Feature
India’s Biological Diversity (BD) Act was enacted in 2002. There is now a decade of its existence to reflect on.The genesis of the law can be traced to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), which was signed at the Rio Summit in 1992. While assessing the 10 years of the Act, one has to be mindful of how India itself has undergone change in these years. By the time the Act came into force, trade imperatives had begun to influence environmental law and policy making both at the national and global level. The final shape of the Act and the manner of its implementation through the BD rules issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in 2004 reflect that bent.
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Wednesday,16 January, 2013 | Hits: 705
Ten years after introducing a Biodiversity Act, India is yet to put it to serious use although several large
"development" projects have invited controversy for their likely impact
on biodiversity, say Shalini Bhutani and Kanchi Kohli. A National
Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was created in 2003, but the government is
not bound by its recommendations.
The Act was meant to "provide for the conservation
of biological diversity," in line with the primary objective of the
Convention of Biodiversity (CBD). But, given the reality in which it
operates, the question is whether the Act will come anywhere near
effecting biodiversity justice....
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Friday,14 December, 2012 | Hits: 234
New Delhi is gradually inching back to itself after a period of succumbing to national pride. The city has exhaled the razzmatazz around the organising of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG). Buses are back on the roads, people back to work and Shera, the Games mascot, now lies unmasked in godowns.
And so it is time to look at all the scandals whose investigations were put on hold in the interest of holding the Games themselves. The financial irregularities, the shoddy work until very late in the day, the security inadequacies were all kept at bay to make the event take place without the spotlight being on the taint of these failures. But the morning after the closing ceremony, an enquiry was initiated into the corruption scandals, many of them pointing to members of the Games Organising Committee.
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Saturday,04 December, 2010 | Hits: 383
In rural parts of the developing world where many people depend on subsistence farming practices, food security is not about consistent access to a supermarket but about consistent access to seed. Small farmers typically depend on local seed systems, in which farmers save and exchange seed, as well as commercial suppliers for the seeds that they have to buy from agro-dealers.
The FAO has begun seed aid efforts to help countries in crisis, but many are concerned about possible biopiracy that could come with it. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack)
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Saturday,04 December, 2010 | Hits: 193
A few innovative steps, taken urgently, can greatly bridge the gap in access to electricity for poor consumers. Structural reform will take years, and given its complexity and poor record so far, cannot be the only pre-occupation, write Sreekumar N and Shantanu Dixit.
The State and Central governments are busy with massive electricity generation (capacity addition) plans to support the country's 8 per cent economic growth. There are attractive schemes to invite private participation, initiatives to facilitate land acquisition, and support to speed up environment clearances. As per the Integrated Energy Policy, the installed capacity is to be increased 6 times in the next 25 years. In addition to supporting growth, it is argued that capacity addition is required to provide quality electricity access to the whole population.
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Saturday,04 December, 2010 | Hits: 201
In essence, the film is a straightforward critique of the electronics industry and how these goods are currently “designed for the dump,” not being easily repairable and not having components that can be used in future designs. Annie gives a great example of phone chargers, which could easily be based on a uniform design so that you can use the same cord for all of your products, even if you update your phone.
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Thursday,25 November, 2010 | Hits: 296
“Milk is milk,” says the Center for Global Food Issues (CGFI), a project to support technology and free-trade in the agricultural industry. In their view, all milk—whether from pasture-based, organic farms or produced from industrial, high-input milking operations—is an essential part of a healthy, well-balanced diet. “Supplements don’t change milk,” states their official ‘milk is milk’ website. “They just increase the cow’s ability to produce milk more efficiently.”
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Thursday,25 November, 2010 | Hits: 168
Often called ‘magic’ marama, the green gold of Africa, this plant is working its secret charm above and below ground in southern Africa. Above ground it produces seeds similar to the peanut or soybean, but is actually higher in nutritional value than either; below ground it produces a high-protein tuber that is bigger and healthier than potatoes, yams or sugar beets. And to top it off, the planet can also generate a high quality vegetable oil.
Native to the Kalahari Desert across Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, marama has been a part of the diet of the indigenous people in the area for the generations. And yet, it has not been introduced into wide range cultivation and remains one of the most neglected indigenous vegetables in Africa.
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Saturday,13 November, 2010 | Hits: 178
In ecology class, students are taught the effects of keystone species, the dominant species in the ecosystem. They are the top dogs, the big fish. The keystone species have a disproportionate effect on their environment and can determine the types and numbers of species in their ecosystem, not just their prey. A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment shows that this keystone species effect is similar for both terrestrial and ocean-based predators.
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Saturday,13 November, 2010 | Hits: 164
Most people will be surprised, but Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways. In fact, the A8 "Milano-Laghi" motorway ("Milan-Lakes", as it connects the city of Milan to Lake Como and Maggiore) was completed in 1926. Time has passed and all developed nations now boast wide motorway networks, a strategic infrastructure that helps interconnecting people, places and is ultimately essential to economic growth. But Italy will soon be able to claim a new "first": the A18 Catania-Siracusa motorway, a 30km addition to Sicily's 600km motorway network, will be a fully solar-powered motorway, the first in its kind.
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Saturday,13 November, 2010 | Hits: 164
