Western Himalayas

Applications invited for the 'Environmental Data Journalism Fellowships in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region', The Third Pole and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network
The Third Pole and Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, with support from the Skoll Global Threats Fund, are providing fellowships for journalists from countries in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. Swati Bansal posted 5 years 11 months ago

Journalists (online, print, television) and other expert media practitioners interested in environmental reporting from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nepal can apply for the opportunity. Freelancers may apply if they have a letter of support from a media house committing to publish or broadcast their story.
A case against small hydropower
Small hydel projects are often hailed as sustainable models of power production but they spark an equal number of contentious issues much like the bigger projects. Manu Moudgil posted 6 years 3 months ago

As Hari Singh led me towards his fields, I wondered if he was trying to play a joke on me. Large rocks were scattered in the area and there was no sight of any arable land, neither was there any clue of the irrigation channel which Singh claimed ran through his farm.

The Mani Mahesh hydel project near Saho village.
Call for papers on the theme 'Glaciology in High-Mountain Asia', International Glaciological Society
The International Glaciological Society (IGS) will publish a special issue of the Annals of
Glaciology with the theme ‘Glaciology in High-Mountain Asia'. Swati Bansal posted 6 years 3 months ago

Get more information of the opportunity.

Know more about International Glaciological Society.
Kuhl, kohli and a lost tradition
Kuhls, the community-owned irrigation channels of Himachal Pradesh, have lost their importance over time. Is it because the state has begun managing them causing a disconnect with the people? Manu Moudgil posted 6 years 4 months ago

Ranjit Singh is elated that someone has come to his village enquiring about his work. He says not many people recognise the worth of traditional occupations like his. “This is especially true of government officials and policy makers who feel everything old is useless”, he points out.

Ranjit is the kohli of Mjately village in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
Kuhls carry glacial melt to fields for irrigation
Uttarakhandi women 1, Ultra Tech Cement 0
Four Gram Panchayats in Uttarakhand joined forces to oppose a cement plant. They won this battle, but will India's villagers win the war? chicu posted 6 years 5 months ago

When Basanti Devi entered the village of Bachwadi in Uttarakhand's Takula block on one of her routine visits, she knew that something was wrong. Instead of the normal hustle, groups of men stood about talking quietly.
Uttarakhandi women are a force to be reckoned with
Holi-Bajoli hydropower project shifts banks
A group of women in Himachal protest the shifting of a hydel project from the right bank to the left of the Ravi river. While it may seem like a simple 'side' issue, the truth is far more complex. Manu Moudgil posted 6 years 5 months ago

I could just about see a small makeshift shelter with a yellow canopy. As I made my way through the small stream and climbed uphill, I saw a JCB machine trying to clear a path. Further up the road, female voices speaking the local dialect started to emerge. A small hearth surrounded by utensils and jars of tea, sugar and lentils greeted me at the entrance.
Himachal women protest Holi-Bajoli hydel plant
A water supply system that even Delhi would envy
Indwalgaon in Uttarakhand harnessed available government resources to move from a water-deficit to a water-adequate state, thanks to its Pradhan Madanlal. chicu posted 6 years 6 months ago

 Visitors and the Uttarakhand Tourism Department liken the mountain to 'devbhoomi' or the heavens but it isn't often that a villager of the area echoes those sentiments. Most of them are weary of the unending struggle to live in harmony with those steep slopes that make all manner of infrastructure difficult.
Madan Lal gazes at a water supply scheme
Women water managers of Chopriali
Galvanised by the formation of a Mahila Mangal Dal and by some training, these women in a small village in Uttarakhand design, construct and manage their own water sources and structures. chicu posted 6 years 7 months ago

"We did everything ourselves", said the ebuillent Bhuvaneshwari Devi. "We took the cement up, carried the sand, everything! And we even told them where to place the tank"! She went on to narrate how the women's group of which she is a member, taught the men of the village that siting a tank in the stream will place it in danger of being washed away.
The tanks and canals that form the supply system
Prevention is better than rehabilitation
Commonly understood steps in disaster management are response, relief and rehabilitation but there is no mention of prevention. Awareness and education is the key to bringing about this change. chicu posted 6 years 9 months ago

The Himalayas were born of continental shift when the Indian subcontinent challenged the larger Asian landmass. This tortured birth still continues making the region susceptible to landslides and earthquakes.
A room overlooking the Gori Ganga, Uttarakhand
Invite to 'Save Ganga & Save Himalayas Meeting- cum- Panel Discussion', Save Ganga Movement, New Delhi
The event will celebrate the 84th anniversary of Gandhji's Dandi March in the form of discussion on the course of action to be undertaken to save Ganga and Himalayas. Swati Bansal posted 6 years 10 months ago

Venue & Timings:

Save Ganga & Save Himalayas Meeting-cum-Panel Discussion will be at Gandhi Darsan, Rajghat, New Delhi on 12th March, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Know more about Save Ganga Movement.
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