The botted water industry is global in nature. But it is designed to sell the same product to two completely different markets: one water rich and the other water scarce. The question is whether this industry will have different outcomes in these two worlds. Or will we, for two opposite reasons, agree that their business costs us the earth and that it is not good for us?
A journalist recently called me to check if I thought that India had the same food-consumer product record as China. He wanted to know if we face the problems that are plaguing Chinese exports of late: tainted pet food, toxic toothpaste, lead-paint in toys, chemicals in textiles. It got me thinking: of China and of India and more importantly, about the phenomena we call the market.
I smelled the air of Bangalore last week. It was foul. I remembered how in the late 1990s, when Delhi’s air was dark and dirty, we had run an advertisement in the newspapers: “Roll down the window of your bullet-proof car, Mr Prime Minister, the security threat is not the gun it is the air of Delhi.” Since then Delhi introduced compressed natural gas, it increased the number of buses, it got better quality fuel. With all this, the air got less dirty and less toxic.
I read newspapers and I watch the news unfold on scores of television channels. But in spite of these sources that keep me informed about current affairs, I would not know that floods are still ravaging vast parts of India. I would not know that over 2,800 people have died in these disasters, which have been termed as the worst ever in living memory.
US President George Bush played host to a party of the top polluters of the world called to discuss climate change. He exhorted his guests that the world needed to act and called for a “new approach” to reduce emissions. But if you think that he has changed his mind about the science which has established the reality and urgency of climate change, think again.
Tigers or tribals? Tribals versus tigers. This is how the discussion on the tribal forest rights act is being framed. The law, which was enacted by parliament a while ago, is aimed at conferring land rights on people who already live in forested regions. The government says it wants to correct a historical wrong against people on whom rights were never settled when forest areas were earmarked for conservation. Quite right. But these homes of the poorest also house the country’s magnificent wild animals, like tigers.
Sometimes, a fortnight can mirror a year. With the year-end approaching, a flashback is usually in order. But recent events have made completely clear to me where we are and where we are headed.
How will vast regions of India, where highly unreliable rainfall makes the difference between famine and sustenance, cope with climate change? Over 85 per cent of the cultivated area in this country is either directly dependent on rain or depends on rain to recharge its groundwater. Seasonal rain provides water for irrigation, drinking and household needs. It provides water to livestock and is necessary to grow fodder for animals. The question is how will these regions cope as rainfall becomes even more variable with climate change?
TRADITIONAL Water has been harvested in India since antiquity, with our ancestors perfecting the art of water management. Many water harvesting structures and water conveyance systems specific to the eco-regions and culture has been developed.
Traditional Zing Kul Naula Kuhl Khatri Apatani Zabo Cheo-oziihi Bamboo-drip irrigation Dongs Dungs Ahar-pyne Bengal's Inundation channels Dighis Baolis Kunds Kuis Baoris Jhalaras Nadi Tobas Tankas Khadins Vav Virdas Talab Saza kuva Johads Bandh Pat Rapat Chandela Tank Bundela Tank Katas Cheruvu Kohli tanks Bhandaras Phad Kere The Ramtek Model Surangam Korambu Eri Ooranis Jackells Contemporary: Artificial Glaciers Nadis Polymer Kundis Chaukas Jaldhar Model Tudum Monga Netorking of Farm Ponds Horizontal Roughening Filter
Urban water harvesting in India is still in its youth. There are a number of people who worked, against all odds, to make this concept popular. They, the Harvesters, can be found in most urban centres in India Experience is the best teacher… There are no limits to technological innovations in rainwater harvesting. Innovators are those who have learned from their experiences and contributed to the betterment of rainwater harvesting technology in India.
Fashioning change Water improves agriculture. Agriculture improves animal husbandry. People begin to take care of their watershed, which means more trees and forests. With watershed development, prosperity beckons. Going beyond water is a philosophy and a practice. Some have gone beyond water to alleviating, actually eradicating, rural poverty. They have dared to traverse the path from ecological regeneration to economic miracle, from water to wealth. Those with this water vision overwhelmingly belong to civil society.
Physico-chemicals parameters and their significance
Major air pollutants and their associated health hazards
Application and health effects of pesticides commonly used in India S.No. Pesticide Name What it is used for
The Bali conference on climate change is over. But the fight against climate change has only just begun. The message from Bali is the fight will be downright brutal and selfish. Let us cut through the histrionics of the Bali conference to understand that as far as an agreement is concerned, the world has not moved an inch from where it stood on climate some 17 years ago, when negotiations began. The only difference is that emissions have increased; climate change is at dangerous levels. Only if we drastically cut emissions, will we succeed in avoiding a full-blown catastrophe.