Mukul-da,
It seems you are on top of things as well. As I said a large amount has been
approved by ASHAnet.org Seattle and Atlanta chapters but can only be sent
across to India after Indian govt issues FCRA clearance which will take a few
months. In the meantime AFNA is sending some money since it already has FCRA
clearance to send money to Parijat --before the deadline to construct
classrooms for the govt site visit.
Umesh
mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px
} body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } <there to take up
work on www.parijatacademy.org which has received approval for funds from
Seatlle and Atlanta chapters.>
2 months back -after reading Rajen Barua's appeal to Raiz "--Eonlokok kiba
eta kori diyok" I did call in Uttam Teron and Explained what I can do for them
in 2 months(There is Still Time, Brother)
All for Rs40,000/- on no-profit highest economy basis--4 class rooms+Pucca
walls/floor + complete desk+comfortable seats.
Last week I phoned "You never came back---"
He said ruefully "I could not find even that much"
mm
---------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 23:54:53 -0800
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Assam] Tigers & tribals: Tug of war continues - CSE News Bulletin
[November 14, 2007]
a similar discussion we had in DC about having slums or "green lungs"
in Delhi etc -- with Chintan India founder at www.ashanet.org/dc meet this
sunday - while there to take up work on www.parijatacademy.org which has
received approval for funds from Seatlle and Atlanta chapters.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:52:28 -0800 (PST)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Tigers & tribals: Tug of war continues - CSE News Bulletin
[November 14, 2007]
Please add [EMAIL PROTECTED] to your address book so that this newsletter
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For comments write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
=============================
CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin [November 14, 2007]
=============================
An e-bulletin from CSE, India, to our network of friends and professionals
interested in environmental issues. Scroll to the bottom of this page for
information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe.
INSIDE:
Tigers and tribals - Tug of war continues (Editorial)
Clean Air campaign news
- Tracking air pollution on Diwali
- Air pollution reaching critical levels in city
- Slide show: Is Delhi losing the pollution battle?
Gobar Times Green Schools Award
>From Down To Earth magazine
- Sukhomajri and Bunga: 32 KMs separates rural ruin from prosperity
- News: Resettlement, rehabilitation. New policy old story
- Special Report: Healthcare in Punjabs Malwa in shambles
- News: Delhi to get interceptor sewers
CSE's short courses:
- Managing information resources in the digital age
- City water and waste management: Alternative paradigms
- Understanding EIA: From screening to decision making
- Agenda for survival: Summer certificate course on policies, politics and
practices of
environmental management
=============================
Tigers and tribals (By Sunita Narain)
=============================
Tigers or tribals? Tribals versus tigers. This is how the discussion on the
tribal forest rights act is being framed. The law, which was enacted by
parliament a while ago, is aimed at conferring land rights on people who
already live in forested regions. The government says it wants to correct a
historical wrong against people on whom rights were never settled when forest
areas were earmarked for conservation. Quite right. But these homes of the
poorest also house the countrys magnificent wild animals, like tigers. It is
critical that their habitat should be protected and future safeguarded. This is
also quite right.
Is it possible to reconcile the interests of what seems to be two competing
groups?
Two years ago the debate was stormy. The draft forest rights bill was being
worked upon by a government just sworn into power. Around this time, it was
discoveredto everyones horrorthat all tigers from what was supposed to be a
protected area, the Sariska National Park, had been poached. Opposition to the
draft bill mounted; conservationists argued that this populist measure would
be the last nail in the tigers coffin.
I was asked to head a task force to suggest how tigers could be safeguarded.
Over three months the specialists we met believed that it was important to
reserve areas for wildlife. These would need to be inviolate areasexclusively
earmarked for animals where human interference would have to be kept at its
minimum. Otherwise, they said, the tiger would not survive. They believed that
if the forest rights bill gave people ownership over these lands it would be
disastrous.
I approached the issue from different perspectives. I had for long understood
that the future of people and forests is entwined. I also knew from experience
that regeneration of forests is not possible unless local people benefit. But I
was willing to listen to the experience of those who believed in the tiger. If
co-existence was not possible, we needed to find strategies to relocate people
who lived in the tigers territory.
The issue seemed simple, but the replies shocked me. After 30 years of wildlife
conservation efforts, fronted by the countrys most powerful, we had forgotten
people. In these 30 years we had managed to relocate 80-odd villages from
protected reserves. We estimated that another 1,500 villages existed in just 28
tiger reserves. Worse, relocation was done in the most ham-handed and inhuman
manner. We met families who had decided to return to the harassment and poverty
of their homes within the sanctuary as their resettled parcel of land was full
of stones. The authorities had done just about everything to make people
trespassers in their own land; everything to turn them against the tiger we
want to protect. This would not work we concluded.
Our answer was two-pronged. One, we agreed that inviolate space was important
for wild animals. But the people who were making space for the tiger needed to
be given a good dealnot marginal forestland which would make them more
destitute. Two, we said that we needed to be realistic. We suggested the need
to identify and prioritize relocation of those villages that were in the most
critical of wildlife habitats. This had to be done within a time-bound
schedule. In the remaining villages, which would have to live in the reserves,
we suggested a new bargainsharing benefits of conservation with local
communitiesfrom preferential shares in tourism to collaborative management of
our reserves.
This led to some developments. The government agreed to enhance the package for
relocated families from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh; it agreed to conduct a census
of tigers in the country, which would pinpoint their presence in different
habitats. The tiger census is the first step to identify the critical habitats
that need to be protected and to list the human settlements that need to be
relocated. With this done, the agenda of co-existence will need to kick in.
But unfortunately, the tribal versus tiger paradigm will keep the fires
burning. It would seem that the two lobbies are bent on scoring points, not
building consensus. First, the tiger lobby blocked the bill. Then, an uneasy
truce was brokered to provide for relocation of people and maintain their
rights. In late 2005, the bill presented to parliament included a provision
that temporary pattas (land deeds) would be given to people who were to be
relocated from sanctuaries and national parks. This would ensure that their
rights were protected, but also it would ensure that government would undertake
their relocation within a time-bound schedule.
Then the tribal lobby, which has the upper hand in parliament upped the ante.
In late 2006, the act, finalized by a joint parliamentary committee, dropped
this clause. Inside, it inserted an altogether new term, critical wildlife
habitats, which would need to be established as areas to be kept inviolate for
wildlife. In the rules for the act to go into force, they have rubbed in this
point. They want ministries to issue guidelines regarding the nature, process,
validation and interpretation of data to be collected and roles of expert
committees who will now designate critical wildlife habitats, virtually
questioning the legality of all protected areas.
This has led conservationists to react. They want all wildlife areas (some
600-odd) to be re-designated as critical wildlife habitats and removed from the
ambit of the act. Now they have the upper hand. For now, the act is stalled.
The next round belongs to the tribal lobby. It is after all a wrestling match.
In all this, let us be clear, the losers are tribals and tigers. It is not
tigers versus
tribals. It is everyone against them.
Read editorial online >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=2
To comment, write to >> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
=============================
Clean Air campaign: Tracking Delhi's air pollution
=============================
Delhi is in danger of losing the gains of its CNG programme as pollution levels
are once again creeping up to pre-CNG levels. Recent air quality data in Delhi
finds that pollution levels are on the upswing again after a few years of
control. All soft options have all been exhausted. Restricting car numbers and
upgrading public transport are the only options for the city. At stake are
global events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games and our health.
Read the press release (Nov. 6, 2007):
http://www.cseindia.org/Aboutus/press_releases/press_20071106.htm
View presentation, Is Delhi losing the pollution battle >
http://www.slideshare.net/equitywatch/is-delhi-losing-the-pollution-battle
See also:
Delhi's air pollution levels are already threatening to spiral out of control,
as the city celebrates a smoggy Diwali. Ambient air quality data during Diwali
this year in Delhi shows levels of particulates and gases like PM10, sulphur
dioxide and nitrogen dioxide have increased significantly.
Read the press release (Nov. 10, 2007):
http://www.cseindia.org/Aboutus/press_releases/press_20071110.htm
=================================
Gobar Times Green Schools Award
=================================
The Gobar Times Green Schools Award acknowledges the most environmentally
responsible schools of the country. The award instituted by CSE every year --
is based on the self-assessment of environmental practices carried out by
schools. The award seeks to help schools continuously improve their
environmental management.
Read more > http://www.cseindia.org/programme/eeu/gsp_award2007.htm
Contact Sumita Dasgupta ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
=================================
More in Down To Earth magazine
=================================
Sukhomajri and Bunga 32 KMs separates rural ruin from prosperity
Sukhomajris ascent to prosperity was built on the regeneration of its natural
resources forest and water. It had village autonomy and power to make
decisions. That all started falling apart when the forest department
intervened, robbing the village of resources and initiative. Nonetheless it
inspired many villages across India, like Bunga a mere 30 Km away, which has a
thriving economy. Two villages two different tales.
Read this Down To Earth cover story >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=1
--------------------------------------------------------
Special Report: Healthcare in Punjabs Malwa in shambles
Punjabs Malwa region grabbed national attention some years ago when several
studies revealed the link between heavy pesticide use and cancer. The 2007
State of Environment Report (SoER) prepared by the Punjab State Council for
Science and Technology, released on Aug. 28, only confirms what previous
studies had found - a grim tale. With the region accounting for 17 per cent of
the total pesticide use in India (for its cotton fields) cancer is just one of
the fallouts. Birth defects, foetus loss are some of the other impacts. Medical
facilities remain dismal and farmers are still ignorant about the dangers of
pesticide overuse.
Read this article >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=3
--------------------------------------------------------
News: Delhi to get interceptor sewers
The Delhi government has cleared a Rs 1,950-crore project to tap drains
carrying sewage from colonies not connected to the city sewers. Interceptor
sewers are seen by the government as a temporary solution to the problem of
untreated water reaching the Yamuna.
Read this article >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=4
=============================
Short Training Programmes
=============================
Short course: Managing information in the digital age (New Delhi, Dec. 11-14,
2007)
A popular short course on how to better manage and disseminate information
resources
- Sourcing information (information acquisition and research)
- Classification and indexing of digitised resources
- Primer on management of audio-visual resources (films, photos, CDs)
- Digital library fundamentals (focus on open source models)
- Information outreach: Product planning, services
- Online presence: reaching out through the Web
Register online >>
http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/managinginformation.htm
Course contact:
Kiran Pandey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--------------------------------------------------------
City water & waste management: Alternative paradigms (New Delhi, Jan.
14-17,2008)
Comprises hands-on sessions on designing localised wastewater treatment
systems, interactive seminars, detailed case studies, and field trips that help
explore alternatives -- from the current capital, water and material-intensive
processes of urban water management to a more cost effective, non-sewerage
paradigm.
Register online >> http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/citywater-workshop.htm
Course contact: R.K.Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--------------------------------------------------------
Training: Understanding EIA: From screening to decision making (New Delhi, Feb.
25-29, 2008)
Recognising the need to develop the capacities of state-level regulators and
appraisal
committees to screen and scope the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
process, this hands-on course gives participants a better understanding of how
to condict & evaluate environmental and social impacts of various industrial
projects,
and the ability to review EIA reports and conduct post-EIA monitoring.
Register online >>
http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/eia.htm
Course contact: Sujit Kumar Singh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--------------------------------------------------------
Agenda for survival: Summer certificate course on policies, politics and
practices of environmental management in India
A two-month course to explore the environment-development debate in India. A
week-long field trip to rural India. Lectures, readings, presentations, and
debates & local excursions. Faculty include eminent activists and policy
makers.
- Governance imperatives
- Managing natural resources today
- Urban growth and its challenges
- Spotlight on industrial growth
- Poverty and the biomass economy
- Global environment negotiations: focus on climate change
Register online > http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/agenda.htm
Course contact > Aditya Batra ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
==============================
Rate your pollution control board
==============================
All of us are concerned about rising pollution levels, dirty rivers, mountains
of waste generated and destruction of our immediate environment due to rapid
urbanisation and industrialisation. In India we have ineffective regulatory
mechanisms. In this context, CSE has initiated a research programme to study
the status of environmental regulations and regulatory institutions in India.
We need your help.
Many of you have interacted with state pollution control boards (PCBs). We want
you to help us identify the strengths, weaknesses and gaps in the existing
regulatory regimes. We have prepared two separate questionnaires one for the
industry and the other for NGOs. Do take some time to complete a brief
questionnaire.
Take the short survey >
http://www.cseindia.org/programme/industry/questionnair.htm
For more information on this project, contact < [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
==============================
Jobs, volunteer opportunities at CSE
==============================
CSE offers many interesting career opportunities: from researching on water,
air pollution, livelihoods and industry-related issues, to reporting on the
environment and disseminating information with the web team. You can be a part
of our organisation -- as an employee or as an intern/volunteer.
To know more about job openings at CSE >>
http://www.cseindia.org/joinus-index.htm
Intern/volunteer at CSE >>
http://www.cseindia.org/volunteer.htm
==============================
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Umesh Sharma
Washington D.C.
1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005
http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
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