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conservation (9)
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under Ministry of Power, Government of India, has launched a nationwide campaign to promote Energy Conservation in the country, by inviting all the School children from 4th standard to 9th standard to participate in school, State and National Level painting competition. The objective is to create awareness about the need for conserving energy and
to inculcate the habit of conservation in children - who are the best agents of change !
For details check out :
http://www.facebook.com/greeniesglobe
Numerous incidents of pipeline leakage induced contamination reported across India. Corrosion of pipeline assets is the major cause for this tremendous leakage and contamination threats. This is completely ignored by the water management authorities and design houses. When leakage occurs in any pipeline, the immediate focus is made on replacing the existing infrastructure. It is not an easy task for replacing all old infrastructure with brand new systems. We need to find the best way of improving the current operation to minimize leak and contamination incidents. We need to turn Water Rust to Water TRUST for assuring the integrity of existing assets and operating the water distribution without any potential disturbance. There is not much focus made on corrosion control and life cycle approach of selecting the appropriate water distribution systems.
Article Source: http://www.corrosionfootprint.org/2015/03/india-water-rust-to-water-trust-our.html
When Kevin Carter, a South African photojournalist, photographed a vulture stalking a dying child in Sudan in 1993, many expressed outrage. After all, vultures are looked upon as reviled, foul things, and Carter himself was reviled for having done nothing to help the child. Notwithstanding the outrage, the photographer went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for the picture in 1994. It bears saying that the combination of vulture and a child near death generated very strong and understandable reactions.
Traditionally, vultures have been looked upon as repellent creatures. However, their services to the ecosystem are only now being appreciated—and missed. With vulture populations in most places around the world declining precariously, it is ironical that this bird has engendered the interests of scientists and laymen alike, only now, when most species of the bird are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Vultures are classified as New World Vultures and Old World Vultures. The former are distributed in North, Central, and South America and belong to the family Cathartidae. Some examples include the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), and King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa). The Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae are found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. All vultures are carrion eaters except for the Palm Nut Vulture (Gyphohierax angolensis) which feeds principally on the fruit of the oil palm!
Nature has designed vultures in a manner appropriate to their function. These birds display remarkable tolerance to microorganisms (for example, the lethal Bacillus anthracis that causes anthrax) that are pathogenic to many other animals. Their digestive acid is strong enough to enable this. They are credited with reducing the occurrence of disease as they can eat diseased animals and prevent disease-causative organisms from spreading. Some vulture species locate their food using an acute sense of smell, while others use keen eyesight. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald head (devoid of feathers) so as to keep the head clean when feeding. New World Vultures are known to urinate straight down their legs; the uric acid kills bacteria accumulated from walking through carcasses, and also serves as a cooling mechanism. Genders appear identical and it is impossible to visually distinguish males from females by sight alone. Vultures have been known to fly large distances (500–1,000 km in a day) and soar to amazing heights (there has been a case of a jet colliding with a vulture at 10,000 m). They mate for life, and most species lay only one egg per year.
There are nine vulture species found in India: Oriental White-backed Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Long-billed Vulture (G. indicus), Slender-billed Vulture (G. tenuirostris), Egyptian Vulture, Indian Griffon Vulture, Himalayan Griffon, Cinereous Vulture, Red-headed Vulture and Bearded Vulture. The first three were the most common. Unfortunately, their populations have declined precariously since the 1990s—a whopping 97% of these three species has been lost. In India, Nepal and Pakistan, veterinary use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac has been cited as the main, and perhaps the only, cause of the population declines. It has been prescribed by veterinarians as a painkiller and for fever relief among domesticated cattle. Vultures are exposed to diclofenac when they feed from carcasses of livestock that die within a few days of treatment and contain residues of the drug. Given that up to 200 vultures have been sighted as feeding on a medium-sized carcass, one such poisoned carcass can kill a huge number of vultures. Their near-disappearance has tilted the equilibrium in favor of other scavengers like feral dogs that can carry rabies, and has led to an increase in disease vectors due to putrefying carcasses. It is tragic then that something as apparently benign as a painkiller has led to this avian scavenger’s near-extinction. It has been estimated that less than 0.8% of domesticated animal carcasses available to foraging vultures would need to contain a lethal dose of diclofenac to have caused the observed population declines.
Above: The Red-headed Vulture in Corbett National Park, India
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Curiously, their physical form and function have led to vultures having a place of pride in the cultural arena too. The ancient Egyptians considered the vulture to be a protecting and nurturing mother, and so their word for mother was also the word for a vulture, “Mwt.” For many centuries, the Zoroastrians of India, whose religion does not permit the burning or burial of their dead, have relied on a combination of sunlight and vultures for the task.
Once the causative agent was identified, the government devised a Recovery Plan: (a) identifying a safe alternative drug, (b) purging diclofenac from the environment, and (c) establishing a full-scale conservation breeding programme for future reintroduction once diclofenac had been removed. Some gains have been made. A safe alternative called meloxicam has been identified, and is becoming more widely used now that it is out of patent and can be manufactured more cheaply. A recent three-day vulture estimation exercise at the Panna Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) threw up some encouraging results, with some 1,700 vultures being counted within its periphery (however, newspaper reports do not provide an absolute percentage increase over the last-known count). Captive breeding centers in India run by the Bombay Natural History Society, with support from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK), have been able to rear 18 birds in 2011, almost double the number last year. Other vulture conservation programs in Assam and Gujarat have been reporting important advances through the education of veterinarians and livestock owners to avoid treatment of terminally ill livestock, or to bury or burn carcasses of recently treated animals.
However, there are some chinks in the armor. Diclofenac manufactured for human use is still being used illegally to treat cattle in India. Unfortunately, some of the vet medicine alternatives have not been tested for their safety to vultures and one drug in increasing use, ketoprofen, is already known to be toxic not just to these birds, but also to storks, cranes, and owls.
Above: Map of vulture distribution in and around India before their dramatic decline
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The use of supplementary feeding stations with diclofenac-free carcasses, also called “vulture restaurants,” has been considered one of the most useful management techniques for recovering their populations. However, feeding stations are principally used by the non-breeding population. Vultures tend to occupy greater home ranges, cover greater distances each day and spend proportionately more time in the air during the late brooding and post-breeding seasons. Even when vulture attendance at restaurants is high, studies have shown that the predictable food source may not sufficiently attractive to deter birds from utilizing carcasses encountered elsewhere. Therefore, restaurants can reduce, but not eliminate, vulture mortality through diclofenac exposure. Some studies have also emphasized the importance of the diversity of prey in the vultures’ diet and its relationship to the birds’ breeding success.The jury is still out on the long-term effectiveness of these conservation activities. Consider this: Almost 25 years after North America's California Condor (a New World Vulture) went extinct in the wild and dwindled to just 27 birds in captivity, by 2011, breeding programs helped increase its numbers to 400, including 200 birds thriving in the wild. Clearly, there is hope.
A shortened version of this article first appeared in the March 15, 2013 version of Down to Earth magazine (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/wing-and-prayer).
Corrosion causes contamination of drinking water with sewer leading to Gastroenteritis outbreak in Bangalore
“The patients were mostly from the Okalipuram slum. The slum-dwellers have drawn illegal [water] connections and the underground drainage system is not sound. As the water pipeline is corroded, the chances of sewage mixing with drinking water are high.”
You know how much energy is available within the scientific community to resolve corrosion issues faced by Public. The situation in industries is totally different. It is driven by the investment capabilities of asset owners to do research and find solutions for complex problems. If the assets are owned by Public, who will extend "Helping" hands for finding answers? Public only. It is purely Public-Public collaboration to resolve our own issues. We need energy to alarm the community through human-powered transmission.
We can ping at this time. Most importantly, CAP is an eco-friendly Movement.
Do you like to own a CAP-cycle and ping?
“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”
― C. S. Lewis
With the introduction of Environmental Studies in the Indian educational syllabus since the early 2000s, many of us have started appreciating the need for environmental education for children in particular. However, many of us are not aware of the good work being done by some organizations in this field for the past many years. One such stellar Non-governmental Organization (NGO) is Paryavaran Dakshata Manch. Started in July 1999, Paryavaran Dakshata Manch, the founders of this NGO recognized the need for continued environmental awareness raising and education much before the Supreme Court needed to step in to make the subject mandatory for school children.
The brainchild of a group of friends in Thane (a north-eastern suburb of Mumbai), the efforts of Paryavaran Dakshata Manch has been educating school children about conservation, biodiversity, and preserving and protecting natural resources such as forests and creeks for many years now. Simple exercises like educating children and citizens about the use of paper flags instead of plastic ones ahead of the Republic and Independence Days strikes a chord with them. Another popular festival with an eco-friendly twist is Rakshabandhan. Paryavaran Dakshata Manch encourages children to celebrate Rakshabandhan by tying rakhiaround their favourite tree. They then take a vow to take care of the tree and protect it, and further the cause of conservation.
The organization’s efforts are particularly notable due to the fact that it caters to a variety of students, including those whose medium of school instruction is Marathi. Since 2003, the NGO has been publishing the Aapale Paryavaran magazine, which is the only Marathi magazine devoted entirely to environmental issues. In a world where information on environmental issues is undoubtedly easy to find online, we forget that it is primarily available in English. Updating this material and presenting it to students in Marathi is of prime importance. Other noteworthy activities conducted by the NGO throughout the year include nature trails and camps, and the annual Nisarg Mela, a workshop-based event. Last year, close to 1,200 students from about 40 schools participated in the Mela, thus attesting to its popularity. Most recently, the organization introduced a scholarship programme called Nisarg to encourage students to conduct research on environmental issues. Under this flagship scheme, five groups of deserving students who have completed the tenth grade (SSC) are given a sum of Rs. 10,000/-. The research proposals are evaluated by a panel of judges and thereafter, the chosen groups receive guidance from experts on the basic principles of research methodology. Projects are to be completed within six months. Paryavaran Dakshata Manch hopes such efforts engender a spirit of inquiry and problem-solving within the younger generation.
Above: School students posing with a rakhi tied to “their tree” on the occasion of Rakshabandhan. By doing so, they promise to nurture the tree.
Paryavaran Dakshata Manch does not concentrate on school-going students alone. Last Diwali, it hosted two stalls, one each at National College (Bandra) and IBM Business Centre (Malad). The stall at IBM was a product stall where volunteers showcased friendly material like vermicompost, the “Magicbucket” specially designed by them to make vermicompost, paper bags, and artefacts made from wooden waste material by Pragati Prathisthan an NGO working in the Adivasi belt of Jawahar (Thane district). The stall at National College was geared towards raising awareness about environmental issues during the college’s Diwali Mela. In 2010, the NGO also conducted Nandanvan Sunder Gharghuti Baug, a competition of home gardens in Thane and Dombivli.
So how does this make Paryavaran Dakshata Manch different from the other NGOs working in the environmental education arena? For one thing, aside from a full-time small and dedicated staff, a large number of volunteers continue to find time to devote towards environmental issues. Professor Vidyadhar Walawalkar, one of the co-founders of Paryavaran Dakshata Manch,is particularly thankful for all the support the organization has received from various quarters, including its wonderful employees and staff, and the volunteers who help run its initiatives. Aside from donations from well-wishers, all its activities are funded through profits made by their common biomedical waste management consultancy located at Thane. Professor Walawalkar, who is also a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Thane’s VPM Polytechnic, puts particular importance on the concept of “social entrepreneurship”. A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change. While a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur focuses on creating social capital, particularly to further social and environmental goals. Typically, in such ventures, the management and employees are brought together by a common goal, and themselves become the shareholders at the organization. As a result, there is a greater stake at ensuring goals are met and that the organization continues to prosper.
If only we had more such organizations, we could change the face of India.
This article was contributed by Mahazareen Dastur. Based in Mumbai, she has been associated with environmental issues for over a decade now.
I have just learned from one of our friends that the earlier sent links were not compatible, hence, I'm resending the CCI survey formats in a compatible version. I request you to kindly find out herewith enclosed formats.
Concept Note: CCI - Academics&Research.doc
Students: CCI students.doc
Academicians: CCI Academicians.docx
Professionals: CCI Professional.doc
Kindly spare some of your valuable time and furnish the relevant format and email me at kannakumar.siripurapu@gmail.com
Thank you once again
Regards
Kanna
Theme:Biodiversity Conservation
Please click the link below to learn about the Guidelines for Participation
http://www.cuts-international.org/cart/pdf/NEAC_Form_2010-11.pdf
Dear Friends,
A small suggestion from my end.If we can make an earth hour a success in an year then what will happen if we all together voluntarily swithoff 10-15 minutes of power every day during peak hour.and have a candle light dinner with our family members together. as i have observed in my family itself that we eat at different time watching televison.
This may build relation between our family members and also conserve energy.
i am implementing this idea right now . i request all of you to join my small hand so that we can atleast start a begining
Raghava
