicitis risk
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Eye in the sky
Satellite data can help understand how animals migrate
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Twist in turtle’s tale
Falling catch fuels turtle-fisher conflict in Lakshadweep atolls
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Interview: A plant breeder comes into his own
In conversation with K Vinod Prabhu, head of genetics at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi, for his work on building resistance in wheat, mustard and rice through the molecular marker route.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
News: Adani port under scrutiny
Jayanthi Natarajan agrees to inspection of the project for environmental violations
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
News: Drug firms, retailers on warpath
Pharma companies say chemists refusing to store essential drugs; retailers deny the charge
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Crosscurrents: Uttarakhand on bumpy recovery road
The state needs stringent town planning and environment assessment to prevent disasters
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Patently Absurd: Patent hypocrisies of US
American business lobbies are spreading falsehoods about India’s patent policies—and glossing over their double standards
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
- Down to Earth on your iPad: For more information and ordering please visit us at:
http://www.magzter.com/IN/
- Down to Earth on Google+: Please "+1" at:
https://plus.google.com/
- Down to Earth on Facebook and Twitter: Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and
stay in constant touch with our reporters on: www.facebook.com/
twitter@downtoearthindia.
==============================
Web DTE
==============================
Blog: Will welfare schemes win votes for UPA?
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Photo Gallery: Uttarakhand's displaced
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
===========================
On India Environment Portal
===========================
Use our gigantic storehouse of information on environment and development to stay abreast of all issues in this field.
Latest reports, top-of-the-line analyses, and links to virtually everything that is current -- along with user-friendly features that
make reading a pleasure...
- Get weekly updates -- subscribe to the weekly newsletter
http://www.
- Browse and research in your own language
Select your language from the icon on the right side of the page. You get a vast choice ranging from English to Yiddish.
What's more, you can upload documents (such as reports of public hearings, for instance) in regional languages along with your
own comments
http://www.
- Editor's Pick, for a selection of the top stories
http://www.
India Environment Portal is on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow, share,
comment, and discuss at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
https://twitter.com/
For more details or any assistance, contact Kiran Pandey at
kiran@cseindia.org, kirandwi@gmail.com
==============================
LEARNING WITH CSE
Courses offered by Anil Agarwal Green College
==============================
CSE’s short-term EIA training programme UNDERSTANDING EIA: FROM SCREENING TO DECISION MAKING
Date: October 21-25, 2013
Last Date for Applying: October 10, 2013
Course Module
- Exposure to all aspects of EIA, from its theory to the practical
- Better understanding of the EIA process – from screening, scoping, data collection to impact assessment as well as the role of public consultation
- Better understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the industrial and developmental projects
- Better ability to review EIA reports and identify its strengths and weaknesses
- Increased ability to play active role in post-EIA monitoring
Course contact: swati@cseindia.org
Tel: + 91-11-29955124/ 6110, Extension: 281, |
Fax: + 91-11-29955879 Mob. No.: +91 9910496283
E-mail: swati@cseindia.org
or visit http://cseindia.org/content/
------------------------------
BOOTCAMP - Covering India
Date: Nov 4-15, 2013
CSE offers mid-career professionals, an orientation on the environment development debate bogging the Indian polity.
MODULES
- Environment as a subject of coverage
- Ecological rights, natural resource management and food security
- Urban growth: contemporary challenges
- Climate change policies, politics
- Hands-on research labs
- Supervised field-based reporting and writing
For registration or details, please get in touch with Sharmila Sinha
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110062
Email: sharmila@cseindia.org; cseindiasharmila@gmail.com
Tel: +91 (011) 40616000 (Ext.300)
M: +919818482018 or visit http://cseindia.org/node/2607
------------------------------
CSE Workshop on "How to manage information and communicate online using Drupal, the free & open-source web
development platform for content management & outreach"
Date: September 26-27, 2013
The workshop is useful for web professionals in NGOs, Government, International Organisations, Corporate, Individuals interested
in strengthening their organizational capacities.
Send your nominations to kirandwi@gmail.com and kiran@cseindia.org,india.environment.portal@
http://www.cseindia.org/
==============================
UPDATES FROM OUR PROGRAMME UNITS
==============================
CSE’s Annual South Asian Media Briefing Workshop on Climate Change, 2013
Venue: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Date: September 18-19, 2013
CSE is organising its annual two-day briefing in New Delhi for South Asian journalists, before the deliberations for the 2015 treaty begin at this year’s Conference of Parties (CoP) in Poland.
Journalists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, interested in evaluating, investigating and interpreting the climate debate, are
participating.
For queries, kindly write to Papia Samajdar at papia@cseindia.org
or visit http://www.cseindia.org/
------------------------------
Conference on The Future of Solar Energy in India
September 23, 2013
Gandhinagar, Gujarat
This conference is to take stock of the existing situation, and develop a roadmap for sustainable growth of the solar energy in the country.
For further queries, please get in touch with Aruna Kumarankandath atk_aruna@cseindia.org/
or visit the following link http://www.cseindia.org/
------------------------------
Stepping together: Conclave of change makers for clean air and sustainable mobility
September 26-27, 2013
New Delhi
CSE is planning a region-wide community gathering of target groups related to transport and clean air to take stock of the positive action in cities of the region to cut air pollution and promote sustainable transportation. This will bring together a large community of policy and social actors who will track the direction of change, actual initiatives, benefits and real impacts in our cities.This is one of the largest initiatives to bring to public domain the evidence of change....
For more details, please get in touch with Vivek Chattopadhayay at vivek@cseindia.org
------------------------------
Fourth National Research Conference on Climate Change
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
October 26-27, 2013
Call for Abstracts
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore and Centre for Science and Environment, under the banner of Indian Climate Research Network, are organizing the Fourth National Research Conference on Climate Change, to be held at IIT-Madras on October 26-27, 2013.
We invite abstracts from faculty, students, civil society organizations and practitioners in the areas of climate science, impacts, mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction and renewable energy. Abstracts should provide evidence of independent research and be of direct relevance to the South Asian context. Selected abstracts will receive a slot for presentation and poster session. There will also be panel discussions involving invited speakers from a range of different backgrounds.
For more on this, please visit: http://www.cseindia.org/node/
------------------------------
Citizen's survey -- Take the test for a better future!
CSE invites you to participate in a citizens’ survey to understand the challenge of air pollution and transportation crisis in your city and identify the way forward. The city assessment is to
map out the nature and extent of the problems and will help to inform public opinion and policy action.
We look forward to your support and participation to find solutions to one of the most critical public health and mobility crisis facing our cities today.
Visit: http://182.73.193.34:8080/
------------------------------
Rainwater Harvesting Technical Support
Every Friday between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, CSE provides detailed technical guidance to interested individuals, RWAs and institutions to implement
rainwater harvesting. This technical assistance is provided at CSE’s office at 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi.
For details, see
http://www.cseindia.org/
------------------------------
Technical Advice: Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems
Every second and fourth Friday, meet our experts at CSE, 41, Tughlaqabad Institutional Area for guidance on planning and designing these systems.
For details, contact Deblina at deblina@cseindia.org or call her on 9899596661.
==============================
The CSE Store
==============================
New books:
- First Food: A Taste of India's Biodiversity.
A compendium of traditional recipes and culinary wisdom from various parts of India
- Catch Water Where It Falls
A comprehensive ready-to-use toolkit for urban rainwater harvesting
- Reinvent, Recycle, Reuse
A toolkit for decentralised wastewater management
- Going Remote and Facing the Sun
A set of two reports on the state of the Indian solar power sector
Publications on the horizon:
- The Annual State of India's Environment Report 2013, a Down To Earth publication
We will launch this must-have collection of environmental stories, analyses, statistics and opinions in January 2013.
Advance subscriptions are open.
For details or for placing an order, contact Ramachandran
(9810641996 / rchandran@cseindia.org).
CSE's annual South Asian media briefing on climate change begins today in New Delhi, with 100 journalists from nine nations in attendance. Initiated in 2009 to update the region's media on the science and politics of climate change -- just before the UN's Conference of Parties (CoP) every year -- this briefing has become key to fill the gaps in our understanding of some of the most contentious and complex issues (see the details and follow the proceedings onhttp://cseindia.org/node/4977)
More on the climate plate -- Down To Earth online (http://www.downtoearth.org.
Even as we move ahead this fortnight, we are also looking back at the formal release of our most recent publication, First Food, on September 7, 2013. We thank all those who found the time that evening to come and celebrate our tryst with food and biodiversity. We would also like to salute all of you out there who have consistenty stood with us, supported us, and shown us the way -- the immensely satisfying response to this book is indicative of this encouragement.
==============================
Follow Sunita Narain on Twitter at Sunita Narain@sunitanar
You can also follow Down To Earth on iPad, Google+, Facebook and Twitter. Just scroll down to see the details.
To subscribe to this newsletter, or any of our other newsletters, please click on
http://cseindia.my2.in/
Note, our other exclsuive newsletters cover subjects such as rainwater harvesting, air pollution, health, climate change,
renewable energy and environmental governance.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, just click
http://www.cseindia.org/
If you have any questions or concerns about newsletter subscription,
please contact Vikas Khanna at vikas@cseindia.org
==============================
EDITORIAL: Call the monitor
by Sunita Narain==============================
In Goa mines are closed. In Bellary, iron ore mines, once closed, have been opened on the condition that they will now follow a plan for environmental restoration and will not indulge in unseemly and distasteful activities. But the institutions for checking the reformed miners are still in disarray. They cannot monitor and enforce the rules. So, believe it or not, little will actually change in the Bellary landscape. The miners will flex muscles again (after a suitable wait) to extract more iron ore than they should; degrade the land and water; encroach on forestland; and cheat the exchequer by hiding the value of their exports. They did this once. They will do it again.
So are environmentalists to blame for the current economic crisis? Or is it that the rapid growth of the past few years is far beyond the capacity and ability of regulatory institutions to manage? If we don’t fix this, then let’s be clear, growth will happen again but will collapse faster than yesterday. It is not the environment that is to be blamed. It is the government.
The iron ore mines in Goa were closed after a government-instituted commission of enquiry charged the state with connivance in illegal mining. First the state government, then the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and then the Supreme Court stepped in to close the mines. Now nobody knows how to reopen them as fast as they would like.
But open they will. And they must, given the fact that we need minerals. And nobody can say that extraction cannot happen in their backyard. The question is: how will Goa restart its mining operations so that the overburden is not dumped in forests and agricultural fields and does not destroy streams and livelihoods? How will it build infrastructure to transport the minerals without causing pollution and hazards? How will it contain the mining activity so that its cumulative impact is not unsustainable? In short, how will it mine so that there is atomorrow?
It can do this only if there are working institutions that can be trusted to take carefully evaluated decisions. More importantly, the institutions should be able to enforce the conditions laid down at the time of clearance so that devastation is mitigated, if not managed well.
But we don’t have such institutions. Instead, there is a growing noise that environment and forest clearances are holding up growth. So, there is a frantic rush to clear everything in sight. But will this repair the economy?
The fact is that clearances have never been the problem. In the past five years, MoEF has granted sanctions to so many thermal power stations, cement plants and iron-ore and coal mines that we should have doubled or tripled the capacity in most cases. But we have not because there are other unresolved issues—from finance to building projects against the will of communities.
If we are serious about doing something then this is where we should focus. First, we should invest in institutions that will provide oversight. This means doing what we mostly avoid—repair what is broken. Pollution control boards remain under-staffed, under-funded and abused by all. But we build new agencies, deluding ourselves that they will take care of all the troubles. The National Green Tribunal has been set up. Now this tribunal needs scientific information, monitoring data and assessment. It has nobody to call upon but the same defunct pollution control boards, so decision-making is seriously impaired. It is a joke.
Secondly, we should set straight the system of clearances. Currently, the entire structure is built on a few committees, manned (since there are very few women) by faceless and mostly retired bureaucrats and other sundry types. The institution is unaccountable. It is supposed to “assess” projects—spending on an average a few minutes on each file—and then take decisions. If the call is tough it will ask many questions of the project proponent. If the project is disputed and in the public gaze, it will ask even more questions and hold many more meetings. Finally, it will clear all the projects but with tough environmental conditions. This, when it knows that there is no monitoring mechanism to check even one of the 100 conditions it imposes.
This is what needs to be reformed, revamped and seriously improved. This will require taking tough positions on strengthening the existing system—bringing in more specialists and streamlining processes so that environment, forests, wildlife and coastal clearances are all brought together and assessed for cumulative impact. Most importantly, there have to be people to monitor post-clearance performance so that we can get development right and the environment safeguarded. We need to tighten enforcement. And we cannot do this without strong regulatory institutions.
But this is the music nobody wants to hear. The cacophony, “growth is dead, long live growth”, works best. It hides the real game that is afoot: the great Indian sale.
- To post your comments on this editorial online, please visit http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
- To share this editorial, please click on the following
Facebook:http://on.fb.me/
Twitter:http://bit.ly/16lEs1q
Google+:http://bit.ly/1aT4CAb
=========================
MORE FROM DOWN TO EARTH
=========================
Cover story: The gas game
Fluorocarbons, which created a hole in the ozone layer, have generated intense global debates. But these have been more about business than environment. The world shifted to other gases twice. Time to make the transition once and for all
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Features: Elementary failure
Down To Earth reporters travel to four states and analyse if the Central Government has managed to achieve its goals set by The Right to Education Act
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Red alert on Indian spices
Spice Board challenges US food department’s claims over salmonella contamination
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Mosquito matters
The blood-sucking pest is altering itself with changing environment. But studies on it are few and far between
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Taken by the horns
Gujarat buckles under farmers’ pressure, shrinks special investment region planned for industries
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Special Report: Millionaire mukhiyas
Money pumped in development schemes in Bihar is giving rise to a new breed of village heads, flush with money and flexing muscles
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Rain imbalance
Pulak Guhathakurta, senior scientist at India Meteorological Department, Pune talks about his analytical study of 100 years of rainfall data in Maharashtra
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Cool bug
Dung beetles keep methane from cattle in check
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Mind your diet
Eating junk food in early years can cause mental problems later
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Pollution pangs
High ground-level ozone increases appendicitis risk
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Eye in the sky
Satellite data can help understand how animals migrate
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Science and Technology: Twist in turtle’s tale
Falling catch fuels turtle-fisher conflict in Lakshadweep atolls
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Interview: A plant breeder comes into his own
In conversation with K Vinod Prabhu, head of genetics at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Delhi, for his work on building resistance in wheat, mustard and rice through the molecular marker route.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
News: Adani port under scrutiny
Jayanthi Natarajan agrees to inspection of the project for environmental violations
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
News: Drug firms, retailers on warpath
Pharma companies say chemists refusing to store essential drugs; retailers deny the charge
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Crosscurrents: Uttarakhand on bumpy recovery road
The state needs stringent town planning and environment assessment to prevent disasters
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Patently Absurd: Patent hypocrisies of US
American business lobbies are spreading falsehoods about India’s patent policies—and glossing over their double standards
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
- Down to Earth on your iPad: For more information and ordering please visit us at:
http://www.magzter.com/IN/
- Down to Earth on Google+: Please "+1" at:
https://plus.google.com/
- Down to Earth on Facebook and Twitter: Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and
stay in constant touch with our reporters on: www.facebook.com/
twitter@downtoearthindia.
==============================
Web DTE
==============================
Blog: Will welfare schemes win votes for UPA?
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
Photo Gallery: Uttarakhand's displaced
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
===========================
On India Environment Portal
===========================
Use our gigantic storehouse of information on environment and development to stay abreast of all issues in this field.
Latest reports, top-of-the-line analyses, and links to virtually everything that is current -- along with user-friendly features that
make reading a pleasure...
- Get weekly updates -- subscribe to the weekly newsletter
http://www.
- Browse and research in your own language
Select your language from the icon on the right side of the page. You get a vast choice ranging from English to Yiddish.
What's more, you can upload documents (such as reports of public hearings, for instance) in regional languages along with your
own comments
http://www.
- Editor's Pick, for a selection of the top stories
http://www.
India Environment Portal is on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow, share,
comment, and discuss at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
https://twitter.com/
For more details or any assistance, contact Kiran Pandey at
kiran@cseindia.org, kirandwi@gmail.com
==============================
LEARNING WITH CSE
Courses offered by Anil Agarwal Green College
==============================
CSE’s short-term EIA training programme UNDERSTANDING EIA: FROM SCREENING TO DECISION MAKING
Date: October 21-25, 2013
Last Date for Applying: October 10, 2013
Course Module
- Exposure to all aspects of EIA, from its theory to the practical
- Better understanding of the EIA process – from screening, scoping, data collection to impact assessment as well as the role of public consultation
- Better understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the industrial and developmental projects
- Better ability to review EIA reports and identify its strengths and weaknesses
- Increased ability to play active role in post-EIA monitoring
Course contact: swati@cseindia.org
Tel: + 91-11-29955124/ 6110, Extension: 281, |
Fax: + 91-11-29955879 Mob. No.: +91 9910496283
E-mail: swati@cseindia.org
or visit http://cseindia.org/content/
------------------------------
BOOTCAMP - Covering India
Date: Nov 4-15, 2013
CSE offers mid-career professionals, an orientation on the environment development debate bogging the Indian polity.
MODULES
- Environment as a subject of coverage
- Ecological rights, natural resource management and food security
- Urban growth: contemporary challenges
- Climate change policies, politics
- Hands-on research labs
- Supervised field-based reporting and writing
For registration or details, please get in touch with Sharmila Sinha
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi - 110062
Email: sharmila@cseindia.org; cseindiasharmila@gmail.com
Tel: +91 (011) 40616000 (Ext.300)
M: +919818482018 or visit http://cseindia.org/node/2607
------------------------------
CSE Workshop on "How to manage information and communicate online using Drupal, the free & open-source web
development platform for content management & outreach"
Date: September 26-27, 2013
The workshop is useful for web professionals in NGOs, Government, International Organisations, Corporate, Individuals interested
in strengthening their organizational capacities.
Send your nominations to kirandwi@gmail.com and kiran@cseindia.org,india.environment.portal@
http://www.cseindia.org/
==============================
UPDATES FROM OUR PROGRAMME UNITS
==============================
CSE’s Annual South Asian Media Briefing Workshop on Climate Change, 2013
Venue: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Date: September 18-19, 2013
CSE is organising its annual two-day briefing in New Delhi for South Asian journalists, before the deliberations for the 2015 treaty begin at this year’s Conference of Parties (CoP) in Poland.
Journalists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, interested in evaluating, investigating and interpreting the climate debate, are
participating.
For queries, kindly write to Papia Samajdar at papia@cseindia.org
or visit http://www.cseindia.org/
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Conference on The Future of Solar Energy in India
September 23, 2013
Gandhinagar, Gujarat
This conference is to take stock of the existing situation, and develop a roadmap for sustainable growth of the solar energy in the country.
For further queries, please get in touch with Aruna Kumarankandath atk_aruna@cseindia.org/
or visit the following link http://www.cseindia.org/
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Stepping together: Conclave of change makers for clean air and sustainable mobility
September 26-27, 2013
New Delhi
CSE is planning a region-wide community gathering of target groups related to transport and clean air to take stock of the positive action in cities of the region to cut air pollution and promote sustainable transportation. This will bring together a large community of policy and social actors who will track the direction of change, actual initiatives, benefits and real impacts in our cities.This is one of the largest initiatives to bring to public domain the evidence of change....
For more details, please get in touch with Vivek Chattopadhayay at vivek@cseindia.org
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Fourth National Research Conference on Climate Change
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
October 26-27, 2013
Call for Abstracts
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore and Centre for Science and Environment, under the banner of Indian Climate Research Network, are organizing the Fourth National Research Conference on Climate Change, to be held at IIT-Madras on October 26-27, 2013.
We invite abstracts from faculty, students, civil society organizations and practitioners in the areas of climate science, impacts, mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction and renewable energy. Abstracts should provide evidence of independent research and be of direct relevance to the South Asian context. Selected abstracts will receive a slot for presentation and poster session. There will also be panel discussions involving invited speakers from a range of different backgrounds.
For more on this, please visit: http://www.cseindia.org/node/
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Citizen's survey -- Take the test for a better future!
CSE invites you to participate in a citizens’ survey to understand the challenge of air pollution and transportation crisis in your city and identify the way forward. The city assessment is to
map out the nature and extent of the problems and will help to inform public opinion and policy action.
We look forward to your support and participation to find solutions to one of the most critical public health and mobility crisis facing our cities today.
Visit: http://182.73.193.34:8080/
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Rainwater Harvesting Technical Support
Every Friday between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, CSE provides detailed technical guidance to interested individuals, RWAs and institutions to implement
rainwater harvesting. This technical assistance is provided at CSE’s office at 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi.
For details, see
http://www.cseindia.org/
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Technical Advice: Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems
Every second and fourth Friday, meet our experts at CSE, 41, Tughlaqabad Institutional Area for guidance on planning and designing these systems.
For details, contact Deblina at deblina@cseindia.org or call her on 9899596661.
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The CSE Store
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New books:
- First Food: A Taste of India's Biodiversity.
A compendium of traditional recipes and culinary wisdom from various parts of India
- Catch Water Where It Falls
A comprehensive ready-to-use toolkit for urban rainwater harvesting
- Reinvent, Recycle, Reuse
A toolkit for decentralised wastewater management
- Going Remote and Facing the Sun
A set of two reports on the state of the Indian solar power sector
Publications on the horizon:
- The Annual State of India's Environment Report 2013, a Down To Earth publication
We will launch this must-have collection of environmental stories, analyses, statistics and opinions in January 2013.
Advance subscriptions are open.
For details or for placing an order, contact Ramachandran
(9810641996 / rchandran@cseindia.org).