• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Scientists Cite Pollution Decrease in Calls to 'Flatten the Curve' of Climate Change Post-Coronavirus

Scientists, activists and religious leaders ranging from Pope Francis to filmmaker Spike Lee are highlighting lockdown reductions in air pollution and nature "coming alive" as part of a larger call to permanently change industrial and economic behavior after COVID-19. Pope Francis said last week that the deadly worldwide coronavirus pandemic is one of "nature's responses" to humans' mistreatment of Planet Earth, telling a Catholic U.K. publication that "God always forgives, but Nature never forgives." This sentiment was echoed by environmental researchers, politicians and activists who are urging world leaders to permanently reduce carbon emissions, air pollution and fossil fuel burning in order to "flatten the curve" of climate change. COVID-19, which has caused the deaths of more than 107,000 people worldwide, has placed much of the industrialized world into lockdown, simultaneously clearing up blue skies in India and improving air quality in the northeastern United States as it wreaks havoc on global health care systems. "The blissful sight of blue skies and the joy of breathing clean air provides just the contrast to illustrate what we are doing to ourselves the rest of the time," Dr. Shashi Tharoor told The Guardian Saturday. Evidence of smog lifting in New Delhi, pandas finally mating in China, and air pollution dropping above New York, New Jersey and Maryland have circulated news reports globally, but climate researchers and scientists warn there must be permanent reductions in pollution, transportation and industry to continue these changes post-pandemic. NASA satellite data showed a 30 percent drop in nitrogen dioxide above the northeastern U.S., as tens of millions of vehicles were kept off the roads and fossil fuels typically burned for transportation purposes were largely halted. In the northern region of India, a country which placed its 1.4 billion people on lockdown and kept New Delhi's 11 million registered vehicles off the roads, Air Quality Index levels improved to their best in decades. A pair of separate studies published in the online scientific journal Nature this month on rebuilding damaged ocean ecosystems and global warming, respectively, saw researchers seeking to "flatten the curve" of climate change similar to the reversal sought in stemming new COVID-19 cases. "Our research shows that rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this decade will effectively flatten the curve of species at risk. Similar to the COVID-19 pandemic, early action to limit the risk pays off in a big way. It does not eliminate all risk from climate change, but reduces the number of species and ecosystems exposed by a massive amount," study co-author Christopher Trisos, of the University of Cape Town told The Guardian last week. Former Vice President Al Gore, who founded The Climate Reality Project, told HBO host Bill Maher Friday there is a clear connection between COVID-19 and climate change, saying both have served as a wake-up call that government leaders can't simply dismiss dire warnings from scientists. American filmmaker Spike Lee echoed the thoughts of Pope Francis, telling SiriusXM's The Joe Madison Show Friday that the coronavirus lockdown is "changing everything." "But you know why, the reason -- how pollution is clearing up. Skies are clear. Animals are coming out. I mean you know, the Earth was angry at us. People may think I'm crazy that I believe it in my heart and soul. That we had gone too far and Earth said, 'Hold up, we gotta change this.' We were killing this planet," Lee said. Sunita Narain, director of the Center for Science Environment and a vocal critic of New Delhi's car pollution issues said there needs to be an "all the time" change in transit behavior. "I don't want people to say 'Oh, environmentalists are celebrating this lockdown:' we are not. This is not the solution. But whatever the new normal is post-COVID-19, we have to make sure we take this breath of fresh air and think about the serious efforts we need to deal with pollution in Delhi." Professor Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist, posted a widely shared Twitter thread last month addressing how data showing drops in monthly or even annual reductions in CO2 emissions means little in comparison to the "cumulative" damage done to the atmosphere and environment. "As the pandemic passes, carbon emissions will most likely bounce right back up again, and possibly then some, as industry does its best to make up for lost productivity, income, and wages. So any slowdown is temporary at best," she concluded. Scientists, religious leaders and entrepreneurs are calling to "flatten the curve" of climate change's negative effects as the COVID-19 lockdown has seen air quality skyrocket and industrial pollution decline as billions of people shelter-in-place. Screenshot: NASA | YouTube Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said during a Ted Talk at the end of March that he sees hope in the international scientific community and private sector businesses working together to solve both the climate and coronavirus crises. "That idea of innovation and science and the world working together — that is totally common between these two problems, and so I don't think this has to be a huge setback for climate. In the science side and data sharing side, you see this great cooperation going o

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Coronavirus: India sees blue skies and clean air as a result of the world’s largest lockdown

The level of particle pollution considered most harmful to human health fell by nearly 60 per cent in New Delhi after a few days Inside the world’s largest lockdown, there are no flights, no passenger trains, no taxis and few functioning industries. But one thing is remarkably abundant: cleaner air. India is engaged in a desperate bid to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus cases before they overwhelm the creaky health system in this nation of more than 1.3 billion people In the meantime, the three-week lockdown is flattening something else – India’s notorious air pollution. The speed of the change has surprised even experts, who say it is proof that dramatic improvements in air quality can be achieved, albeit at an enormous human and economic cost. Days after the lockdown began on 25 March, the level of particle pollution considered most harmful to human health fell by nearly 60 per cent in New Delhi, India’s capital, according to an analysis by experts at the nonprofit Centre for Science and Environment. Similar drops have occurred in other major Indian cities. In normal times, Delhi is the world’s most polluted megalopolis. For much of the winter, air quality readings remain at levels that in the United States are considered unhealthy or worse. Last November, the city experienced its longest spell of hazardous air since such record keeping began. These days, Delhiites are stuck in their homes except when picking up essential goods. But above them are blue skies, the moon and the stars, seen without the usual barrier of smog. The sight is so striking that “I feel like complimenting the sky for its beauty,” said Sameer Dhanda, an architect. In other parts of India, the Himalayan mountain range is visible from a distance for the first time in years. Waterways choked by industrial pollution, such as Delhi’s Yamuna River – full of grey foam just months ago – are flowing unimpeded. The current reduction in pollution has come at a steep price. Much of the Indian economy has been idled, forcing vulnerable workers to travel hundreds of miles to their home villages on foot. Millions could be plunged into poverty or hunger if the lockdown continues beyond its initial three-week period. But experts say that there are still lessons to be gleaned, including a chance to imagine a different future. The decrease in pollution is a “proof of concept” that demonstrates clean air “is doable,” said Ajay Mathur, a former Indian climate negotiator and a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council on climate change. “The linkage between personal behaviour and what I will breathe is far clearer now than it has been in the past.” The first step for any government is to ensure that “the vast number of Indians have sustainable livelihoods,” Mathur added. Nevertheless, he hopes that policychanges – such as phasing out dirty industrial fuels and accelerating the shift to environmentally friendly vehicles – will get a boost in the post-pandemic world. I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email The India Gate war memorial is pictured after air pollution level started to drop in New Delhi One terrible irony of the current crisis is that a pandemic that makes it difficult for some to breathe has, by curbing pollution, eased respiratory troubles for others. Pulmonologists in Delhi say many of their regular patients are breathing easier and reducing their use of inhalers. For them, this period is a kind of boon, said Arvind Kumar, a chest surgeon and trustee of the Lung Care Foundation. India’s long-running battle with pollution may have rendered it particularly vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. Researchers at Harvard recently found that places with long-term exposure to higher levels of fine particle pollution – known as PM2.5 – were associated with higher rates of death caused by Covid-19. Such particles can lodge deep in the lungs and have been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, respiratory infections and even cancer. So far, about 200 people in India have died of Covid-19, with more than 6,500 cases of the illness confirmed. Anumita Roy Chowdhury, an air pollution expert at Delhi’s Centre for Science and Environment, described India’s improved air quality as “a very big unintended experiment unfolding in front of us”. The lockdown demonstrates “the scale at which change is needed,” she said, but also shows people “what it means to breathe clean air”. Across a huge swath of northern India, the air quality normally varies from poor to apocalyptic, depending on the time of year, with a brief respite during the annual monsoon. The worst period begins when temperatures drop in October, trapping near ground level a mix of industrial emissions, road dust, vehicular exhaust and ash from burnt crop stubble. Pollution begins to ease in February. Jyoti Pande Lavakare, an author and antipollution activist in Delhi, said she doesn’t remember seeing skies of this type of blue at this time of year in at least a decade. In recent days, she began doing her morning exercises outside and found herself lying on her back on her yoga mat, just gazing at the sky. “After we battle the current pandemic, we need to revisit how we treat the invisible killer of air pollution,” Lavakare said. The World Health Organisation estimates that polluted air kills 7 million people annually. For now, Delhi residents are treasuring a rare upside of a time marked by fear and worry. Priyanki Choudhury, an account manager, said she has not experienced anything like this – clear blue skies in the day and stars at night – since she was a teenager. Choudhury was not sure whether the lockdown would succeed in stemming the spread of Covid-19. But, for the environment, she said, it is clearly a “time to heal.”

• Industrial Pollution

Reliance power plant in Madhya Pradesh develops a breach: 2 dead, 4 missing

The flow of fly ash swallowed up whole fields in its path in the village of Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, district officials said 'The bodies were found as far as five kilometres away from the ash dyke breach site,' official told Two people died and four others are missing, feared dead, after a fly ash dyke gave way at a coal-fired power plant in the Singrauli district in central India on Friday, a local official told Reuters, the third such incident in the district in a year. Five villagers and a worker at the site owned by Reliance Power were swept up in a flow of fly ash - a powdery by-product of burning pulverised coal - which travelled at least six kilometres, said K.V.S. Chaudhary, the top public official in the Singrauli district. The flow of fly ash swallowed up whole fields in its path in the village of Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, district officials said. It was not clear how the dyke broke and Reliance Power said it was investigating the causes of the incident, adding the 4,000 megawatt (MW) power plant would continue to operate normally independent of relief operations. "The bodies were found as far as five kilometres away from the ash dyke breach site," Chaudhary told Reuters on Saturday, adding the four missing were also feared dead. A team of rescue officials were still conducting search operations, Chaudhary said. Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at New-Delhi based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said the coal ash was a "hazardous cocktail" of heavy metals known to cause liver and kidney ailments. A 2012 study by India's Centre for Science and Environment found mercury levels in blood samples in the region - home to over 10 coal-fired power plants - to be six times more than what is considered safe. Another local official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said the ash in the soil was likely to hit agricultural output for at least two seasons, adding that unspecified "strict action" would be taken against Reliance Power. The company didn't comment specifically on that suggestion and said it was working with authorities in response to the duke break. Local media reported a fly ash dyke break at a plant operated by Essar in August and another run by NTPC Ltd in October.

• Director General Office

Guilt-Stricken On Killing a Tiger, Padma Shri Officer Went On To Change Their Destiny in India

“There seems to be something about India’s soil that inspires conservation and humbles man,” wrote Padma Shri Kailash Sankhala, better known as India’s Tiger Man. #UnsungHeroes Our history is replete with stories of elaborate big game hunts, particularly of tigers and leopards, that were a favourite pastime of royal families in the Indian subcontinent. These events were often staged to showcase their royalty, power, wealth and, of course, machismo. Officers of the British government routinely hunted down these wild cats with reckless abandon, alongside their Indian vassals that ruled over nominally sovereign ‘princely states.’ Post-independence, however, the killing of tigers escalated. Hunters from around the world gathered in India with local travel agencies promising them marquee trophies of animals including tigers, elephants, lions and the rhinos, amongst others. And leading the pack were the Maharajas. Serious scientific research in the field of wildlife conservation only began in the country when renowned wildlife biologist, George Schaller came to India in the 1960s. Prior to his arrival, most of the stories surrounding wildlife were written by Britishers who were working with the Raj when hunting was allowed whether he was Jim Corbett or anyone else. People were fascinated more with the aesthetics of tigers and eventually killing them, and we saw the gradual disappearance of the strongest cats from the gene pool. After visiting a series of forest areas like Kanha, George Schaller wrote a popular book titled ‘The Deer and The Tiger’ published in 1967, which offered a detailed account of the ecology and behaviour of Bengal tigers and four species of the hoofed mammal. However, wildlife conservation in India really took off in the early 1970s, which saw the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972), the establishment of Project Tiger (1973), signing onto the Stockholm Declaration (1972) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973). Kailash Sankhala, the first director of Project Tiger, would go on to play a fundamental role in turning the tide for wildlife conservation in India, particularly of tigers. He was probably the first Indian field officer who did real field research work in understanding the secretive lives of tigers from their behaviour, population dynamics to daily activities. Born in Jodhpur on 30 January 1925, Sankhala studied biology in college despite his father’s wish that he study engineering. Following college, he did his Master’s from Jaswant College in Jodhpur before earning a postgraduate degree in Forestry from the Indian Forest College in 1953. The same year he joined the Forest Service in Rajasthan, a “place that shaped me and my future career,” wrote Sankhala in his book ‘Tiger! The Story of the Indian Tiger.’ “Before his passion of conservation was ignited, he was responsible for issuing hunting permits. One day sometime in the early 1950s, he killed a tiger which transformed him. It was a real turning point. He was riddled with guilt, which eventually led to him becoming a conservationist. He spent the remainder of his life protecting the tiger and its habitat,” says Amit Sankhala, the Managing Director of the Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge, and grandson of Kailash Sankhala, in an email interview with The Better India. It’s something Kailash Sankhala notes as well. “Even today, the scene is as fresh as it was that morning, and the open eyes of that tiger have haunted me all my life. To overcome my guilt, I have dedicated my life to the cause of tiger preservation,” he writes in his book. In 1956, he sent a letter to the Wildlife Board of Rajasthan with an appeal to stop the shooting of tigers and thus became one of the first conservationists to speak up for their protection. Nearly a decade later, when he was appointed Director of the Delhi Zoological Park, he convinced the Indian Board of Wildlife to institute a system that would track the export of tiger cubs, requiring exporters to clearly explain how they obtained them. It was during his time as the Director of Delhi Zoological Zoo from 1965 to 1970, when his work around tigers really began to pick up. Despite protests by the local media, he stopped making animals perform for the general public while revamping the quarters where tigers were kept more like their natural habitat. He also started conducting some of his initial research on tigers nearby and travelling to different parts to get population estimates. In 1967, he investigated the sale of tiger and leopard furs in markets across Delhi and published those findings on the front page of The Indian Express. Two years later, he pleaded before the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to protect the tiger whose numbers were rapidly declining. In fact, by gathering public support on this issue in the national and international media, he persuaded the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to ban tiger hunting altogether. Even some of the Maharajas saw the wisdom of this plea. “Going on Tiger Hunts, was a regular pastime of the Maharajas. They could never imagine that one day there would be Indian jungles without any tigers in them,” says Amit. In May 1970, he was awarded the coveted Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship for his project titled ‘The Controversial Tiger: A Study of Ecology, Behaviour and Status,’ which truly enabled him to jump with both feet into the field of wildlife conservation. Under the fellowship, he set out to conduct an all India study to understand how many Tigers were still alive in India. By September 1970, he had convinced Dr Karan Singh, the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, to ban the export of tiger, leopard and panther skins or the products made from them. For the next two years, he travelled across India to study the dwindling tiger population. Amid his project, Anne Wright, a leading voice for wildlife conservation, published an article in May 1971 titled Skin Shops, which describes in some harrowing detail the illegal selling of tiger and leopard skins in Kolkata. This was once again part of a concerted effort to raise the issue of tiger conservation into mainstream discourse. After she was convinced of the problem by British conservationist Guy Mountfort, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi established India’s first Task Force on Tigers, headed by Dr Karan Singh. The Task Force on Tigers also included Kailash Sankhala, Anne Wright, Dr MK Ranjitsinh, an authority on wildlife, and Zafar Futehally, a naturalist and conservationist. Months later on 9 September 1972, the parliament passed the Wildlife Protection Act for the protection of plants and animal species. It was a landmark piece of legislation which among other things, facilitated the creation of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, strictly restricted and regulated activities in them, besides banning the hunting of wildlife. A few months later in April 1973, Prime Minister Gandhi established Project Tiger to “protect and restore natural habitats of tigers and to track and protect the remaining wild tigers in India” and handpicked Sankhala as its first director. “My grandfather would spearhead Project Tiger by starting with nine tiger reserves. A major task was to relocate villages outside national parks so that there could be safer habitats for Tigers. The task was serious—setting up an administration, which will oversee the relocation of villages, creating park boundaries and developing community partnerships so that it’s all done in a harmonious manner,” says Amit. He held the post of director until 1976. However, his pioneering role in tiger conservation wasn’t merely limited to being the director of Project Tiger. “The hallmark of his contribution, which many don’t know about, is the field research he conducted on tigers. When you read his book ‘Tiger! The Story of the Indian Tiger’, you will understand how scientifically he studied the animal. He would spend hours observing how tigers would behave, how they secrete pheromones, how they would mark their territories and the different calls they would make. All this initial research on tiger ethology and ecology was very well documented by Mr Sankhala. In my opinion, this is his most important contribution, which most people don’t underline as they should,” says Ramesh Pandey, a senior Indian Forest Service officer, speaking to The Better India. Did his research, however, translate into on the ground conservation efforts? Pandey seems to think so. “If you see a tiger in the jungle, it’s demeanour is one of composure and real poise like a monk. The needs of this very secretive animal are minimal. If you provide closure to a particular area of the forest, the tiger will breed, come out of distress, mark its territory, increase its range and manage on its own. By providing closure, you mitigate the scope for biotic pressure. It has immense potential to bounce back and adjust to adversity. In my opinion, he could see the composure the animal exhibited and that if it was provided with enough protection, nature would take care of the rest,” he says. In India, much of what is understood about the practical aspects of conservation like territoriality (how animals use space to communicate ownership), overlapping of areas, preypredator dynamics, provision of better habitat, food, shelter, water and the cover regime have primarily emanated from Sankhala’s work and experience. “The tiger is a wanderer with no definite plan in mind. But within his ‘home range’ he has a mental note of such features as day shelters, waterholes and places where food may be expected. (His periodical reappearances at these places is sometimes interpreted as visits to guard his territory.) He seldom leaves his home range except to pursue receptive tigresses or when driven by desperate hunger,” Sankhala once wrote. Despite stepping down as Director of Project Tiger in 1976, he continued to study and write about tigers (published three books in total alongside other works on wildlife conservation) and worked as the Chief Wildlife Warden of Rajasthan from 1978 to 1983. After a lifetime of service to wildlife conservation, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. He sadly passed away two years later on 15 August 1994, at the age of 69, but the legacy he leaves behind is immense. Project Tiger began in April 1973 with 9 tiger reserves and a mere 268 tigers. Today, there are 50 tiger reserves across India and their numbers have grown beyond 3,000. However, much credit for this significant rise in tiger population must also go to the institutional mechanisms that have been put in place the past 15 years. Despite the introduction of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) in 1972, the concept of conservation initially was only about delineating a particular area, giving it more importance and calling them national parks and sanctuaries. In declaring an area as a national park or sanctuary, these spaces are given legal protections with provisions that those who violate the WPA will be sued and punished. But the WPA did not provide any prescription for conservation measures that could be taken. What authorities earlier did was refer to national parks and sanctuaries as ‘tiger reserves’ even though that phrase held no legal value. Moreover, Project Tiger was just a project which financially assisted tiger reserves declared by their respective state governments by giving them technical and miscellaneous guidelines, support for capacity building, training, scientific research, monitoring of tigers, census, etc. However, everything changed with the news that tigers had disappeared from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in December 2004. There was a massive hue and cry all over the country surrounding the rapidly depleting numbers of tigers. Post-Sariska, a Tiger Task Force was constituted under the leadership of environmentalist Sunita Narain, who made some significant recommendations. The results of these recommendations were substantial. A statutory body called the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) was set up in December 2005 to run Project Tiger. Moreover, tiger reserves actually became legal entities with core (inviolate areas with no human habitation) and buffer areas. “Every management plan of tiger reserves today has to be approved by the NTCA. Earlier, states could write their prescriptions, but not anymore. The standard operating procedures (SOP) to be followed in tiger conservation have been clearly defined. Every year, you have to do camera trapping for population estimates, and every four years we are doing an all India tiger estimation involving the Wildlife Institute of India, where we come up with the photographic estimation of the total number of tigers in tiger reserves. We are working on how to establish functional wildlife corridors and how we can connect two meta-populations (a group of populations that are separated by space but consist of the same species) of tigers. We are also working out how tigers coming out to adjoining areas that are not protected are living and inhabiting there,” informs Ramesh Pandey. A lot of the success in conserving tigers in India today is down to establishing this very institutional framework post-Sariska. Project Tiger is not just a project now, but a system which has all its verticals institutionalised from management, monitoring and evaluation, scientific research, SOPs prescribed and foresightedness of how to go ahead. Yes, steep challenges do remain like rising human-animal conflicts, convincing populations living near protected areas the economic value of conserving tigers and other wild cats, establishing functional corridors for meta-populations and preventing further fragmentation of forest areas thanks to growing linear infrastructure (power lines, communication, roads). Kailash Sankhala, “There seems to be something about India’s soil that inspires conservation and humbles man as only one thin thread in the web of the grand process of nature.” | April 11, 2020

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

India lockdown reduces pollution in some of the world's most polluted cities

NEW DELHI - There's a new pastime in India, with many eager to take pictures or videos of the sky from their windows and balconies and share it on social media or on WhatsApp. One widely-shared video shows people in the northern city of Jalandhar in Punjab, looking from their rooftops at snowcapped mountains, visible in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh state. In a country where multiple cities often make it to the list of most polluted in the world, clear, blue skies have an unintended but welcome side effect of a three week lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19. In Delhi, which frequently tops lists of the most polluted cities worldwide, even the local police is appreciating the clear skies after record pollution levels this winter sent PM2.5 levels nine times over the safe limit. "Amidst the clear blue skies @DelhiPolice unstintingly performs its duty at pickets," said an account linked to the Delhi Commissioner of Police, describing officers enforcing the lockdown. In the capital city, air quality is now between satisfactory and good, thanks to the empty roads and mandated shutdown of non-essential industries. "Now for the first time even though for the wrong reason - you don't want a public health emergency - pollution levels have gone down, even if unintended," said Ms Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre For Science and Environment. Get exclusive insights of Asia from our network of correspondents Keep up with the latest in the region with the ST Asian Insider newsletter, delivered to your inbox every weekday By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. "It's an experiment for us to understand things better. Now we are able to see when change happens at this scale, when economic activity is under control and polluting activities stopped, how clean air can get." Daily average levels of particulate matter of a size less than 2.5 microns, known as PM2.5, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have reduced sharply from the pre-lockdown days by close to or more than half in Delhi and its satellite towns, including Gurugram, she added. PM2.5 is the concentration of tiny particles of less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter - about one-thirtieth the diameter of a strand of human hair - in the air. In Kolkata, peak hour PM2.5 levels fell by 46 per cent and NO2 by 74 per cent. In Mumbai, they were down by 52 per cent and 85 per cent. The India Gate war memorial on October 17, 2019 (top) and after air pollution levels started to drop during a nationwide lockdown in New Delhi on April 8, 2020. India is home to some of the world's most polluted cities, with pollution levels doubling over the past decade due to a lethal combination of factors: rapid industrialisation, an explosion in vehicle numbers, a poor public transport system, unchecked construction of homes in urban areas and weak enforcement of laws and regulation. Attempts have been made to clean up pollution, including last year's launch of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which among other measures set targets for 102 cities, including better vehicle management, to reduce PM2. 5 and PM10 levels by 20-30 per cent by 2024. Progress has been limited. Scientists said the lockdown also presents an excellent opportunity to study the sources of pollution. " Right now, all important sources of pollution are shut down except for power plants and cooking," said Professor Sachidanand Tripathi of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He said it would help better pinpoint sources of pollution both local and regional. "It will help us see when things were not industrialised." In India, smoke from wood- and coal-fired ovens is a major source of air pollution. Pollution has also come at a health cost for the country. A report by the US-based Health Effects Institute said around 1.2 million people were killed in India in 2017 due to air pollution. The Collective of Doctors for Clean Air has noted that people living in highly polluted areas were more vulnerable to coronavirus as their lungs were impacted by pollution. appreciation for blue skies will translate into increased public awareness amid the pandemic. "People never could understand the immediacy of the risk with pollution, which they are understanding: The fact that the long-term exposure to pollution results in weakened lungs and that vulnerability to Covid goes up. If we can deepen understanding (among people) on how clean the air can get, we should be able to leverage that to push for stronger action to say economic recovery is possible with environmental safeguards in place," said Ms Roychowdhury. Some even believed the lockdown could be a turning point in pollution mitigation efforts, with even companies possibly embracing work from home strategies. "I feel everybody, including the public and policymakers, will learn from this crisis and move on towards a more sustainable and cleaner way of doing things, including how we move people within the cities, as well as how we get our energy demands," said Mr Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. "This (period)) will stay in the minds of policymakers. Because now they know more clearly than before that we can achieve breathable air."

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone new concern in air

New Delhi: As the emission levels in the city have gone down with the lockdown in place, secondary pollutants like groundlevel ozone (O3) as well as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) are now emerging as the lead pollutants according to Central Pollution Control Board’s daily Air Quality Index. Secondary pollutants are formed when primary pollutants interact in the atmosphere. Ozone in particular featured as lead pollutant for four out of seven days last week. With temperatures set to rise further in the coming weeks, experts say ozone pollution is one to pay attention to under the circumstances, as it can cause respiratory problems. While the lead pollutant in Delhi is generally PM2.5 or PM10 through the year, the lockdown has meant the only sources of pollution right now are the limited vehicles on the road, contributing to formation of ground-level ozone and NO2 in the heat. Even though ozone is considered beneficial in the upper parts of the atmosphere, it becomes toxic at the ground-level and is considered a pollutant, with breathing in high levels of ozone causing respiratory problems. This can also worsen pre-existing existing respiratory problems like asthma and bronchitis and can even cause permanent damage to the lungs. With Covid-19 primarily affecting the lungs, expert say people should only venture out during this period when it is necessary. “The levels of ozone generally tend to peak in April and May. We will soon be analysing the data to see if the levels are above prescribed limits along with the impact of lockdown on the ozone levels, and compare it with last year’s data. One needs to be careful, particularly in areas where ozone levels remain high through the summer,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, at the Centre for Science and Environment. A CSE study last year had observed that average ozone levels exceeded prescribed standards on 16% of the days between April 1 and June 15, 2019, against just 5% in 2018.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Blue sky thinking: what the coronavirus lockdown shows India about pollution and clearing the air

Urban and industrial areas around the world are seeing pollution levels drop dramatically during the lockdown Anti-pollution activists say India has the opportunity to rethink our policies on After months spent under virtual house arrest with doors and windows firmly sealed against the record levels of pollution, people in the Indian capital are flinging everything open to breathe in great gulps of clean air and feast on blue skies. The cause of the low levels of pollution – the coronavirus lockdown – is still keeping them stuck indoors to stop the contagion spreading, but few are complaining. The virus that causes the Covid-19 illness has done wonders for the air. With the lockdown shutting factories, halting construction, taking cars off the road, ending flights, and immobilising almost 1.3 billion Indians, the result is the cleanest air anyone can remember for a long time. New Delhi and 90 other cities have recorded minimal air pollution, as have many other parts of the world including Hong Kong and China Delhi’s Air Quality Index last Sunday morning was moderate at 42. Below 50 is deemed to be good air. On some days in November and December, it had maxed out at 999 (because most monitors can only register three digits), forcing the Delhi government to declare a public health emergency. Schools were shut and flights cancelled. Those who could, fled the city. The rest locked themselves in, venturing out only when necessary wearing masks in what, with hindsight, appears to have been an eerie dress rehearsal for the nationwide coronavirus lockdown that began on March 25. “I know it’s a high price to pay for enjoying clean air, the virus is deadly, but for once this city looks like the city of my childhood – quiet, pure air and amazingly clear skies,” said businessman Raman Tiwari. Environmentalists are urging the government to treat this unintended consequence of the lockdown as a chance to stop its “obsession” with development that comes at the cost of the environment and people’s lungs . Indian families in New Delhi try to make their way home to their villages during the coronavirus lockdown. Photo: AP Indian families in New Delhi try to make their way home to their villages during the coronavirus lockdown. Photo: AP The question, they say, is whether India will choose to invest in climate-friendly industries to power the economic recovery that everyone will be desperate for once the current crisis is over, rather than relying on carbon-intensive sectors. Jyoti Pande Lavakare, co-founder of Care for Air in New Delhi, said that shutting down the economy was obviously not the best way to bring pollution down, but at least it proved that it was anthropogenic – caused by human actions – and proved what could be achieved. “We can achieve the same outcome by doing it mindfully, using technology and low-emission alternatives,” she said. Lavakare fears that the government may roll back existing regulations that are in place to reduce emissions at source, such as filters added to power plants’ industrial chimneys or the plan to move towards BS6-compliant car engines. In fact, the car industry in India was due to make the huge shift to BS6 compliant engines on April 1. Car manufacturers were ready with the new low-emission cars last year, but had a lot of unsold BS5 inventory they wanted to clear first. With the lockdown, clearing those BS5 cars will be impossible. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, 105,000 scooters, 2,250 passenger cars and 2,000 commercial vehicles are sitting idle, sold but unregistered owing to the lockdown. “The government shouldn’t use the desire to revive the economy as an excuse to roll back the measures we have taken years to win,” said Lavakare. Environmentalists are hoping that the public support and cooperation during the lockdown will survive once the coronavirus crisis is over and continue so that people remain on board for the longer term solutions to pollution which require nationwide lifestyle adjustments. At the Centre For Science and Environment, Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director for research and advocacy, says the clean air is an unintended benefit of decimating economic activity and, as such, cannot be used to build a case for ‘crisis-led’ change. “Nonetheless, this experience shows that if a health-risk perception can provoke an emergency response, it can galvanise farreaching changes. Collective community and policy action can help us to reinvent longer-term solutions to reduce dependence on cars, speed up clean energy and technology transition, and change the way we manage our waste,” said Chowdhury. Clean air is also connected closely with the coronavirus because scientists have warned that the pandemic can worsen in areas with high levels of pollution because people’s lungs are already compromised, making them more vulnerable to the virus. Not only does it make them more vulnerable, according to the European Public Health Alliance at a meeting on March 16 in Brussels, the coronavirus threat is greater for polluted cities. Patients with chronic lung and heart conditions caused by long-term exposure to air pollution are less able to fight it. The alliance pointed to a 2003 study of victims of Sars (also a respiratory disease) which found that patients in regions with moderate air pollution levels were 84 per cent more likely to die than those in regions with low air pollution. In India, the Collective of Doctors for Clean Air has said that people living in highly polluted areas, whose lungs have already been adversely affected, can be more vulnerable to coronavirus. Given that doctors and scientists are telling everyone that the coronavirus is something we will have to live with, Chowdhury says “by lowering air pollution levels we can help the most vulnerable in their fight against this and any possible future pandemics”. | April 7, 2020

• Director General Office

Interdependence in corona world

What should countries like India do, with limited testing facilities and even more limited public health infrastructures? Sunita Narain I write this from lockdown — India is on the cusp of coronavirus third and the deadliest stage of community transmission and the government has now called out to citizens to stop all economic activities and self-isolate themselves. This is clearly crucial; never before at least in my living memory has something this small become so globally life-threatening and so out of control, so quickly. It was only in January that we got the first real news about the novel virus, which jumped from animals from humans, and was taking lives in China. We saw images of forced incarceration; millions of businesses and homes were shut down; hospitals were built overnight and it would have seemed that victory was on hand. It was a blip in the global economy and China would bounce back. Business was as usual. But then, so quickly, the virus moved to make new homes — Italy, where things have completely gone out of control, and Iran, where so little is known even today of the sheer extent of toll that this disease is taking. Now the spread is practically universal; most of the world is in lockdown mode. It is completely unbelievable. In India, when I write this, there are 3,577 coronavirus cases, with 83 deaths. This pales into insignificance when you consider that Italy has close to 125,000 cases; or that New York on Sunday has over 113,700 confirmed cases and, worse, it’s doubling every six days. It is said these cases in India do not represent the true numbers, because testing is limited. But this is where the real question comes. What should countries like India do, with limited testing facilities and even more limited public health infrastructures? All the evidence is pointing to the fact that as the cases reach community spread, the deaths increase because countries cannot provide the intensive care that is needed. This is why for Indians the choice is stark — we cannot afford community transmission; we have to contain and to prevent. And, yes, we have to increase our testing capacities, but it is also clear that we will never be able to test adequately once it spreads. So, testing has to be done to identify and isolate. We need to know that we have to shut down so that we do not end up spreading the virus, which, we have seen from other countries, gallops exponentially to infect entire populations within days. There is no rulebook on this virus, but what is clear is that the only way to contain it is to break the chain of transmission. This, of course, is tough because it brings economies to a grinding halt. It destroys livelihoods, particularly of the poor and the selfemployed — and this again is where we will need governments to step in with social security and access to essentials — so that people can cope and make their way through this never-before global catastrophe. But this is not all. We need to use this time to think about some fundamentals — one of which is the issue of global cooperation. There is never a good time for such a pandemic to hit the world — but this, we can safely say, is the worst time possible. There is no global leadership or institution that has the respect and the sagacity to take us through what is clearly a crisis beyond national boundaries. What we have seen in the past few months has been a shameful record of self-interest and selfpreservation. For most of us who work to advocate global cooperation on another existential threat like climate change, this should not be news. But it does shock you that even with such a crisis, which is literally bringing the most powerful countries to their knees, we are not getting together to discuss the global response to the global pandemic. Why? What more can and should we do? I want to discuss this further in the coming weeks. Then, of course, there is the issue of public health — what coronavirus teaches us (if we care to learn) is that we are only as strong as our weakest link. If there is no access to public health care to all or if public health service is weakened to collapse — as is the case in most of the emerging world (and even in private health care systems of the US) — then we cannot withstand pandemics. It is also not enough to build this capacity within countries because if any region of any country or any country of the world is weak, the contagion will breed there and will spread. For how long will we be able to keep our borders closed? How will this even work? And this, then, leads to my third question — about the nature of globalisation after corona. Will we learn from the vulnerabilities of our system to make it more robust and invest in local economies and local health systems through global partnerships? Let’s keep discussing this in these tough times. Business Standard | Delhi | April 06, 2020

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Breathe@47

Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, rising cases and deaths, one thing that the citizens can take heart is the improved air quality index which is down to less than 50 in many parts of the country, a number that had stood at 222 a couple of months back in Delhi-NCR. SHALINI SAKSENA speaks with experts to tell you more Back in the 70s, 80s and even 90s, there was a time when azure sky was a norm. Then everything changed. Globalisation opened doors and the almost empty roads and no traffic snarls soon became a thing of the past. Soon the air quality index was touching 1,000 and beyond and many people ended up with several breathing problems. Cut to March 25, 2020. Clear blue skies, a smattering of stars in the night sky and a clear view of the Capital for miles on end from the roof top without the usual haze is what Delhiites are waking up to since the lockdown. While the circumstances that have led to the present situation is extremely unfortunate given that the number of COVID-19 cases as of April 4, 2020 stands at 3,474 and deaths at 91, there are a few numbers that are falling and people can take heart from it and breathe easy due to improved air quality. According to a data by SAFAR (March 30, 2020), the Capital has seen a reduction of 63 per cent in NOx and 49 per cent fall in PM2.5. Mumbai too witnessed a decrease in numbers — NOx 57 per cent down and PM2.5 down by 53 per cent, Pune: NOx stands at reduced percentage of 55 and PM2.5 at 38 per cent. According to Anumita Roychoudhary, associate director general at the Centre for Science and Environment, the overall air pollution levels have dropped sharply after the lockdown because vehicles, factories, construction has stopped. “We don’t want to depend on this kind of emergency to bring this change. But this crisis has proved that if health risk perception can provoke emergency response it can galvanise far reaching changes. Collective community action during this pandemic has forced us to reinvent solutions to reduce our vulnerability to toxic risk. We have made massive lifestyle adjustments to practice social distancing,” Roychoudhary says. She tells you that whether this crisis induced change can throw up long-term solutions to air pollution is a question that we need to address. This means that we have to make systemic changes to institutionalise some of the emergency responses in terms of maximising potential of digital world to alter the concept of workplace, scale up public transport options to reduce vehicle miles travelled and personal vehicle numbers, roll out electric mobility to move towards zero emissions, ensure zero tolerance for non-compliance with emissions control regulations and standards, among others, only then post pandemic period can gain from this short term breather from emergency action. “Health risk associated with the ongoing air pollution problem also needs emergency response. There are concerns that during post pandemic period, it will be business as usual and pollution will go out of control once again. But people need to understand that air pollution kills 1.2 million people and makes many more ill annually. This requires similar emergency response and public support for strong action. This pandemic has also brought to light the evidence that air pollution increases vulnerability to pandemic because poor air pollution has already compromised lungs and overall health of people. It is important to deepen awareness and public understanding of this connection and overall health risk associated with air pollution to build the momentum for hard action. We need strong and sustained action across regions and give our national clean air programme effective teeth,” Roychoudhary says. Environmentalist BS Vohra tells you that the reduced AQI levels has one message to give. “It was all manmade. It was our fault that we allowed polluted industries to function and we allowed vehicular pollution to reach levels that people in Delhi were choked. Nature has given us a strong message — when we try and correct the wrong — when we stop things that create pollution — things change for the better,” Vohra says. Also, there is now no scope of ambiguity. “Today, we know the exact reason for the high AQI levels. Earlier, there were many studies that threw up different reading on what was contributing to the air pollution. Now, we know the real reason. We are being told that the mistake was ours and we need to take corrective action,” Vohra tells you. He paints a dismal picture if we don’t learn the lesson this lockdown has taught us. “First, the lockdown was not something that human did to combat air pollution. It was forced due to COVID-19. The improved AQI doesn’t mean man has done something. If the virus has not been there, things would be as it was before. There would have been no improvement Haridwar, Nilgai roaming the deserted streets of Noida, leopard spotted in Chandigarh and a pod of dolphins spotted along the seashores of Mumbai. There are many who believe that since humans are now confined to their homes, this is Nature’s way of claiming what was its territory. According to Dr Ravi Chellam, CEO, Metastring Foundation & director of Mission Secretariat, National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-being, this is one of way of viewing it. “It does tell us about the remarkable resilience of Nature to come back if we give it the slimmest of opportunity. It is time that we humans recognise, accept and work with the fact that we are part of Nature and it is the foundation for our existence and development. There is a price to pay for destroying Nature and the cost will always be higher than any projected economic benefit. Even places like Chernobyl which was abandoned after the nuclear disaster became a thriving wildlife habitat. Nature is very resilient and when given an opportunity it would try to re-colonise and make a comeback,” Chellam says. Pawan Sharma, founder of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare, based out of Mumbai agrees with Chellam and tells you that one can say that is partially true that Nature’s way to take back what was rightly its. “There is need to co-exist with the animals. Till now they co-exited with us, now it is our turn to give back. What we are witnessing that had led to the lockdown is the damage human intervention can do. Nature has its way to balance itself out. We had only read it in books but today we are living it. It is time to slow down. In our quest to develop we destroying Nature but development and conservation needs to go hand-in-hand. Animals don’t understand manmade boundaries. Man has encroached on their habitat and damaged it. Since there is no disturbance now, animals are curious and are out exploring,” Sharma says. Chellam is quick to point out that reports of wild animals roaming the streets need to be viewed in the right perspective. “Even before the lockdown it was not unusual to see lions, leopards, elephants, gaur, rhino, many species of deer and antelopes including nilgai and blackbuck, many other smaller mammals like jackals, mongoose, many reptile species including monitor lizards, different species of snakes, many species of birds including large ones like Sarus cranes, either on or by Indian roads. These sightings were when things were normal. With the lock down, human presence and disturbance has gone down drastically and hence we are getting to see these animals much more frequently and also more often during day time,” Chellam explains. There are several reasons why these animals are in the cities to begin with. First, many of these animals live around cities and their habitat may be fragmented by the city and hence they would be using the city for passage from one part of their habitat to another which would have been difficult when there was traffic and human presence. It should not be forgotten that it is we humans who have settled in wildlife habitats and in some sense, we are the intruders and not the animals. Second, could be that the city offers resources, primarily food (mostly in the form of garbage and food plants in our gardens and parks), domestic animals including dogs and pigs and water. It is also important to understand that these animals haven't settled in the urban areas. They are only using it for some time. Chellam sees a way forward. “It is absolutely crucial that humanity learns the right collective lessons from this pandemic. It would be a huge mistake to revert to business as usual once the worst of the pandemic is over or a vaccine is developed. If we continue to develop in ways that destroy Nature and pollute the environment and without compassion for all fellow human beings, such tragedies are only bound to be repeated. We have to recognise that we live in an interconnected world not just with citizens of other countries but equally if not more importantly with Nature and all species that occur in the wild. We need to completely re-prioritise and invest more in restoration of Nature and functional ecosystems, basic but very essential needs of all people like health, sanitation, adequate nutrition, safe housing and education instead of grandiose infrastructure projects and the military. The re-prioritised development model will enable much greater levels of equity, much more sustainable development and build resilience,” he tells you.

• Water Programme

58Monthly compilation of CSE’s media clippings: for the month of April 2020Building resilience to climate change in Addis Ababa

By Mekonnen Teshome Tollera –Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa (Sheger) was born twice: first, as a crowded city; and then again, as a beautiful Sheger with clean rivers, public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the riverside.The city of 4.6 million people is being born again as a result of a multimillion dollar project “Beautifying Sheger” intended to decorate Addis Ababa. This 29 billion birr (about $1.028 billion), rivers and riversides development project is slowly making the city green as works for developing and rehabilitating the two rivers in the city launched in February 2019 progress.The project, an initiative of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, is expected to be completed within three years and has created job opportunities for hundreds of Ethiopians and some Chinese too. The project is running along two of the largest rivers of the city, stretching a total of 51 kilometres, all the way from the mountains of Entoto through the city to Akaki River.The commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission, Alem Asefa says: “As an adaptation to climate change the riverside project will install water-permeable pavements to better deal with floods and storm water and improve water storage and use.”The Changing AddisAbaba climateImpulsive changes in climate including rising heat waves, drought and flash floods in Addis Ababa are negatively impacting natural resources and city productivity. A recent study by Open Access: “GIS based quantification and mapping of climate change vulnerability hotspots in Addis Ababa” confirmed that the city “...is vulnerable to climate change impacts...”“The degree of vulnerability is underpinned by the interaction of multiple factors mainly adaptive capacities of sub-cities, location basedcharacteristics and changes in climatic parameters,” it accentuates.Alem Asefa, Commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission, told InfoNile in Addis Ababa that scientific projections suggest that the city will face enormous challenges of climate change unless necessary measures are taken to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.Alem further explained: “If abusing the city master plan, especially the urban green component and emissions of greenhouse gases, including those from transport and industry are not controlled in the coming years, continued growth of their atmospheric concentrations is projected to result in severe climate change.”According to the commissioner, the most important anthropogenic influences on climate in Addis Ababa and neighbouring areas are the emissions, changes in land use, such as urbanization and agricultural activities.Enabling Addis Ababa adapt to climate changeThe rivers and riversides development project aims at curbing the serious environmental effects of pollution and habitat degradation of rivers through planning, design and management of riverside areas. Commissioner Alem says greening is recommended for containment and abatement of air pollution in urban-industrial environment.“Carbon is sequestered in the process of plant growth as carbon is captured in plant cell formation and oxygen is released during photosynthesis. Branches, leaves and other materials that fall to the forest floor may store carbonuntil they decompose,” noted Ale Additionally, he said, “forest soils may sequester some of the decomposing plant litter through root and soil interaction,” as he related greening efforts with adapting climate change. Optimally designed green belts can be effective in reducing the impact of fugitive emission and pollutants accidentally or otherwise released at ground levels.Alem says in addition to energy-efficient technologies in transport, industrial sectors, and buildings and development of green infrastructures including green development will help Addis Ababa mitigate climate change.Polluted rivers of Addis AbabaA number of research results from university academic and research institutions show that rivers of Addis Ababa are highly polluted due to congested residential houses and manufacturing industries’ presence around the water bodies.For example, an assessment study on the water chemical content of the Akaki river published by Research Gate (2017) –“Pollution Status of Akaki River and Its Tributaries (Ethiopia) Evaluated Using Physico-Chemical Parameters, Major Ions, and Nutrients,” indicates that the water quality of the TAR shows pattern of behavior linked to anthropogenic sources with the intensity of human pressure associated with industrial effluent, domestic wastes and agricultural activities.As the issue is a matter of high concern, the government in collaboration with local and international institutions is also making efforts to further analyze the water pollution and take necessarymeasures against polluter industries like leather tanneries and chemical industries.Director of India Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Mrs. Sunita Narain recently told this reporter in New Delhi that CSE has launched chemical analyses of the Akaki River, a river in central Ethiopia, to identify the concentration of heavy metals in the river and present recommendations on the possible solutions. Residential wastes, sewage flowing into the river and the disposal of single use plastic material are some of the major polluting factors of rivers in Addis Ababa.Managing and Mitigating floodsA flood related study by ScienceDirect (2016) –“Flood Risk and Vulnerability of Addis Ababa City Due to Climate Change and Urbanization”, states that the Akaki catchment’s urbanization rate grown by 10% only from 1993 to 2002 and flooding risks in Addis Ababa has also shown significant increase.The study attributed the vulnerability of Addis Ababa to riverine as well as flash floods due to extreme climatic events and upper catchment activities and the vulnerability to flooding is more aggravated due to a poor drainage system, rapid housing development along river banks and using inappropriate construction materials.Therefore, the riverside development project also aims to enhance the well-being of city dwellers by mitigating river flooding, creation of public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the site as well as to face-lift the image of the city.“Addis Ababa riverside project will reduce the amount of sediments and other pollutants disposed to the rivers and create greener urban centers suitable for living through plantation and/or reclamation of the river buffers with suitable trees, shrubs, herb and grasses along the different river buffer zones which can act as efficient biological filters or sinks for particulate and gaseous emissions, generated by vehicular movements and various industrial activities,” said Commissioner Alem.Transforming Addis Ababa into a greener, resilient and happier cityApart from the exceptional riverside greening and Addis Ababa’s beautifica tio effort, the government of Ethiopia has designed holistic climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and policies and has been strictly implementing them.Ethiopia’sNational Adaptation Plan (NAP-ETH) which costs about USD 6 billion annually to address climate change, is integrating projects including botanical gardens and zoo park centers in Addis Ababa, river and riversides development, Mount Entoto and its surrounding tourist destination development projects and the Addis Abeba parks development projects are undertaken under River Basins and Green Areas Agency established in July 2018.A group of scholars in their recent study entitled “Current status and managementpractice of urban green spaces in Addis Ababa: A reflection on their potential for carbon sink” write that the role of Addis Ababa’s integrated green spaces development is vital in regulating climate and is noteworthy as it plays a momentous role in mitigating climate change by sequestering a significant amount of carbon.According to a study conducted by Samson Aynachew, the city of Addis Ababa has reserved 22,000 ha area of land for green space development. With regard to spatial distribution of public parks in Addis Ababa, this indicates that, out of the ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa, the “Gullele” sub-city has the largest share of Public Park, i.e. 9.8ha followed by “Nifas Silk” sub-city (6.2ha), “Yeka” sub-city (5.65ha), “Kirkos” sub-city (4.6ha) and “Lideta” sub-city (4.4ha).The Addis Ababa city Master Plan categorizes the urban green areas into local, district and city level green areas. At the local level there are many open and green areas which are used for festivals; children playgrounds and other social activities. Some of them are left out spaces between residential houses and the ones which are distinguished as urban open spaces are not managed well.The district level green areas include street sides, parks, plazas and most of the open spaces found in the center of the city. These places are officially designated as plazas, squares, streets and parks. The management of these places looks relatively good, but they are not properly managed when it comes to the use of the spaces.City level green areas include forest areas which are usually found in mountainous and preserved areas. These areas are well managed in the sense of preservation of trees and forestation, but people do not use them since they are not easily accessible and do not havethe necessary facility to be used as recreational areas.Valuing urban green spaces in mitigating climate changeWith the launching of the first phase of the 12km riverside development of the total 51km by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in October 2019 and some previously finalized works, the lifting of Addis Ababa’s face is being materialized and people have started to test the fruits of the greening efforts.For instance, people of Addis Ababa have started enjoying greenery luxury with the completion and opening of some sections of the riverside development around the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The protection and cleaning work of Addis Ababa’s rivers has already started due to the fencing and isolation of the water bodies as part of the construction efforts.As part of Addis Ababa’s beautifying project, the installation of metal holders for flower pots and planting flowers in the median divide on Africa Avenue in Bole all the way from Bole International Airport to the National Place has been finalized and are being enjoyed by the city residents and visitors.Urban green areas play a very important role as a carbon sink. Recognizing the mportance of urban trees for this purpose, the interest in preserving and maintaining the urban trees are increasing. Carbon sequestration is a phenomenon for the storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to mitigate global warming, says Miss Alem Asefa, Commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission.Tree planting drives are not new in Ethiopia. In July 2019, a massive tree planting campaign was initiated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, aiming at restoring the country’s landscape and tackling the climate change crisis. Thiscovered the whole of Ethiopia including Addis Ababa. A world-record of 353,633,660 tree seedlings were planted across the country in a 12-hour span.Public recounting of the projectResidents of Addis Ababa now are also optimistic that their city is changing for the better and becoming greener than ever. Tesfaye Abate is one of these residents who have witnessed a remarkable greening revolution in Addis Ababa. He says this could help control droughts and floods that have been affecting his community.“I am really very pleased to see our city becoming greener over the last decades and I hope this will enable us to adapt and cope with the ever escalating effects of global warming and the changing climate.”Professor Fekadu Beyene, Commissioner for Ethiopia’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission says greening efforts are imperative to curb climate change. The Professor also agrees that the river side and the intensive tree planting activities in Ethiopia notably the “Green Legacy,” a national gogreen campaign, are vital to adapt and mitigate climate change.Professor Fekadu Beyene says that Ethiopia’s Green Legacy campaign is an exemplary greening activity made to realize the country’s vision of building a climate change resilient economy. New Business | Ethiopia | April 4, 2020

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

World carbon emission levels go down drastically as countries go into lockdown

Almost all countries of the world including India have gone into lockdown to avoid coronavirus infection. Due to this, the air quality of the country and the world has become clean. The noise and air pollution of the earth has reduced and the amount of carbon emission has also been reduced by 5 per cent. For the first time since the Second World War, the level of carbon emissions has fallen so much. The country has never recorded such a superior figure in the Air Quality Index released since 2014. AQI below 85 cities in 100 The Air Quality Index has been running below 100 in the past one week in more than 85 cities of the country. This means air is good in these cities. The factors of pollution during lockdown are 35 to 40% drop in the amount of dust particles PM2.5 and PM10. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen, sulfur oxide and ozone levels also decreased. The important thing is that this level of pollution does not seen even in rainy season. Dr D Saha, a former scientist at the Pollution Control Board, said that since the Air Quality Index (AQI) is being maintained in 2014, this is the first time that pollution is at the lowest level. By applying Odd-Even in winter, the air of Delhi can improve by 2 to 3%. Compared to that, NCR has improved more than 15 times during the lockdown. On March 16, the air quality was satisfactory in 55 cities According to the Pollution Control Board, air was good and satisfactory in 55 cities on March 16, 6 days before the public curfew. Gradually the cities with this category of air kept increasing. This trend remained till March 21. On 22 such cities became 67. The number increased to 92 on 28 March. On 29-30 March, there was not a single city where the air quality was bad. On 31 March and 1 April, except for Bulandshahr and Guwahati, the air of all the cities was in satisfactory category. Dr Prashant Gargava of the board said that AQI has not been crossing 100 in more than 85 cities for a week. Improved air quality standards Air quality expert Dr. D Saha said that air quality is the best at the moment. We should improve the standards of air quality standards set in 2009 and the air quality index made in 2014. Also have to find a long-term solution CSE Executive Director Anumita Roychowdhury said that work from home is getting more done right now. We have to think that the method we are adopting at the moment, can we find a long-term solution also?

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Steep drop in pollution since janta curfew, lockdown

Since the janta curfew was announced on March 22 and the country-wide lockdown two days later, particulate matter concentration in the Capital showed a significant fall, according to a central pollution control board (CPCB) report. Between March 22 and 23, PM10 concentration(coarse pollution particles with diameter less than 10 microns) fell by 44%, while that of PM2.5 (ultra fine particles) fell by 8% from peak values recorded on March 21. After lockdown, PM2.5 levels fell by 34%. While the March 22 curfew was a voluntary event on a Sunday, orders from the Delhi government prior to it had already shut down most schools and gyms, and advised citizens to remain indoors as much as possible. On March 23, the Delhi government clamped a lockdown in the city shutting all but essential services. The measures between March 22 and 23 are significant as there was a steep reduction in the number of vehicles on the road and aided by favourable weather.On the days, there was 51% drop in oxides of nitrogen (NOx)and 32% reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) levels compared to March 21. CPCB analysed the trends based on hourly PM10, PM2.5, NOx and CO data in the national capital region. Its scientists said favourable meteorological factors like rain and moderate wind speed also helped with dispersal of pollutants. “Air quality monitoring data reveal that during the lockdown period, PM10 and PM2.5 levels were reduced by about 35% to 40%, which may be explained as a possible reduction from industries (10% considering continued operation of power plants with 7% – 8% share), transport ( 15% with essential service vehicles and a small part of fleet still plying on roads), dust (10-15%; with continued contribution due to soil and wind-blown dust because of high surface winds),” the report reads. Experts say the steep reduction could be because the country-wide lockdown cut off most sources of pollution not just in the city but surrounding areas as well. “Janta curfew was only for a day when the PM level started dropping but the maximum effect of restrictions were seen during the lockdown. The question is how can we achieve similar air quality targets even after the outbreak resolves. We need systematic solutions that will help us to sustain this kind of air quality. Collective community action during this pandemic can help us to reinvent longer-term solutions to reduce our vulnerability to toxic risk,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Mother Nature Breathes Again

quality and clear skies are there for all to see. With air pollution killing 1.2 million Indians annually, this is a gain worth protecting and fighting for. By Papia Samajdar The corona lockdown in India has had many deleterious effects on society which suddenly finds itself coming to a grinding halt. But the one positive effect it has had is on the environment which has found a new awakening. Clear blue skies, birds chirping sonorously and bright sunshine are testimony to this. Within a week of the lockdown, the air quality index (AQI) showed a drastic improvement across the country. Certain areas in Delhi-NCR climbed to “green” category, indicating good air quality—a rare feature during the spring months. Compare this to a week before the lockdown—then the AQI in Delhi ranged from moderately polluted to the poor category. Typically, the Central Pollution Control Board categorises AQI under 50 as good; 51-100, satisfactory; 101-200, moderately polluted; 201-300, poor; 301- 400, very poor and 401-500, severe. An analysis done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed a dramatic declining trend in daily peakhour pollution in six major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai). Air with a concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 fell by 60 percent in several cities after the lockdown. Hourly NO2 levels associated with vehicles dropped more sharply. Hourly PM 2.5 levels associated with other sources of pollution also reduced. It is well-established that vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution. As employers were forced to provide the option of “work from home” and almost all vehicles were pulled off the roads, the effect on the air was evident. “Overall, air pollution levels dropped sharply after the lockdown because vehicles, factories and construction stopped. Of course, we don’t want this kind of emergency to bring this change,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy and head of the Clean Air Campaign at CSE. “This crisis has proved that if a health risk perception can provoke an emergency response, it can galvanise far-reaching changes. Collective community action during this pandemic has forced us to reinvent solutions to reduce our vulnerability to toxic risk.” Over the years, research has shown that air pollution is one of the biggest causes of deaths across the globe. According to WHO, an estimated 4.2 million deaths occur annually due to bad ambient air quality, globally. Of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 22 are in India. This puts a large section of the Indian population at risk. Being exposed to poor air quality for a long duration also increases the risk of death from diseases like Covid-19 and SARS. The European Public Health Alliance warned that there is a link between deaths due to Covid-19 of patients with illnesses linked to air pollution. Doctors had found that the risk of death among SARS patients exposed to moderate air pollution was 84 percent higher compared to patients exposed to low air pollution. Despite these numbers and multiple warnings by researchers, public perception of poor air quality is low. With the global lockdown, companies are forced to change the ways they operate. As governments emphasise social distancing as the best precaution, along with periodicwashing of hands, the world adjusts to new ways of functioning. Schools and colleges have taken education online and so have big grocery outlets. Fitness regimes move into people’s living rooms and chatting with friends is through social media and online apps. Can this crisis-induced change give longterm solutions for air pollution? Roychowdhury said: “If we can make systemic changes to institutionalise some of the emergency responses and maximise the potential of the digital world to alter the workplace, it can work in the environment sphere too. We can scale up public transport options to reduce vehicles, roll out electric mobility to move towards zero emissions and ensure zero tolerance for non-compliance with emission control regulations and standards. Only then can we see a different post-pandemic period.” Ravi Kumar, a senior executive at Anil Agarwal Environmental Training Institute, foresees a change in operations after the lockdown is over. “Post- pandemic, we are expecting many changes in the way companies and businesses operate. We cannot entirely gauge what these will be or at what scale, but change will definitely be seen,” he said. “We will be putting systems and processes in place, ensure that lack of physical presence in designated spaces does not hinder operations and offer online courses.” The coronavirus pandemic has definitely made us realise how quickly we must adapt to the new normal and how we can be more productive using technology, said Gaurav Singh, Regional Head, No Brokers Technology Solutions, a software firm. “As a service provider, we have to ensure that we remain competitive. We can function effectively even if we deviate from the way we used to operate. We will design our systems to build on this learning,” he said. When asked if the reduced air pollution would influence his decision, he said: “That is a bonus as it also leads to reduced transport bills. The management has made a note of the benefits of work from home and is willing to consider it in future.” Rijit Sengupta, CEO at Centre for Responsible Business, remembers how a few months back in Davos, where rich business leaders were hosted by the World Economic Forum, a manifesto was released underscoring the importance of “Business with Purpose”. “As businesses and society pass through these difficult times, we must reflect on how to design and promote businesses with a purpose in India. If there is one time when we can begin some thinking and dialogue on this subject, it is now,” he added. There are concerns that in the postpandemic period, it will be business as usual and pollution will go out of control once again. But the air pollution crisis that kills 1.2 million Indians and makes many more ill requires a similar emergency response and public support for strong action. “It is important to deepen awareness and public understanding of this connection and the overall health risk associated with air pollution. We need hard action for this,” said Roychowdhury.

• Water Programme

Building resilience to climate change in Addis Ababa

By Mekonnen Teshome Tollera – Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa (Sheger) was born twice: first, as a crowded city; and then again, as a beautiful Sheger with clean rivers, public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the riverside. The city of 4.6 million people is being born again as a result of a multimillion dollar project “Beautifying Sheger” intended to decorate Addis Ababa. This 29 billion birr (about $1.028 billion), rivers and riversides development project is slowly making the city green as works for developing and rehabilitating the two rivers in the city launched in February 2019 progress. The project, an initiative of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia, is expected to be completed within three years and has created job opportunities for hundreds of Ethiopians and some Chinese too. The project is running along two of the largest rivers of the city, stretching a total of 51 kilometres, all the way from the mountains of Entoto through the city to Akaki River. The commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission, Alem Asefa says: “As an adaptation to climate change the riverside project will install waterpermeable pavements to better deal with floods and storm water and improve water storage and use.” The Changing Addis Ababa climate Impulsive changes in climate including rising heat waves, drought and flash floods in Addis Ababa are negatively impacting natural resources and city productivity. A recent study by Open Access: “GIS based quantification and mapping of climate change vulnerability hotspots in Addis Ababa” confirmed that the city “…is vulnerable to climate change impacts…” “The degree of vulnerability is underpinned by the interaction of multiple factors mainly adaptive capacities of subcities, location based characteristics and changes in climatic parameters,” it accentuates. Alem Asefa, Commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission, told InfoNile in Addis Ababa that scientific projections suggest that the city will face enormous challenges of climate change unless necessary measures are taken to significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Alem further explained: “If abusing the city master plan, especially the urban green component and emissions of greenhouse gases, including those from transport and industry are not controlled in the coming years, continued growth of their atmospheric concentrations is projected to result in severe climate change.” According to the commissioner, the most important anthropogenic influences on climate in Addis Ababa and neighbouring areas are the emissions, changes in land use, such as urbanization and agricultural activities. Enabling Addis Ababa adapt to climate change The rivers and riversides development project aims at curbing the serious environmental effects of pollution and habitat degradation of rivers through planning, design and management of riverside areas. Commissioner Alem says greening is recommended for containment and abatement of air pollution in urbanindustrial environment. “Carbon is sequestered in the process of plant growth as carbon is captured in plant cell formation and oxygen is released during photosynthesis. Branches, leaves and other materials that fall to the forest floor may store carbon until they decompose,” noted Alem. Additionally, he said, “forest soils may sequester some of the decomposing plant litter through root and soil interaction,” as he related greening efforts with adapting climate change. Optimally designed green belts can be effective in reducing the impact of fugitive emission and pollutants accidentally or otherwise released at ground levels. Alem says in addition to energy-efficient technologies in transport, industrial sectors, and buildings and development of green infrastructures including green development will help Addis Ababa mitigate climate change. Polluted rivers of Addis Ababa A number of research results from university academic and research institutions show that rivers of Addis Ababa are highly polluted due to congested residential houses and manufacturing industries’ presence around the water bodies. For example, an assessment study on the water chemical content of the Akaki river published by Research Gate (2017) – “Pollution Status of Akaki River and Its Tributaries (Ethiopia) Evaluated Using Physico-Chemical Parameters, Major Ions, and Nutrients,” indicates that the water quality of the TAR shows pattern of behavior linked to anthropogenic sources with the intensity of human pressure associated with industrial effluent, domestic wastes and agricultural activities. As the issue is a matter of high concern, the government in collaboration with local and international institutions is also making efforts to further analyze the water pollution and take necessary measures against polluter industries like leather tanneries and chemical industries. Director of India Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Mrs. Sunita Narain recently told this reporter in New Delhi that CSE has launched chemical analyses of the Akaki River, a river in central Ethiopia, to identify the concentration of heavy metals in the river and present recommendations on the possible solutions. Residential wastes, sewage flowing into the river and the disposal of single use plastic material are some of the major polluting factors of rivers in Addis Ababa. Managing and Mitigating floods A flood related study by ScienceDirect (2016) – “Flood Risk and Vulnerability of Addis Ababa City Due to Climate Change and Urbanization”, states that the Akaki catchment’s urbanization rate grown by 10% only from 1993 to 2002 and flooding risks in Addis Ababa has also shown significant increase. The study attributed the vulnerability of Addis Ababa to riverine as well as flash floods due to extreme climatic events and upper catchment activities and the vulnerability to flooding is more aggravated due to a poor drainage system, rapid housing development along river banks and using inappropriate construction materials. Therefore, the riverside development project also aims to enhance the wellbeing of city dwellers by mitigating river flooding, creation of public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the site as well as to face-lift the image of the city. “Addis Ababa riverside project will reduce the amount of sediments and other pollutants disposed to the rivers and create greener urban centers suitable for living through plantation and/or reclamation of the river buffers with suitable trees, shrubs, herb and grasses along the different river buffer zones which can act as efficient biological filters or sinks for particulate and gaseous emissions, generated by vehicular movements and various industrial activities,” said Commissioner Alem. Transforming Addis Ababa into a greener, resilient and happier city Apart from the exceptional riverside greening and Addis Ababa’s beautification effort, the government of Ethiopia has designed holistic climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and policies and has been strictly implementing them. Ethiopia’s National Adaptation Plan (NAPETH) which costs about USD 6 billion annually to address climate change, is integrating projects including botanical gardens and zoo park centers in Addis Ababa, river and riversides development, Mount Entoto and its surrounding tourist destination development projects and the Addis Abeba parks development projects are undertaken under River Basins and Green Areas Agency established in July 2018. A group of scholars in their recent study entitled “Current status and management practice of urban green spaces in Addis Ababa: A reflection on their potential for carbon sink” write that the role of Addis Ababa’s integrated green spaces development is vital in regulating climate and is noteworthy as it plays a momentous role in mitigating climate change by sequestering a significant amount of carbon. According to a study conducted by Samson Aynachew, the city of Addis Ababa has reserved 22,000 ha area of land for green space development. With regard to spatial distribution of public parks in Addis Ababa, this indicates that, out of the ten sub-cities of Addis Ababa, the “Gullele” sub-city has the largest share of Public Park, i.e. 9.8ha followed by “Nifas Silk” sub-city (6.2ha), “Yeka” subcity (5.65ha), “Kirkos” sub-city (4.6ha) and “Lideta” sub-city (4.4ha). The Addis Ababa city Master Plan categorizes the urban green areas into local, district and city level green areas. At the local level there are many open and green areas which are used for festivals; children playgrounds and other social activities. Some of them are left out spaces between residential houses and the ones which are distinguished as urban open spaces are not managed well. The district level green areas include street sides, parks, plazas and most of the open spaces found in the center of the city. These places are officially designated as plazas, squares, streets and parks. The management of these places looks relatively good, but they are not properly managed when it comes to the use of the spaces. City level green areas include forest areas which are usually found in mountainous and preserved areas. These areas are well managed in the sense of preservation of trees and forestation, but people do not use them since they are not easily accessible and do not have the necessary facility to be used as recreational areas. Valuing urban green spaces in mitigating climate change With the launching of the first phase of the 12km riverside development of the total 51km by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in October 2019 and some previously finalized works, the lifting of Addis Ababa’s face is being materialized and people have started to test the fruits of the greening efforts. For instance, people of Addis Ababa have started enjoying greenery luxury with the completion and opening of some sections of the riverside development around the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The protection and cleaning work of Addis Ababa’s rivers has already started due to the fencing and isolation of the water bodies as part of the construction efforts. As part of Addis Ababa’s beautifying project, the installation of metal holders for flower pots and planting flowers in the median divide on Africa Avenue in Bole all the way from Bole International Airport to the National Place has been finalized and are being enjoyed by the city residents and visitors. Urban green areas play a very important role as a carbon sink. Recognizing the importance of urban trees for this purpose, the interest in preserving and maintaining the urban trees are increasing. Carbon sequestration is a phenomenon for the storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to mitigate global warming, says Miss Alem Asefa, Commissioner of Addis Ababa Environmental Protection and Green Development Commission. Tree planting drives are not new in Ethiopia. In July 2019, a massive tree planting campaign was initiated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, aiming at restoring the country’s landscape and tackling the climate change crisis. This covered the whole of Ethiopia including Addis Ababa. A world-record of 353,633,660 tree seedlings were planted across the country in a 12-hour span. Public recounting of the project Residents of Addis Ababa now are also optimistic that their city is changing for the better and becoming greener than ever. Tesfaye Abate is one of these residents who have witnessed a remarkable greening revolution in Addis Ababa. He says this could help control droughts and floods that have been affecting his community. “I am really very pleased to see our city becoming greener over the last decades and I hope this will enable us to adapt and cope with the ever escalating effects of global warming and the changing climate.” Professor Fekadu Beyene, Commissioner for Ethiopia’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission says greening efforts are imperative to curb climate change. The Professor also agrees that the river side and the intensive tree planting activities in Ethiopia notably the “Green Legacy,” a national go green campaign, are vital to adapt and mitigate climate change. Professor Fekadu Beyene says that Ethiopia’s Green Legacy campaign is an exemplary greening activity made to realize the country’s vision of building a climate change resilient economy.

• Art

March air was ‘moderate’, but pollution dipped sharply since March 25

In March, the city recorded an average daily air quality index (AQI) value of 113, implying that it was experiencing largely ‘moderate’ air quality over the past month. However, the city has seen a sharp dip in pollution levels since March 25, when a nationwide lockdown to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was enforced. Since the lockdown began, most vehicles have been off the streets and Gurugram’s air quality has ranged between 42 to 77, in terms of its daily average AQI value, while levels of particulate matter have remained within nationally prescribed ‘safe’ limits. The city’s average AQI value for February, as per Central Pollution Control Board data, was 190 (also in the ‘moderate’ category). “The air quality has remained in the ‘moderate’ category over February and March, but with a slight improvement due to the lockdown, as well as the rainfall earlier in the month. We will see an even sharper improvement between March and April, as the lockdown continues, mainly due to the shutdown of industries and lack of vehicles on roads,” Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality scientist, said. Morning and evening peaks in the level of PM 2.5 (due to daily rush-hour commutes causing heavy traffic movement) have also flattened in the days since the lockdown came into force, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Data from three of Gurugram’s air quality monitors—at Gwal Pahadi, Sector 51, and Vikas Sadan— confirms that this is the case. All three monitors show PM2.5 to be at an average value between 40 and 50μg/m³ per day over the past 10 days, which is within the national safe limit of 60μg/m³. These monitors also show a sharp reduction in the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which can be directly attributed to the absence of vehicles on city streets, and closure of non-essential industries, both of which burn fuel and are major sources of NO2 in the atmosphere. “This analysis brings out the pronounced effect of traffic on hourly pollution trend and daily exposures to toxic vehicular pollution. With traffic minimised, hourly trends plummet. This is sharply evident in NO2 trends,” the CSE said in its analysis. Hindustan Times | Gurgaon| April 3, 2020

• Sustainable Food Systems

Hyderabad welcomes Kids’ health food startup

HYDERABAD : For most kids, the word ‘snack’ conjures up images of a pack of chips, cookies, chocolates or sugar filled jellies. Many children graze through the day eating unhealthy snacks that are not specifically targeted for their age. As per a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment, 93% of children between the age group of 9-17 eat packaged food. Children today have access to packaged food more than ever. A quick stop at the supermarket can result in a number of snack packs that are mostly unhealthy. Parents often find it difficult to buy trustworthy, wholesome, healthy and guilt free snacks that are suitable for children. "That is how Timios was born," says founders, brother sister duo, Aswani Chaitanya and Hima Bindu. The Hyderabadi duo say that their idea was to give design healthy food products for children. "Age-appropriate covering age ranges starting from 6 months to 12 years. (Babies, toddlers and schoolers). Each product is made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and contains zero preservatives," they add. The idea for Timios, which is funded by MTR Foods, came about when Aswani moved to India from the US in 2014 after spending about 15 years at top tier investment banks. Once he returned, he was in search of healthy age appropriate snacks for his two boys. Unlike in the developed markets, there were no options for healthy yet tasty snacks designed for children. He realized the gap in the market and teamed up with his sister Hima Bindu, who holds a masters degree in nutrition and has worked as a research associate "Each of these products are designed in suitable portions to provide the necessary nutrition. We are working out on other snacks for toddlers and schools," says Bindu. They are available on e-commerce websites and in over 250 stories including baby and organic stores.