Sustainability

A new study by the Centre for Science and Environment has exposed that levels of salt and fat in junk food is far higher than proposed thresholds in the country. The tests at the New Delhi based non-profit’s Environment Monitoring Laboratory indicate that food manufacturers sell packaged food and fast food products with unhealthy levels of nutrients. 

This compendium by Mihir Kumar Maitra is a valuable resource for all practitioners engaged in watershed management activities in the field. The first part of the book addresses the technical and engineering aspects useful in developing natural resources like land, surface water, groundwater, crops and forest while the second part discusses aspects related to  formulation, appraisal and implementation of watershed projects by involving the beneficiaries in the process.

The recent trade war between the United States and China was, among other things, about virtual water - the hidden water in products. Producing anything, whether it is soyabean or clothes, uses water, and has a water footprint. Even after production, shipping and trading also have a hidden water cost.

A new study finds that introducing coarse cereals such as millet and sorghum could improve India’s national food supply in many ways. The study by the Data Science Institute at Columbia University found that India’s agricultural policies have largely focused on the single objective of maximizing production, and not enough attention has been given to nutrition, climate, and environment.

The National Mission for Cleaning Ganga was set up in 2014 and the Namami Gange programme was launched the year after, with a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore. The implementation of the flagship programme was followed by the framing of a draft National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill, 2019 to be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.

While climate activists and world leaders were gathering in Paris in the first week of December 2015 to discuss the impact of climate change, the metropolis Chennai in the southern corner of India was inundated with floods. The worst flood to hit the region in over 100 years took the lives of more than 300 people. And at the same time, access to clean water eluded millions in the city.  

Water, its use, availability, and impact on people has been on the public policy debate centerstage for the past several years. In India, a growing water crisis driven by climate change, inefficiency, and water pollution is slowly moving to a near-permanent state that will harm the country’s people, economy and environment.  

Development and its impact on the environment has long been a contentious issue in India, where lack of adequate monitoring and control mechanisms have led to severe degradation of land, water and forest resources. Mining activities in Goa have not only poisoned its land and water, but also affected livelihoods by negatively impacting agriculture, fisheries and forests.

A major area of concern currently for India is the proper disposal of wastewater in urban areas. The huge increase in supply of potable water to cater to the needs of modern urban households has correspondingly increased the quantum of wastewater. The implementation of the Swacch Bharat Mission has also led to a substantial increase in the number of toilets and this has increased the faecal sludge and the wastewater load considerably.

“It is a lack of (institutional) capacity which is leading to public woes on water. We are not in a position to give you quality services because of two things – one, manpower, and two, finances,” said BWSSB Chairman Tushar Girinath, speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Sustainable, Equitable Access to Water’.