Centre for Science and Environment masthead Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Donate

Cse In News

Cse In News

22 more air monitoring stations in Haryana in a year

GURGAON: In a year's time, the pollution board will set up another 22 stations to monitor air quality in parts of Haryana, taking the total in the state to 51, officials said on Sunday. Currently, Haryana has 29 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). Of this, 21 are located in districts that are part of the National Capital Region (NCR) - Gurgaon, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Jind, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat. Delhi has 38 such monitors, the highest for all NCR states. Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) chairman P Raghavendra Rao told TOI a tender has been floated to set up the new monitors, which automatically collect and analyse data, and it is likely to be awarded in March. The locations for the new monitors are yet to be decided. "Each monitor costs around Rs 1 crore and we are looking for technical support to initiate work at the earliest. It will take at least one year to complete the project. After completion, Haryana will have the maximum number of air monitoring stations among NCR states," Rao said. According to rules, cities with a population count of 1 to 5 million should have at least five CAAQMS and three manual air quality monitors. Gurgaon has four CAAQMS and no manual monitoring stations. Though both types of stations are used to gather data on pollutants, CAAQMS are more advanced monitors that cover a broader range of parameters than the manual ones. Experts said on Sunday that installing more monitors will help authorities prepare a comprehensive pollution control plan. "Expanding the state's monitoring network is essential for understanding how pollution levels vary across the airshed. Haryana's decision to strengthen its network is definitely a step in the right direction. Monitoring is crucial to have detailed mitigation measures. Improvements in Gurgaon's air quality will be contingent upon how well Haryana plans to increase both monitoring and mitigation," said Anumita Roy Chowdhary, executive director of research and advocacy at the Centre of Science and Environment.

"India Likely to Miss Deadline for 50% of SDG Parameters," says Lancet Study

According to a study published in the Lancet journal on February 20, India is falling short of meeting more than half of the indicators under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seven years before the 2030 deadline. There are 17 SGDs that provide a blueprint for the safety and prosperity of people and the planet, and 192 UN member states have committed to achieving them by 2030. The study, which provides the first mid-point assessment of India's progress towards the 2030 Agenda, measured progress across nine goals using 33 key indicators. India has lagged in 19 of 33 indicators. More than 75% of Indian districts are falling short on eight critical indicators, including poverty, anaemia, child marriage, domestic violence, stunting and wasting of children, access to essential services, modern contraceptive use, and tobacco consumption. "Because of a worsening trend observed between 2016 and 2021, and assuming no course correction occurs," the study stated, adding that "many districts will never meet the targets on the SDGs even well after 2030." The off-target districts are concentrated in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Odisha. The study was led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and a team of international researchers. They examined data from two iterations of the National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2016 and 2021 across 707 Indian districts, on adults and children. The study authors stated that India is approaching the halfway point in the timeline for achieving the SDGs, and the findings indicate an urgent need to increase momentum on four SDG goals — No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-Being, and Gender Equality. "As India rapidly advances as a leading economic player in the global economy, its full realization will critically depend on addressing some of the more basic health and social determinants of these critical health-related SDGs," according to the study. India, on the other hand, is doing well in 13 of the targets. Among these are bank accounts for women, birth registration, internet use, electricity access, full vaccination, birth registration, and a reduction in child marriage. The Union Health Ministry stated in April 2022 that it is confident that India will meet the target Sustainable Development Goals before the 2030 deadline, adding that India has seen a significant decrease in maternal mortality rates. During this year's Union Budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India had made "significant progress" towards the SDGs. According to the Centre for Science and Environment's "State of Environment" report, India dropped three ranks from 117 to 120 on the SDG Index in March 2022, putting it behind all South Asian nations except Pakistan. The current study reaffirms the difficulties in meeting health and social indicators of health. Even if the observed rate of change between 2016 and 2030 is maintained, the measures will fall short of the 2030 targets. The progress, while "in the right direction," is "insufficient to meet SDG targets by 2030," according to the study. However, if current efforts continue, India may be able to meet the targets of improved water access by 2031, clean cooking fuel by 2035, lowering the age of teenage pregnancy by 2039, and partner sexual violence by 2040. Between 2041 and 2062, 11 off-target indicators, including access to basic services and partner violence (physical and sexual), may be met. "India will not be able to meet the anaemia targets." Since the prevalence of three of these, Anaemia among Women, Pregnant Women, and Non-Pregnant Women, has increased (worsened) between 2016 and 2021, and assuming this trend continues, India will never be able to meet the SDG targets related to Anaemia," the study added. The fifth and most recent round of the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) revealed that more Indians than ever before are anaemic, with at least 67% of children and 52.2% of women anaemic. The authors of the study stated that there is an urgent need to develop a strategic roadmap to ensure SDG success, "which should include an honest and transparent assessment of existing GOI programmes that are directly or indirectly related to SDGs."

Marks of a circular economy

Budget 2023-24 provides clear shifts in programme direction that need to be applauded. The real test will be our ability to operationalise those shifts at speed and at scale Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2023-24 speech announced that the vision of the government is "green growth", which is being implemented through programmes for greening of fuel, farming, mobility, buildings and energy access. This, she says, will help reduce carbon intensity of the economy and provide large-scale job opportunities. This year, like never before, there is no coyness about the imperative of energy transition. You may argue that it is still not clear how the budgetary allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for energy transition will be spent. But I believe that this budget provides us with seemingly disparate programmes, which when put together could be the needed game changers. First, it provides impetus to biogas (produced using animal manure and traditionally promoted in rural India) and its advanced version, compressed biogas (also known as bio-compressed natural gas or bio-CNG).The finance minister has called for an investment of Rs 10,000 crore to set up 300 community- or cluster-based biogas plants and 200 bio-CNG plants; 75 bio-CNG plants will be built in cities.She has accepted that there is a need to rationalise the cascading taxes on clean fuel and has alluded to the possibility of a mandate on all natural and biogas companies to ensure that bio-CNG is bought and marketed.Second, she has provided funds for replacement of old and polluting vehicles of the central government under the vehicle scrappage programme. Third is the budgetary focus on mechanical desludging of septic tanks and management of dry and wet waste. Stitch them together and you understand how the government is taking the idea of circular economy to implementation. Take the issue of bio-CNG. The government programme Sustainable Alternatives Towards Automobile Transportation (SATAT) has projects on ground where companies use agricultural residue—largely rice straw, which is burnt by farmers in Punjab and Haryana—and city waste to manufacture bio-CNG.This gas is then used to run vehicles, including city buses. In cities, which are fast losing the battle to handle solid waste, bio-CNG plants can help reinvent waste management. Our cities are running out of land for dumping waste and do not have the resources to pay for managing the ever-growing volumes of waste.The only option is to make wealth out of waste—which is what the finance minister stresses in her speech.But for the bio-CNG project to work, cities will have to learn the art of segregating waste at source. Bio-CNG plants need high quality organic (or wet) waste. We know that 40-80 per cent of the waste of any city is wet waste, but it gets mixed with plastic and other dry waste streams because we do not practice segregation at the scale that is needed. So for bio-CNG plants, or for any other project that would process and add value to this "waste", cities would need to ensure that households segregate garbage and that city sanitation is designed to transport this segregated wet waste for processing. This is possible. Indore, which has built India's first citywide bio-CNG plant, finds that selling the fuel to city buses improves the economics of sanitation management. A byproduct of bio-CNG plants is fermented organic manure, which can be used as a bio-fertiliser.Taking this bio-CNG project to the next level has some challenges, the most important of which is to ensure standards for compost and fermented organic manure so that this byproduct is utilised and is paid for.This byproduct can ensure that the enormous subsidy to chemical fertilisers is reduced, if not removed. This is also how the budget's directional shift to fund desludging of septic tanks—instead of only spending on building underground sewers—can add to the circular economy of waste. The human excreta can be transported for treatment and then the sludge be reused for manure. Budget 2023-24 says that 10,000 bio-input resource centres will be built for natural farming. It also has a programme to promote alternative fertilisers and "balanced use of chemical fertilisers", but it does not go far enough to create a level playing field for non-chemical fertilisers. Clearly, this is the agenda for the next budget. Similarly, the vehicle scrappage programme has huge benefits for both air pollution and decarbonisation of sectors like iron and steel. It needs to be designed deliberately so that the most polluting vehicles—commercial vehicles like trucks—are phased out and replaced by much cleaner variants with Bharat Stage (BS) VI emission standards, being manufactured today. The added benefit of this programme is that the steel scrap of the discarded vehicles can be utilised to reduce the carbon emissions of the steel sector. This is, again, a huge game changer, but needs to be done deliberately and at scale to make the difference. So, Budget 2023-24 provides clear shifts in programme direction that need to be applauded. The real test will be our ability to operationalise those shifts at speed and at scale. (Writer is Director General of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Editor of Down To Earth magazine. She is an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets; Courtesy: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/)

‘From water to air, the global commons must be managed with rules — and climate justice’

Sunita Narain is director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Speaking to Srijana Mitra Das at Times Evoke, she discusses the global commons, their ‘tragedy’ — and potential: What does ‘global commons’ mean? This refers to shared resources — the biggest issue around which this became a point of policy is the atmosphere. In 1991, Anil Agarwal and I wrote a report titled ‘Global Warming in an Unequal World: A Case of Environmental Colonialism’. This was based on the idea that we are all dealing with a common resource, namely the environment. Our understanding emerged from our research in India where we studied common property resources in villages, such as grazing lands and forests. One of our biggest learnings was that to sustainably manage such commons, you need rules and cooperation, based on fairness — if a farmer who rears goats, for instance, doesn’t get a portion of the produce from the commons, they will let their goats graze there, thereby damaging shared resources. We argued that it was crucial to address the atmospheric commons with the same principles of equity and cooperation. 1 (4) The global commons shows we are entirely interconnected — if one country has emitted, this impacts others. Without principles of fairness, we can’t hope for cooperation and countries to cut emissions at the scale needed. Initially, the ‘global commons’ idea was only applied to the oceans, with the Convention on the Seas the first discussion around this. But the world didn’t come together for a serious discussion here, the larger part of the oceans situated in the global commons still being unregulated, which is why the crises of plastics, over-fishing and oil pollution continue. A piece of water, a handful of shade What do ‘the tragedy of the commons’ and ‘natural debt’ mean? The first describes what ensues without shared management systems where everyone agrees to cooperate. Grazing lands, forests and common water bodies in villages are enduring examples — if we don’t have a system of governance where everyone who is a member of the community (and this can be a collective of nations, residents in a colony or a village) agrees to abide by certain rules, there will be a tragedy of the commons where people will pollute ponds or overuse forests. Importantly, ‘the commons’ exist everywhere — they are also, say the roads everyone uses. These need rules too which should be adhered to with discipline, a system of management, deterrence and cooperation. This is predicated on fairness — if everyone using roads understands that the rules apply to all equally, it gives people confidence in the system. Deterrence must also be applied across the board — you can’t penalise a small polluter, for instance, but let a big polluter get away. These rules must be founded on cooperation — for the global commons, nations must agree on how to preserve shared resources. Without that, tragedies unfold. The concept of ‘natural debt’ emerged in the 1990s, explaining how some countries have overdrawn on their share of the global commons. Consider the United States which occupies a huge portion of the world’s carbon budget, way beyond its fair share. It has overdrawn on natural capital to build financial capital — but its natural debt, just like a financial debt, needs to be paid for. 3 (7) DEEP TRAGEDY: The globally shared seas are polluted by all but tended by few. Photo: iStock Does this idea have relevance for climate equity and environmental justice? Absolutely. Climate justice is fundamentally based on the management of the global commons. This is no moralistic issue — how the global commons has been treated must lie at the heart of cooperation among nations, guiding ambitious climate agreements now. ‘The commons must include many neglected species’ 2 (7) Going forward, what kinds of international pacts would be most effective in preserving the shared global commons? We should revisit 1991’s climate agreement. That was based on the principle of equity, saying there was a common but differentiated responsibility among countries and developed economies needed to act first while rules would be made for other nations, based on their use of the global commons. That was taken forward by the Kyoto Protocol, with the same principle recognising the responsibilities and contributions of countries, which would help set their emissions reduction targets. ‘India’s urban commons give joy — they must be freed from a colonial approach’ 4 (2) THIS WILL ECHO: Deforestation anywhere has ecological impacts across the planet. Photo: iStock However, this was inconvenient for some rich polluters in the world — hence, the 2015 Paris Agreement was reached which essentially says everybody should cut emissions as much as they can but has no abiding rule-based governance. We urgently need this — consider the discussions on whether India should contribute to the loss and damage fund. This is unbelievable because India is not a major emitter — in terms of scale of emissions or its contribution to the total carbon emitted in the world, even till 2030, there is no way India can be on the list of big polluters. We need rule-based governance around the global commons, including an acceptance that a finite amount of CO2 can be emitted into the world’s atmosphere to keep temperatures under 1.5º C. This sum must be divided globally, based on nations’ per capita, etc. It should then be understood that if a country has exceeded its share, it must cut by a certain amount and it can also trade and buy from other countries’ share. That would allow for a proper rule-based system to help mitigate climate change.

Hamirpur (Himachal) News: गुलेला स्कूल को इस वर्ष भी मिला ग्रीन स्कूल का दर्जा

डिडवीं टिक्कर (हमीरपुर)। राजकीय उच्च पाठशाला गुलेला को इस वर्ष भी ग्रीन स्कूल का दर्जा प्राप्त हुआ है। वहीं, स्कूल अध्यापक पूर्णिमा कुमारी ग्रीन स्कूल कार्यक्रम की एंबेंसेडर नियुक्ति किया गया है। इंडियन हैबिटेट सेंटर न्यू दिल्ली में सीएसटी के निदेशक सुनीता नारायण और उपनिदेशक सुब्रतो राय ने विज्ञान अध्यापिका पूर्णिमा कुमारी को ग्रीन स्कूल कार्यक्रम एंबेेंसेडर ट्राॅफी और विद्यालय के दो छात्रों को ग्रीन स्कूल सर्टिफिकेट और कार्यशाला में भाग लेने के लिए प्रशस्ति पत्र देकर सम्मानित किया। इसके साथ वर्कशॉप में सोलर टेबल लैंप प्रदान की गई जो बच्चों के लिए एक अलग अनुभव था। शनिवार को विद्यालय पहुंचने पर स्कूल के छात्रों तथा अध्यापकों ने विद्यालय की शिक्षिका और छात्रों शिवाली और अरुण का स्वागत धूमधाम से किया। इस मौके पर समस्त स्कूल स्टाफ मौजूद रहा।

Leaders from AWS and Microsoft, Bestselling Author Walter Isaacson Headline Innovation and Technology Programming at CERAWeek by S&P Global 2023

HOUSTON , Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Adam Selipsky; bestselling author and leading technology thinker, Walter Isaacson; Bloom Energy CEO, KR Sridhar; circular economy thought leader William McDonough; U.S. Department of Energy Loans Program Office director, Jigar Shah; Microsoft Energy partner and general manager, Dave Wisenteiner and Center for Science and Environment (CSE) director general, Sunita Narain will be among the technology and innovation speakers at CERAWeek by S&P Global 2023—the world's preeminent energy conference—to be held in Houston March 6-10. CERAWeek 2023: Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security will examine how a new era of global uncertainty and change is reshaping challenges and opportunities for the energy transition. The conference will explore strategies and solutions for reducing emissions while meeting growing energy demand—all as the world grapples with shifting geopolitics, economic uncertainty and the upheaval of war. The CERAWeek Innovation Agora will serve as the center of technology and innovation programming at the conference. Featuring a community of thought leaders, technologists, start-ups, investors, academics, energy companies and government officials, the Innovation Agora will showcase transformational technology platforms—including presentations from more than 225 start-ups—in the energy space ranging from carbon management, energy efficiency, hydrogen, nuclear, digital, cybersecurity, robotics, mobility, built environment and much more. The CERAWeek Innovation Agora program is available to all CERAWeek registrants and will comprise a series of thought-provoking conversations, presentations and discussions, including its signature Voices of Innovation series of intimate, one-on-one conversations with thought leaders, Agora Studio sessions featuring moderated dialogues with 2-3 guest speakers on emerging and disruptive technologies, as well Agora Pods featuring demonstrations and case studies. Start-ups and entrepreneurs will also compete in the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) Energy Ventures Pitch Competition, where businesses that are focused on providing cleaner and more sustainable energy, while also meeting global energy needs reliably and affordably, will be evaluated by a special judging panel of venture capitalists. The 2023 program will also feature the new "Clean Energy Commons" fostering connections for the innovation ecosystem as well as expanded Agora Hubs—dedicated areas focused on hydrogen, carbon and climate. Key topics to be explored in the Agora Hubs include: Hydrogen Hub Hydrogen policy and geopolitics: Setting the strategic vision Utilizing low-carbon solutions and industrial end-user applications Geographies of hydrogen Hydrogen's impact on cars, trucks, aviation and mobility Hydrogen in power and gas markets Carbon Hub Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), direct air capture (DAC) Nature-based solutions Decarbonization oil and gas chain Methane Biofuels Technology, business models and finance Climate Hub Science and modeling Infrastructure Global impact Policy and geopolitics Business and finance Energy industry "The CERAWeek Innovation Agora has grown tremendously, reflecting the great wave of investment in new approaches and solutions to the greatest energy and environmental challenges," said James Rosenfield, Senior Vice President, S&P Global and co-chairman of CERAWeek. "The Agora brings together a unique community of traditional energy companies, start-ups, technology companies, innovation thought leaders and pioneers and investors—all focused on transformative technologies. The need for these solutions has never been clearer as the world looks to keep pace with an accelerating energy transition while also meeting the growing demand for stable, secure and reliable supplies in an era of increasing volatility and disruption. "Whether it is digitalization, AI, energy efficiency and connectivity; hydrogen, nuclear, cybersecurity, additive manufacturing and mobility; or the latest decarbonization technologies and fuels of the future, the remarkable community that will convene at CERAWeek demonstrates that technology and energy are synonymous in shaping our future." "That energy and technology are intertwined has never been more evident, and that is reflected in the CERAWeek 2023 program," said Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, S&P Global and CERAWeek conference chair. "This year's conference theme, 'Navigating a Turbulent World' speaks to a new era of global uncertainty and change, one that presents fresh challenges for energy availability and security amid the ongoing energy transition. The convergence of energy and technology—and the innovations that come from it—will be at the forefront in meeting these challenges." Learn more about the CERAWeek Innovation Agora program at: https://ceraweek.com/program/innovation-agora.html CERAWeek by S&P Global is the premier annual international gathering of the world's energy industry leaders, experts, government officials and policymakers, as well as leaders from the technology, financial and industrial communities. The conference is produced by S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). The CERAWeek 2023 conference program will explore key themes related to: The Energy Trilemma: Balancing security, transition and affordability Geopolitics and Geoeconomics: An era of volatility Competitive Landscape, Technology and Innovation Financing the Energy Future: The capital transition Supply Chains, Commodity Markets and Energy Transition Future Workforce: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and next-generation skills Visit www.ceraweek.com for a complete list of speakers and the most up-to-date program information (subject to change). Registration Information CERAWeek by S&P Global 2023 will be held March 6-10 at the Hilton Americas—Houston. Further information and delegate registration is available at www.ceraweek.com. Media Accreditation Media registration is now open. Members of the media interested in covering CERAWeek 2023 are required to apply for accreditation. Applications are subject to approval and can be submitted at the following link: https://reg.ceraweek.com/flow/spglobal/ceraweek2023/cw23registration/login. Select "Media" from the list of registration options to submit your application. About S&P Global S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world. We are widely sought after by many of the world's leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world's leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today. News Media Contacts: Jeff Marn S&P Global +1 202 463 8213 Jeff.marn@spglobal.com SOURCE S&P Global

Mumbai: 13,444 people died of respiratory ailments in 5 years

As per available data, over 1,000 succumbed to pneumonia and asthma alone. Mumbai’s poor air quality led to 13,444 deaths due to respiratory diseases such as acute bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia between 2017 and 2021. As per available data, over 1,000 succumbed to pneumonia and asthma alone. Experts said that though smoking, genetic diseases and poor air quality are all key factors, industrial pollution, vehicular exhaust and occupational asthma can’t be ruled out as reasons. A pulmonologist from a private-run hospital said that “people dying of pneumonia are either over 65 years old or infants younger than a year.” Early detection is the key A senior health official from the civic health department said that early detection is key to curing most of these infections. They said once such infections are in late stages, most people cannot afford financially burdening treatment. According to a 2020 study by the Centre for Science and Environment in four major industrial clusters around Mumbai – the Trans-Thane Creek, Taloja, Ambernath and Dombivali – the massive use of coal in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region is also a key factor for the deteriorating air quality. Dr Parthiv Shah, a pulmonologist at the Apex Group of Hospital (Borivali) said, “Air pollution has increased tremendously in Mumbai and surrounding areas. We are also experiencing strange weather conditions such as nippy mornings and hot afternoons. The elderly, children and pregnant women are especially affected by such weather.

Two schools from Ekm bag CSE’s ‘green’ tag

Kochi: Two schools from Ernakulam bagged the ‘green’ tag in the Green School Programme (GSP), conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi. The certifications, conducted by CSE every year, are based on an exhaustive and rigorous annual audit of resource management and environment-friendly practices within school campuses. Global Public School (GPS), Thiruvaniyur, and SBOA Public (Sr Sec) School, Ernakulam, were certified ‘green’ by CSE this year. GPS also bagged the Changemaker award, given to schools that have monitored their resource consumption and improved them. The award presented by Sunita Narain, director general, CSE was accepted by GPS students Catherin Geo Maria and Zara Varghese and teacher Elizabeth Varghese at a function held in New Delhi on Tuesday. Kusum Richard was the green school coordinator at the school and the project was coordinated by the vice-principal, Susanna Sunil. Each school which undertook the audit was assessed by the GSP on its resource consumption practices in six areas – water management, solid waste management, energy efficiency, air pollution control, land and biodiversity management, and food systems. Six other schools from Kerala also were among the 106 schools from across India that secured the green tag. Around 20 other schools from Kerala took part in the programme. As many as 10 of them bagged ‘yellow’ tags, which is lower to green. While nine schools bagged ‘orange’ tags, which is the next rating level, one school bagged ‘red’ tag, which is the lowest rating. A total of 707 schools from various parts of the country took part in the GSP this year. tnn

When 'Age Of Development' Started, It Was A Blunder From Economy To Ecology

After three decades, it was realized that the concept of 'Development' has added up to the blunders as there was degradation from economy to ecology. There was a huge income inequality not only in undeveloped countries but also in developed countries. At the same time, the global climate was hampered and depleted. It was a Thursday in 1949, and on January 20, then-US President Harry S. Truman used the word "development" in his speech. Two-third of the world's population allegedly became underdeveloped. Being the new world rulers, "US and Developed countries" had a huge obligation to care for them and develop them into developed nations, just like their predecessors who sought to civilise the world, also known as "White men's burden." The Age of Development then started. The United Nations' primary goal from 1960 to 1970 was the first Development Decade. As the introduction to the Secretary-General’s report on Proposals for Action states: “At the opening of the United Nations development decade, we are beginning to understand the real aims of development and the nature of the development process. We are learning that development concerns not only man’s material needs but also the improvement of the social conditions of his life and his broad human aspirations. Development is not just economic growth, it is growth plus change.” To develop, undeveloped countries now had to imitate the developed or industrialized countries to go through the makeover with the help of the blueprint provided by the west. The age of development continued for the next three decades with propaganda and aid as per the economic blueprint again provided by the west. After three decades it was realized that the concept of 'Development' has added up to the blunders as there was degradation from economy to ecology. There was a huge income inequality not only in undeveloped countries but also in developed countries. At the same time, the global climate was hampered and depleted. The whole narrative of Development went wrong and it had to be replaced by another new concept of Sustainable Development in the year 2015. Now the objectives of the UN moved towards attaining sustainable development worldwide. Since then, "sustainable development" has evolved into a catchphrase and a fundamental component of all organisations' plans and agendas. The 'Sustainable Development Goals' and achieving them are the main emphasis of everything from the G20's aims to academic programmes held in schools and colleges. As per the definition by the UN, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income: To promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities while tackling climate change and environmental protection. The Indian government is likewise making every effort to achieve these objectives. The ecosystem of India, however, has a different tale to tell. A paradoxical scenario seems to develop between the SDG and the impulse to climb the growth ladder. When we discuss SDGs, they conflict with the growth-related criteria. The Himalayan catastrophe and the cracks that are emerging in Joshimath's homes illustrate how the aims of sustainable development are being subverted by the economics and politics of growth and greed. The ecosystem has been depleted as a result of initiatives like the Tapovan-Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project, tunnels constructed for "Run of River" projects, and an 889-km All Weather Road project to boost tourism in Uttarakhand, to name a few. Despite warnings from scientists, environmentalists and guidelines by National Green Tribunal this developmental work is “in progress”. These areas of Uttarakhand have already been declared fragile as they come under the seismic zone. The Char Dham project to promote tourism and develop accessibility to the four shrines; Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath has created havoc in the name of development. Ruthless deforestation and uprooting of vegetation can have a perilous effect on ecological balance. For the past few years, overburdened with the unmindful course of development, the Himalayan crisis is spearheading in almost many districts of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag, Tehri, Nainital, Pauri, Bageshwar, and Uttarkashi all seem to be waiting for their part of Development just like the cracks appearing in Joshimath or like the floods in Chamoli. The story goes the same for the plains too, Jharkhand is endowed with the gift of natural resources and this has been a curse and the cause of its degradation. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment, 69 per cent of its land is degraded. Unscientific way of coal mining has not only degraded the soil but also the major rivers which include Damodar and Subarnarekha. Illegal Mica mining has been the cause of hazardous health diseases. Despite its growing contribution to GDP, it is the second poorest state after Bihar according to Niti Aayogs first Multidimensional Poverty Index. Odisha resonates with the same story. According to the annual activity report 2019-20 of the Forest and Environment Department, Most of the forest lands have been diverted for mining projects, irrigation projects, transmission projects, industry projects, exploration of minerals and small public utility projects. As many as 18,500,748 trees were felled between 2010-11 to 2020-21 for widening and building roads, as per the Forest and Environment minister of Odisha, Bikram Keshari Arukh. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh follow the same policy. The socioeconomic aspects have already been negatively impacted by global climate change over the past few years, and the tendency to grow further compounds the problems by undermining the objectives of sustainable development. The consequences are chaos. Many floods, droughts, health risks, and losses of life and property are on the rise. Environmentalists, campaigners, and scientists are either disregarded or kept silent while the looting goes on. SDG is still mentioned frequently in every forum, though. History does indeed repeat itself because we either fail to learn from our mistakes or have a tendency to learn from them.

Solan News: ग्रीन स्कूल कार्यक्रम में हिमाचल प्रदेश देश में पहले स्थान पर

हिमाचल प्रदेश के नौ स्कूलों को अपने परिसरों को पर्यावरण के अनुकूल बनाए रखने के लिए ग्रीन स्कूल पुरस्कारों से नवाजा गया है। सबसे ज्यादा स्कूल इस श्रेणी में आने के चलते हिमाचल प्रदेश को देश भर में ग्रीन स्कूल कार्यक्रम में पहला स्थान मिला। दूसरे स्थान पर आंध्र प्रदेश और तीसरे स्थान पर पंजाब रहा। सरकार की एजेंसी सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट (सीएसई) के ग्रीन स्कूल प्रोग्राम (जीएसपी) के तहत हिमाचल के नौ स्कूलों को सम्मानित किया गया। इनमें जिला सोलन के छह, दो हमीरपुर और जिला चंबा का एक स्कूल शामिल है। मंगलवार को दिल्ली में हिमाचल प्रदेश विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी एवं पर्यावरण परिषद के सदस्य सचिव ललित जैन और जिला विज्ञान समन्वयक अमरीश शर्मा ने यह पुरस्कार प्राप्त किए। अमरीश शर्मा ने बताया कि पिछले चार वर्षों से लगातार पर्यावरण के अनुकूल माहौल बनाए रखने के लिए सोलन को प्रदेश का सर्वश्रेष्ठ जिला घोषित किया गया। सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरनमेंट के ऑनलाइन पोर्टल पर ऑडिट के लिए कार्यक्रम के तहत प्रदेश के 114 निजी और सरकारी स्कूलों ने पर्यावरण से संबंधित स्कूल में कूड़ा निष्पादन का तरीका, बिजली की खपत सहित अन्य कई विषयों पर जानकारी अपलोड की थी। इसमें सोलन से 61, हमीरपुर से 18, ऊना से 13, सिरमौर से 11, बिलासपुर से तीन, कांगड़ा से दो, कुल्लू से दो, शिमला से दो, चंबा और मंडी से एक-एक स्कूल ने जानकारी अपलोड की थी। इसमें से नौ स्कूलों को ग्रीन स्कूल पुरस्कारों से नवाजा गया है। इन स्कूलों को मिला सम्मान राजकीय वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक मॉडल स्कूल छात्र नालागढ़, वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक स्कूल बद्दी, शिवालिक वैली स्कूल सोलन, एमआर डीएवी स्कूल सोलन, दून वैली पब्लिक स्कूल सोलन, कसौली इंटरनेशनल स्कूल सोलन, हाई स्कूल गुलेला जिला हमीरपुर, हिम एकेडमी पब्लिक स्कूल विकास नगर जिला हमीरपुर और राजकीय माध्यमिक स्कूल जिला चंबा को ग्रीन पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया है। हिमगिरी स्कूल को मिला राष्ट्र स्तरीय भूमि प्रंबधन स्कूल अवार्ड सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एन्वायर्नमेंट ग्रीन स्कूल प्रोग्राम जीएसपी अवार्ड 2022-23 के तहत राजकीय वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक पाठशाला हिमगिरी को पूरे भारत में सर्वश्रेष्ठ भूमि प्रबंधन स्कूल अवार्ड से नवाजा गया है। दिल्ली में आयोजित इस कार्यक्रम में 28 राज्यों और 8 केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों के चयनित स्कूलों ने इसमें भाग लिया। राष्ट्र स्तरीय अवार्ड के लिए जिला चंबा से चार स्कूलों आदर्श कन्या वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक पाठशाला चंबा, राजकीय वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक पाठशाला भरमौर, बाट और डलहौजी ने भाग लिया। राजकीय वरिष्ठ माध्यमिक स्कूल हिमगिरी से प्रधानाचार्य जगदीश और विज्ञान पर्यवेक्षक गौरव वैद ने बताया कि सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एन्वायर्नमेंटर स्कूल प्रोग्राम जीएसपी अवार्ड 2022-23 के लिए 28 राज्य और 8 केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को पछाड़ कर हिमाचल ने बेस्ट हरित स्टेट अवार्ड जीता है। इसके तहत आकांक्षी जिला चंबा के लिए यह अत्यंत हर्ष का विषय है कि जिला चंबा के एक ग्रामीण स्कूल ने पूरे भारत सर्वश्रेष्ठ भूमि प्रबंधन स्कूल अवार्ड जीता है। यह अवार्ड नारायण डायरेक्टर जनरल ऑफ इंडिया सीएसई सुनीता नारायण ने दिए। इस मौके पर हिमाचल प्रदेश कौंसिल ऑफ साइंस टेक्नोलॉजी एंड एन्वायर्नमेंट के निदेशक ललित जैन ने दिल्ली में ये पुरस्कार प्राप्त किया। जबकि, चंबा की तरफ से विज्ञान पर्यवेक्षक गौरव वैद, विद्यालय के प्रधानाचार्य और जीवन ने यह इनाम प्राप्त किया। शिक्षा विभाग के उपनिदेशक प्यार सिंह चाढ़क, उप जिला शिक्षा अधिकारी उमाकांत आनंद ने सभी सहयोगियों, अध्यापकों व प्रतिभागी विद्यार्थियों को इसके लिए बधाई दी है।

CSE’s Green Schools Programme Honours 106 Greenest Schools In India

Himachal Pradesh bags the Best Green State Award, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Punjab One hundred six schools from across India were certified ‘green’ this week at a ceremony conducted by Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Green School Programme (GSP). Of these, 19 schools received the topmost Annual Green School Awards for their exemplary initiatives in making their campuses environment-friendly and their students, environment-conscious. Apart from the schools, awards were also conferred on the most proactive teachers, the “best state” and “best district” etc. CSE director general Sunita Narain and executive director Jagdeep Gupta handed out the awards to the winners. The awards, given every year by CSE, are based on an exhaustive and rigorous annual audit of resource management and environment-friendly practices within the school campuses; this audit is conducted by the schools themselves with CSE’s help. The unique aspect of this programme is the opportunity that it affords schools to measure their progress year on year and improve their ranking. Souparno Banerjee, senior director, environment education, CSE Over seven hundred schools from 29 states and Union territories vied for the honours; 19 of these received the top awards, and 106 were tagged as ‘green’. 436 government schools, 55 government-aided schools and 216 private schools participated in the audit. Each school which undertook the audit, was assessed by the Green Schools Programme on its resource consumption practices in six areas – water management, solid waste management, energy efficiency, air pollution control, land and biodiversity management, and food systems followed. Speaking after handing over the awards, Narain said: “We are re-engaging onsite after a gap of three years, but it seems like we never went away. The vibrancy and enthusiasm with which schools, their children and teachers have joined the 2022-23 audit, the efforts they have put in, is a tribute to the promise they hold, and foretells a future that is full of hope. I congratulate all the winners and green schools, as well as the larger GSP family.”

Starting young: 106 schools certified green for best practices, 13 of them from Delhi

NEW DELHI: Buying electric vehicles, recycling and using AC water in laboratories, installing float valves and spill-proof taps, and imposing a ban on packaged food are some of the best practices adopted by schools in their bid to go green. On Tuesday, 106 such schools from across the country were awarded the green tag by Centre for Science and Environment and almost all of them have adopted basic environment-friendly steps like building composting pits, rainwater harvesting and using solar energy. green_school_delhi In the annual Green School Programme award, Himachal Pradesh received the best state award. Out the 700 schools that took part in the green audit, 114 were from HP. Sharing the state's concept of Waste Cafe, a government official said, "It is a government scheme under which each school has a waste cafe. Students are encouraged to get their plastic waste and dump them at a corner in the school or in the canteen. For one kg of plastic waste, we pay Rs 75 or the equivalent decided by schools. The waste is used for making bitumen and 70km of road has already been built using it." A HP government school in Chamba assigns three plants to each student, and they take care of it. From Delhi, 24 schools took part and 13 of them received the green tag. East Point School, Vasundhara Enclave and Sachdeva Global School, Dwarka won an award for maintaining the green tag and implementing a green and sustainable policy for the past five years. East Point School uses no petrol and diesel, its lighting is 100% LED, and it does waste segregation at source and on-site paper recycling. "We also have vertical gardens in our classrooms and teachers encourage us to not use plastic and to become green warriors," said a student. Sachdeva Global School has totally banned plastic. Its 55% area is green and it also has a kitchen and herbal garden. A school in National Capital Region, Cambridge School at Indirapuram, recycles the waste water of ACs and uses it in laboratories. Shiv Nadar School at Noida grows its own vegetables, and has banned packaged and synthetic food. Many participant schools use sustainable and non-polluting modes of transport, with some even having electric vehicles. MM Public School in Delhi has developed a solar grass cutter, with solar panels fitted on top of it.

Delhi’s daily waste burden at 11.3k tonnes, treatment slow

Delhi generates 11,332 tonnes of solid waste every day, according to a latest estimate by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), even as the civic body said that 4,360 tonnes of this garbage ends up at the city’s three landfill sites. According to a report by MCD and the Delhi government’s environment department,daily waste generation in the city has gone up from 11,094 tonnesin 2021-22 to 11,332 tonnes in 2022-23. The report showed that areas under MCD had the most growth in waste generation, of about 200 tonnes, while it grew by 37.27 tonnes in New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas and by 72 tonnes from Delhi Cantonment areas. Delhi has a massive municipal solid waste management problem with the massive landfills at Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa at the centre of the issue. Despite attempts to remove at least 28 million tonnes of legacy waste dumped at these landfills, the city continues to dump fresh waste at these sites, affecting the progress of attempts to flatten the dump sites. According to the report, the city currently processes 61.5% of the total waste it generates per day, and MCD plans to achieve 86.4% processing capacity by December this year. The civic body uses trommelling and bio-mining to separate the waste, and burns it to generate electricity at the waste to energy plants. The report said that Delhi generated 11,038.335 tonnes of waste every day in 2020-21 and 11,094.7 tonnes last year. A municipal official from the department of environment management services (DEMS) or sanitation said four new waste processing projects are expected to be made operational this year, including the expansion of the waste to energy plant in Okhla, the bio-CNG plant in Okhla, a compressed bio-gas plant in north-west Delhi’s Ghogha, and the city’s first engineered landfill site. The Okhla waste-to-energy plant is burning 1,950 tonnes of waste, which is being raised to 2,950 tonnes every day. After several delays, we have received a clearance from the ministry of environment and forests on January 9 this year, and the project will be completed by December end,” the official said. MCD also plans to operationalise its 300 tonnes per day bio-CNG plant in Okhla by September and a compressed bio-CNG plant in Ghogha by December later this year, he added. The report adds that MCD plans to achieve 100% waste processing capacity, leading to zero dumping at the landfills. A second municipal corporation official from the sanitation department said that in the long-run, the department is working on two new waste-to-energy plants at Narela-Bawana and Ghazipur. “The Narela-Bawana plant will use 3,000 tonnes of waste per day by August 2025. Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies (RCUES), Lucknow, has been engaged as an advisor for setting up this 25 MW plant. We have received the bids from contractors and it is at the tender awarding stage,” the official said. The second plant at Ghazipur which will have a capacity to burn 2,000 tonnes of waste per day is expected to come up by August 2026, for which techno-economic feasibility report is under preparation, the second official added. “The Ghazipur project is still under initial phases and a detailed project report will be created after the feasibility report,” official said. In August last year, HT how Delhi’s garbage mountains will take 197 years to be cleared, taking into account the average 5,315 tonnes of garbage that was cleared every day in the past 34 months. In total, some 5.5 million tonnes of legacy waste had been cleared from three landfills in the same duration, but 5.1 million tonnes of new waste has been added. Last week, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had fined Delhi ₹2,232 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid and liquid waste. “On the pattern of compensation awarded in respect of other states (at the rate of ₹2 crore per million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage and ₹300 per tonne of untreated legacy waste), compensation of ₹3,132 crore is liable to be levied on the Delhi government — ₹990 crore for solid waste and ₹2,142 crore for solid waste,” the NGT bench said. To be sure, management of solid waste is the responsibility of MCD, while the Delhi government manages sewage. Atin Biswas, a waste management expert and programme director of municipal solid waste sector with Centre for Science and Environment, said that waste to energy plants should not be seen as a preferable solution for waste management especially when mixed waste is being sent to the facilities. “Dry waste component should be sent to WtE facilities but it is usually mixed with wet components such as food waste and construction waste due to which the calorific value of waste reduces. More stringent monitoring of real time data on emissions should be ensured,” he added.

Crores spent on water-related works haven’t readied Jharkhand for droughts; here’s why

Poor planning of water conservation and water harvesting structures is a major reason “A few decades ago, my fields produced so much paddy and maize that I would donate it. This year, the situation is so bad that my entire family is surviving on the monthly ration the government provides under the National Food Security Act,” says Surendra Korba, who owns a 16-hectare (ha) farm in Sarhua village of Jharkhand’s Palamu district. “The village has over 200 families, but in recent years, about 75 per cent of the youth go to cities in search of work. Water shortage has made farming difficult,” says Lokas Korba, a tribal rights activist in the village. In the last decade, 2022 was one of the most drought-affected years for Jharkhand. According to Yearly Weather Report-2022 (Jharkhand) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the state received 817.6 mm of rainfall, which is 20 per cent below normal. On October 31, 2022, the State Disaster Management Department declared 22 of the state’s 24 districts, covering 122 blocks, as drought-affected. Some 3.15 million farmers have applied for relief under Chief Minister Drought Relief Scheme till February 2, 2023, says the scheme’s web portal. Of these, 1.63 million farmers were not able to sow at all this year, while 998,714 farmers have lost more than one-third of their crop. The state has promised a one-time allowance of Rs 3,500 per family to all eligible applicants. Resident of Palamu's Bhainsapur village say that many of their wells are close to drying outJharkhand is largely agrarian, engaging about 63 per cent of the rural population, according to Census 2011. Over 92 per cent of the sown area in Jharkhand is under food crops, predominantly paddy — the state’s main kharif crop, as per “Jharkhand-Action Plan on Climate Change”. (In 2009 the Union government directed all states and Union Territories to prepare these plans consistent with the strategy outlined in the “National Action Plan on Climate Change”.) The other crops cultivated are maize, pulses and oilseeds. Usually, 3.8 million ha is cultivated in the state, but during the 2022 kharif season, only 1.4 million ha was sown against a target of 2.83 million ha, says the drought declaration notification of October 31, 2022. This means about 50 per cent of the farmland in the state could not be cultivated. The reason is that the agrarian economy is almost entirely dependent on rain. Ninety-two per cent of the state’s sown area is rainfed, as per the Jharkhand agriculture department and 82 per cent of the annual rainfall is received during monsoon only, shows IMD data. As a result, deficit or untimely rain has a devastating effect on the state’s agriculture. With changing climate, the droughts have become more frequent and severe. In sharp contrast to the observed trend during 1956-2000, the period 2001-08 witnessed a sharp decline in annual rainfall, says “Jharkhand-Action Plan on Climate Change”. This has been accompanied by severe droughts, which have become frequent after 2000. Parts of the state have been hit by drought in 14 of the past 23 years. In seven of these 14 years, at least 10 of the state’s 24 districts were under drought. Ghanshyam, executive director of Deoghar-based non-profit Judav, says that earlier, droughts occurred once in four-five years, but now they strike almost every year. “The situation is such that farmers in many areas do not have money to buy seeds to sow paddy in the kharif season, starting June,” he says. The loss of soil moisture is causing the land to degrade. According to Indian Space Research Organisation’s Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, published in 2016, “Jharkhand is the state with highest area under desertification/ land degradation in the country with respect to state TGA [total geographic area], i.e., 68.98 per cent for period 2011-13. The desertification/ land degradation area in Jharkhand has increased about 1.01 per cent since 2003-05. The most significant process of desertification / land degradation in the state is Water Erosion (50.64 per cent in 2011-13 and 50.65 per cent in 2003-05) followed by Vegetation Degradation (17.30 per cent in 2011-13 and 16.40 per cent in 2003-05).” This should not have been the case. Jharkhand has been the state where extensive works on water conservation and water harvesting have been done. More than Rs 3,000 crore has been spent on water-related works such as watershed management structures and traditional waterbodies under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 2014-15 to 2021-22, shows the scheme”s web portal. A total of 2.57 million water-related works were undertaken using this money. Of these works, 892,017 are water-specific structures, which includes over 240,000 farm ponds. Farm ponds are constructed to provide life-saving irrigation to paddy, in situations of scanty rainfall or dry-spell. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that these farm ponds alone have the potential to irrigate over 500,000 ha—20 per cent of the state’s annual net sown area. Given that a farm pond on average caters to the needs of 89 people, they are sufficient for 70 per cent of the state’s 220 million rural people. Now consider the potential of all the water-specific structures built across the state in the past eight years. Given that the state has 32,620 villages, each village in Jharkhand should now have at least 28 water-specific structures. As per an analysis by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment, just six water-related structures are sufficient for water security in a village. So why have the works in Jharkhand not borne result? “Poor planning of water conservation and water harvesting structures is a major reason. Village residents are the best persons at understanding where structures, such as a dobha (typically, a 15 m x 30 m x 10 m water-storage pit), should be constructed, where they will hold water for long. Their help should be taken,” says James Herenj, convener of Jharkhand NREGA Watch, a non-profit. Herenj talks about a drought to explain. “A severe drought in the state in 1993-94 made the government and voluntary organisations work together. Pani Panchayat Samitis were formed in every village to deal with water shortage. Scientists associated with the non-profit People’s Science Institute, Dehradun, also joined the campaign. Under this initiative, a large number of dobhas and check dams were built in the villages,” he says. “But in 2016-17, works were undertaken, defying discussions and schemes drawn by the villages. As a result, accidents, such as death of children due to drowning, were reported. Today the situation is such that many check dams are lying vacant and dobhas have become bereft of water,” he adds. The website of the state government’s disaster management department also quotes NREGA Watch as saying that if the works done under MGNREGA in Jharkhand had been undertaken as per the issues highlighted in the state’s climate action plan, 90 per cent of the irrigation-related problems would not have occurred. Source: NREGA MIS (www.nrega.nic.in), accessed on December 7, 2022 OTHER SOLUTIONS A concept note prepared by NITI Aayog in 2015 says that approximately 70 per cent of the sown area during kharif is covered by rice in the state. But most of it remains fallow during rabi. The utilisation of vast area under rice fallow is possible to a great extent by a shift to Direct Seeded Rice, with shorter duration varieties. This would also create opportunities to grow crops like short-duration oilseeds (rapeseed, mustard, linseed), pulses (gram, lentil, pea) and vegetables with residual moisture or with minimal supplemental irrigation (in-situ or ex-situ conserved rain water) by bunding, runoff management structures and minor irrigation tanks or ditches. There is about 1 million ha of rice fallow area, and at least 0.1 million ha additional area of rice fallow should be brought under pulses every year, the note says. Drought perpetuates the poverty cycle. This is why the “Jharkhand-Action Plan on Climate Change” says that the state has the least capacity to adapt to climate change. With changing climate, the burden of diseases in central India, including Jharkhand is slated to go up, it warns. “The need of the hour is connecting the communities, involving them in planning and designing of decentralised systems for source sustainability,” says Herenj. This was first published in the 16-28 February, 2023 print edition of Down To Earth We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.

CSE’s Green Schools Programme honours 106 greenest schools in India

One hundred six schools from across India were certified ‘green’ here today at a ceremony conducted by Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) Green School Programme (GSP). Of these, 19 schools received the topmost Annual Green School Awards for their exemplary initiatives in making their campuses environment-friendly and their students, environment-conscious. Apart from the schools, awards were also conferred on the most proactive teachers, the “best state” and “best district” etc. CSE director general Sunita Narain and executive director Jagdeep Gupta handed out the awards to the winners. The awards, given every year by CSE, are based on an exhaustive and rigorous annual audit of resource management and environment-friendly practices within the school campuses; this audit is conducted by the schools themselves with CSE’s help. Says Souparno Banerjee, senior director, environment education, CSE: “The unique aspect of this programme is the opportunity that it affords schools to measure their progress year on year and improve their ranking.” Over seven hundred schools from 29 states and Union territories vied for the honours; 19 of these received the top awards, and 106 were tagged as ‘green’. 436 government schools, 55 government-aided schools and 216 private schools participated in the audit. Each school which undertook the audit, was assessed by the Green Schools Programme on its resource consumption practices in six areas – water management, solid waste management, energy efficiency, air pollution control, land and biodiversity management, and food systems followed. Speaking after handing over the awards, Narain said: “We are re-engaging onsite after a gap of three years, but it seems like we never went away. The vibrancy and enthusiasm with which schools, their children and teachers have joined the 2022-23 audit, the efforts they have put in, is a tribute to the promise they hold, and foretells a future that is full of hope. I congratulate all the winners and green schools, as well as the larger GSP family.” THE 2022-23 AWARDS Best State and District: Himachal Pradesh bagged the award for the Best State with the highest audit registrations and report submissions. 114 schools from the state submitted their audit reports – nine were rated ‘green’. Solan in Himachal Pradesh bagged the Best District Award with 61 submissions and six schools rated ‘green’. Changemaker Awards: These were schools that have monitored their resource consumption and improved them. The two awardees in this category: 1. Global Public School, Ernakulam, Kerala 2. Noyes Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Madurai, Tamil Nadu Sterling Schools Awards: Schools rated ‘green’ for five consecutive years: Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Sonipat, Haryana Sachdeva Global School, South West Delhi, New Delhi Salwan Public School, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Ashok Memorial Public School, Faridabad, Haryana Bal Bharati Public School, Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh Kendriya Vidyalaya WCL, New Majri, Chandrapur, Maharashtra East Point School, New Delhi Indirapuram Public School, Pratap Vihar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Bal Bharati Public School, IMT Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana St Edmund’s School, Jaipur, Rajasthan Mahindra World School, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu Best Newcomer: Schools that have recently registered to be a part of the programme and have demonstrated considerable potential in managing their natural resources. Cambridge School, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Best in Section: Schools that have performed exceptionally in specific sections. GSP Waste Warrior Award: Christ Academy CBSE School, Bengaluru, Karnataka GSP Land Manager Award: Government Senior Secondary School Himgiri, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh GSP Good Food Award: Shiv Nadar School, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh GSP Air Action Award: Subodh Public School Airport, Jaipur, Rajasthan GSP Energy Manager Award: Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, Central Delhi, New Delhi What it means to be a Green School? A ‘green’ school may include, but is not limited, to the following: A window to floor ratio (WFR) of more than 15 per cent. Majority of the population using sustainable and non-polluting modes of transport (public transport, e-rickshaws, cycling, walking, etc). Maximum use of energy-efficient lighting to conserve energy and use of alternative sources of energy – the GSP Audit encourages schools to minimise the use of conventional lights without compromising over sufficient lighting for students. Maintain a high green cover inside and around the school campus along with greater biodiversity by planting native species of plants. Serve only cooked meals (avoid packaged foods) to ensure healthy food consumption. Harvest rainwater and treat wastewater. Segregate waste at source efficiently and dispose of responsibly — recycling of at least 90 per cent of the waste is recommended Wet waste composted; waste should not be burned. (A CSE Media Briefing) Report sent by Pratyusha Mukherjee