Simi Mehta

Natural resource management through a gender lens

Need to recognise women, the cogs in the feminisation of Indian agriculture Amita Bhaduri posted 3 days 19 hours ago

Building upon decades of international diplomatic relations and scientific research, the United Nations adopted the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ in 2015.

In incorporating female participation, some programmes only added (futile) burden on these women without challenging the current division of labour. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

The invisible face of agriculture

Women farmers need support in the form of resources, technologies, policies and other actions to level the farming field. The first step is to recognise their role in farming. Amita Bhaduri posted 1 week 2 days ago

“Female labour participation has been declining across India from 1990 to 2019. It has declined from 31% to 25% from 2005 to 2010 and further to 20% in 2019. This has contributed to employment loss for women.

Though women are involved in economic activities of the cropping system but their role is negligible in household decision making and participation (Image: PxHere)

Climate change: A look through a gender lens

Women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 weeks 4 days ago

Climate change vulnerability is a multi-layered and multi-faceted phenomenon. “It’s a justice issue determined by both biophysical and socio-economic factors.

The gendered vulnerabilities due to climate change need to be well-recognized. (Image: Justin Kernoghan, Trocaire, Wikimedia Commons)

Should we bet more on historians than engineers to sort flooding?

How the historian's method is invaluable in developing an understanding of floods. Amita Bhaduri posted 3 weeks ago

Raging floods swarming great expanses have been a common occurrence in the 21st century in South Asia.

Need to consider the perspective of the historians who see floods as a naturally occurring event. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Sanitation workers amid the pandemic

The pandemic has exacerbated the issues of exclusion and vulnerability of sanitation workers. Amita Bhaduri posted 3 weeks 6 days ago

Sanitation workers are out in full force tasked with disinfecting the public spaces as COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the country on top of other serious challenges faced by our WASH sector.

Despite the risks and the dire conditions of their work, sanitation workers continued to do their job (Image: C S Sharada Prasad, India Water Portal)

Measures to usher in a low-carbon and equitable future

A sustainable low-carbon and equitable pathway would entail comprehensive changes in how we manage energy supply, forest, and agriculture. Amita Bhaduri posted 4 weeks 1 day ago

As the planet plunges towards irreversible climate change, the challenges posed by extreme weather events and environmental degradation pose an existential threat.

The developing countries are bearing the bulk of the burden of the emission cuts. (Image: Pxhere)

Air pollution: Filling the gaps

Controlling air pollution needs long-term holistic solutions such as a reduction in the usage of biomass, coal and lignite, and agricultural residues. Amita Bhaduri posted 1 month ago

Air pollution killed 16.7 lakh Indians and led to an economic loss of Rs.

All Indian cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad surpass the air quality standards by a significant margin (Image: United Nations; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

What India needs for effective waste management in times of the pandemic

The pandemic has exposed the flaws in our waste management system. Amita Bhaduri posted 2 months 2 weeks ago

Governance lessons that could keep us prepared for pandemics

Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group speaks on rethinking aspects of our governance system in post-pandemic times. Amita Bhaduri posted 3 months 3 weeks ago

Unabashed assaults by human beings on the natural ecological system have caused the coronavirus to spread in the first place.

Decentralised governance systems that allow to adapt and learn are best placed to deal with disasters (Image: Kantsmith, Pixabay)

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