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What we do to water, we do to ourselves and the ones we love” -Ancient Mayan saying
October 2009
Is Gen Next moreenvironmentally conscious?
Dying tigers,hidden numbers
New media anddevelopmentCan we stand up to the challenge?
We cannot always
build the future for
our youth, but we
can build our youth
for the future.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
DISCLAIMER: Splash is a publication from Svaraj (Society for Voluntary Action,Revitalization and Justice), a non-profit organization. Splash does not subscribe to orendorse the views of people quoted/published in this publication. We reserve theright to edit at our discretion, articles and external contributions that get published.All articles or comments reproduced from Splash must be duly acknowledged.
This issue of Splash is for private circulation. It cannot be sold.
Splash | October 2009
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contents
Photograph by Anshu AroraEditorial Head: Bharti Patel
Associate Editor:Bharathi Ghanashyam
Coordinator: Samira Prasad
Contributors:Dr. N. S. Prashanth,Samira Prasad,Bharathi Ghanashyam,Jayalakshmi K,Rajkumar,Mohan Paul Prabhu,K.N. Balraj
Designed at: The Pen & Mouse,Bangalore
Printed at: Aditya Printers,Bangalore
95/2, 6th Main, 15th CrossMalleshwaram, Bangalore 560 003Telefax: +91-80-23347504 Tel:+91-80-23347491, 41281664/65Email: [email protected]: www.svaraj.in
Comment 1
Dying Tigers, hidden numbers 2
Is Gen Next more environmentally conscious? 4
New Media and Development - Can we stand upto the challenge? 7
Tell us what you think - Youth in governance 8
The critical link between climate changeand food, water and livelihood security 9
Water drops Global 10
Water drops India 11
Book review 13
comment
Splash | October 2009 | Page 1
Thirteen month guarantee
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced at the Planning Commission meeting on 1st
September 2009 that India is in a “very strong position to manage the consequences ofdrought”. He laid emphasis on the fact that India had “very high” levels of food stocks. A
buffer stock of 50 million tonnes of food grain he pointed out, is enough to meet the require-ments of Public Distribution System (PDS) for 13 months.
While I appreciate the PM’s need to stay optimistic and calm any panic arising from what is nowtermed by some experts as the worst-ever drought that India has faced since Independence, theassurance of the country’s food security for 13 months is hardly comforting, given the history ofIndia’s ability to cope with past droughts, hunger and malnourishment, despite good buffer food stocks. Persistentand pervasive food and nutrition insecurity and stagnating agriculture productivity, in addition to the growing watercrisis, mounting new environmental challenges with prolonged periods of droughts, erratic rainfall, and higherthan normal temperature requires more than a 13-month guarantee.
During the drought of 2002, despite a 60 million tonne surplus in food grains, newspapers reported 18 chronichunger and deprivation deaths, which included 12 children, in Rajasthan’s Baran district as a result of breakdownin the delivery of government and state aid to hunger-stricken rural areas. The 2009 drought has already claimed atleast 20 lives in Palamu, Jharkhand from hunger, according to reports in the September 16-30th 2009 issue of DownTo Earth. The failures, abuse, and rampant corruption in the PDS (which means the food never reaches the poor),is well reported. More importantly, many of the poor do not even have ration cards.
The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, in his presentation at the samePlanning Commission meeting on 1st September, highlighted the fact that the impact of drought could lead to a fallin growth, and said strong rebound is possible if the monsoon in 2010 – 11 is normal. Further assurances were onoffer from the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee who said India will import food grains, pulses and step uppurchases of edible oil in global markets to boost its buffer stocks as a prolonged dry spell threatens to shrinksupplies.
This optimism and assurances of our food security are wholly dependent on nature’s generosity and imports fromabroad. But as we are now all experiencing, nature’s generosity has been undermined by our own actions – thechange in climate is our own making; lack of water in our lakes, rivers and wells is our own creation; the pollutionin our water and soil is a direct result of our polluting behaviour. So we cannot now blame it on nature if themonsoon next year and the year after is not “normal” and we once again suffer from food and water insecurity andfurther deprivation for our country and its people.
It is indeed a blessing from nature that the country received good rainfall in the later part of September and nodoubt the recent downpour will help in reviving some of the dried out tanks and wells and help in the recharge ofthe aquifers. But the ability for agriculture to positively gain from nature’s generosity will largely depend on howwell we have prepared our ground to receive this rain and store it to mitigate the severity of the drought.
This will only happen in areas that have invested in water harvesting structures, rejuvenated and protected thetraditional water bodies such as tanks, channels and streams, protected forests and watersheds. Following thecontinuous good rainfall in September, the watershed area Svaraj is working in, farmers informed us of filling up ofthe local tank (Chikkarayappanahally), in the upper catchments of River Arkavathi in rural Bangalore. The farmersare celebrating in anticipation of a few more days of good rainfall which will lead the tank to overflow, kicking offthe water flow in the traditional cascading tank system built in centuries past to help agriculture in the region.
Anupam Mishra says, “Akele nahin aata akaal.” He makes the point that the drought of good ideas and practices, andabundance of bad ones precedes such calamities. He quotes he example of Alwar in Rajasthan, which gets 25-26 in.of rain, which has been halved in the current season. In spite of this, as a result of 27 years of work in that area theeffect of drought is not severe. Tushar Shah et al, writing in the Economic and Political Weekly, 12 September 2009,advices “If every village were to construct five new water harvesting and recharge structures, and de-silt existingones, it will be better prepared to survive the next drought when it comes.”
But without a comprehensive and integrated long term vision for water, food and livelihood security, a coherentstrategy and adequate investments in agriculture and the protection of the ecosystem in India with the directinvolvement of the community, there can be no long term guarantees.
That the youth of today need to wake up to their sense of responsibility in response to the crisis of climate changeis reported in the cover story by Samira Prasad, while Jayalakshmi points out in “Tell us what you think” that theyouth need to be educated and capacitated to take up the cause for society at large.
Bharti PatelDirector
special feature
Dying tigers,hidden numbers
Dr N S Prashanth
The official website of the Panna Tiger Reserve displays thepugmarks of a tiger on its homepage. It carries a nice newsticker about one of the many awards it has got from the Ministry
of Tourism of the Government of India for being the best maintainedtourist-friendly national park of the country. Panna is a fairly smallone among the national parks in the country but it is one of themost sought after places for those interestedin spotting tigers.
The media recently reported that the tigerwhose marks the website bears are not foundin the park anymore. A survey conducted inDecember 2008 by the Wildlife Institute ofIndia and several reports in March stated thepossibility of Panna doing a Sariska (anotherfamous park which had lost all its 22 tigers by2007). The National Tiger ConservationAuthority sent a team to investigate what theState Government had been attributing tonatural deaths of tigers. It was only in Junethis year that the Chief Minister acceptedpublicly that there were no tigers in Panna.
On July 17 2009, an article in The Pioneerstated that a report by the Wildlife CrimeBureau (WCB) attributed the tiger deaths in Panna to radio collaring.The report had attributed 80 per cent of tiger deaths in Panna, whohad met their deaths at the hands of poachers to radio collaring. Ithowever glossed over the fact that their fates became known onlybecause they were radio-collared, thus making science the scapegoat.
Radio collaring and tracking of wildlife is widely used for scientificstudies, management and conservation of several species across theworld - from birds to camels and from turtles to tigers. In fact, criticalquestions on behaviour and ecology of large mammals become evidentonly through such methods. Tracking tigers by radio collaring hasgiven us an understanding on important questions such as homeranges, carrying capacity of tigers in the continuously shrinkingreserves, causes of mortality and the reasons and consequences ofconflict with people. Latest techniques such as camera-trapping andradio-collaring are increasingly being used in India following theirwidespread application in several African countries.
Tiger, being the national animal in fact is an umbrella species withseveral critical habitats gaining state protection because of the presenceof tigers in them. The extinction of tigers at Sariska Tiger Reservespurred the Government to establish The Tiger Task Force whichreviewed the situation of tigers all over the country. It accepted thatpopulation estimation techniques relying purely on tiger pugmarkswere outdated. Several studies have underscored the need for
supplementing older methods like pugmarkcounts with modern techniques like camera-trapping. Periodic and accurate estimates oftiger numbers in our dwindling tigerreserves, along with research on theirecology using radio collaring providescritical information that wildlife managersneed to protect tigers.
In Panna Tiger Reserve, a total of eight tigerswere collared and the last one collared wasover five years ago. While it is legitimate tofurther investigate the type of collars used
Splash | October 2009 | Page 2
Radio collaring
A technique where animalmovements are tracked by means ofa non-intrusive collar with a radiotransmitter
Tranquiliser dose, collar weight arestandardised and internationallyaccepted guidelines govern these
Animals are tranquilised by scientistsand then collared, much like thecollars used on domestic pets
Ideal for tracking elusive mammalssuch as tigers and animals migratinglarge distances like elephants
Widely used across the world inwildlife management, scientificresearch and mitigating conflictbetween wildlife and people
Splash | October 2009 | Page 3
and safety of tranquilizers used, theconclusion of WCB is illogical. TheWCB committee has not involvedscientists with experience in radiocollaring. Nor did it do an analysisof the equipment and data obtainedfrom radio-collaring in Panna andelsewhere. The declaration of radio-collaring as a reason for tiger deathsdiscredits a huge body of scientificliterature about this techniqueworldwide.
The developments at Panna displaylack of an information culture, andpoor scientific temper in stateinstitutions. The usual reaction tosmaller tiger numbers reported bytrained people outside the system isretribution. This attitude in thebureaucracy results in reluctance onthe part of the field staff to truthfullyreport information and act on it.Routine institutional data focusesmerely on portraying a sense of status-quo or sometimes improvementsrather than providing actionableinformation that should feed intomanagement.
The facts are that Panna lost its tigersnot on the day when the ChiefMinister accepted it, but over yearsof poaching and that radio-collaringas a technique for conservation and
management with well-establishedsafety guidelines, and is widelyaccepted. Viewing the tigerextinction in Panna as an isolatedevent owing to errant forest guardsor radio collaring is illogical. Ratherthe focus should be on examiningthe socio-political, economic andbiological reasons for decline. Thesurvival of tigers depends on acomplex inter-play between factorssuch as protection, human-animalconflict, irrespon-sible tourism andpoverty.
There is huge money to be made fromkilling tigers to meet the demandfrom China and other countries fortiger products. Criminal enterprisesare at work in a systematic way towipe out tigers. This networkincludes powerful middlemen inlarge Indian cities as well as highlyskilled local people lured into usingsuperb tracking and trapping skillsfor poaching tigers. Thiscombination is an important reasonfor loss of tigers in Sariska, Pannaand several other parks. Transferringforest officers, suspending guards andblaming radio-collaring are non-solutions.
As long as we continue to producepoor quality data within state
institutions, it is only logical for theGovernment to encourage appliedresearch and act quickly on the issuesthat the scientific community bringsup. The forest department is moreclosed to science and research thanany other department today.Permissions to work in protectedareas on important conservationactivities are rarely based on themerit of the proposal but on whetherit will report poor tiger numbers ordwindling habitats. Whereresearchers have been candid withtheir findings, they have only beenfaced with cancellation of permits.
The day has to come when forestofficers in a protected area areempowered enough to publiclydiscuss issues in national parks andnetwork strongly with the scientificcommunity, rather than play withnumbers. We saw this with Sariskaand now with Panna. And these arethe parks we know about.
Prashanth is an MMBS from MysoreMedical College. He has a strong passionfor wildlife sciences and works closely withseveral wildlife and conservation NGOs.He is also an avid birdwatcher and writesregularly on birds and wildlife.
‘Be The Change’Conference on Food, Health and Climate Change
by Bhoomi Network
(December 4th & 5th, 2009 at St. John’s Auditorium, Koramangala, Bangalore)
This conference is focussed on dissemination of the harmful effects, including behaviouralproblems and learning difficulty, caused by junk / processed foods, particularly on childrenin schools and colleges.
The conference is aimed at heads of educational institutions, parents and others with aview to encouraging a ban on processed foods and colas in campuses and appealing tothe Government for effective regulatory bodies for processed and GM Foods. An additionalfocus at the conference would be on healthy alternative foods - organic cereals andvegetables, healthy fats and unpolished cereals. Speakers at the conference includeDr. Vandana Shiva, Shri Satish Kumar, Dr. Shekar Seshadri, Dr. Vijaya Venkat,Ms. Sumitra Gautama (The School, KFI, Chennai).
To register, visit: www.bhoomiconference.org
cover story
Splash | October 2009 | Page 4
Is Gen Nextmore environmentally
conscious?Samira Prasad
Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) is a society of dedicatedyouth working across the Indian subcontinent to raise awarenesson the issue of climate emergency and link grass roots mitigation
and adaptation solutions to national and international policy. Soren(24), Research Director, IYCN says, “The time has come for action,it is imperative that we give our best during these productive years ofour lives. Awareness is the first step to creating change.”
Best intentions aside, what is the situation? How deeply is the youthreally involved in combating climate change? Splash attempted tofind out through an informal survey. Both rural and urbanrespondents were asked basic questions to gauge their awareness onand commitment to the issue of climate change…
“Climate change; it’s like the earth has got fever”- Rajesh (21)
“Climate change? Yes, I have heard about it. People cut down trees;there is less water in the lakes now. All this happens because thereare more sunrays entering the earth. Because of this water getsevaporated and living creatures die.” - Shiva (25), Madurana Hosahalli,13 kms from Doddballapur near Bangalore.
“I have never heard of climate change or global warming before.Where the use of plastics is concerned, I am aware that it is bad forthe environment but I don’t take any measures to reduce myconsumption. Everybody uses them.” - Lekha (22) a diploma holderin engineering, presently working as a technician in Gadag.
“Environmental consciousness comes from within. By instinct Iswitch off fans and lights when I leave a room and opt for cloth bagsto avoid use of plastic if I can help it.” - Piyali Sharma (28), PR andcorporate communications executive, Bangalore.
“Our earth is at the tipping point and the cause is our growingpopulation and irresponsible behavior. It irks me when I read abouthouseholds that own several cars. I do not believe that a family offour needs more than one car to get by, no matter how rich orsuccessful they are.” - Anirudh Mehta, a final year law student.
These are some of the responses that emerged from informalinterviews with a cross section of people from urban, semi-urbanand rural settings. The interviews revealed that urbanites are probablya little more conscious and aware than rural people of threats to theenvironment, and the challenges posed to it by climate change andother issues. The cause for greater awareness among the urbanpopulation could be attributed to greater access to information andgreater levels of literacy.
There are several questions however. Has increased awareness amongthe youth helped? Has that awareness made a difference? Is it enough
to be aware? Should that not be followed byaction? The youth of today has anabundance of choices and a lot morefreedom to exercise those choices. It ishowever that very freedom that has placedgreater responsibilities on them to use thosechoices well. Are they doing it?
This piece attempts to explore whether GenNext appreciates the huge responsibilities itcarries in order to ensure that the cominggenerations will continue to enjoy a healthyworld.
Climate change – should youth beworried?
One of the most debated topics of the centuryis climate change. Is it a myth or a realthreat? In the last few decades, reports andassessments of scientific evidence haveshown that the earth’s climatic balance hasbeen disrupted greatly as a result of humanactivity. Changes in rainfall patterns; risein average temperatures and changes inmonsoon timings will affect India’s entireenvironment, particularly the agriculturalsector.
Splash | October 2009 | Page 5
According to a report by the UNDPtitled “Climate Change Impacts andIndia”, India is already facing climaterelated problems like desertification,f loods, threat to biodiversity andfrequent natural disasters. The reportstates that “…global warming hascaused the Himalayan glaciers toshrink at the rate of 10 to 15 mts peryear. This rapid melting of theHimalayan glaciers will first increasethe volume of water in rivers, causingwidespread flooding, but in time thesituation will change and the waterlevels in rivers will decline causing water shortage for 500 millionpeople in South Asia. As a result ofthe changes in the averagetemperature, forests will dieback,thus endangering a significantnumber of plant and animalspecies…”
Despite the fact that these and otherfindings indicate the need for urgentaction, evidence shows there is littlecommitment from the youth towardschange. According to the findingsfrom a survey titled “Young India andClimate Change” conducted by theBritish council in four major citiesin India (Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhiand Bangalore) on youth between theage of 18-35, in Oct 2008., 83 percent were aware of climate changebut only 12 per cent were willing tofight it. These statistics show thatthere is a serious lack of urgency andmotivation from people to act againstthis global disaster.
Gen Next- the agents of change?
India, a country with the world’soldest civilization, is also home tothe world’s largest youth population;nearly 54 per cent of the populationis under the age of 25 and 70 percent under the age of 35. Thisgeneration of youngsters is healthier,better educated and more aware, andlives in a world with moreopportunities than the previousgenerations thanks to technology andmedical advancement.
The youth today recognize themselvesas capable, aware and consciousdecision makers of the country. Theyare global citizens ready to take onthe world armed with greaterconfidence and ambition. They bringin fresh perspectives and challengeconventional thinking on currentissues and practices, as every decisiontaken today by our global leaders,particularly in the interest of theenvironment will shape their futureand the world they live in.
Less talk more action?
While several youth groups arealready making powerfulcontributions to the climate changeagenda across the world, there is alsoa considerable amount of apathy andindifference among the youth.
Salil Mukhia Campaigner forClimate Change and YouthMobilization, Greenpeace, says, “Theclimate crisis is a common andshared responsibility. I believe thatevery step in the right direction bigor small will help make a difference.Today’s youth are very aware of the
implications of climate change andare playing an active role in climateaction.”
Anuj Bhatra (24) a softwareprofessional from Bangalorereminisces about walking to school.“Times have changed. Today, I can’tgo to my gym situated 2 kms frommy house if I don’t have my car. Ihave an extremely demanding workschedule and do not have the timeto be environmentally conscientious.My knowledge of waste disposalbegins and ends at the waste paperbasket. I do have some under-standing of the climate change debateand I wish there was more I coulddo.”
The question that remains is whetherthe youth is moving towards action.Youth participation in decisionmaking is undoubtedly crucial;however a lot depends on how theyoung channel their idealism, energyand enthusiasm towards creating ahealthier planet through theiractions.
The youth are somewhat jaded in the
Splash | October 2009 | Page 6
face of financial meltdown, unemployment and terrorism. And yet,poverty, economic and environmental degradation will perpetuateas a vicious cycle if changes are not made today on an individual andcollective level.
The solution - it is our responsibility
Rishab Khanna from IYCN says, “Youth representation in policymaking is imperative. Every decision taken today by our global leaderswill impact the world we and our children live in and we as youthhave a right to be involved in the decision making process. Peoplehave to take responsibilities for their actions and realize that ‘moreis not better’. I would urge every person to be a social contributorand help make a real change to society and the environment”.
Rishab goes on to mention that as part of his individual contributionto combating climate change, he rides a bicycle to work, even in theface of questions from his peers. “People ask me if I am sufferingfrom some kind of financial crisis if I don’t bring a car to work,” hequips.
Trina Talukdar final year MSW student from Christ University andBritish Council’s International Climate Champion 2009 says, “Mostyoung people today are aware of the effects of climate change andbelieve that sustainable living is key to combat this issue. I believethat the urban youth should move beyond taking arm chair attitudesto the situation and do what they can to spread awareness amongstthe rural population, who will be affected the most. Street theatre isan important medium to communicate the message of climate changeto the rural youth and encourage them to practice sustainable living.”
Individual responsibility is the most effective solution to combat
climate change. More sustainable lifestylesand adoption of eco-friendly innovations forhome and offices are non-negotiable.Increased awareness and increasedcommitment towards preserving naturalresources is also a need of the hour and theyouth is positioned to take on these tasks.But this requires mass involvement and notstray clusters of people who are willing todo what it takes. Is the youth ready for this?
Samira Prasad is Resource Mobilization andCommunications Officer, Svaraj.
Splash | October 2009 | Page 7
New mediaand
developmentCan we stand up
to the challenge?Bharathi Ghanashyam
News is made in strange waysof late. A stray remark,which would have at best got
a ‘titter’ out of guests in the cocktailcircuit, and been forgotten before thenight was out, is suddenly taking upwhole pages of newspapers, hours oftime on news channels and is beingdiscussed and debated by anybodywho has an opinion. Reference hereis to Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s somewhatinfamous reference to ‘cattle class’travel. Enough has been said aboutthe political incorrectness andinsensitivity of the remark and nomore needs to be said here.
This piece is less about Dr. Tharoor’stweet and more about the way newsis currently made. Till recently, itwas unheard of for a politician, muchless a minister to connect with peoplethrough any means other than publicspeeches made at meetings, whichwere largely in rural areas. But publicfigures are increasingly expressingtheir opinions through their ownblogs, websites, and now, Twitter andFacebook. Our new crop ofpoliticians is younger, more tech savvyand prefers to use the newer modesof communication that are nowavailable, as these modes allow themto reach out to a greater mass of theeducated, urban classes, and on analmost daily basis.
This is probably the need of the hour,because while conventional routessuch as newspapers and televisionchannels are still widely used forgetting news, the sense of leisure
among readers and viewers is absent.The luxury of spending hours poringover every page of a newspaper, ordedicated time to view news is notavailable anymore and will becomeless and less as time goes by.Newspaper readership is reported tobe going up in India, but figures showthat these increased numbers arecoming from rural areas. Urbanitesseem to prefer to get information inbite size feeds, on the go, and withmore frequency. This is probably thereason that Twitter and Facebookhave gained such huge support. DrShashi Tharoor is supposed to havea record 1,00,000 people followinghim on Twitter.
How does this trend impactdevelopment news? There has beendebate about the marginalization ofdevelopment news within theconventional spaces. Developmentnews, whether it has to do withagriculture, water and sanitation,health, rural infrastructure, educationor any other, has always beenperceived as something that stays onthe fringes and does not get coveredenough. Studies and research havereported that very little space is givento news on development in theconventional, mainstream media thatwas till recently, almost the mainsource for news. With these newtrends, it is obvious that developmentnews will get even more marginalized,because even the little that is put outmight not be read or viewed.
A recent article in a mainstreamnewspaper pointed out “…Being anerudite scholar who worked with theUnited Nations for over two decades,Tharoor must be aware of India’sshameful record in dealing withpoverty and malnutrition. Now, whenthe Indian democracy has given him— completely out of the blue — anopportunity to do something toimprove governance, he is moreworried about being bracketed withthe ‘cattle class…” (The CattleTwitter, Deccan Herald, 19
September 2009). Is there a messagefor development as well here?Considering the large following hehas on Twitter and the large numbersof people who can get information,shouldn’t he be using that space tobetter advantage rather than to putout trivia of the kind he has beenputting out? Does this have a messagefor development agencies andpractitioners as a whole as well?
Development news needs to reinventitself and use the newly availablespaces to get exposure. Even withinthe mainstream media, developmentnews suffered because of lack ofproper packaging. To touch people,development stories need to bepackaged in a manner that will appealto the general reader, sans jargon,and achieve the right balance ofconveying negative happenings ortrends, laced with positivity. Withinthe new spaces, it becomes even morechallenging because you have to say‘more in less’. And yet, these spacescannot be ignored. They might evenbe the way to depending less on thegenerosity of the mainstream mediato give space for developmentcoverage. Will development newsstand up to the challenge? We havethe audience, we have the means, butdo we have the will and the capacity?
Bharathi Ghanashyam is AssociateEditor, Splash
tell us what you think
Splash | October 2009 | Page 8
Youth in governanceTime to get going
Jayalakshmi K
Why is there no revolution worth its name nowadays? Notthat there are no issues as chaos has only been on therise. Could it be that there is no freedom to protest? No.
A little probing brings out the unpleasant fact that issues beingprotested are mostly those of personal rights. There is no one willingto take up a cause for society at large. Whether it be poverty,corruption, unemployment or price rise, indications are that we as acommunity have become immune to problems that impact society atlarge. That is a dangerous trend, which could lead to the decay anddeath of a civilization.
Corruption has become a widespread malaise we take in our stride.Less than 15 per cent of public expenditure truly meets publicobjectives. Witness the expose by a recent CAG report that Rs. 51,000crores of investment in programmes like NREGA was unaccounted.
Over 5,000 acres of public commons in Bangalore is encroachedbased on bogus documentation, according to the revenue departmentand most of the encroachers are wealthy people. Do we care to demandeviction?
Roads disappear. Storm water drains claim lives. Drinking water isdiverted. Appealing to authorities is of no use. Direct action alonehelps. In many places, people have given up on civic authorities andtake up these tasks themselves. What could be at the root of thisapathy? If there is one reason that stands above all others, it is thenon-participation of the majority in governance. By majority, we meanthe youth who constitute a large section of society.
The youth today is lost in making merry. The sole pursuit is that ofwealth and pleasures. However, they are not to blame. It is the waythey have been brought up – at home, school and college. Artificehas taken the upper hand, and materialism the ultimate goalpropagated by most. Today’s youth by and large seem to lack ideals.But youth is also the time when ideals strengthen and concretize.
Part of being a responsible citizen is making one’s voice heard. Thisincludes voting, signing petitions, writing letters to the newspapers,lobbying with legislators, and other activities. A very small percentageof today’s youth believes in these duties.
The change has to happen from the beginning, in fact, from homeand from school. The way the youth think must be shaped anew.They must be involved in campaigns and community activities; theyshould be encouraged to initiate these as part of school project work.Social work must be a component of education right from primaryschool. For instance, the practice in government schools (more outof necessity!) where students help keep the school clean by sweepingand mopping should be widely adopted in private schools.
Students should be encouraged to think innovatively of solutions to
a community’s problems. These should beawarded rather than the rote learningcapabilities!
At the college levels, youth must beencouraged to engage themselves moreactively in the community and have theirvoice heard on boards or committee thatmakes decisions. Through such equalpartnership with governing structures atvarious levels, youth can play a vital role ingovernance. As voting members with equalstakes in all decisions that come before thegroup, including such issues as budget, staff,and strategic planning, their hands can bestrengthened.
This will improve governance in many ways.For one, the enthusiasm of youth can bringmuch needed energy into the working oforganizations. That will bring in freshperspectives to old problems. Often, all thatan unsolvable problem needs is someunlearning of ‘the way things are usuallydone’.
Change is something that will happen whenmore of youth take part in governance.Witness what is happening with RahulGandhi’s style of functioning. The doors topolitical bastions are being thrown open anda farmer’s wife is today planning to contestelections. Anything is possible. Simplybecause it has not been tried before is noproof of its failure. That is the kind of freshair our governance needs today. Youth canbe the window.
What needs to be done? First, it mustbecome a part of education to involve youthin decision making at top levels oforganizations, as also to be held responsiblefor their actions.
This has to go beyond the meaninglessparticipation in college syndicate electionswhich have become an extension of localgoondaism. The welfare of students, how thisis achieved through democratic opinion,taking responsibility for one’s actionshowever they turn out, etc are what youthneed to be groomed in.
We need to create a culture in which youthare equal partners in decision making andgovernance. Seek their opinion. Why, forinstance, can’t our political honchos, address
Splash | October 2009 | Page 9
the youth more often on issues thatconcern them?
We must encourage youthcommunity service and civicinvolvement as more than just lipservice. These initial steps willprovide the skills of active citizenshipsuch as understanding how decisionsare made and how to organize, plan,and communicate.
They need deep rooted educationthat begins by awakening therecognition of their fundamentalright to determine how resources areused in their societies. It does notrequire enrolling for politicaleducation degrees as much asencouraging free thought anddiscussion. Only when youth becomeinformed and thoughtful citizens willcivil society be strengthened. Youngpeople with commitment andexperience should reflect on what thecommunity needs and be able to takestrong political action.
Once they understand how processeswork, they become equipped to askquestions and seek justice. In issuesthat concern them and theircommunities, they learn how to seekredressal.
With the ownership that all thiscreates, involvement becomes total.They are also able to attract otheryouth into the process. Therealization of the power they hold toeffect change in society will providethe impetus to action.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to set thewheels of participation rolling. Takefor example the present climatechange issue. Governments all overthe globe are dogged in their pursuitof ‘national growth targets’. What isamazingly invisible is that there willbe no growth with no resources. Insuch a scenario, it has been left togroups of individuals to take upcudgels on behalf of the planet.Youth are playing a big roleeverywhere. Even in India, manygroups like the climate change group
are led by youth. The issue has evoked a response in them as they see a bleakfuture unless action is taken. But it does not always require bleak futures toget the youth to act. It requires a culture that draws youth into every meaningfulconversation.
To prevent the absolute collapse of the governance systems, we need toengage with each and every public action, demand transparency, exposecorruption and ensure that ‘development’ really means that! We need a newway of living that takes us beyond the confines of our homes into the welfareof the larger society. We need fresh thinking. We need youth to get going.
Jayalakshmi K is a journalist with 15 years of experience and has worked asAssistant Editor with Deccan Herald. She is currently freelancing.
The critical link betweenclimate change and food, water,
livelihood and ecosystemsecurity
A dialogue for effective changeRajkumar and Mohan Paul Prabhu
Set against the backdrop of Voices from the Waters, the 4th InternationalFilm Festival on water in Bangalore, a seminar entitled Critical linkbetween Climate change and food, water, livelihood and ecosystem
security - dialogue for effective change1, was held on 7th September 2009 atthe Alliance Francaise, with over 80 participants drawn from the farmingcommunity, NGOs, government functionaries and others. They dialoguedon the ground realities, best practices on coping mechanisms and policydirection in the crucial areas of water and land use patterns for effectivesocial, economic and environment impact.
Questioning the role of the State in the continuing predicament of thefarmers from dry agro-climatic zones in now the drought hit areas ofDoddaballapur, Srinivaspur, Byadagi and Bagepalli taluks, and Gadag districtof Karnataka, farmers from the region believe that it was policies and practicesof state governments which pushed them into water and chemical-intensivefarming.
The cultivation of high yielding varieties which has today resulted in cropfailures, soil degradation, water depletion, combined with inadequate pricesfor their produce, has caused severe economic setbacks to small andmarginalised farmers.
Voicing their concerns at the meeting, the farmers observed that there isincreased wilting of crops, unknown disease occurrences, invasion of
1 The dialogue was organised by Svaraj, Green Foundation, BAIF and Outreach at 4th internationalfilm festival on water – Voices from the Waters 2009. It was held at the Alliance Francaise,Bangalore
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Water dropsGlobal
Water dropsGlobal
Two-thirds of world species may disappear in 21st century- cutdown
A biologist from the United States said in Beijing on Sunday thattwo-thirds of the world’s species may disappear in the 21st Centuryand “a great majority” of them may be gone before they are evenidentified by human beings. Species on the earth are disappearing ata rapid rate due to habitat destruction, climate change and a widespread of invasive alien species caused by expanding human activities.Currently, several thousand species are lost every year, and very soonthe number could rise to more than 10,000.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/13/stories/2009071351110900.
A bad climate for development- cut it down
Poor countries’ economic development will contribute to climatechange. But they are already its greatest victims
Organic Agriculture More Than DoubledSince 2000, by Alice McKeown
Farmers worldwide managed 32.2 millionhectares of agricultural land organically in2007, nearly 5 percent more than in theprevious year and a 118-percent increasesince 2000. Organic farming is now reportedin 141 countries; about two thirds of thisland area is in industrial countries, andnearly half of the producers are in Africa.Still, more than three times as much land isdevoted to genetically modified crops, andless than 1 percent of the world’s agricul-tural land is now managed organically
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6199?emc=el&m=274062&l=4&v=56c7f62922
Bleak future for Mediterranean mammals– IUCN
Malaga, Spain, 15 September, 2009 (IUCN)The latest assessment of Mediterraneanmammals shows that one in six is threatenedwith extinction at a regional level, accordingto the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.The study, which assesses the status of 320mammals in the region, except whales anddolphins, finds three percent are CriticallyEndangered, five percent are endangered andeight percent are Vulnerable. A further eightpercent are Near Threatened, and threepercent are Extinct or Regionally Extinct.
http://cms.iucn.org/newsold/?uNewsID=3888
Poor and middle-income countries already account for just over halfof total carbon emissions. Brazil produces more CO2 per head thanGermany. The biggest vulnerability is that the weather gravely affectsdeveloping countries’ main economic activities—such as farming andtourism. Global warming dries out farmland. Since two-thirds of Africais desert or arid, the continent is heavily exposed. In India the gainsfrom the Green Revolution are already shrinking because of localpollution, global warming and waning resistance to pests and disease.Indian crops would decline by a further 4.5-9% over the next 30years because of climate change
http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14447171
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Water dropsIndia
Water dropsIndia
What is unique about RenaissanceRegalia Apartments, Bangalore, isits band of young green crusaders,Malaika, Soumya, Srishiti andothers. These environmentallyconscious pre-teens have startedtheir own environmental club Pawsand Claws, which becomesoperational after school hours andduring weekends and schoolholidays at their creatively designedclub house within the apartmentcomplex. According to Malaika (12),Paws and Claws was created withthe intention of spreading themessage of environmentalawareness to the residents of theapartment complex, particularly onrecycling waste. She says, “We tryto reduce our waste and reuse thingswe can not reduce.” Paws and Clawshave also circulated a petition,appealing to the residents of theirapartment to celebrate a crackerfree Diwali, in the interest of theenvironment. Paws and Claws areopen to participating or extendingtheir support to differentenvironmental related activitiesaround Malleshwaram. Theseenvironment conscious childrenare truly an inspiration, and theirdedicated commitment is beginningto make a difference.
Thanks to NREGS, farmer reclaimslandReclaiming of fallow land is a suitableoccasion for celebration in the lifeof a farmer. Lingamaiah, a marginalfarmer at Tammarajupalli in Panyammandal of Kurnool district. TheNREGS programme gave a rareopportunity to the farmer to fulfillhis 20-year-long wish to sow crop onthe land. Mr. Lingamaiah himselfenrolled as a wage seeker and
mobilised co-workers to work on hisplot which was cleared of jungle andstumps. Now the plot is fit for sowingcrops this season. He is planning tosow jowar crop this year and wouldthink of some better income croplike paddy next year onwards if hesucceeds in harnessing the streamflowing next to his field. Accordingto Field Assistant Govindarajulu, 36wage seekers worked on Mr.Lingamaiah’s plot for five daysearning Rs. 18,000. In the village,4,297 mandays were generated underthe NREGS earning Rs. 4,29,656. Atotal of 24 acres were developed andcrops were sown on 18 acres thisseason. Seven farmers received theincidental benefit.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/13/stories/2009071355480300.htm
India: Rural communities turn totraditional climate mitigationIn Tamilnadu, southern India, andUttar Pradesh, northern India,villagers have revived ancient systemsof storing surface and groundwaterthat are putting them in a goodposition to contend with today’schanging climate. The villagers’initiatives, helped by NGOs, aresupported by Oxfam India whichnow advocates these practices asadaptation models for all of India.In the rain-shadow state ofTamilnadu where rivers flow onlyduring the brief winter rainsfollowing the northeast trade winds,the Gundar river basin supplyingwater to Madurai and its surroundingfour districts, remains the mostdrought-prone. Climate change hascurrently turned the rains hereunpredictable and intense when theydo fall — causing destructive flashfloods and related disasters.
Now, an ancient watershed systemdating from 300 BC to 200 AD thatchannelled these seasonal rainsthrough anicuts and feeder canalsinto manmade water-troughs called‘tanks,’ is being revived. Historically,water was stored in different systemsdug into the earth for agriculture,drinking water and domesticpurposes. Tamilnadu’s granitic rock-base provides an ideal leak-proof basefor storage.
http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=1838
On hunger and child mortality
Raghav Gaiha
Despite rapidstrides in macro-economic liberal-isation, and hugeexpansion of anti-poverty program-mes, India’s trackrecord in miti-gating the scourge of hunger remainsworse than that of the poorestcountries in Sub-Saharan Africa.India has recorded an unprecedentedgrowth in recent years. GDP percapita grew at 3.95% annually during1980-2005, and at 5.4% annuallyfrom 2000 to 2005.
Yet per capita calorie intake hasdeclined, as also of many othernutrients. More than three quartersof the population live in householdswhose per capita calorie intake is lessthan 2,100 in urban areas and 2,400in rural areas — calorie intakesregarded as ‘minimum requirements’in India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/On-hunger-and-child-mortality/articleshow/4916770.cms
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agriculture land by wildlife and increased monoculture cropping ofinvasive plant species such as eucalyptus. The mining activities,quarrying of water sources and sand mining have significantlycontributed towards disorders in the hydrological cycle. The farmersexpressed fears of losing more crops if current conditions prevail ontheir farms.
Dr. Nayaran Reddy, well known for his long time practice of organicfarming (albeit on a large farm-holding), informed farmers about theright practices in soil conservation, application of manure, treecrops and biodiversity to increase the carbon content of the soil. Hepointed out that it is the deficiency in soil nutrient availability whichis the cause of crop diseases and failures.
He informed the farmers that the required carbon content in soilshould be four per cent, but in many cases it is less than 0.25 percent. The composting system practiced by farmers may not besuitable, as many of them simply throw on the cow dung, whichwhen exposed to wind, sunrays and rain, leach out the much needednutrients.
The farmers responded that although soil testing was carried onsome of the farm land by agriculture extension departments, the resultswere not shared with the farmers so they continued to remain ignorantof the quality of their soil.
With 86 of the 176 taluks in Karnataka State declared drought-hit,the consequences of further deficiency in rainfall poses a seriousthreat to food, water and livelihood security as well as to the ecosystem.Accepting the government’s role in addressing the concerns raisedby farmers, Mr. Veeraraju, Joint Director of the Water ResourceDepartment raised his concerns over the misuse of natural resourcesand the need for effective regulations. He commented that rainwaterharvesting for ground water recharge and perennial tree cropping toreduce water loss are part of the immediate measures.
Presenting the case for locally available organic produce as a way ofreducing the carbon footprint of food production and consumption,the Era Organic spokesperson expressed that this is an effective andsustainable way of reviving local economy, moving away from fastfood to “slow-food, slow-money and slow-life’. He strongly believes thatIndia’s climate is more than conducive to natural farming methods.
Although there is wide concern amongst all sectors, of the increasedstress on our agriculture, and the community is directly dependenton rainfall and groundwater for their livelihood and food security,actions to address and mitigate the impact remain small scale andindividual.
Given that India’s food production, rural communities dependencyon climate sensitive sectors and the heavy use of pesticides and mono-cropping over the last two decades has affected its health and createdan artificial thirst in the soil, the challenge is how to shift to morenatural indigenous farming practices. The greater challenge is alsoto ensure that there is much greater investment from the governmentto revive small and marginalised agro-economy and lobby for theright policy framework for Indian agriculture.
The dialogue and deliberations threw upseveral useful suggestions andrecommendations. Important among themare:
Recommendations for enabling policies• Ensure effective support to agriculture
and practice of agriculture which ensures
o Credit on favourable terms frombanks supported by proactivemeasures by the government duringdrought and crop failures
o Recognition and respect for thefarming profession
o Arrest of the trend of youngergenerations ignoring framing as aviable livelihood source
• Children and the young to be educatedon needs of the environment and ecofarming by:
o Providing them with awareness andexposure visits to agriculture farms aspart of their curriculum
o Interaction with farmers to betterunderstand the growing challenges tothe food sector, and the struggles offarmers.
Technology and Practices• Revival of traditional knowledge of
framing practices, such as indigenousseed preservation and use, intercroppingmethods, use of compost and farm yardmanure and bio-pesticides
Support from the government• Adequate policy framework and financial
support to enable successful transitionfrom chemical intensive to naturalfarming practices
• Better market opportunities and pricesreflecting the actual cost of production
Support from voluntary organisations
• Sustained sensitization campaigns on thethreats to food, water and livelihoodsecurity
• Documentation and advocacy of and forthe adoption of best practices amongstsmall and marginalised farmers.
Rajkumar is Programme Officer, Svaraj andMohan Paul Prabhu is Dy Director, Svaraj
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book review
Biofuels for Transportpublished by Earthscan forthe Worldwatch Institute is
a comprehensive assessment of theopportunities and risks of the large-scale production of biofuels. Thebook throws light and attempts todemystify complex questions andconcerns including, the currentdebates such as the ‘food v. fuel’.Global in scope, the book uses theexperiences of five country studiesfrom Brazil, China, Germany, Indiaand Tanzania to bring to its readerscomprehensive information on thepotential, pitfalls and thereforeinformed decisions that have to bemade.
Quoting the doubling of petroleumprices from about US$30/barrel in2005 to US$ 60/barrel in 2006, thebook highlights the fact that thiscrises alone heightened worldwideinterests and investments in bio fuels.Readers can therefore imagine theextent of impact that the recent steepincrease in global crude oil prices andthe cascading effect that it had onthe economies of the world, wouldhave had on the bio fuels.
The book is categorised into eightsections that bring out key definingelements:
• current status and global trends– while starch, sugar and oil seedcrop varieties will continue toprovide bulk of biomass for biofuels, the next generation offeedstock like algae and other
fibres will be important to itsdevelopment
• prospects of new technologiesand crops – bio fuels canpotentially rival fossil fuelssupplies although long termpotential can vary and is hard topredict; policy makers may wantto promote best ways ofimproving agricultural produc-tivity and appropriate techno-logies for conversion, com-bustion, to use bio fuelsefficiently.
• key economic and social issues– potential to reduce costlyimports, decrease vulnerability toprice shocks and disruptions inenergy supply are the keyeconomic and securityadvantages of bio fuels
• key environmental issues – oneof the primary incentive forproduction and use of bio fuelsis potential environmentalbenefit obtained from petroleumfuels with those based onbiomass, it is important to knowwhich bio fuels production needsmore or less energy
• application technologies andstrategies for market intro-duction – increase in bio fuelproduction will require substantialnew investments and relatedinfrastructure; study of experiencewith current fuel feedstock canprovide useful insight to theinfrastructure and promotion needed.
• existing policy frameworksaround the world andrecommendation for policy anddecision makers - bio fuels havethe potential to address many ofthe challenges faced by the globalcommunities today; the threat ofconcentration of economicwealth, speeding deforestationand bio diversity loss andpossibly accelerating climatechange; the path to be taken willdepend primarily on the policiesput in place by leaders at nationaland international levels.
The potential and outlook in theIndia study especially highlights theconstraints that we might face inexpanding production and use of biofuels. This is largely in line with theconcern that many of us currentlyhave on the likely impact it couldhave on food security, if not managedintelligently.
The book helps provide practitioners,policy makers and investors/entrepreneurs in bio fuels deve-lopment, with valuable data andinformation for further study andreflections. It will help equip readerswith the sound knowledge requiredto make considered and intelligentchoices and decisions.
The book is available fromWorldwatch publications at: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5303
Reviewed by Mohan Paul Prabhu,Dy. Director, SVARAJ
Biofuels for TransportGlobal Potential and Implications forSustainable Energy and Agriculture
By Worldwatch Institute
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• Mobilizing and promoting collaborative action on protection,equitable and sustainable sharing of natural resources
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River Basin perspective building for Integrated water resourceManagement
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As part of its Joy of Giving initiative,Svaraj will launch its “Give back tothe environment… take a cloth bag”campaign. This campaign willpromote “green philanthropy” toencourage and support actions toprotect and care for the environment.This campaign will reach out to over10,000 students in Bangalore city andsurrounding rural areas, encouragingthem to say ‘no’ to plastic carry bagsand opt for a cloth bag instead.
Ten colleges in Bangalore city,schools and self help women’s groupin rural Bangalore, will bevolunteering their time, talent andmoney to support this campaign
The aim of this campaign is to reducethe consumption of plastic bags by
1 lakh to begin with and help create employment and income generatingopportunities for micro-entrepreneurs and SHGs.
You too can be part of our campaign:
• Corporates can donate money to support our campaign, invite Svarajto conduct an awareness generation programme at your campus,encourage your employees to pick up a cloth bag
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a cloth bag• Supermarkets and shops can encourage customers to use cloth bags
instead of plastic carry bags. We can help set up reward schemes foryour customers
We invite you to join our campaign today.
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