Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
the Andhra Pradesh (ap) Water, Land and Tree Act, 2002, meant to clamp down on over exploitation of groundwater, could lead to increased bureaucratisation, fear some experts. To come into force on June 1, 2002, the act is meant to promote water conservation and prevent over-exploitation of water sources in …
LESTER Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute, recently published the book 'Eco-Economy' - an ambitious and broad sketch of a new global economy that prioritises the ecological imperatives of our time. Brown refers to Thomas Kuhn who, to recapitulate, is the philosopher of science who made 'paradigm shifts' famous. It is …
This policy emphasises planning, development and management of water resources in a national perspective through a well-developed information system and river basin organisations for the integrated and multidisciplinary management of entire drainage basins. It has prioritised water allocation See also: Revised draft National Water Policy 2012
Dada, as a child in a Marathi family, was a witness to the discordant practices. But unlike most people, he couldn't turn a Nelson's eye to existing conventions. Finally in 1958, he founded Swadhyaya (self-learning), an institution where faith, irrespective of religion, matters. From the motley group of 19 people, …
He shares his name with the father of the nation. But that's not where the similarity ends. If an incident in South Africa was to change Mahatma Gandhi's life forever, Gujarat's second Bapu's changed on the trip to the Netherlands in 1979. That's learning home truths in alien lands. Sadhu …
Village Hatiyaniki. Fifteen-odd people have gathered to discuss water harvesting activities in the vicinity. But there's just one face among the crowd, which is conspicuous enough to attract attention. Bereft of tact, his often-blunt interjections are received by a smirk from the other like-minded participants. But being unconventional only comes …
THINK saffron. Think sadhus and sants, communal frenzy, the Gujarat pogrom, of swords raised to the sky and the battle cry of kar sevaks and their adversaries renting a fresh spring morning. Now take a break. Picture a rishi meditating on the edge of a temple tank - say, a …
Modesty could very well be his second name. Seventy-one check dams, 55 percolation tanks, 33 ponds, 22 nullahs and 60 gully plugging - 241 rainwater harvesting projects in just nine months. But Pramukh Swami Maharaj is humility personified. His refrain: "This is not enough. We can do more." The mantle …
"I took the responsibility of spreading water harvesting because of two reasons. One, it would have ensured water in the scarce areas," he says. For equally important for him was the "opportunity it gave me to mend my ill-doings". Today, his work has brought about a sea-change in the attitude …
As always , in the run up to Budget 2002-2003, there was much speculation about what the budget would or would not contain, and what finance minister Yashwant Sinha might or might not say in his speech. February 28 has come and gone, and the speculation is over. Budget pundits …
A 10-year US $4.76 billion rehabilitation and development plan for water supply, sewerage and drainage has been submitted by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to the city district government of Lahore in Pakistan. The agency has also proposed procurement of 400,000 water meters at a cost of Rs 800 …
For the last six years, shell duck, a common migratory bird, had ceased to make its annual guest appearance in the wetlands of Kashmir. This season, bird watchers are jubilant at its return, along with a host of other winged visitors for a customary halt. And all as a result …
For just us $101 billion a year in medical research and treatments, 8,000,000 lives can be saved annually in the developing world. Moreover, us $186 billion a year in world income now lost to illness can be recovered. So concludes a report on economics and health published recently by the …
A new report of Panos Institute reveals that more than 330,000 Zimbabwean farm workers are reeling under problems of inadequate water supply, poor housing conditions, overcrowding and waste disposal. There are more than two million workers living in abject poverty on the country's commercial farms
aerosols may be the culprits weakening the Earth's water cycle by reducing rainfall. This was discovered during a study conducted by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, usa. According to the researchers, the tiny aerosols that are primarily made up of black carbon could …
the land of the mighty Chomolungma (Mt Everest) and the mother of many 8,000-metre-high snow-capped peaks, Nepal has no less than 6,000 odd fast-flowing rivers and a total annual outflow of 150 billion cubic metre (bcm). This "so-called colossal water potential of Nepal' is just a "socio-economic myth', according to …
to ensure that Britain meets the targets laid by the European Commission(ec), the government has promised to allocate us $19.91 million for recycling schemes over the next two years. Environment secretary, Margaret Beckett has said taking the easy route, local councils were putting all waste in the landfill and not …
Quite frankly our friends in government would be right in saying that they are damned if they don't and even more damned if they do. But what can we say. It is truly amazing how our government agencies learn so little about how programmes can be made to work. Every …
it is a paradox of sorts. Even as the Orissa farmers reel under recurring spells of droughts and floods, the state government has decided to raise the water tax for irrigation. The raised tax, to be imposed from the next kharif season, is substantial. The farmers will now have to …
The Supreme Court has asked Uttar Pradesh to identify appropriate land to set up oxidation plants to treat sewage before being discharged into the river. The areas are to be identified at Lakhimpur, Jaunpur and Barabanki by December 7, 2001. The order was passed after the standing counsel for the …
