Community Based Monitoring in India: A Tale of Two Rivers

Presentation by Nadia B. Ahmad, Esq.Community Expectations for Sustainable Development

in Natural Resources Projects (Fall 2011)University of Denver Sturm College of Law

October 29, 2011

Community Based Monitoring:A Tale of Two Rivers Kaveri River

Energy – Hydroelectric Power

Sand Mining

Flooding

Eco-tourism

Sarsi River – (tributary of Sutlej) Irrigation

Pollution

Grassroots activism

Meaningful Public Participation Barriers to Entry for Community Based Monitoring

River Systems in India

Kaveri RiverKrishna Raja Sagara Dam

Kaveri River

o Located in south Indiao Unique ecosystem o Source for vast irrigation system o Provider of hydropowero Krishna Raja Sagara dam near Mysoreo Sand miningo Flooding concernso Brindavan Gardens

Krishna Raja Sagara Dam

o 3,000 meters in length

o 40 meters in width

o Sheet of waters in the reservoir created by the dam spreads over 130 sq. kilometers

o Constructed from 1911 to 1931.

o Simsha Hydroelectric Power Project at Shivanasamudram

o Suited for pleasure boating

Dam

Simsha Hydroelectric Power Project

o Installed capacity of 17,200 kilowatts.

o First hydroelectric project in Asia.

o Kolar Gold Fields was supplied with the electricity generated in 1902.

o In 1905, Bangalore got electricity.

Sand Mining Issue

Sand found on the river bed of the Shimsha river is mined and used for construction activities, sometimes illegally.

Due to the environmental issues caused by sand mining, this activity is currently banned.

Discharge of waste from towns and cities on the way are major contributors to pollution in the Shimsha.

The Government is trying to clean up the river and has released funds to do so.

Flooding Concernso Overflow water from Karnataka dams

o Release of water into neighboring areas has led to severe flooding

o Unauthorized developments

o Choked drains in residential areas

o Traffic resulting from flooding stranded thousands of office-goers on Bangalore’s waterlogged roads.

o Schools in the city closed and several apartment complexes flooded.

o Water entered office-buildings, including one of the offices of India's third largest software exporter, Wipro.

o Bangalore accounts for one-third of India's annual export revenue of $17.2 billion in software and back-office outsourcing.

Sustainable Development of Water Resources

Current technologies Large scale dams

Canals

Turbines Alternatives Rainwater harvesting

Water conservation

Hydrokinetic Energy

Solar Energy

Ecotourism

Community Based Monitoring

Eco-tourismSeizing the spirit of India

Brindavan Gardens

Sirsa RiverA Tributary of the Sutlej

Sirsa River Valley

o The ground water level = shallow

o Water level varies on an average from 5.5 to 6.3 meters near the riverbed and increases towards the hills.

o Dry except during monsoon season

o Ground water is the only water source for domestic, agricultural and industrial use.

Sirsa River RegionMonthly average rainfall and reference evapotranspiration (Hargreaves method) 1960-90 in the Sirsa Irrigation Circle.

Pollution Control The state Pollution Control Board stepped up its

drive to check the units violating pollution control norms with its environmental surveillance squads conducting extensive raids in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial hub.

The Board discovered that toxic sludge had not been disposed of properly through the Hazardous Waste Management Plant, but was openly dumped.

Increased probability of toxic chemicals ending up in the soil.

The Pollutorso Dr. Reddy’s Lab o Brooks Lab o HRI Cosmeticso Hindustan Unilever Limited o Vaishnavi Kosmeticos Industries o Torrent Pharmaceutical

Community Monitoring Campaign

While the Sirsa river is choked with effluents, dust and bad odor due to chemical leaks have become serious nuisance across the industrial area.

Since there is little awareness about the actual extent of industrial pollution in this area and the impacts on the local environment, Community Environmental Monitoring Campaign is educating and training community members to address the industrial pollution through environmental monitoring campaigns.

Campaign Coordination

GCM’s regional partner, Shweta Narayan has been coordinating a campaign with Him Parivesh, a local environment action group based in Nalagarh, under the banner of Community Environmental Monitoring Campaign.

Communities affected by pollution can monitor and document pollution levels: Air

Dust

Water

“People living next to polluted facilities are much more aware about pollution and do not need any educational degrees to identify when pollution levels are excessive. Documenting their common sense experiences in a scientific manner can provide the best evidence of pollution which cannot be refuted by Pollution Control Board and other agencies”

- Shweta Narayan

Stressed Water Resources

Intense industrialization in the Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh (BBN) has stressed the water resources in region for the recently released state environment report has held that water quality was a lowly D grade because of low levels of oxygen due to organic pollution.

Speaking about the BBN industrial belt, Nagin Nanda, member secretary state pollution control board said, “being a water stressed region and increasing effluents adding to the pollutants, we have raised the bar for those intending to set up new units in Baddi, Barotiwala or Nalagarh. We insist that any upcoming new unit incorporate a reverse osmosis affluent treatment plant in its proposal in order to contain water pollution in the belt.”

Training Program for CBM

“The objective of the training is not only to build community capacities and knowledge on pollution check and monitoring but also to build a body of local evidence to pressurize bodies like the Pollution Control Board into action. It is truly appalling that in such a scenario, where people's health, livelihoods and environment are at stake, the state government is demanding extension of the industrial subsidy package instead of making Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh free of polluting units.”

Balkrishna Sharma, a founding member of Him Parivesh

o Tour of the industrial area to identify the areas most affected by pollution

o Community training in Kaduana, Baddi and Jhidiwala, Nalagarh with almost 50 participants including members of Him Parivesh.

Meaningful Public Participation

Integration of meaningful public participation into environmental management is not only important, but critical for sustainable development and perhaps even one of the most significant developments in resource management since the environmental movement itself.

Stewardship-driven environmental monitoring initiatives improve community environmental and civic capacity, while adding substantial social capacity that can have measurable beneficial impacts.

Public participation in environmental monitoring has emerged in an effort to work towards informing society’s decisions. In order for this to occur, there is a need for new approaches to environmental policy and ecosystem management.

Dilemma of Indian River Communities

Although the merit of public participation in environmental monitoring and management has been recognized, the need to move from simple participation to that which is meaningful and linked to relevant decision-makers remains.

Barriers to Entry

The lack of integration and use of information collected by community-based groups in decision-making can be traced to social and organizational barriers, as opposed to technical barriers, meaning that investments in ecological research and its supporting information technology alone will not provide a solution.

When information and data gathered via community-based monitoring initiatives fail to be integrated into mainstream decision-making processes, the reason is that they are often developed apart from the management and policy making processes; rather than emerging from within.

Transparency + Accountability Program

TAP's mission is to increase the capacity of civil society organizations to reduce corruption and better hold government accountable for efficiency in social sector public spending.

Community Based Monitoring Strategy

1) Conversation Discovery

2) Conversation Aggregation

3) Conversation Escalation

4) Conversation Participation

5) Conversation Tracking

6) Conversation Archival

Increasing Effectiveness of CBM

1) Process should be gradual.

2) Strong ethic of learning by doing.

3) Careful and adequate attention paid to the training and development of a core cadre of facilitators.

4) A commitment on the part of the country to a cultural change in the institutional environment which has to become more participatory, responsive, transparent and with downward accountability.

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