From: [email protected]
To:
From: Anoushka leonora <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Mr. Gerson Rebelo, Leading Hotels.
This is in connection to the two full page advertorials in the Navhind Times on
the 27th May 2014
Your advertorial proudly emphasized the fact that you aim for your project to
obtain a Platinum LEEDS certification; your advertorial also emphasized that
you endeavor to make this golf course a popular destination for tourists coming
to Goa, so it is clear that this certification is an attempt appease your
customers & the locals.
Just because LEEDS is an American initiative and multiple ‘green’ projects in
Europe and America have a LEED certification, doesn’t make it the best option
for the environment, especially the environment in Goa if protecting it is
actually one of your goals.
The criterion for a LEEDS certification is based on:
1. Climatic conditions of temperate regions
2. And per capita energy consumption patterns based on energy consumption
patterns of developed nations like the US
Goa is located in the sub-tropics and experiences a hotter and more humid
climate that most European and American Nations. Also, the average per capita
energy consumption in Goa is much lower than most developed nations. Which
means that you can get the highest “Green Certification” by using technology
that is ecologically viable in the temperate regions but resource guzzling in
tropical regions. A clear example of this adorns the Mumbai skyline; where
buildings with glass facades, that are considered ‘green buildings’ in
Europeans countries and in the US, are energy guzzlers and make the city an
inferno by the day.
If you were really interested in the well being of the ecology, you should have
opted for a GRIHA certification. GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for
Integrated Habitat Assessment. It is an independent platform (registered as a
society) for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to
sustainable habitats in the Indian context .It is founded by The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. GRIHA is the Indian equivalent of LEEDS
and so may not be globally recognized as LEEDS but it keeps the Indian and
local ecology and economic conditions in mind while rating a project. A GRIHA
rating may not look as jazzy as a LEEDS certification on your brochures but
environmentally it is the better option, if you are actually aiming at making
your project ecologically viable.
Your advertorial also talked about converting a “barren” land into a green
spot; furthermore it also states that there are some shrubbery and trees
growing here. The very fact that there are plants growing here proves that the
land is not barren. The foliage may not be green but it is the native flora of
the region. By introducing newer species (foreign species - not naturally
growing in that area) in order to make the place a ‘green’ spot, you are
disturbing the natural ecosystem of that area. If protecting the ecosystem is
actually one of your goals then utilizing the native species already growing
there should be one of your objectives and not making the place more ‘Green’.
The advertorial also claimed that the project require “only significant hill
cutting” and that you would not be using the water from the bore wells you dug.
· “Significant” is a very relative term, is the hill cutting going to
be relative to a diamond mine, coal mine or a single storey basement ?
· Even though I am no golf aficionado, I know that golf courses require
watering via sprinkling system at regular intervals for the general upkeep of
the grass lawns, you will require a larger amount because you plan on
introducing newer species that have a different water requirement than that
available in the soil naturally. So where will you get this water from if not
from these wells? The sea?
Golf courses are utilized by a miniscule percent of the population, both
tourists and natives alike. Your project is not only a waste of precious
resources but also total farce. Your idea of a “green” golf course is not
sustainable for the Indian and local environment. The mistake that what works
for European and American countries can work here has been committed time and
again in India, and in Mumbai we are paying the price dearly. Goa has not yet
been significantly affected by this problem till now but is soon going to
follow the same trend if so called development continues in the same manner. If
you were actually planning on protecting the beautiful Goan environment for
future generations, don’t try to reinvent the wheel, environment protection is
relative to the environment you reside in. Ms. Anoushka Viegas3rd Year
Student BSc Life ScienceSt Xavier's College - Mumbai
