State of the Environment Assessment for Uttaranchal Inception Report

8/9/2019 State of the Environment Assessment for Uttaranchal Inception Report

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Inception Report

State of the Environment Assessment

for

Uttaranchal

October 2003


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Uttaranchal SoE IDFC/AME

Draft Inception Report October 2003 2

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 3

1.1 The Context of the SoE Process 3

1.2 Objectives of the SoE 3

1.3 SoE for Uttaranchal 4

1.4 Present stage of work 5

1.5 Outline of this report 6

2 Approach for the SoE 7

2.1 Conceptual Frameworks for carrying out SoE studies 72.1.1 Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact and Response Approach 82.1.2 Millennium Eco System Assessment 9

2.2 Consultations 122.2.1 The Launch Workshop 122.2.2 Stakeholder consultations 122.2.3 Interactions with Nodal Officers 13

2.3 External Benchmarking 14

3 Way forward 15

3.1 Data Analysis Approach 15

3.2 Organization structure for the Assignment 18

3.3 Identification of Data requirements and Data Collection Plan 183.4 Work Plan 19

ANNEXURES 21

Annex 1: List of Documents Collected 22

Annex 2 Questionnaires and data set requirements 24

Annex 3 List of Participants during the Launch Workshop, 26th

July, 2003 27

Annex 4 : Minutes of Launch Workshop, 26th

July, 2003 28

Annex 5 : List of Participants during Stakeholders' Meeting on 28th

July 2003 31

Annex 6 : Minutes of Stakeholders' Meeting on 28th

July 2003 32

Annex 7 : TOR for Reference Group for SoE 37

Annex 8 : List of data sets developed 38


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1 Introduction1.1 The Context of the SoE Process

The United Nations Stockholm Conference in 1972 is often stated as a landmarkin a dramatic increase in the realization of the conservation needs for the survival

of the globe. With this also emerged the concept of sustainable developmentinvolving the sustainable utilization of natural resources. The Stockholm

Conference had mandated that countries produce a National ConservationStrategy all of which will feed into the World Conservation Strategy.

In India, State of the Environment Reporting was brought to significance with theseries of Citizens Report on State of Indias Environment, produced by Centre for

Science and Environment. These reports prepared from the perspective of Civilsociety and the public interest, generated much common interest in a range of

issues.

More recently, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has embarked on a

nationa wide, state level State of the Environment(SoE) report preparationprogram. This program is being undertaken by all the states and UT in India under

the aegis of Ministry of environment and forest(MoEF),government of India. Thereport preparation exercise was launched by planning commission of India under

its 10th

five year plan, as first step in enhancing the capability of states and UTs

for handling environmental and sustainability issues. The program is expected tomost importantly provide strategic planning and policy inputs on matters of

Development, environment and sustainability.

1.2 Objectives of the SoEState of the Environment (SOE) reporting is a process undertaken so as tounderstand, describe, analyze and communicate information on conditions and

trends in the environment. It seeks to document the condition of natural resourcesand the environment; and to assess the effect of any changes in the environment

on health, economy and lifestyle. It is a method by which the ecologically

sustainable use of natural resources can be measured, and the same is an effectiveinput for policy planning and implementation related to sustainable development.

Worldover, a State of the Environment Report often forms an integral part of theapproach to sustainable development. It is an effective step in the development of

relevant policy. Principles that drive the SOE include:

Promotion of the sustainable use of natural and physical resources and themaintenance of ecological processes and genetic diversity

Encourage public involvement in resource management and planning Facilitation of economic development in accordance with the objectives set

out above

Promotion of the sharing of responsibility for resource management andplanning between the different spheres of government, the community andindustry in the State


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In the context of Uttaranchal, the SOE is seen as a first step in the development ofan Environment Policy and Strategy for the state to foster sustainable

development. For a first time report, it would essentially serve to capture thepriority areas. Subsequently the frameworks would be put in place to allow for

updates. The diagram below shows the entire process of developingenvironmental policies and frameworks, of which understanding the state ofenvironment is the first step.

1.3 SoE for UttaranchalThe State of Uttaranchal (SoU) was formed on November 9, 2000. The region

has a long and rich cultural history where natural beauty and ecological featureshave played a central role. Arguably, the most significant resources of the state are

its ecological resources or are closely linked to ecological resources.

Since the formation of the State, while there has been a strong focus on

jumpstarting the economy through infrastructure and economic development,there has also been a strong focus on ensuring that the development path adopted

does not compromise the local environment.

With this end in mind, even as strategies for infrastructure development are being

established, the State of Uttaranchal has embarked on a process of preparing itsfirst ever State of Environment (SoE) Report. This is being carried out under the

ongoing national program mentioned above.

The national program defines the presence of a National Host Institution (NHI)

and State Host Institution (SHI) and for the State of Uttaranchal the NHI is theEnvironment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI) based at

Hyderabad. The Government of Uttaranchal nominated the UttaranchalEnvironmental Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) as the state

host institution to undertake this effort.

As the State Host Institution, the UEPPCB sought the services of theInfrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), which is a national level


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1.5 Outline of this reportThis report is divided into the following sections

SectionNo

Subject Comments

1 Introduction This section provides the context of thestudy

2 Approach for the Study This covers the conceptual models that havebeen identified and are being considered for

use as well as the outcomes of the

stakeholder consultations held in the contextof the SoE as well as the approach for

benchmarking of the study

3 Way forward This section covers the way the priorities

and approach for the study have beenidentified, the data collection requirementsand process to be followed, the roadmap to

the next milestone.


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2 Approach for the SoEThe basis for developing the SoE needs to consider the international best practicesas well as the ground reality associated with the state. For this IDFC has adopted a

two part of approach of developing the frame for the SoE analysis. This consists

of Evaluating conceptual approaches to determine which would be the best set

of approaches for the SoE study. Here IDFC is considering using the

following

The DPSIR framework that is an internationally accepted approach The MA approach which is a new approach that focuses on the

concept of eco-system services.

Extensive consultations with all stakeholders that would enableprioritization and lead to modifications to the frameworks as required.

The remainder of this section outlines the same.

2.1 Conceptual Frameworks for carrying out SoE studiesThere are several uses of developing a document of this nature with inputs from

various sectoral agencies and the civil society.

There a critical need for understanding conservation demands and development

needs in every community;

To underscore the key recognition of the inter-sectoral linkages and multisectoral issues in a democratic decentralized management of naturalresources;

The new State has several areas, and administrative changes that call for abench-marking of the primary and secondary information. This effort can be

a good beginning to lay the foundation for such a framework.

There are areas of development and conservation where the linkages aredirect and strong and several other areas where the linkages are fuzzy andlinkages apparently weak in short time horizons. These could be analysed

to evolve a more comprehensive policy-framework.

The effort could be a document owned by the community and the State ifthe inputs and commitments could be raised among all the stakeholders.

SOE documents have so far been criticized for not providing directions for

specific tasks to be performed to improve the conditions. This is a seriouscriticism despite all the benefits mentioned of such an effort. The present effort is

envisaged to address this concern.

Since the State has embarked on a positive action is several fronts and is exploring

newer areas conservation and development, the process itself could form an

excellent tool for initiating action.

There are various frameworks that have been developed for SoE preparation andreporting. The choice of a framework for assessment depends on the range of

issues that need to be addressed. Since this effort is to seek specific and

contextual solutions as well as a global comparability, two frameworks arepresently being considered for adoption for the present study.


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2.1.1 Driving Force-Pressure-State-Impact and Response ApproachThe PSR model was developed in the 1970s by the Canadian statistician Anthony

Friend, and subsequently adopted by the OECDs State of the Environment (SOE)

group. The European Commissions indicator development follows thisframework. Some organisations prefer variants of the PSR model; for example,

the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) bases its indicatorset on the Driving force-State-Response model (DSR) model, which allows for a

better inclusion of non-environmental variables.

For practical purposes, and in particular for the goals described in the Green

Accounting Communication, the PSR model is sufficient. However, forcompatibility reasons (e.g. to the DSR model), and for a better description of

underlying economic trends, the indicator community has formulated the Drivingforce-Pressure-State-Impact-Response model, which includes P-S-R as special

cases.


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The DPSIR framework takes into account the driving forces, pressures, state,

impacts and responses. It includes identification of the impacts and recognizesthat there are driving forces, which are the underlying human activities, that exert

pressure on the environment with adverse effects. This framework is brieflyexplained below:

Driving forces

These are the underlying human activities that lead to environmental change.

They may be governmental activities, such as agricultural policies, or energysubsidies; corporate activities, such as irresponsible disposal of waste or

inefficient use of raw materials; or they may be consumer activities, such as

private vehicle use, or recreational activities.

Pressures

This aspect relates to the pressures that are exerted on the environment and naturalresources and include increased pollution of air, water, and soil; or depletion of

natural resources such as fish stocks and woody biomass.State

This describes the current state of the various indicators, and where data are

available, shows trends in environmental quality over time.

Impacts

These are the consequences of the pressures on natural resources, such as

reductions in biodiversity, soil degradation and desertification, or sea level rise.

Responses

These cover the current policies and management strategies to combatenvironmental degradation, the effectiveness of these policies, and

recommendations for additional activities.

2.1.2 Millennium Eco System AssessmentThe Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was established with the involvement of

governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and scientists to

provide an integrated assessment of the consequences of ecosystem change forhuman well-being and to analyze options available to enhance the conservation of

ecosystems and their contributions to meeting human needs. The assessment

framework developed for the MA offers decision-makers a mechanism to:

Identify options that can better achieve core human development andsustainability goals.All countries and communities are grappling with thechallenge of meeting growing demands for food, clean water, health, and

employment. And decision-makers in the private and public sectors mustalso balance economic growth and social development with the need for

environmental conservation. All of these concerns are linked directly or

indirectly to the worlds ecosystems. The MA process, at all scales, willbring the best science to bear on the needs of decision-makers concerning

these links between ecosystems, human development, and sustainability.


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Better understand the trade-offs involvedacross sectors andstakeholders in decisions concerning the environment. Ecosystem-related problems have historically been approached issue by issue, but rarely

by pursuing multisectoral objectives. This approach has not withstood thetest of time. Progress toward one objective such as increasing food

production has often been at the cost of progress toward other objectivessuch as conserving biological diversity or improving water quality. The MAframework complements sectoral assessments with information on the full

impact of potential policy choices across sectors and stakeholders.

Align response options with the level of governance where they can bemost effective. Effective management of ecosystems will require actions at

all scales, from the local to the global. Human actions now directly or

inadvertently affect virtually all of the worlds ecosystems; actions requiredfor the management of ecosystems refer to the steps that humans can take to

modify their direct or indirect influences on ecosystems. The management

and policy options available and the concerns of stakeholders differ greatlyacross these scales. The priority areas for biodiversity conservation in a

country as defined based on global value, for example, would be verydifferent from those as defined based on the value to local communities. The

multiscale assessment framework developed for the MA provides a newapproach for analyzing policy options at all scalesfrom local communities

to international conventions.

The Millenium Eco-systems assessment focuses on evaluating the Eco-System

Services provided a region/area and this is shown in figure below


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The MA Process is particulary relevant in the context of Uttaranchal as it also

provides a frame for capturing the linkages between human systems and ecosystems.

The MA approach also provides a frame that can be adapted for the SoE. The

process recommended by the MA is shown as a schematic below


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It is proposed to adapt this with features of the DPSIR framework as the MA

offers an excellent option to enable the State of Uttaranchal potentially value itseco-systems services to other states and therefore seek compensation for

protecting the same.

2.2 ConsultationsThe overall process for the development of the SoE is being initiated based on

seeking to develop a frame for the assessment.

The primary basis for this frame has been the existing frames such as the DPSIRframework as well as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment frameworks that

offer theoretical tools for analysis. This aspect is covered in earlier sections.

However a more vital issue is the understanding of the state of Uttaranchal from a

holistic and peoples point of view. This has been proposed through a series ofconsultations with the Government agencies, NGOs and CBOs, and academics.

The process followed for the consultations is outlined in the following sub-sections

2.2.1 The Launch WorkshopThe first project was launched with a meeting of the State officials, departments

and agencies on the 26th

of July 2003 at Dehradun.

The purpose of the first meet with the state government officers was to highlight

the national process on environmental consciousness initiated by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, (GoI) in different states and the approach by the

partnering institutions to achieve the environmental goals in forms of State ofEnvironment documents as the baseline for further follow up. More importantly itwas meant for discussions with the stakeholders on issues to be taken up to reflect

peoples view on environment and strategizing for the same. The sharing ofresponsibilities by various stakeholders, which are associated with networks or in

their own capacity, who can extend their participation in the process and the role

of institutions in supporting the program. It was also necessary to know from theGovernment of Uttaranchal and State Government representatives about their

vision for the development of the State and specific issues that need to beaddressed and the availability of secondary data with the government departments.

The proceedings of the meeting are provided in Annex 4.

2.2.2 Stakeholder consultationsThe civil society stakeholder meeting was held on the 28

thJuly 2003 in the FRDC

Hall of the Secretariat. The proceedings of the stakeholders meeting presentedseveral overlapping and additional issues. The emphasis was on obtaining a

perspective from the context of people's aspirations, limitations of existing

institutional arrangements and the critical areas demanding rather immediateattention. The proceedings of the stakeholder consultation are outlined in Annex

6.


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The second stakeholder consultation will take place on the 15th & 16th November

2003 in Gairsain. The venue for the consultation will be the meeting hall of theblock panchayat.

2.2.3 Interactions with Nodal OfficersVarious departments of the State have identified nodal officers for UttaranchalEnvironment Protection and Pollution Control Board. It was felt necessary that

responsibility be shared among the government and partnering institutions tocollect data from the officials representing various departments. Since it is a

process oriented effort, the interactions have been initiated along with collection

of available data-sets and discussing issues important to be addressed in the SOE.Key pointers from these interactions to the SoE team are presented below:

Shri Y.S Pangti, Deputy Director, Statistical Department

A statistical Diary for Uttaranchal (2001-2002) was published by Directorate ofEconomics & Statistics, Planning Department. The diary is a compilation of datasets pertaining to demography, agriculture, roads, income-expenditure, industries,

employment, animal husbandry, public health, education. A further meeting isplanned with the officials of Statistical Department on the archival information

and consistency of datasets from different sources.

Shri D.D. Dimri, Executive Engineer, Uttaranchal Jal Sansthan

Shri Dimri was helpful in giving insight to the role of their department. He

emphasised the importance being given to the formulation of State Water Policyand means to streamline distribution of water resources in the State. The draft

State Water Policy will be discussed in detail with the development of thebackground paper.

Shri. S.K. Semval, Deputy Manager, Uttaranchal Peyjal Nigam

Insight about the roles of the newly formed UPN which exclusively looks into the

drinking water and sanitation schemes and Ganga Action Plan for the State. Theregional offices have been informed for getting data at a disaggregated level.

Shri. Jay Raj, Conservator, Shivalik Division

A booklet on Uttaranchal Forest Statistics, 2001 was published by Forest

Department. The role of SOE was discussed with the nodal officer and views wereexpressed on the pressures and issues on forests, as forest being the major player

in the state. Sh. Jay Raj agreed to discuss, after the second publication is issuedand additional data sets and clarification is required.

Dr. M.S. Bisht, Deputy Director, Forest Survey of India

Dr. Bisht explained the geographical setting of Uttaranchal and also provided withthe State of Forest, 2001 containing broad statistics along with a list of


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3 Way forward3.1 Data Analysis Approach

The process of assessment has began with the conceptual frameworks beingadopted and the issues highlighted by the Stakeholders. Based on the parameters

that can appropriately describe the Driving forces, the pressures and the impacts

thematic background papers will be developed.

The geographic framework for such an analysis has been considered critical sinceUttaranchal can be intrinsically understood as a continuum of low land high land

ecosystems of the Himalayas. The low land & high land linkages have been

transforming given the connectivity during the last few decades, but haveevidently raised certain areas of concern.

This demands a generation and organization of information across threelongitudinal zones of the eastern, central and western Himalayas roughly alongthe following major river-systems of Uttaranchal

Yamuna - Ganga; Ganga - Ramganga; and Ramganga - Kali Sarda;which also encompass different:

Ethnic groups Production systems Diverse ecological settings.The linkages which are well documented are:

Physiographic and tectonic systems Goods & services to high land Revenues & occupations sustained Natural resources & finances Human migration & resettlementThis would be developed subsequently along with the thematic maps and collating

data sets generate a good understanding of the low-land high-land linkages. The

map below highlights the suggested geographical delineation

Sub-regions Yamuna-Ganga Ganga-Ramganga Ramganga-Sarda

Terai

Bhabbar

Shiwalik Hills

Duns

Lesser Himalayas

Central HimalayasTrans-Himalayas


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Background documents are being generated on specific themes and concerns and

data sets are being organized to enable assessment at various scales.

Since it is the first report of its kind, it is also important to underline the historicalprocesses that have shaped the development of themes and an effort is being made

to look at the information and data-sets that could provide time-series information.

Some of the thematic areas identified for developing the background papers are:

Planning and development in the region and how such programmes and policies

have shaped the development of the region in terms of balanced growth and

decentralization of management both in urban and rural contexts. It would alsoreflect on the development paradigms and their impacts on the bio-physical and

psycho-cultural environment. It is important that in building up a plan and how

relevantly can the 73rd

and 74th

CAA can be approached as a tool for decentralisedmanagement & infrastructure development.

Land and People the land resource are diverse and resource enhancement and

depletion have always been concerns of the community. This background paperwould focus on the two interdependent resources and the processes that have

shaped the present day structure.

Urban Development and Infrastructure has been an important area for

investments. Since concentration of urban population is the maximum in the teraibelt as compared to the hills, it would be important to know the urban-rural

interdependencies and the technologies and skills for optimum use of theinvestments.


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Forests and biodiversity is an unique wealth of Uttaranchal and an understandingof people-ecosystem cycle would enable a sustainable growth and survival of such

important resources with the state.

Industry has drawn its shadow to a limited extent in the state. Whatever the focushas been on developing green industries has thus far been, it would beworthwhile analysing the causes for weak industrial development particularly in

the context of the overwhelming notions of the lack of entrepreneurship amongthe people. It will also enable design for opt imum resource utilisation,

remunerative employment generation, and rapidly introducing cleaner production

mechanisms.

Energy is also one of the promising avenue where harnessing of renewable energy

is already one of the prime objectives of the state. The MoP has a vision to

electrify each and every settlement by the year 2012 and it would be of great

importance to identify pockets for intervention based on river valleys potentiallyviable for taking up action. The production of energy is also linked to variousenvironmental and social dimensions that need appraisal.

Water Resources has been attracting national attention as it supports various life

forms and there is a disparity among the states due to scarcity and lack of

management measures. Since Uttaranchal has water resources serving a hugepopulation within the state and downstream, the need is to address water resources

comprehensively including quality and quantity of potable water along withirrigation requirements in both rural and urban settlements is critical. Water

resources assessment, monitoring mechanisms and institutions facilitating the

water supply to the people should be emphasized. It would also be important toknow the traditional practices to manage in their own social settings. Water policy

for the state has not evolved, this would also be important to reflect theperspectives on issues taken up in the water policy.

Disasters have not been new to Uttaranchal, but the array of disasters have given a

challenge to cope up with natural calamities, which have been occurring moreoften than before and with a wide spectrum of damages. The need for developing

information base and identifying pockets at risk to disasters is critical. Developing

policy guidelines and remedies addressing unsafe settlements and thereforeuncertain livelihoods, could initiate and enable mechanisms to address such

issues.

Watersheds Developing SoE linkages on the basis of watersheds in Uttaranchal

can provide a detailed interpretation accounting for varying geographical,economic, social and natural resources conditions, it would present an overall

scenario in the larger context of developmental activities. It is evident that thenatural resources rest in rural setting and serve as a resource house for regional

requirements, it would be worthwhile exercising this approach.

The report will seek to develop the above perspective using the DPSIR and MA

frameworks.


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In addition to the above, an exhaustive list of data sets has been developed for

information collection and this is too detailed for provision here. A list of thesubjects is provided Annex 8 as a reference. These data sets have already been

provided to concerned State Nodal Officers as well as the other Governmentdepartments for collection and filling in. In addition to this a questionnaire as

provided in Annex Additional information is being collected from CentralGovernment agencies, Local academics and other sources.

The data collection process is largely dependent on the support the governmentdepartments which have this information as well as the timely provision of the

same. With the involvement of all agencies as indicated in the structure above, it

is expected that the most of the data collection process will be completed over thenext 10-12 weeks providing time for analysis and development of the SoE. It is

however possible that all the data collection may not be complete due to non-availability. These will be identified early to the UEPPCB as well as the state

nodal officers and flagged for further work. Attempts will also be made to obtain

these prior to the SoE report finalization.

Where there are gaps in data, indicators and other proxies will be used to analysethe ecological and other parameters.

As the SoE is intended as a practical document, case studies are also being

considered as an important basis for providing insights into the processes and thepotential for various intervention. Discussions have been held with nodal officers

and other stake holder community members to initiate the process of listing

potential case studies. The following case-studies will be considered amongstothers:

1. Community Based Tourism and Conservation in Bhyunder Valley2. Pasture Lands of Dudhatoli3. Community Based Energy Planning4. Disability & Environment5. Ward Level Environmental Problems6. Conflicts in Van Panchayats7. Medicinal Plants8. Individuals who have transformed the environment9. Uttarkashi Land Slide10. Pollution along Yatra Routes11. Environment around Panch Prayags12. Cultural Diversity

3.4 Work PlanWith the data collection already initiated, the next few stages of the exercise willbe

Data collection and Analysis which will carried out with the support of theState Nodal officers and the UEPPCB.

Development of the individual theme papers as described earlier Establishing the Reference Group Process as well as building the linkage tothe MA process


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Developing the SoE analysis based on the conceptual frame Preparation of the Draft SoE reportWhile the process has been defined earlier in the proposal and the work order,

various other steps as required will be taken to ensure that there is on going formal

and informal consultation with all stakeholders on the overall relevance of theanalysis and the priorities

The next milestones is the submission of the draft SoE report that is due on 23

weeks from the submission of the Inception Report which would be due aroundthe first/second week of February 2003.


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Annex 1: List of Documents Collected

S.No. Title Of The Book Author Publisher Year ofPublication

1.State Of India'sEnvironment- The Citizens(Part Ii) - 5th Report

Edited by Anil

Agarwal, SunitaNarain & Srabani

Sen

Centre for Science and

Environment

Oct-02

2.Uttaranchal - InfrastructureAnd EconomicDevelopment

R.T.Tewari, Rachna

Mujoo, BrijeshTewari

A.P.H Publising

Corporation

2001

3.Uttarakhand Update - AStatistical Profile ForDevelopment Planning

A.Joshi, P.S.Garia, I.

Hasnain

Kanishka Publishers 1999

4.Uttarakhand Statehood -Dimensions OfDevelopment

Edited by M.C.Sati

& S.P.Sati

Indus Publishing

Company

2000

5.Garhwal Himalaya -Nature, Culture & Society

Edited by

O.P.Kandari,O.P.Gusain

Transmedia 2001

6.Mountain Enterprises AndInfrastructure - MountainTourism For LocalCommunity Development,

A Report On Case Studies

In Kinnaur District H.P &The Badrinath Tourist Zone

R.Sreedhar International Centre for

Integrated MountainDevelopment

1997

7.Mountain Enterprises AndInfrastructure - Mountain

Tourism In Himachal

Pradesh And The HillDistricts Of Uttar Pradesh

R.Sreedhar International Centre forIntegrated Mountain

Development

1995

8.Regional Monitoring Srvice- Monthly Review Of The

Uttaranchal Economy

CMIE (Centre forMonitoring Indian

Economy Pvt. Ltd)

2003

9.State Of Forest Report 2001 Forest Survey of India 200210Annual Report - 2001-2002 Forest Survey of India


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11Van Darpan (Hindi) Forest Survey of India 2001

12Newsletter-Volume 3/Issue1

Forest Survey of India APR-JUN2003

13Catalogue Of Publications

& Reports

Forest Survey of India

14State Of Orissa's

Environment

Language Edited by

Dr. Samuel Missal

Council of professional

Social Workers

15Forest Statistics, 2001 Forest Department 2001

16Statistical Diary,

Uttaranchal

Directorate of

Economics &Statistics

2003

17Uttaranchal Thematic Atlas National Atlas &

Thematic MappingOrganisation

Department of Science &

Technology

2001

18EPTRI GuidanceDocuments for SoE

EPTRI EPTRI 2003

19Millenium Eco-System

Assessment Documents

Various MA secretariat 2003


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Does Uttaranchal gives compensatory allowances to other states having lessforest cover.

What percentage of forests has been put under the eco-sensitive zone as perthe orders of Supreme Court?

Urban Development

What would be the role of small hill towns in the state Classification of urban centres in the state. Problems typical with the hill towns and the plain areas of Uttaranchal. How do you foresee the problems of primate cities like dehradun with the

years to come and on the same side the function of

bifunctional/multifunctional towns like rishikesh/vikasnagar.

How do you ensure the success of master plans, which are susceptible toviolations and lack of people's view in the development of the city.

How do you accomodate hill component while planning for the hill towns.Is there any mechanism to check the urban growth and compliance with thezoning and regualtion norms.

Does 74th CAA has given a ray of hope for decentralised developement.Comment.

Municipal Solid Waste

How do you see the role of ULBs in managing solid waste and co-operationwith the citizen forums to reduce the problem.

What has been the main hurdle for reaching any solution to the urban waste.

What have been the reasons for notifications (supreme court orders) notbeing followed in most of the national urban centres?

Impacts of campaigns to reduce plastic use. Have you tried to associate with the active organisations for awareness

generation and working on technologies.

What is the most problematic issue, which has to be addressed to solve theproblem of SWM.

How will the government machinery react with the urban growth, especiallyhill towns and SWM.

How would bio-medical waste has to be addressed in the urban context.Policy initiatives and measures taken.or planned.

What is the most prominent collection-transportation-disposal cycle. Characteristics of waste in urban centres (hills and plains) and technology

application.

Rural Development

How do you see regional development across the State? Does it requiresome input in terms of economic activity? What could be those..

Progress of 9thplan and views about the 10th plan. Panchayati Raj Institutions + 73rd CAA . How to strengthen them. Has state

planned or planning to do the same.


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Annex 3 List of Participants during the Launch Workshop, 26th

July, 2003

1. Madhukar Gupta, Chief Secretary, Uttaranchal2. R.S. Tolia, Principal Secretary, Forest & Rural Development, Uttaranchal3. S. Krishnan, Principal Secretary, Industrial Development4. C.V.S Negi, Member Secretary, UEPPCB5. Shobha Chaturvedi, UEPPCB6. Ajay Narayanan, IDFC7. Brig (Retd.) Vinod, IDFC8. J. Sridhar, EPTRI, Hyderabad9. R. Sreedhar, AME10. D.K. Gupta, Additional Secretary, Urban Development11. S.S. Sandhu, V.C, M.D.D.A12. Gambhir Singh, Addl. Secretary, Forest & Environment13. Yatendra Kumar, Addl. Secretary, Tourism14. B.S. Sokhi, IIRS15. Brij.B.Rattan, TCPO16. R.K Maikhuri, GBPIED, Srinagar17. R.C. Arya, Addl. Director Medical Health18. Manisha Panwar, Addl. Secretary, Health19. K.S. Dadhwal, Head, Soils & Agronomy, CSWCRTI20. Rakesh Goel, Sr. T.D., N.I.C21. V.K. Wahie, Asst. Director, UAHSDP22. S.P. Kandwal23. Kunwar Singh, Addl. Secretary (Drinking Water)24. Jagdish Singh Kushwal, Secretary, Uttaranchal Jal Sansthan25. Bharti Solanky, IDFC26. Anand Srivastava, IDFC27. Ashok Emani, IDFC28. Kirtan Sahoo, IDFC29. Nishant Alag, AME30. Shanti Prasad Pokhriyal, AME


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Annex 4 : Minutes of Launch Workshop, 26th

July, 2003

The proceedings of the meeting held at Chief Secretarys Conference Hall,

Dehradun on 26 July 2003 is as follows:

The launch for State of Environment (SOE) report was called on July 26, 2003 at

the Chief Secretarys office, Government of Uttaranchal under the Chairmanshipof the Chief Secretary, Mr Madhukar Gupta.

Mr. Gupta in his opening remarks identified the priorities for the State and set the

stage for discussion on Uttaranchals sustainable development and other State

priorities. While highlighting the importance of the assignment, Mr. Gupta saidthat he saw this assignment as the first systematic attempt to mine and make sense

of existing data and information available with various government departmentsand institutions in the form of reports undertaken on various aspects of

Uttaranchals state of the environment in the past. He also said that if the even theprocess of integrating the work done so far is done in an effective manner thenSOE report will be of great help to GoU.

Mr. Gupta also talked about some of the State priorities, while also highlighting

that it might not be possible for the SOE study to cover all of these aspects in

detail but hoped that the report will cover these issues in some manner based onexisting data and information. The priorities highlighted by Mr. Gupta included:

Broad identification of areas which have potential for development as newtourist centres and promotion of eco-tourism. In this context, he alsomentioned that there might be a need for more stringent rules and

regulations in certain areas which are becoming ecologically andenvironmentally sensitive as tourist spots

Biodiversity and forest conservation - possibilities of selective harvesting offorest with afforestation and conservation activities.

Water conservation, water harvesting and water treatment sector policies forindustries and domestic areas he felt were important. He informed that a

task force under Dr. Tolia had looked at watershed management. The report

of the task force, he felt, would be of use for the SOE

The need for identification of type of industries possible given the resourcebase of Uttaranchal and existing regulations. He informed that focus could

be on non polluting industries and that the government has alreadyidentified IT, Tourism and horti-processing as some of the key industries.

Environmentally sustainable resource exploitation in the context of miningand also referred to the road construction technology by comparing

watershed-to-watershed and tunneling approach of the developed countrieswith contour approach followed in India. He hoped that the report would be

able to briefly comment on the state of connectivity in Uttaranchal.


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Disasters are an important aspect of the fragile State and felt that broadidentification of disaster prone areas based on substantial amount of work

already done by Uttaranchal.

Concluding his remarks, Mr. Gupta said that the report should look at

environment as a constructive process linked with the lives of people andeconomy of Uttaranchal.

The opening address by the Chief Secretary was followed by a presentation fromInfrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) on the broad approach that

would be followed for the entire SOE report.

The presentation was followed by an open discussion on various issues havingsocio-economic and ecological implications for the state of Uttaranchal and

prioritizing these issues for inclusion in the State of the Environment (SoE) report.

Following issues emerged from the discussion:

It was highlighted that there are already number of studies undertaken inUttaranchal on issues related to state of the environment and that the SOE report

should use available information and data to the extent possible.

SoE report should be developed with a view to provide strategic direction to

Uttaranchal State on its sustainable development agenda with any biases.

There are many reputed institutes located in Uttaranchal such as GB Pant

University, Forest Research Institute, Wadia Institute, etc. These institutions havecarried out number of excellent studies in sustainable development area and the

SoE team should interact with these institutions and draw upon their suggestionsand recommendations for incorporation in the SOE report.

It was requested that Uttaranchal Environmental Protection and Pollution ControlBoard (UEPPCB) should identify nodal officers in each concerned department in

coordination with the departmental heads. The nodal officers would beresponsible for providing information and data on various issues available with

the government. The SOE team would be interacting with the nodal officers on

periodic basis to get the information collected as per the requirement for SoEwork in their own departments. It was decided that the SOE team would prepare a

detailed questionnaire on data requirement and send it to the concerned nodalofficer through Dr. R.S. Tolias office.

It was agreed that the report would be based on the secondary informationcollected from various agencies and department. The report could not get on to

primary data collection as both time and resources are short.

The State in the past has initiated efforts for incorporating sustainable

development aspects in the projects. It was pointed that the SoE report shouldhighlight these efforts of the State.

Number of sectors and issues were highlighted including agriculture and agroforestry related issues, landslide management, debris management, tourism, etc. as


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being important to Uttaranchals SOE. It was emphasized that tourism and

environment linkage and development of indicators for ecotourism promotion inthe state need attention in the report.

There was some discussion on small vs big projects and the fact that is no definite

methodology and clarity to justify either the small or large hydro projects in thestate was made.

Depending upon the suitability, requirement and availability of information, theSOE report could focus at state level to district level to even village level for

certain specific issues. Already available satellite images and photographs could

be used for the purpose of SOE report.

It was pointed out that a subset of the SOE report could focus on Doon valley.The Chief Secretary pointed out that Doon valley is a protected valley and the

Supreme Court has placed certain restrictions in its ruling. However, UEPPCB

informed the Chief Secretary that UEPPCB is already in touch with MOEF andthat a study has already been commissioned on Doon valley. Based on this, it was

decided that IDFC will integrate the findings of that report into the SOE report. Itwas also suggested that environmental hotspots such as Doon valley, Nainital, etc

should be captured in the report based on work initiated by the UEPPCB.

It was suggested that the SOE should list down various restrictions and their

origins as imposed by central government policies, legislation and stategovernment administration on forest and its resources in the report.

Forest economics and forest hydrology should be included in the report especiallyfrom the point of view of constraints faced by individuals who are dependent on

these resources.

Carbon trading is a potential area for Uttaranchal and State is interested in this.

Influences, direct as well as indirect, on climate issues due to various activitieslike vehicular pollution, consumption of petroleum products in the state etc needs

to be looked at in the report.

It was suggested that while working on the state priorities it should be kept in

mind that the physical setting of Uttaranchal is critical to its own development as

well as for maintaining balance at larger scale in the plains.

Finally, SoE should be developed in a way that it could be beneficially utilized for

sustainable development of Uttaranchal by adequately safeguarding the interest of

its people and the environment.


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Annex 6 : Minutes of Stakeholders' Meeting on 28th

July 2003

The proceedings of the meeting are as follows:

Meeting began with welcome address by Mr. Anand Srivastava of IDFC andfollowed by introduction by each member present in the meeting. This was

followed by a brief address by Mr. C.V.S. Negi, the Member secretary of

Uttaranchal Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board. Mr. Negiwelcomed all the participants and requested for their wholehearted involvement in

developing state of the environment report for Uttaranchal. He then requested Mr.Ajay Narayanan, head of the environment group with IDFC to begin the process

of the meeting by introducing IDFC and its perspective of SoE.

Mr. Narayanan introduced IDFC as an organization to the participants and then

went on to comment on IDFCs perspective of SoE. He emphasized that IDFCs

mission of this project is to develop a framework for sustainable development ofthe state. Mr. Ananad srivastava then made a brief presentation on methodology

which would be adopted for developing SoE report.

Mr. Sridhar welcomed various participants and informed them about the objectiveof the stakeholder workshop. He emphasized that the purpose of the stakeholder

meeting was to get a participatory approach of all the concerned people and

organization in Uttaranchal for developing the state of the environment report. Hesaid that there had been so many studies in Uttaranchal in the past and challenge

with us today was preparing a report which would be dynamic in nature andpractical in its orientation.

Mr. Sreedhar requested all the participants to be forthcoming in their view pointsabout the shape and content of SoE for Uttaranchal; on this note he threw open the

session for all participants to express their views one by one.

Following are the various issues discussed in detail in the meeting:

SoE must have scope for acceptance of local wisdom and knowledge. For greaterinformation dissemination a concept paper on SoE should be developed and

circulated to enable people to comment and respond on SoE. This might also pavethe way for greater involvement of people and chance to seek the fulfillment of

their aspirations out of SoE report.

SoE must involve a comprehensive secondary data collection exercise and linkage

between resource and livelihood should be one of the key study features of SoE.In terms of the process one opined that there are many other similar type of

studies in the past and those should be referred to suitably for this study.

Institutional framework and regulatory framework should also be one of the mainfocuses of the study. Decentralization is another aspect which should be

highlighted as the need of the hour for the state of Uttaranchal.

On decentralization issue, concern was expressed that the forest matters inUttaranchal seem to move towards increasing centralization while the requirement


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is just the opposite. In his opinion there is increasingly greater need to understand

role of Van Panchayats and explore frameworks for their sustainability. Generalview of the participants was that unless people are vested with power to make

local policies and programs, decentralization is meaningless; house was furtherinformed that as per studies done earlier, local governance structures in

Uttaranchal have been weakening since 1985. There is increasing marginalizationof local institutions in the state.

It was suggested that once the SoE report is prepared there should be an agency toimplement and take it forward in next stage at appropriate time and for this job

government will be the best agency and they should be accepting broader role for

themselves.

Questions were asked on whether it would be possible to have a dedicated chapteron migration and agriculture & land use pattern in SoE report as this is very

important concern for the state and affecting economy as well and hence should

be addressed very carefully. Dynamic approach should be looked into for this.

In Uttaranchal as far as awareness is concerned, there is great awareness in thecommon people and their involvement is must for preparing a good report; SoE

work in present form has been going on in bits and pieces in Uttaranchal for quite

sometimes and one needs to review them as well. Role of women should be a veryimportant study feature of SoE report in Uttaranchal; there are lots of good

examples of forest management by women of Uttaranchal. Students are veryactive in the drive for environmental safeguard in Uttaranchal and hence they

should also be key stakeholder along with women.

Conflicting issues like protected areas in Uttaranchal vs. rehabilitation issues etc

should be included in the study parameter of the SoE work. SoE should also focuson cross-sectoral linkages and policy impacts; it should come out with tools for

sharing cross sectoral information in more proactive manner. Business related to

medicinal plant and ornamental plant can be a potential business and source forrevenue for Uttaranchal. Climate change issue and its relation to revenue

generation potential should be studied in detail.

Linkage between resource and livelihood should form a key component of the

study in Utatranchal as these two issues are closely interrelated. Local artisans and

people living in forest should be well protected against any government policieswhich displace them or their work. Changing trends in forestry and migration hasbecome a hot issue in Uttaranchal. Planting of trees requires involvement of

people and alienation of people is a primary cause of environmental degradation

(Van Panchayat)

Grazing vis--vis livelihood option is a very sensitive issue in the state and shouldbe studied carefully. Natural disaster should also be studied in the context of

development interventions. Land, forest and water policies should be analysedwith respect to their impact on livelihood issues in the state. Construction

activities have strong impact on environment and should be made an important

aspect of the study. Common property resources should be analysed from theviewpoint of livelihood for local people.


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Environment conflict within the state should be covered at length in the report.There should be a chapter on the origins of various conflicts and their progress

and way forward. It has been seen that most of the conflicts have developed fromwrong development policies. No positive value has been shown by development

in Uttaranchal and on the other hand large-scale negative impacts on environmentare easily visible.

Migration and its threat on local environment is another issue of great concern inUttaranchal. About half of the population in Uttaranchal is under migration threat

and it has created large-scale pressure on natural resources due to over

exploitation. Almora and Their areas are some examples.

Land use policy changes have led to more and more commercial cultivation ofagricultural land. This has not only led to marginalization but also degradation in

land quality owing to unsustainable use of land. One infamous example is tea

cultivation on lands which have been traditionally used for other sustainableagricultural crops. This land is no longer able to sustain on its own and hence

require chemical fertilizer for better yield. Impact of modern agriculture andfarming practice should be analysed vis--vis traditional method; use of chemical

fertilizer and its bad impact should be studied.

There should be a study of human health impact owing to pollution and natural

resource depletion in Uttaranchal.

One school of thought came to support that geographical uniqueness of

Uttaranchal does not allow centrally driven approaches of development policy andplans. Uttaranchal should be studied in light of its geopolitical orientation and

then linkages to development and environment should be studied in detail.

Stress on urban environment is increasing at tremendous rates and it should be

studied in detail. Various developments including market place development,habitat development etc has shown to have impact on the environment and study

should include all these impacts related to Urbanisation. Even in rural areaspeople have started using artificial building material rather than durable local

materials; this has created pressure on natural resources in making artificial

materials. This is an example of rapid urbanization of rural areas and alienation of

local environmental issues.

Money order economy is creating serious impacts on environment and sustainable

livelihood. People are migrating to urban areas for easy money and that leads to

decline in agricultural practice and hence decline in land quality. Sense of localownership is lacking now in rural areas also and leading to disabling local

resource conservation and environment protection. Traditional knowledge is beingdestroyed by modern education that has removed the value of traditional

knowledge.

There should be analysis of carrying capacity of the area before any development

activity and potential local impacts should be analyzed where problems areanticipated and then policy should be made.


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Water and river systems should be studied with respect to their value to localeconomy. Perception in Uttaranchal is that river resource is being used for welfare

of other states rather than local people.

Market forces are emerging rapidly in Uttaranchal and they need to be managedand oriented towards sustainable development of Uttaranchal, this could beachieved by integration of development with livelihood and development. There

should be regulation on compensatory approaches to help compensate those areasthat are environmentally rich with lot of stress on resource conservation with

those areas that are not environmentally rich but have developmental activities

going on.

Traditional water conservation practices in Uttaranchal are good examples forothers to follow. However present water schemes launched in the states only

associated with peoples water needs not for livelihoods, cattle etc. changing land

use pattern in Uttaranchal is greatly responsible for water crisis and needs to beanalysed in at length before suggesting any water policy in the state. If only

people are allowed to follow their own conservation practices rather than anygovernment plan, state can manage good water conservation. Conservation is

intrinsic to peoples culture in Uttaranchal and water is no different.

Use of cooking fuel should also be one aspect of the SoE study. Use of biofuel has

great potential in Uttaranchal and should be explored in detail.

Network should be used for community based approach of disaster management.

There should be information dissemination and awareness raising programmes atdistrict level and national level.

In Uttaranchal new stakeholders are emerging who are fast changing the status of

existing stakeholders with reducing power with them. This is not good for the

state and needs to be looked into carefully. This is also leading to conflict ofinterest.

SoE should look into the role of the existing research institutions and

organizations wrt Environment & Development.

Distortions in data have lead to planning distortions. Land settlements are relatedto planning department data and wrong data is leading to land encroachments etc.in the state.

Changing animal patterns (sheep population has been overtaken by goatpopulation) is also impacting the environment (since 1980) and need is felt to

study this in the report.

Poor Interdepartmental coordination and hence poor governance is leading towastages of money which could be effectively utilized and also impact on natural

resources.


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Finally it was agreed that there are numerous examples of Peoples innovation in

Uttaranchal and they need to be highlighted for promoting local ownership anddecentralized development in the state through the state of the environment report.


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Annex 7 : TOR for Reference Group for SoE

The key roles of the Reference Group are :

To review and guide the broad strategy, approach and outputs of the IDFCproject team in view of the sensitivities.

Review the draft versions of the SoE report as it is produced and offercomments and suggestions on the same.

Advice IDFC on the overall SoE framework and provide inputs to enablethe SoE to achieve its desired objective of finding a new working ground

between Environment & development in the context of Uttaranchal

Provide suggestions and guidance on how the policy insights that areexpected to emerge from the study and the report be taken forward at theState and Central government levels.

The above roles are expected to be fulfilled through half day meetings where theIDFC team will present its work and seek guidance from the reference group. It is

expected that the reference group will meet about three times during the durationof the study and the tentative schedule is provided below

1st meeting before finalization of Inception report- Early Novermber 2nd and 3rd meeting between inception report and draft SoE report stage-

November end and early February 2004

Final meeting before final stakeholder workshop and final report- early June2004


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Annex 8 : List of data sets developed