In current context of sustainable development concern is mounting over an ever growing list of environmental issues across rural India. By tradition, Indian society and culture values personal hygiene but gives little importance to clean and healthy community environment. Human excreta is regarded as the most hated object and anything connected to latrine is considered so defiling that one is supposed to take a bath immediately after coming out of the toilet and before going in to kitchen due to psychological and religious taboos. Sanitation is, therefore , regarded as a matter of individual initiative and not a collective obligation of the community and under this socio-cultural background, environmental sanitation has sadly been given the lowest priority.
For a healthy living we all require a healthy environment and sanitation is regarded to be one of the core components of the same. As far as the concept only with the various methods and technologies of safe disposal of human excreta, the Central Rural Sanitation Programme of India has updated and upgraded the perception of sanitation by incorporation the components like liquid and solid waste disposal , food hygiene, personal hygiene in the context of health improvement, school and home sanitation, and safe water and garbage disposal . In short , sanitation is being considered as a comprehensive initiative for a healthy environment with in a community with the top priority of separation excreta with its host of biological pathogens, from contact with human beings as well as plant and animal life.
Now coming to the environmental concern of a rural nation like India where about 70% of its people live in the villages- these days the question of improving the sanitation in villages in gaining much attention of both the people and the government as inadequate sanitation always puts an adverse effect on the environment; without a clean, safe toilet close to home people are forced to live in an unhealthy and unpleasant environment. One gram of faeces can contain ten million viruses, one million bacteria, one thousand cyst parasites and about a hundred worm eggs – so the danger of disease is massive and when any waste is exposed and clean water and hygiene education are limited, all people in the community are vulnerable to illness caused by faeces. On the other hand if we look into statistics then it shows that every year around 1.8 million children mostly from rural areas, die of diseases such as cholera , typhoid and dysentery caused by unclean water and poor sanitation’ in this regard rural women and girl are the most disadvantaged section as in absence of a well-built toilet at home , they often have to wait till dark for going to the field for open defecation which make them vulnerable to illness as well as sometimes to sexual-assault. Moreover sickness due to insanitary condition takes children away from school and adults away from earning an income .Medical expenses make massive demands on the limited incomes of the rural poor.
Rural Environment:
The deteriorating rural environment is not only creating problem for rural population but also emerging as a threat to urban India, since rural India is the key provider of agricultural and other indigenous products being consumed being by the big cities.
Rural lifestyles have close links with nature and its resources. Thus the environmental problems that manifest in rural areas of the country are largely due to over-use or misuse of resources mostly because of sheer poverty, ignorance and lack of alternatives. The denudation of vegetative cover due to expansion of agricultural activities , indiscriminate collection for firewood and the overgrazing by cattle and other livestock and consequent soil erosion are good examples of the impoverishment of environmental resources. Rural communities are generally resource conscious and the amount of the waste generated in villages is , therefore, much less than in urban centers. Also the nature and composition of waste is different in villages from that of cities. Most of the waste generated in villages is from individual households, whereas in urban areas, commercial establishments and institutions are also an important source of waste in village households is much higher than that in the cities. This is mainly because of different life styles, consumption patterns, food habits, etc. Traditionally, the village communities never considered anything as waste and had well-managed waste management system which allowed for maximum recycling and reuse of waste. However , with increase in population , the qualities of waste have increased several fold , where as the resources available for its management such as land availability for composting of organic waste- have diminished over time. These wastes are therefore, now dumped in the open and are managed unscientifically, leading to problems of environmental sanitation in rural India.
Realizing the adverse impact of sanitation on environmental as well as for recognizing and encouraging the efforts of Panchayati Raj Institution under Total sanitation Campaign, Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) was initiates by the Government on October 2, 2003. A’Nirmal Gram’ signifies an ‘open defecation free’ village with all houses, schools and anganwadis having sanitary toilets besides awareness amongst communities about the importance of maintaining personal and community hygiene, good sanitation and clean environment. But when we look into the very recent statistics, we notice that out of 2.5 lakh gram panchayats of this country, only 25,000 have received ‘Nirmal Gram’ status- which signifies that only 10 percent of Indian villages have full sanitation coverage.
Sanitation coverage
Taking into account the difference research finding and survey-result on total sanitation campaign, it can be suggested that increasing sanitation coverage in rural areas would require more clarity of the issue and understanding of the rural sensibilities . Building toilers is just one half of the battle; the other half is to make people use them. Merely building latrines. It must be combined with hygiene education which is designed to encourage changes in people ‘s personal behavioural pattern and outlook as well as to block the faecal-oral transmission route and reduce the spreads of diseases. This is the high time for the social scientist to look at society’s collective blindness towards the practice of open defection and the reluctance to change. Despite the high rate of urbanization- the rural population is still characterized by ignorance and poverty, and the attitudes of these people are mainly influences by age-old cultural beliefs and values. So to protect rural environment on sustainable manner through proper environmental sanitation , rural people need to change their attitudes and beliefs toward the whole issue. Lastly it may be concluded that though concern is mounting over an ever growing list of environmental issues across the nation but compared to urban India, we can still find a much better , safer and cleaner environment across the villages of this country, where one can at least breathe contentedly in fresh air.
Source:KURUKSHETRA
Friday, November 30, 2012
Why certain zones are prone to railway accidents?
A paper published this year in Physica A, a reputed international journal, has in a very scientific way identified the reasons behind the 11 railway accidents involving express trains in 2010 . Aside from clearly establishing the well-known cause — the disproportionate increase in railway traffic compared with infrastructure — it has also identified zones that are insufficient to handle the congestion and reasons for this.
The authors have identified two main reasons for the 2010 accidents. First, railway traffic has grown disproportionately to railway infrastructure, particularly railroads and routes. Second, there are serious flaws in the scheduling of trains on some routes. So much so that the Railway system would not be able to handle the traffic on certain routes if all trains were to run as per schedule. Hence, the Railways resort to making trains wait at signals, leading to long delays in trains’ run-time. This is alarming, as the system intentionally introduces the possibility of human error and/or system failure leading to accidents.
The 11 accidents were due to derailments or collisions between express trains or some sort of failure of the railway system itself. Incidentally, eight of the 11 accidents took place in a zone which they call the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP) — a north-eastern belt. This is no coincidence, as the statistical analysis by the authors clearly identifies the reason.
They find that the Indo-Gangetic Plain hosts some of the most traffic-intensive segments of rail routes — seven out of the 20 that they consider high-traffic. Comparing data gathered from 1992 to 2010 from “trains at a glance,” they conclude that this is because the infrastructure such as railway lines and tracks have not grown over the years, whereas the number of trains has increased manifold. They identify the most risk-prone ‘trunk segment’ as the Delhi-Tundla-Kanpur one and identify the Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada trunk segment from the southern zone as the “safe standard” based on the empirical evidence that it has not had any accident so far.
How sound is the rationale behind keeping the south zone route as a safe standard? Is it not better to keep an absolute value on safety? In an email to The Hindu, Niloy Ganguly noted: “It will definitely be better to use an absolute standard, but we do not know of any such standard for IR….
Note that there have been derailments/collisions even in South India in 2012. Hence, some segments in South India also seem to be nearing the risky zone. This means that the condition of IGP is even worse than what we had estimated in our paper (since the safe standard itself is no longer very safe).”
Another parameter is the headway, or time lapse between two trains as they cross the same point. The possibility of two trains coming dangerously close to one another increases as the headway reduces. They found two segments clearly coming out as risk-prone segments — the Delhi-Kanpur segment and the Ahmedabad-Surat segment. The Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada segment has a much higher headway and is therefore safer, relatively speaking. Of the two lower headway segments, the Ahmedabad-Surat segment has trains with low headway running throughout the day, whereas in the case of the Delhi-Kanpur segment, trains get bunched up in the early hours.
Runtime delays of trains on these segments were also studied. While 20 per cent of the trains on the Delhi-Kanpur segment were delayed by more than one hour, only about three per cent of the trains on the Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada segment were delayed to that extent. The delays reflect the high degree of congestion and frequent waiting of trains at the signals, and hence a possibility of an accident.
They also analysed traffic congestion at a fine-grained level by undertaking a simulation of the traffic flow according to the IR schedule. The authors modelled the “block system” followed by Indian railways.
A railway track is divided into block sections (of about 4-8 km) such that when one train is occupying a block, no other train is allowed to enter that block on the same track. Signals or stations at the end of the block control the traffic.
From the simulation, it became apparent that there would be more than two or three trains in one block quite frequently in the Indo-Gangetic Plain if all trains were to run as per schedule and not stopped by signals.
Now, while some blocks have three tracks, most of the IR blocks have only two tracks and so can accommodate at most two trains. So this indicates that the infrastructure is not sufficient to handle the traffic and this is only being managed by stopping trains and delaying them beyond the scheduled time.
Source: The HINDU
The authors have identified two main reasons for the 2010 accidents. First, railway traffic has grown disproportionately to railway infrastructure, particularly railroads and routes. Second, there are serious flaws in the scheduling of trains on some routes. So much so that the Railway system would not be able to handle the traffic on certain routes if all trains were to run as per schedule. Hence, the Railways resort to making trains wait at signals, leading to long delays in trains’ run-time. This is alarming, as the system intentionally introduces the possibility of human error and/or system failure leading to accidents.
The 11 accidents were due to derailments or collisions between express trains or some sort of failure of the railway system itself. Incidentally, eight of the 11 accidents took place in a zone which they call the Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP) — a north-eastern belt. This is no coincidence, as the statistical analysis by the authors clearly identifies the reason.
They find that the Indo-Gangetic Plain hosts some of the most traffic-intensive segments of rail routes — seven out of the 20 that they consider high-traffic. Comparing data gathered from 1992 to 2010 from “trains at a glance,” they conclude that this is because the infrastructure such as railway lines and tracks have not grown over the years, whereas the number of trains has increased manifold. They identify the most risk-prone ‘trunk segment’ as the Delhi-Tundla-Kanpur one and identify the Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada trunk segment from the southern zone as the “safe standard” based on the empirical evidence that it has not had any accident so far.
How sound is the rationale behind keeping the south zone route as a safe standard? Is it not better to keep an absolute value on safety? In an email to The Hindu, Niloy Ganguly noted: “It will definitely be better to use an absolute standard, but we do not know of any such standard for IR….
Note that there have been derailments/collisions even in South India in 2012. Hence, some segments in South India also seem to be nearing the risky zone. This means that the condition of IGP is even worse than what we had estimated in our paper (since the safe standard itself is no longer very safe).”
Another parameter is the headway, or time lapse between two trains as they cross the same point. The possibility of two trains coming dangerously close to one another increases as the headway reduces. They found two segments clearly coming out as risk-prone segments — the Delhi-Kanpur segment and the Ahmedabad-Surat segment. The Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada segment has a much higher headway and is therefore safer, relatively speaking. Of the two lower headway segments, the Ahmedabad-Surat segment has trains with low headway running throughout the day, whereas in the case of the Delhi-Kanpur segment, trains get bunched up in the early hours.
Runtime delays of trains on these segments were also studied. While 20 per cent of the trains on the Delhi-Kanpur segment were delayed by more than one hour, only about three per cent of the trains on the Vishakhapatnam-Vijayawada segment were delayed to that extent. The delays reflect the high degree of congestion and frequent waiting of trains at the signals, and hence a possibility of an accident.
They also analysed traffic congestion at a fine-grained level by undertaking a simulation of the traffic flow according to the IR schedule. The authors modelled the “block system” followed by Indian railways.
A railway track is divided into block sections (of about 4-8 km) such that when one train is occupying a block, no other train is allowed to enter that block on the same track. Signals or stations at the end of the block control the traffic.
From the simulation, it became apparent that there would be more than two or three trains in one block quite frequently in the Indo-Gangetic Plain if all trains were to run as per schedule and not stopped by signals.
Now, while some blocks have three tracks, most of the IR blocks have only two tracks and so can accommodate at most two trains. So this indicates that the infrastructure is not sufficient to handle the traffic and this is only being managed by stopping trains and delaying them beyond the scheduled time.
Source: The HINDU
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRATION , CLIMATE CHANGE AND EFFECT ON AGRICULTURE
Environment is the most important agenda of the international community due to its far reaching consequences on the survival of human being and other forms of biodiversity on the earth. Climate change is the most important indicator of environment degradation. Climate change is occurring due to increase in the level of green house gases (GHG).
In green house gases, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are the main contributors. GHG emissions have had a significant impact on the climate , particularly in recent times, with the global-average surface temperature rising studies have revealed that the warming of the planet is closely linked with the build-up in the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and some other green house gases (GHG).
China is the major contributor of green house gases with 19.5 percent followed by USA (19.2%), India (5.3%), Russia (5.1%), Japan(3.6%) and Germany (2.6%). Climate change affects many natural and human system. According to the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), the three main causes of the increase in green house gases observed over than past 250 years have been fossil fuels, land use, and agriculture. The increase I greenhouse gases from the late nineteenth century to the present time has resulted in global warming of 1 to 3 °C to the planet . The warming for the next 20years is projected to be about 0.2°C per decade.
Studies indicates that global warming increases the risk for species extinction, especially in bio diverse ecosystems, because extreme weather conditions like hurricanes, draughts and torrential downpours become more frequent. Flora and fauna become extinct at a rate 100-1000 times higher than normal. Climate change is one of the main causes of species depletion. According to a recent study of Stockholm Environment Institute, greenhouse gases can inflicting cost of nearly $2 trillion annually in damage to the oceans by 2100. The estimate is based on the assumption that climate-altering carbon emission continue their upward spiral without a pause. This study indicates that warmer seas will lead to greater acidification and oxygen loss, hitting fisheries and coral reefs. Rising sea levels and storms will boost the risk of flood damage, especially around the coastlines of Africa and Asia.
Warmest Decade
According to the UN weather agency (World Meteorological Organisation), climate change has accelerated in the past decade (2001 to 2010) and it was the warmest decade on record since records began in 1850. This period was marked by extreme levels of rain or snowfall, leading to significant flooding on all continents, while drought affected part of East Africa and North America. The global land and sea surface temperatures estimates at 0.46 degrees Celsius above the long term average of 14.0c. The UN weather agency noted that the world is warming because of human activities and this is resulting in far – reaching and potentially irreversible impacts on our Earth, atmosphere and oceans. According to a government statement in the parliament , there is 1.29 millimeter rise in sea level along the Indian coastline.
Impact on Agriculture:
Climate change will adversely affect agriculture globally. This will have serious impact on food security all over the world. All the studies indicate adverse effect on our food grain production. Changes in production patterns will occur due to higher temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Agricultural productivity will also be affected due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Leading international agencies like Inter-Governmental panel on climate change (2007) and Universal Ecological Fund (2011) have indicated affected of climate change on agriculture, globally. According to these reports, there will be 14 per cent deficit in global wheat production, 11 percent in rice and 9 per cent in maize by 2020.
Research finding coming from different parts of the world indicate that climate change is causing the early ripening of grapes. These finding are based on the harvesting data of last 64 years. Scientists attribute the fruit’s ripening to climate warming and a decline in soil water content, based on a comparison of decades of vineyard records.
There are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries. Much of the country’s understanding comes from global data provide by the Inter governmental panel on climate change , the World Meteorological Organization and other world bodies.
However, there are some examples which indicate the adverse effects of climate on crop production. According to report of the Central Government in the Parliament , the productivity of staple grain wheat could decline by up to 18 percent by 2020 due to adverse impact of climate change. The yield of major food crop rice might also fall by up to 6 per cent by 2020. These finding are based on the research conducted under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)’s Network project on climate change (NPCC). The report further indicates that the productivity of kharif maize and sorghum could also be affected by climate change. In 2002, drought affected food production by 10 percent ; the cold wave in January 2003 hit cultivation of mustard, mango, guava, papaya, brinjal, tomato and potato. High rainfall in 1998 and 2005 affected kharif and late kharif and late kharif onion crops, resulting in price hike. There is urgent need for research to assess the impact of changing climate on agriculture. But , the research should be driven solely by the international agenda the research should clearly focus on the specific region and crops. There is pressing need for honest location-specific research in partnership with small and marginal farmers to assess over a period of time the impact of climate change. Instead of being driven by the needs of farmers.
Adaptation plan:
Scientists are working world over to develop adaptive plants for food , drought and salty conditions of soil and the work has begun to pay off. Recent tests on farms in Bangladesh shown that a new line of rice containing the flood-resistant gene can live under water for two weeks. The period of 7 to 10days is very crucial in case of floods that destroy the crop of paddy in thousands of hectares every year.
The problem of flooding is predicated to worsen as climate change brings more intense rainfall there. These findings are crucial because 70 per cent of the world’s poor live in Asia particularly in south Asia where rice is the staple. Corn is another staple that is going to be affected due to more dry spells or droughts anticipated with the climate change . Recent tests in south Africa Indicate that drought resistant maize plants. Created by breeding, produced 30 to 50 per cent more corn than traditional varieties under arid conditions.
To mitigate the impact of climate change, he Government of India has launched the National Action plan on climate change in 2008. The Central Government has announced its intent to reduce the emission intensity by 20 to 25 percent between 2005 and 2020, thus making a major contribution to mitigating climate change . This commitment is based on GHG Emission profile which is based on five independent studies . The government has also formed an expert Group on Low Carbon Strategy for inclusive Growth under the planning Commission t develop a roadmap for Low-carbon development. The government has also launched the Indian Network for climate change Assessment (INCCA), in October 2009, as a network – based programme with board objectives of measuring ,, modeling and monitoring the change. It bring together over 120 institutions and over 220 scientists from across the country. The fight in the 12th Five-year plan (2012-2017) with the government intending to plough in almost 2 lakh crore Rupees through various mission.
Source: Kurushketra
In green house gases, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases are the main contributors. GHG emissions have had a significant impact on the climate , particularly in recent times, with the global-average surface temperature rising studies have revealed that the warming of the planet is closely linked with the build-up in the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and some other green house gases (GHG).
China is the major contributor of green house gases with 19.5 percent followed by USA (19.2%), India (5.3%), Russia (5.1%), Japan(3.6%) and Germany (2.6%). Climate change affects many natural and human system. According to the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC), the three main causes of the increase in green house gases observed over than past 250 years have been fossil fuels, land use, and agriculture. The increase I greenhouse gases from the late nineteenth century to the present time has resulted in global warming of 1 to 3 °C to the planet . The warming for the next 20years is projected to be about 0.2°C per decade.
Studies indicates that global warming increases the risk for species extinction, especially in bio diverse ecosystems, because extreme weather conditions like hurricanes, draughts and torrential downpours become more frequent. Flora and fauna become extinct at a rate 100-1000 times higher than normal. Climate change is one of the main causes of species depletion. According to a recent study of Stockholm Environment Institute, greenhouse gases can inflicting cost of nearly $2 trillion annually in damage to the oceans by 2100. The estimate is based on the assumption that climate-altering carbon emission continue their upward spiral without a pause. This study indicates that warmer seas will lead to greater acidification and oxygen loss, hitting fisheries and coral reefs. Rising sea levels and storms will boost the risk of flood damage, especially around the coastlines of Africa and Asia.
Warmest Decade
According to the UN weather agency (World Meteorological Organisation), climate change has accelerated in the past decade (2001 to 2010) and it was the warmest decade on record since records began in 1850. This period was marked by extreme levels of rain or snowfall, leading to significant flooding on all continents, while drought affected part of East Africa and North America. The global land and sea surface temperatures estimates at 0.46 degrees Celsius above the long term average of 14.0c. The UN weather agency noted that the world is warming because of human activities and this is resulting in far – reaching and potentially irreversible impacts on our Earth, atmosphere and oceans. According to a government statement in the parliament , there is 1.29 millimeter rise in sea level along the Indian coastline.
Impact on Agriculture:
Climate change will adversely affect agriculture globally. This will have serious impact on food security all over the world. All the studies indicate adverse effect on our food grain production. Changes in production patterns will occur due to higher temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Agricultural productivity will also be affected due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Leading international agencies like Inter-Governmental panel on climate change (2007) and Universal Ecological Fund (2011) have indicated affected of climate change on agriculture, globally. According to these reports, there will be 14 per cent deficit in global wheat production, 11 percent in rice and 9 per cent in maize by 2020.
Research finding coming from different parts of the world indicate that climate change is causing the early ripening of grapes. These finding are based on the harvesting data of last 64 years. Scientists attribute the fruit’s ripening to climate warming and a decline in soil water content, based on a comparison of decades of vineyard records.
There are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries. Much of the country’s understanding comes from global data provide by the Inter governmental panel on climate change , the World Meteorological Organization and other world bodies.
However, there are some examples which indicate the adverse effects of climate on crop production. According to report of the Central Government in the Parliament , the productivity of staple grain wheat could decline by up to 18 percent by 2020 due to adverse impact of climate change. The yield of major food crop rice might also fall by up to 6 per cent by 2020. These finding are based on the research conducted under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)’s Network project on climate change (NPCC). The report further indicates that the productivity of kharif maize and sorghum could also be affected by climate change. In 2002, drought affected food production by 10 percent ; the cold wave in January 2003 hit cultivation of mustard, mango, guava, papaya, brinjal, tomato and potato. High rainfall in 1998 and 2005 affected kharif and late kharif and late kharif onion crops, resulting in price hike. There is urgent need for research to assess the impact of changing climate on agriculture. But , the research should be driven solely by the international agenda the research should clearly focus on the specific region and crops. There is pressing need for honest location-specific research in partnership with small and marginal farmers to assess over a period of time the impact of climate change. Instead of being driven by the needs of farmers.
Adaptation plan:
Scientists are working world over to develop adaptive plants for food , drought and salty conditions of soil and the work has begun to pay off. Recent tests on farms in Bangladesh shown that a new line of rice containing the flood-resistant gene can live under water for two weeks. The period of 7 to 10days is very crucial in case of floods that destroy the crop of paddy in thousands of hectares every year.
The problem of flooding is predicated to worsen as climate change brings more intense rainfall there. These findings are crucial because 70 per cent of the world’s poor live in Asia particularly in south Asia where rice is the staple. Corn is another staple that is going to be affected due to more dry spells or droughts anticipated with the climate change . Recent tests in south Africa Indicate that drought resistant maize plants. Created by breeding, produced 30 to 50 per cent more corn than traditional varieties under arid conditions.
To mitigate the impact of climate change, he Government of India has launched the National Action plan on climate change in 2008. The Central Government has announced its intent to reduce the emission intensity by 20 to 25 percent between 2005 and 2020, thus making a major contribution to mitigating climate change . This commitment is based on GHG Emission profile which is based on five independent studies . The government has also formed an expert Group on Low Carbon Strategy for inclusive Growth under the planning Commission t develop a roadmap for Low-carbon development. The government has also launched the Indian Network for climate change Assessment (INCCA), in October 2009, as a network – based programme with board objectives of measuring ,, modeling and monitoring the change. It bring together over 120 institutions and over 220 scientists from across the country. The fight in the 12th Five-year plan (2012-2017) with the government intending to plough in almost 2 lakh crore Rupees through various mission.
Source: Kurushketra
Monday, November 26, 2012
PERFORMANCE OF KISAN CALL CENTRES
Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and food security is the major concern. India needs a second green revolution and it is possible only through the transfer of technologies from lab to land. Knowledge transfer to the agriculture sector with necessary inputs is most important. The country has a widespread telecom network which could be put to effective use for delivering knowledge and information to the farming community . The Indian agricultural extension system is the largest extension system in the world facing acute shortage of manpower and one extension worker is taking care of one thousand farmers which is impossible task to reach the each and every farmer. The Department of Agriculture and cooperation (DAC) launched Kisan call centers as centrally sponsored scheme under the Union Ministry of Agriculture in January 21, 2004 across the country to deliver extension service to the farming community. The purpose of these call centers is to respond to issues raised by farmers, instantly, in the local language. There are call centers for every state which are expected to handle the queries from any part of the country. Queries related to agriculture and allied sectors are being addressed through these call centers.
Operations Mechanism Of Call Centres
A Kisan call centre consists of a complex of telecommunication infrastructure, computer support and human resources organized to manage effectively and efficiently the queries raised by farmers instantly in the local language. Mainly, subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) using telephone and computer, interact with farmers to understand the problem and answer the queries at a call centre.
This is functional area within an organization like Research Stations, ATICs, KVKs, Agricultural Colleges or an out sourced where separate facilities exist solely to answer inbound calls or make outbound telephone calla, to resolve the queries of pending calls. Usually it refers to a sophisticated voice operations center that provides a full range of inbound or outbound call handling services including customers support, direct assistance, multi-lingual customer support and other services.
This is a new dimension Agriculture Extension Management, which takes account of, and makes full use of on-going information and communication revolution, by optimally utilizing the communication bandwidth to serve the farming community in remotest areas of the country by connecting them to best of the agricultural scientific community. This is an important value multiplier for the existing extension mechanisms, which find it otherwise difficult ( in terms of infrastructure and finances) to reach their desired clientele . This will enable establishment of close linkages and seamless communication mechanism among the key stake holders in the extension system namely- Agricultural Scientists, Extension Functionaries, Farmers and Marketing Agencies.
Monitoring And Review Of Kisan Call Centers
For successful functioning of kisan call centers, there is a need to monitor and review the various activities of the KCC by the Nodal institution on regular basis. The Nodal Institution on regular basis. The Nodal Institution responsible for documenting the daily activities of the kisan call center at various levels on farmer’s queries and their resolution, availability of subject Matter Specialists, call dropouts and their transfer to level – III and response to the farmers within 72 hours. The Nodal Institution will also organize fortnightly meeting with the Head of Departments of Response centers for first 6 months to ensure the proper identification and placement and changes if necessary of Level-II functionaries and resolution of the quarries shared with Subject Matter Specialists and their documentation. Subsequently , these meeting will be held every month in Response Centers on rotation.
Documentation and Reporting
The Nodal Institution is responsible for documentation and reporting . All the proceedings of the kisan call center will be documented by each of the Nodal Institution and shared with other kisan call centers for preparing a database on crop/ enterprise-wise and also to prepare frequently Asked Question (FAQs).
The Indian Agricultural extension system is the largest extension system in the world facing acute shortage of manpower and one extension worker is taking care of one thousand farmers which is impossible task to reach the each and every farmer.
Source: KURUKSHETRA
Operations Mechanism Of Call Centres
A Kisan call centre consists of a complex of telecommunication infrastructure, computer support and human resources organized to manage effectively and efficiently the queries raised by farmers instantly in the local language. Mainly, subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) using telephone and computer, interact with farmers to understand the problem and answer the queries at a call centre.
This is functional area within an organization like Research Stations, ATICs, KVKs, Agricultural Colleges or an out sourced where separate facilities exist solely to answer inbound calls or make outbound telephone calla, to resolve the queries of pending calls. Usually it refers to a sophisticated voice operations center that provides a full range of inbound or outbound call handling services including customers support, direct assistance, multi-lingual customer support and other services.
This is a new dimension Agriculture Extension Management, which takes account of, and makes full use of on-going information and communication revolution, by optimally utilizing the communication bandwidth to serve the farming community in remotest areas of the country by connecting them to best of the agricultural scientific community. This is an important value multiplier for the existing extension mechanisms, which find it otherwise difficult ( in terms of infrastructure and finances) to reach their desired clientele . This will enable establishment of close linkages and seamless communication mechanism among the key stake holders in the extension system namely- Agricultural Scientists, Extension Functionaries, Farmers and Marketing Agencies.
Monitoring And Review Of Kisan Call Centers
For successful functioning of kisan call centers, there is a need to monitor and review the various activities of the KCC by the Nodal institution on regular basis. The Nodal Institution on regular basis. The Nodal Institution responsible for documenting the daily activities of the kisan call center at various levels on farmer’s queries and their resolution, availability of subject Matter Specialists, call dropouts and their transfer to level – III and response to the farmers within 72 hours. The Nodal Institution will also organize fortnightly meeting with the Head of Departments of Response centers for first 6 months to ensure the proper identification and placement and changes if necessary of Level-II functionaries and resolution of the quarries shared with Subject Matter Specialists and their documentation. Subsequently , these meeting will be held every month in Response Centers on rotation.
Documentation and Reporting
The Nodal Institution is responsible for documentation and reporting . All the proceedings of the kisan call center will be documented by each of the Nodal Institution and shared with other kisan call centers for preparing a database on crop/ enterprise-wise and also to prepare frequently Asked Question (FAQs).
The Indian Agricultural extension system is the largest extension system in the world facing acute shortage of manpower and one extension worker is taking care of one thousand farmers which is impossible task to reach the each and every farmer.
Source: KURUKSHETRA
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE – POTENTIAL FOR BLUE REVOLUTION IN NORTH EAST
The seven contiguous land-locked states of North-Eastern Religion of India, commonly called ‘Seven Sisters” consisting Arunachal Pradesh , Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura present a paradoxical picture of being ‘poor’ in the midst of ‘plenty’. This is one of the richest regions of India in terms of biodiversity and natural resources. The region has rich and diverse aquatic resources in different topographical and climatic conditions in the plains of the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys in Assam, plains of Tripura, upland plain lands of the Imphal valley in Manipur to the predominantly hilly regions of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh with elevations ranging from 200-7089 m above mean sea level (MSL). The annual rainfall in the region exceeds 2,000 mm and more than 60% of the area is covered by forest. The soil are mostly acidic in nature, having ph in the range 4.5-5.0.
Fish have long been an important food item for the inhabitants of the region. Fish as been associated with the life of the people of northeast India from time immemorial. Not only it provides nutritious food, but also forms an unbreakable relationship with the culture, region, and traditions of the region. With almost 100% of population being fish eaters, except in Assam (90%) supply and demand.
A detail account of available fisheries and aquaculture resources and the fish production obtained in different states of the NE region , as in 2008-09 to that, the per capita availabilility of fish in the region was estimated to be around 6075 kg, which was lower than the national availability of 9.00 kg . World Health Organisation pegged 11 kg fish per year as minimum nutritionally required fish protein for human being . None of these states were able to meet this requirement except Tripura (10.94 kg). To meet the demand of the people, the region is importing fish to the tune of 38,340 tons per annum in addition to some unaccounted import from the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Brahmaputra and Barak rivers along with their tributaries and basins for resources of unparalleled magnitude and account for over 50% of the potential water resources in the country. The region is enrich with many freshwater species of fish and is also considered to be one of the hot spots of freshwater fish biodiversity in the world.
It can be concluded that the region is blessed with plenty of aquatic resources in a form of river, pond/ mini- barrage, reservoir, and wetlands. Resource under pond/ mini barrage is also continuously on rise, especially since 2008-09, on account of implementation of MGNREGA(e.g. in Tripura this resource has increased to 24, 094 has by 2011-12). The total fish production in different states, during 2008-09 was much less as compared to the production potential (4.88 lakh ton) of available resources (excluding rivers), even with modest targets of productivity with expected increase in resource (pond/mini barrage) and average productivity in recent years (2009-2012), fish production potential of the region can be expected to be even much higher. This indicates that the fisheries and aquaculture resources are underutilized and have potential to fulfil the nutritional requirement of fish eating populace of the region (4.78 lakh ton)
If one under takes fish culture and allied activities in a form of enterprise, based on proven scientific knowledge latest technology package, together with proper planning, then it can be the most profitable venture particularly in North-East Region where marketing of these produce is not a problem. Moreover, the much talked about economic development of NE region points to the needs for fisheries & aquaculture development as an important constituent of economic activity .
Industrial development has it own limitations in all the states of the region, except Assam, due to inherent communication problems. Thus development of agriculture and allied is the sole option in this region for its much required economic development as well as for fulfilling the local need. Agriculture alone cannot bear the burden of providing food for all and gainful employment to the rural population. It is estimated that 40-60% of the work force in agriculture are not profitably employed and above 70% of the population in this region is below 34 years of age. If suitable employment opportunities are not provided to this predominantly rural population, it is bound to result in urban migration with problematic consequences.
The present man- land ratio ( cultivable area ) in this region is less than 1:0.1 ha which is bound to deteriorate further with increase in population and very little scope for increase in the cultivable area for agriculture. Any significant increase in the cultivable area cannot be expected as it would mean reduction in forest coverage which is already alarmingly low than desirable (<47% presently against>60% required environmentally) . Thus , scope for horizontal expansion in agriculture is very limited. Vertical expansion has also its own limitations due to soil type and climate conditions of the region. As such, diversification of efforts , by tapping other available resources of the region, is a must. With high rate of precipitation and valley gradient of 15-20 cm per km, extensive floodplains and water logged areas are available, forming a very good fishery & aquaculture resource. Fisheries & aquaculture has also got an edge over other allied agricultural activities in terms of economic returns and nutritional value. Development of fisheries sector can also go a long way in solving the problem of gainful additional employment opportunities to region explicitly points out to the need for this sector’s development, both for dietary need and economic development.
The available statistics of trained manpower in fisheries sector , during post-independent era, suggest that the North Eastern states have received proportionately better representation in various fishery related centrally sponsored training programmes, compared to other states of the country. Presently the region has two fishery colleges (Assam & Tripura) with majority of their seats for the states of the region , producing good number of B.F. Sc. & M.F. Sc. On a regular basis , in addition to those from other Fishery college of the country and central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai. Evidently , therefore , there is no dearth of trained manpower in the states of region.
The required approach to realize the available potential and bring in the possible “ BLUE REVOLUTION” in this region would required an authentic database, comprehensive planning , policy and technological support, proper implementation (with due importance to the sector and allocation of adequate financial resources) and strict monitoring. Tripura is a good example where such efforts, made in the recent, have yielded desired results. This states is now surplus in fish seed production (15kg per capita availability of fish from local production during 2011-12).
To be precise the approach for much needed development of fishery sector in NE region should be to give due importance to the sector and efficient effective management of the available resources (physical & human). The main problem of present under potential performance of this sector in this region appears to be more a management crisis than resource crisis of any form. Potential does exist to bring in the much needed “ BLUE REVOLUTION”, not only to increase the fish availabilility but also to accelerate the pace of economic growth of the region. This only requires a planned concerted effort of all concerned.
Source: KURUKSETRA
NEGATIVE IMPACT OF BIODIVERSITY
“If we lose biodiversity , we will lose jobs, food , medicines, and our livelihood will be under threat. Unless the decline is halted ,the negative impact on daily lives will grow exponentially”, says Braulio F.de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary, convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
From the common man to the big corporate, the future of our growth depends on conserving the variety and richness of biodiversity. Already large fishery areas in the north-west Atlantic have collapsed under the impact of loss of marine biodiversity and climate change, he states. With alarm bells already ringing loud and clear, the CBD is all set to bring to the discussion table issues such as halting the depletion of biodiversity, resource mobilization, firming up bio-safety protocols and getting stakeholder like industry to do their bit, at the upcoming global summit in Hyderabad for which it is all decked up.
Balancing Approach Needed
In the background of financial crisis in many countries, the CBD faces a tough task to move ahead especially as member-nations need to set targets and allocate funds. The 1-day jamboree, started on October 1 and is witnessing the participation of 20 heads of nations and over a hundred environment and forest ministers. A total of 10,000 international delegates are taking part in the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP 11)
Two Objectives
The summit will see a forward movement on the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety (adopted in 2000). Especially updating of regulatory guidelines on LMOs(living modified Organisms). The seconds major focus will be carrying forward the October 2010 Nagoya (Japan) agreement on a decade (2010-2020) strategy to achieve global biodiversity targets. Issues such as reviding national strategies and setting realistic targets will come up, he told in a telephonic interview to one of a leading newspaper from Canada.
India’s role & Other details:
India is among the mega biodiverse countries. T is rich both in traditional knowledge and diverse flora and fauna. The country has made good progress in nature conservation. It has had a national biodiversity authority for over 10 years. However , a number of species face the threat of extinction ,including tiger and big vultures, Dias said.
The major drivers of biodiversity loss like demand for food and water, pollution, global warming impact are on the rise in countries like India and many developing countries.
In December 2011 at a meeting in Tokyo, a global platform for business and biodiversity was formed japan, Canada, the Netherlands from the developed countries and Brazil and south Africa from the developing world are active. India is not yet a member, but the world looks forward to industries from the country to play a more proactive role.
The Objective of this group is to raise awareness about each business, how it impacts bio diversity and the need to integrate policies and biodiversity into its plans.
MNCs have started to become more responsive now. Earlier it was ‘green washing’ or lip service. All that is changing as realization dawn that is changing as realization dawns that business will thrive only if we safeguard biodiversity. The CBD started engaging the private sector six years ago.
There will be several for a where the private sector and governments will exchange views. Here is need to have voluntary commitments from industry, as also partnership between private sector and governments to evolve sustainable development models. Similarly, access to credit, regulation, and certification, reporting on social and environmental responsibilities of companies will be discussed.
One of the useful fallouts of the summit held every four year is that the host country assumes Presidency for the following two years. It will be interesting to see the issues that India will bring forward.
India already having shown its intention by ratifying the supplementary protocol, we have to see what measures the nation takes from the Convention in its ecological jurisprudence. For that we will have to wait with deep seated breath as the real position of the nation as far as its environmental concern goes, calls for a deeper introspection.
About the Protocol
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another . It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003.
India to Ratify Nagoya Supplementary Protocol
Union minister of Environmental and forest jayanthi Natrajan at the meet in the national Capital appealed to countries that have signed the Nagoya- Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol to Cartagena protocol to “Fast track” the ratification. Addressing the opening session of the sixth meeting of the conference of the Parties Serving as the meeting of the Parties (CoP_MoP 6) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) from October 1 to 5, that got initiated in the capital the Minister reassured the international delegates that India was committed to the covenant and had already initiated the process of ratification. The Nagoya- Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol dealt with liability and redress on damage resulting from living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
Source: CHRONICLE
From the common man to the big corporate, the future of our growth depends on conserving the variety and richness of biodiversity. Already large fishery areas in the north-west Atlantic have collapsed under the impact of loss of marine biodiversity and climate change, he states. With alarm bells already ringing loud and clear, the CBD is all set to bring to the discussion table issues such as halting the depletion of biodiversity, resource mobilization, firming up bio-safety protocols and getting stakeholder like industry to do their bit, at the upcoming global summit in Hyderabad for which it is all decked up.
Balancing Approach Needed
In the background of financial crisis in many countries, the CBD faces a tough task to move ahead especially as member-nations need to set targets and allocate funds. The 1-day jamboree, started on October 1 and is witnessing the participation of 20 heads of nations and over a hundred environment and forest ministers. A total of 10,000 international delegates are taking part in the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP 11)
Two Objectives
The summit will see a forward movement on the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety (adopted in 2000). Especially updating of regulatory guidelines on LMOs(living modified Organisms). The seconds major focus will be carrying forward the October 2010 Nagoya (Japan) agreement on a decade (2010-2020) strategy to achieve global biodiversity targets. Issues such as reviding national strategies and setting realistic targets will come up, he told in a telephonic interview to one of a leading newspaper from Canada.
India’s role & Other details:
India is among the mega biodiverse countries. T is rich both in traditional knowledge and diverse flora and fauna. The country has made good progress in nature conservation. It has had a national biodiversity authority for over 10 years. However , a number of species face the threat of extinction ,including tiger and big vultures, Dias said.
The major drivers of biodiversity loss like demand for food and water, pollution, global warming impact are on the rise in countries like India and many developing countries.
In December 2011 at a meeting in Tokyo, a global platform for business and biodiversity was formed japan, Canada, the Netherlands from the developed countries and Brazil and south Africa from the developing world are active. India is not yet a member, but the world looks forward to industries from the country to play a more proactive role.
The Objective of this group is to raise awareness about each business, how it impacts bio diversity and the need to integrate policies and biodiversity into its plans.
MNCs have started to become more responsive now. Earlier it was ‘green washing’ or lip service. All that is changing as realization dawn that is changing as realization dawns that business will thrive only if we safeguard biodiversity. The CBD started engaging the private sector six years ago.
There will be several for a where the private sector and governments will exchange views. Here is need to have voluntary commitments from industry, as also partnership between private sector and governments to evolve sustainable development models. Similarly, access to credit, regulation, and certification, reporting on social and environmental responsibilities of companies will be discussed.
One of the useful fallouts of the summit held every four year is that the host country assumes Presidency for the following two years. It will be interesting to see the issues that India will bring forward.
India already having shown its intention by ratifying the supplementary protocol, we have to see what measures the nation takes from the Convention in its ecological jurisprudence. For that we will have to wait with deep seated breath as the real position of the nation as far as its environmental concern goes, calls for a deeper introspection.
About the Protocol
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another . It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003.
India to Ratify Nagoya Supplementary Protocol
Union minister of Environmental and forest jayanthi Natrajan at the meet in the national Capital appealed to countries that have signed the Nagoya- Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol to Cartagena protocol to “Fast track” the ratification. Addressing the opening session of the sixth meeting of the conference of the Parties Serving as the meeting of the Parties (CoP_MoP 6) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) from October 1 to 5, that got initiated in the capital the Minister reassured the international delegates that India was committed to the covenant and had already initiated the process of ratification. The Nagoya- Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol dealt with liability and redress on damage resulting from living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
Source: CHRONICLE
RIO + 20 SUMMIT : NEW COMMITMENTS
The UN conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as Rio + 20 Conference was held in Rio de Janerio Brazil on June 20-22. This conference as it is held 20 years after the first earth Summit, which was held in 1992 in Rio de Janerio city of Brazil . The Earth Summit 1992 adopted’Agenda-21’, which became global framework for promoting sustainable development in subsequent years. The Agenda -21, so called because it provides a frame work for sustainable development in 21st century. It recommended the establishment of an institutional mechanism for effective follow-up to the Rio – conference as well as to enhance international effort for realizing its mandate. It also recommended to rationalize the inter-governmental decision-making capacity for the integration of environmental and development issues ad to examine the progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 at national , regional and international tends , Keeping this in view the UN General Assembly created in 1992 the UN Commission on sustainable Development as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The mandate of the commission was to review progress in the implementation of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Rio Summit 1992 was followed by the world Summit on sustainable development, which was held in 2002 in Johannesburg(South Africa) its purpose was to give further impetus to sustainable development programme at global level. It adopted Johannesburg Declaration and a Johannesburg plan of implementation.
IT was in this backdrop that the Rio+ 20 was in this backdrop that the Rio +20 was held in june 2012 at Rio de Janeirom with the following objectives:
1.Securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development.
2.Assessing the progress made since Rio Conference and remain gaps in implementation of the outcomes.
3.Addressing new and emerging challenges .
The Rio + 20 Conference pursued the two main themes:
1.Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication;
2.Institutional framework for sustainable development.
Rio + 20 Zero Draft (Outcome Document) :
The final outcome document of Rio+20, also known as zero draft is the result of a series of preparatory meeting , organized by various countries for last few months to facilitates greater understanding and promote consensus building on the key issues involved in the two themes. In addition, five regional Preparatory meeting have also been held under the ages of ECOSOC. India has also shown keen interest in the preparatory process and organized Delhi Ministerial Dialogue in October 2011 which focused on the Green Economy and Inclusive Growth. Forty-one countries and a multilateral organizations participated in this Dialogue process.
The final outcome Document of Rio + 20 is titled as the future we want and is divided into five broad sections which are discussed below:
1.Preamble / Stage Setting
With an objective of eradication of poverty and hunger and economic stability and growth that benefit all, the leaders renewed their determination to pursue the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication . They Further reaffirmed their resolve t strengthen the institution framework for sustainable development.
2.Renewing Political Commitment
This includes four points:
A.The leaders affirmed their commitment to advance progress in the implementation of the Rio Declaration on Environment, 1992, Agenda 21m the programme for further implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg, Declaration on Sustainable Development and the plan of implementation of the World Summit on sustainable Development , The Barbados plan of Action and Mauritius Strategy for implementation. They also recognised the need to reinforce Sustainable Development globally through our collective and national efforts in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the principle of sovereign right of states over their natural resources .
B.The leaders laid emphasis on the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major on Sustainable Development and addressing new and emerging challenges. Though there has been some progress and change since 1992 Rio Summit , Yet there have also been setbacks because of Multiple inter-related crises-financial, economic and volatile energy and food prices. New and emerging challenges include the further intensification of earlier problems calling for more urgent responses. The leader were deeply concerned that around 1.4 billion people still live in extreme poverty and one-fifth of world population is undernourished . Unsustainable development has increased the stress on earth’s limited resources and on the carrying capacity f the eco-systems.
C.Engaging Major Groups
They realized that a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development is the broad public participation in decision-making . Sustainable development requires major groups-women, children’s and youth , indigenous people , non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological community and farmers to play a meaningful role at all levels. They found it important to enable all members of civil society to be actively engaged in sustainable development by incorporating their specific knowledge and practical know-how into national and local policy-making .
D.Framework for Action
They expressed commitment to improve express commitment to improve governance and capacity at all level global, regional, national and local to promote coherence across institutions. They called for a global policy framework requiring all listed and large private companies to consider sustainability issues and to integrate sustainability information within the reporting cycle.
3.Green Economy in the Context of sustainable Development and poverty Eradication
This section of final outcome includes three parts:
A.Framing the context of green Economy, challenges and opportunities
The leaders were convinced that a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should contribute to key goals-in particular the priorities of poverty eradication, food security sound water management , universal access to modern energy sources, sustainable cities, management of oceans and improving resilience and disaster preparedness as well as public health, human resource development and sustained inclusive and equitable growth that generates employment , including for youth thus , they viewed green economy as a means to achieve sustainable development , which must remain our overarching goal. They noted that the transformation to a green economy should be an opportunity to all countries and threat to none. Therefore, international efforts should be made to build a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
B. Tool kits and Experimental Sharing
The leaders laid emphasis on the fact that the countries, which are at the primary stage of building green economy may learn from each other experiences. They recognized that a mix of policy options include , inter alia, regulatory, economic and fiscal instruments, investment in green infrastructures, financial incentives, subsidy reform sustainable public procurement, information disclosure and voluntary partnerships. They supported the creation of an international knowledge-sharing platform to facilitate countries and implementation.
C.Framework for Action
Under the frame work for action realization the goal of green economy , the leaders recognised the value of having a set of differentiated strategies, tailored to the needs of different countries and different sectors. Each country is also required to develop her own green economies strategies through a transparent process of multi-stakeholder consultation. They demanded that the UN, in cooperation with other international of organisation should support develop their green economy strategies. They also encouraged business and industry to develop green economy road maps for their respective sectors with concrete goals and benchmark for progress.
4. Institutional Framework for sustainable Development
Evolving and appropriate framework for sustainable development has been one of the major theme of RIO + 20 conference. The conference recommended the following measures in this respect:
a.Strengthening the Three Pillars
The leaders recognised the need to strengthen and internet the three pillars of sustainable development at local, national and global level, which is critical for advancing sustainable development. The implementation of Agenda 21 should be consistent with the principles of universality , democracy, transparency, cost effectiveness and account ability keeping in mind the Rio principles, in particular common but differentiated responsibility. It also recommended enforcing coherence among agencies, funds and programmes of the UN system, including the international financial and trade institutions.
b.Central Role of G.A.ECOSOC CSD, SDC
The final outcome document affirmed the Central role of UN General Assembly as the highest policy-making body and call for it to further integrate sustainable development as the key element of the overarching framework for un activities.
The affirmed the role of Economic and Social (ECOSOC) as the central mechanism for the coordination of UN system and its specialized agencies, Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) as the highest Commission for Sustainable Development under the UN system and the Sustainable Development Council (SDC) as the authoritative high level body for consideration of matter related to interaction of three dimensions of sustainable development.
c.UNEP, Specialised Agencies on Environment Proposal, IFIs, United Nations Operational Activities at country level.
They agreed to strengthen the United Nations Environment programme to fulfil its mandate by establishing universal membership in its governing council and call for significantly increasing its financial base to deepen policy coordination and enhance means of implementation. Similarly, they laid emphasis on strengthening international financial institutions and operational activities of UN at country level.
d.Regional , National and Local
In this respect they affirmed that overarching sustainable development strategies should be incorporated in National development plan as key instrument for the implementation of sustainable development commitment at regional, national and sub-regional mechanisms, including the Regional Commissions, in providing the Sustainable Development through capacity-building , exchange of information and experiences and providing expertise.
5.Frame work of Action and Follow up
In order to achieve the goal of sustainable development , the document identified certain priority areas like food security, water , energy, cities, green jobs oceans and seas , climate change, forest, maintains, and so on. The document also discussed about the financial means to implement the recommen-dations.
The five aspects of Rio + 20 final outcome documents denote that the world community has taken serious note of the need of Sustain able Development in 21st century, which has emerged as the key global issue to our times.
Source: PRATIYOGITA DARPAN
IT was in this backdrop that the Rio+ 20 was in this backdrop that the Rio +20 was held in june 2012 at Rio de Janeirom with the following objectives:
1.Securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development.
2.Assessing the progress made since Rio Conference and remain gaps in implementation of the outcomes.
3.Addressing new and emerging challenges .
The Rio + 20 Conference pursued the two main themes:
1.Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication;
2.Institutional framework for sustainable development.
Rio + 20 Zero Draft (Outcome Document) :
The final outcome document of Rio+20, also known as zero draft is the result of a series of preparatory meeting , organized by various countries for last few months to facilitates greater understanding and promote consensus building on the key issues involved in the two themes. In addition, five regional Preparatory meeting have also been held under the ages of ECOSOC. India has also shown keen interest in the preparatory process and organized Delhi Ministerial Dialogue in October 2011 which focused on the Green Economy and Inclusive Growth. Forty-one countries and a multilateral organizations participated in this Dialogue process.
The final outcome Document of Rio + 20 is titled as the future we want and is divided into five broad sections which are discussed below:
1.Preamble / Stage Setting
With an objective of eradication of poverty and hunger and economic stability and growth that benefit all, the leaders renewed their determination to pursue the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication . They Further reaffirmed their resolve t strengthen the institution framework for sustainable development.
2.Renewing Political Commitment
This includes four points:
A.The leaders affirmed their commitment to advance progress in the implementation of the Rio Declaration on Environment, 1992, Agenda 21m the programme for further implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg, Declaration on Sustainable Development and the plan of implementation of the World Summit on sustainable Development , The Barbados plan of Action and Mauritius Strategy for implementation. They also recognised the need to reinforce Sustainable Development globally through our collective and national efforts in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the principle of sovereign right of states over their natural resources .
B.The leaders laid emphasis on the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major on Sustainable Development and addressing new and emerging challenges. Though there has been some progress and change since 1992 Rio Summit , Yet there have also been setbacks because of Multiple inter-related crises-financial, economic and volatile energy and food prices. New and emerging challenges include the further intensification of earlier problems calling for more urgent responses. The leader were deeply concerned that around 1.4 billion people still live in extreme poverty and one-fifth of world population is undernourished . Unsustainable development has increased the stress on earth’s limited resources and on the carrying capacity f the eco-systems.
C.Engaging Major Groups
They realized that a fundamental prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development is the broad public participation in decision-making . Sustainable development requires major groups-women, children’s and youth , indigenous people , non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological community and farmers to play a meaningful role at all levels. They found it important to enable all members of civil society to be actively engaged in sustainable development by incorporating their specific knowledge and practical know-how into national and local policy-making .
D.Framework for Action
They expressed commitment to improve express commitment to improve governance and capacity at all level global, regional, national and local to promote coherence across institutions. They called for a global policy framework requiring all listed and large private companies to consider sustainability issues and to integrate sustainability information within the reporting cycle.
3.Green Economy in the Context of sustainable Development and poverty Eradication
This section of final outcome includes three parts:
A.Framing the context of green Economy, challenges and opportunities
The leaders were convinced that a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should contribute to key goals-in particular the priorities of poverty eradication, food security sound water management , universal access to modern energy sources, sustainable cities, management of oceans and improving resilience and disaster preparedness as well as public health, human resource development and sustained inclusive and equitable growth that generates employment , including for youth thus , they viewed green economy as a means to achieve sustainable development , which must remain our overarching goal. They noted that the transformation to a green economy should be an opportunity to all countries and threat to none. Therefore, international efforts should be made to build a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
B. Tool kits and Experimental Sharing
The leaders laid emphasis on the fact that the countries, which are at the primary stage of building green economy may learn from each other experiences. They recognized that a mix of policy options include , inter alia, regulatory, economic and fiscal instruments, investment in green infrastructures, financial incentives, subsidy reform sustainable public procurement, information disclosure and voluntary partnerships. They supported the creation of an international knowledge-sharing platform to facilitate countries and implementation.
C.Framework for Action
Under the frame work for action realization the goal of green economy , the leaders recognised the value of having a set of differentiated strategies, tailored to the needs of different countries and different sectors. Each country is also required to develop her own green economies strategies through a transparent process of multi-stakeholder consultation. They demanded that the UN, in cooperation with other international of organisation should support develop their green economy strategies. They also encouraged business and industry to develop green economy road maps for their respective sectors with concrete goals and benchmark for progress.
4. Institutional Framework for sustainable Development
Evolving and appropriate framework for sustainable development has been one of the major theme of RIO + 20 conference. The conference recommended the following measures in this respect:
a.Strengthening the Three Pillars
The leaders recognised the need to strengthen and internet the three pillars of sustainable development at local, national and global level, which is critical for advancing sustainable development. The implementation of Agenda 21 should be consistent with the principles of universality , democracy, transparency, cost effectiveness and account ability keeping in mind the Rio principles, in particular common but differentiated responsibility. It also recommended enforcing coherence among agencies, funds and programmes of the UN system, including the international financial and trade institutions.
b.Central Role of G.A.ECOSOC CSD, SDC
The final outcome document affirmed the Central role of UN General Assembly as the highest policy-making body and call for it to further integrate sustainable development as the key element of the overarching framework for un activities.
The affirmed the role of Economic and Social (ECOSOC) as the central mechanism for the coordination of UN system and its specialized agencies, Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) as the highest Commission for Sustainable Development under the UN system and the Sustainable Development Council (SDC) as the authoritative high level body for consideration of matter related to interaction of three dimensions of sustainable development.
c.UNEP, Specialised Agencies on Environment Proposal, IFIs, United Nations Operational Activities at country level.
They agreed to strengthen the United Nations Environment programme to fulfil its mandate by establishing universal membership in its governing council and call for significantly increasing its financial base to deepen policy coordination and enhance means of implementation. Similarly, they laid emphasis on strengthening international financial institutions and operational activities of UN at country level.
d.Regional , National and Local
In this respect they affirmed that overarching sustainable development strategies should be incorporated in National development plan as key instrument for the implementation of sustainable development commitment at regional, national and sub-regional mechanisms, including the Regional Commissions, in providing the Sustainable Development through capacity-building , exchange of information and experiences and providing expertise.
5.Frame work of Action and Follow up
In order to achieve the goal of sustainable development , the document identified certain priority areas like food security, water , energy, cities, green jobs oceans and seas , climate change, forest, maintains, and so on. The document also discussed about the financial means to implement the recommen-dations.
The five aspects of Rio + 20 final outcome documents denote that the world community has taken serious note of the need of Sustain able Development in 21st century, which has emerged as the key global issue to our times.
Source: PRATIYOGITA DARPAN
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)