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By Dr Arvind Kumar Unprecedented floods in Pakistan and other parts of the globe, cloudburst in Leh and forest fires in Russia are testimony to the declining ecological equlibrium. Rapid pace of destruction of the Amazon forest, global coral reefs and inland water ecosystems have put at risk the human livelihoods that depend on them. Given the current rate of biodiversity loss, there could be a severe reduction of many essential services made available by nature to human societies A Un report has identified three potential ecosystem "tipping points": deforestation in the Amazon, eutrophication of inland water ecosystems caused by the build-up of agricultural fertilisers and sewage effluent, and mass collapse of coral reef ecosystems due to ocean acidification. There is an urgent need to address the underlying causes or indirect drivers of biodiversity loss, such as patterns of consumption, the impacts of increased trade and demographic change. The UNEP had declared 2010 as Ye

By Dr Arvind Kumar Rapid pace of urbanization has become almost ubiquitous phenomenon and India is no exception to it. The present balance of population in favour of rural India is likely to be tilted in the coming two decades in favour of urban areas in India. The Metropolitan cities, particularly Delhi, get paralyzed in monsoons. The urbanization process lacks in making basic amenities available in consonance with the population growth. There is lack of Bijli, Sadak and Pani Facilities owing to absence of proper convergence in between and among different wings of civic bodies. State Governments’ frequent complaints about paucity of funds to keep pace with growing demands of existing urban centre’s seem unfounded because the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission is not lacking in funds. On the other hand, there’s money for the asking. However, there’s little to show by way of utilizing these funds for either renewing our cities or adding to the civic facilities. This scenario calls f

By Dr Arvind Kumar The recent decision of the Central Government to deny forest clearance to the Vedanta mining project at Niyamgiri is a welcome move. Though much delayed, this decision is a just move, and perhaps for the first time in the history of the country the government has said ‘no’ to a large and powerful corporation on social and environmental grounds. It is also important to keep in mind that one denial and one piece of justice will not undo years of governmental kowtowing to corporate greed and innumerable narratives of injustice and illegalities unfolding everywhere in India. From Arunachal Pradesh to Jammu and Kashmir to Himachal Pradesh, and from Orissa to Maharashtra and Goa, forest communities, farmers, and fish-workers are still locked in grim battles against the corporate—State nexus in order to defend their social, economic, cultural, and ecological existence—in essence, their identity. In the wake of the government decision to scrap Vedanta’s mining project on Niy

By Dr Arvind Kumar Natural calamitities like cloudburst, earthquake, tsunami, cyclone and floods catch us unaware and wreak havoc in terms of causing immense loss of human lives and destruction of property. As and when such calamities visit us, the people suffer and government is called upon to provide relief. The corporate sector wakes up to the tragedy very late as has happened in the case of recent Leh tragedy and current floods in some states. Every other corporate house today owns a private plane and one can expect them to send relief in bulk to help the tragedy-stricken or flood hit areas. However, only the Government or cash-strapped civil societies are left to provide food, clothing, medicine and shelter to the victims. The corporate houses spend millions of rupees in sponsoring entertainment programmes to evade tax and get publicity but lag behind in humanitarian work. Isn’t it against the letter and spirit of Corporate Social Responsibility?

By Dr Arvind Kumar The Public Service Guarantee Act 2010 passed by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on 30 July 2010 is a stepping stone to have clean governance. The Act guarantees delivery of time bound services to common people, failing which officials will have to pay a fine. In case, citizens fail to get services on time, ‘they could make an appeal to first and second appellate officers, who would give instructions to the officers concerned. If there is a delay, the officers would have to pay a fine of Rs 250 per day, with a maximum of Rs 5,000.’ If first appellate officer fails to ensure delivery of services without valid reason, he, too, would have to pay a fine amounting minimum Rs 500 and maximum at Rs 5,000. There would be a fixed time as to how many days an officer is entitled keep a file. The Government promises that soon the office of the Chief Minister and Ministers too will be brought under the preview of the legislation in future. It would indeed empower the citizen to demand

By Dr Arvind Kumar Media reports indicate that in the aftermath of recent floods, China has begun to review its old laws relating to water and soil conservation and revise them accordingly to provide comprehensive protection for land and water resources in planning, controls and monitoring. In the aftermath of recent Leh tragedy and current floods affecting Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other parts of the country, the current scenario calls for revision of old laws pertaining to water and soil conservation in view of the increased industrial and urbanization activity. The loss of soil and water portends grave threats to the ecology, food safety and flood control. With a view to keep pace with fast changing economic and social development and environmental requirements following measures need to be accorded priority while amending existing laws on water and soil conservation:  Proper coordination between and among different departments at Central and State levels;  Regular monitoring an

Unprecedented floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan and the UN Secretary General has appealed the international community to contribute liberally to alleviate Pakistan’s miseries in this hour of need. India has done well in offering assistance to Pakistan despite the fact of ‘not so normal’ relations between the two countries. The UN Secretary General has urged all countries to bury their political and ideological differences and help Pakistan in coping with floods and India has lost no time in acting accordingly. Islamabad has reciprocated New Delhi’s goodwill gesture. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s wise counsel that in times of natural disasters, all of South Asia should rise to the occasion and extend all help to the people of Pakistan needs serious consideration and implementation by the countries of South Asia as a whole. It is high for Government of India to come out with the proposal of establishing Regional Water Hub to tackle the water-related problems of South Asian count

By Dr Arvind Kumar Interestingly, in July this year Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett – two of the wealthiest individuals in the world — made a pledge that has since been replicated by 38 other American billionaires: to part with at least half of their net worth to charity. The pledge is likely to raise $600 billion collectively. According to Forbes Magazine, India is home to two of the richest five people in the world. However, the Indian billionaires have yet to make a similar commitment. According to a study published by Bain & Company, Indians collectively donate 0.6% of their country’s GDP to charity, yet this amount of collective donation still pales in comparison to Western nations like Canada (1.3%) and the U.S. (2.2%). Just 10% of charitable giving in India comes from individuals or companies, compared to 75% in the United States. India’s biggest donor is the government. But the giving gap doesn’t necessarily mean American billionaires have softer

By Dr Arvind Kumar Recent extreme acts of nature around the world, from Pakistan’s flooding and Moscow’s heat wave and wildfires, to the large ice sheet that broke off of the Petermann Glacier in Greenland, are proof of the climate system’s vulnerability and make it clear that fast mitigation is urgently required to avoid further disastrous climate-related events. According to a study published on 10 August 2010 in Nature Communications, Biochar could solve a significant piece of the climate problem – 12 percent of CO2 emissions. The authors of this study conclude that turning biomass waste into biochar could be more effective in mitigating climate change than using it to produce biofuels, which could mitigate 10 percent of CO2 emissions compared to biochar’s 12 percent, although they note that the climate benefits of biofuel vs biochar can vary by region. It is further revealed from the study that Biochar is produced through a process called pyrolysis: heating waste biomass at low tem

By Dr Arvind Kumar A grateful nation celebrates 66th birth anniversary of our beloved Prime Minister late Sh Rajiv Gandhi who had a vision of a strong, prosperous, vibrant and self-sufficient India. In thinking and planning for the nation, Rajiv Ji was ahead of his times as he thought of Information Technology, science and technology and revamping of education system as fundamentals essential to transform the India society and the nation as a front-ranking country in the comity of nations. We are fortunate today that by implementing some of his ideas like Information Technology, India has emerged as a giant in this sector giving even developed countries a run for their money. There are fields where his ideas are direly required to be implemented so that we are able to alleviate poverty, tackle unemplyment, and raise the living standards of the people, particularly of the dalits. The present education system is partially based on the New Education Policy (NEP) as pioneered by Rajiv Gan

By Dr Arvind Kumar Global energy consumption has nearly doubled in the past few decades, and this increase has been driven by population growth, rising living standards, invention of energy-dependent technologies, and consumerism. While coal usage has decreased marginally, consumption of every other major energy source has increased markedly. Electricity use has nearly tripled. If these trends continue, global energy consumption will double again by mid-century. Without changes in the overall energy mix, fossil fuels will continue to dominate and the share of nuclear power and renewable energy sources — wind, solar, and geothermal energy — will remain limited. According to broad estimates, about 2 billion people do not have access to electricity. Further, one sixth of the world’s population lack safe drinking water; half lack adequate sanitation; and, half live on less that $2 per day. A reliable energy supply is a prerequisite for addressing these needs – the basis of United Nations M

By Dr Arvind Kumar The disclosure in Rajya Sabha the other day by the Defence Minister A.K. Antony that between 2009 and July 2010 some 170 armed forces personnel committed suicide is very shocking. Our brave jawans are the sentinels of national security. They brave all odds to safeguard our borders. They lay down their precious lives as martyrs and not meant for committing suicides as cowards. This is a second national shame after farmers committing suicides. There seems something wrong with the system which requires transformation. It is a grave national issue impinging upon country’s security and calls for urgent remedy. We suggest: • Need for better Officer-Jawan relations; • According priority to tackle personal problems of Jawans; • Increased emphasis on reducing stress among the armed forces prsonnel; • Need for frequent counselling on stress management by trained and qualified psychiatrists; • Need for deploying ‘religious teachers’ to counsel troops; • Need for augmenting mean

Dr Arvind Kumar The Joint Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation that an MP’s salary be fixed at Re 1 more than that of a Secretary to Government of India at Rs 80,001 is a welcome move which the present government should implement without any hitch. This hike is eminently sensible because of the fact that an MP holds the rank of a Secretary to Government of India. Undoubtedly, higher salary and perks will attract talent to Parliament and enrich the world’s largest democracy. It is equally important to make them accountable for their acts of omission and commission. Consider how Opposition MPs fritter away precious time in disrupting the proceedings and staging walkouts on flimsy grounds. Following suggestions are offered to make MPs more accountable: 1. Some mechanism needs to be worked out to impose fines or wage cut on MPs for unruly behaviour. 2. Deatils about assets and annual income tax returns filed by the MPs should be regularly posted on the websites of Lok Sabha and Rajya S

By Dr Arvind Kumar Wastage of food is a crime against Mother Nature and humanity. Some of us take pride in hospitality and normally serve food in excess to others, especially guests. In the name of hospitality, more food is served, which many times gets wasted. There is need to change this excess food serving habit. Japan has various laws pertaining to the different causes of food wastage, such as Container & Packaging Recycling Law’, ‘Food Wastes Recycling Law’ and even a ‘Law on promoting Green Purchase’, enabling industries and agriculturists to look towards effective uses of resources and also join the eco drive – which needs more initiatives like these. Broadly speaking, stringent laws, effective administration and self responsibility are the more vital points which can be looked at for grassroots changes to come about, particularly in India, where the maximum food waste comes from the agricultural waste sector. At individual level, following initiatives can be taken to avoid

By Dr Arvind Kumar In the aftermath of Leh tragedy, there is dire need of focusing on strengthening disaster management mechanism in the disaster-prone hilly and mountainous regions. The nature can exhibit its fury in a cloudburst coupled with incessant rains, snowstorms and other forms as well, often taking a heavy toll of precious lives. Several urban localities in townships in the hilly areas are very congested and thickly populated, infested with old vulnerable buildings. A tremor of some force can cause them to go upside down. This calls for constant vigilance on the part of the local people as well as local administration. There exists a tendency with us to take things easy after the crisis is over. Such approach runs contrary to the concept of managing a natural disaster which by definition is an unexpected occurrence resulting in widespread devastation. In order to manage the disaster, there is an urgent need of developing convergence at various levels:  Between local populace

By Dr Arvind Kumar Leh tragedy has necassitated the urgency of installing early disaster warning system in Jammu and Kashmir and other disaster-prone areas. Thus far, the early warning system has been installed in coasatl areas to warn about cyclones and earthquakes. After the tsunami tragedy of December 2004, the UN launched in January 2005 comprehensive plans for a global early warning system to reduce the deadly toll of natural hazards, combining speedy transmission of data with training of populations at risk in a strategy that can save loss of human lives and property. In India, the Disaster Management Act, which has been in force since 2005, has established National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The law also provides for "an enabling environment for institutional mechanisms at the State and district levels." Provisions of the Disaster Management Act should be used to install early warning systems in the mountainous regions and the trans-Himalayan territory. At a

Lessons of Leh Tragedy: http://ping.fm/zeb38

By Dr Arvind Kumar The havoc wrought by the natural calamity in Leh area of Ladakh in J&K has claimed heavy toll in terms of loss of human life and destruction of property. The flash floods due to sudden cloudburst have proved instrumental in flooding Leh town and the surrounding villages, the main population centres of this thinly peopled district and also the focus of much of its economic activity. It is going to be a gigantic task for the local administration, state government as well as the Centre to restore normalcy in this remote corner of India. The following lessons can be drawn from the Leh Tragedy: 1. Need for installing Early Warning System in such tragedy-prone areas; 2. Storage facilities for emergency relief measures like medicine, packed food, etc; 3. Better convergence between the local administration, state government and Armed Forces; 4. Establishment of State Disaster Management Authority; 5. Activating the National Disaster Management Authority which is still in

Reviving Old Values: http://ping.fm/ZmNZK

By Dr Arvind Kumar Undoubtedly, we have achieved tremendous development in different fields of the society and the fast pace of economic growth is prone to rank India at the third slot after US and China soon. However, this mad race for material progress has been achieved at the expense of moral degradation and decline of social ethos. Avarice, corruption, dishonesty, apathy to one’s duty, violence, and host of other evils has become the key mantra to attain material prosperity. Are we inclined to accept this sordid state of affairs replete with such evils affecting our society? Perhaps not. The question arises as to how to go ahead with doing away with all such evils. The remedy lies in revamping our present education system wherein the due emphasis on moral values should be accorded. There should be awards instituted for the students in schools for showing honesty, discipline, feeling of tolerance, brotherhood and trithfulness. This procedure will encourage students to emulate the e

By Dr Arvind Kumar Women are intimately linked to water-related issues. Women are most often the collectors, users and managers of water in the household as well as farmers of irrigated and rainfed crops. Because of these roles, women have considerable knowledge about water resources, including quality and reliability, restrictions and acceptable storage methods, and are key to the success of water resources development and irrigation policies and programmes According to broad estimates, Women and female children spend more than 10 million people - years carrying water from distant sources every year globally. In Africa, 90% of the work of gathering water and wood, for the household and for food preparation, is done by women. On average women and children travel 10-15 kilometers per day collecting water and carrying up to 20 kilos or 15 litres per trip In some mountainous regions of East Africa, women spend up to 27% of their caloric intake in collecting water In India, women bear the

By Dr Arvind Kumar* President, India Water Foundation, New Delhi. [Recent years have witnessed water emerging as a hot issue between India and Pakistan relations. Pakistan is averse to India taking advantage of Indus Rivers emanating from Kashmir by building hydro-electric dams on these rivers and accuses India of stealin water meant for Pakistan under the terms of Indus Water Treaty of 1960. India’s refutation of Pakistani allegations remain unheeded by Islamabad and it is insistent upon using water as a ‘tool’ to denounce India. Ed. ] Water is becoming a progressively scarce and fluctuating resource in view of burgeoning population, growing food demand and climate change. Accordingly, there has been an increasing competition between countries vis-à-vis their right to water. River basins shared by more than one country cover over 45 percent of the world's land surface area. Presently, 263 trans-boundary or international river basins are being shared by two or more countries. Reser

By Dr Arvind Kumar The cluster bomb ban – officially known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions – has come into force since 1 August this year. Under the terms of this convention, countries that have ratified the treaty are required to cease production of cluster munitions, dispose of stockpiles, and clear contaminated areas. About two dozen nations, from Afghanistan to Zambia, have been adversely affected by cluster bombs. However, it was Israel's use of the weapon in Lebanon in August 2006, causing more than 200 casualties over the following year that spurred members of the international community to act. According to the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), consisting of more than 350 NGOs working in 90 countries, the treaty is "the most significant international disarmament treaty since the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines." According to CMC’s press release, the following countries have used cluster munitions: Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Isr

By Dr Arvind Kumar According to broad estimates, the United States has reportedly spent over$1,024 billion since 2001 until the end of July 2010 and the figure is going up day by day. In other words, about $260,000 is blown away in each passing minute. The recent release of over 91,000 Afghan war documents by Wikileaks has not only unveiled America’s plight but has also brought to the fore the fact that war is not going as well as Washington claims. The US and its Allies are losing the battle rather winning it. There are reports about US and allied soldiers dying or being maimed every day. The innocent civilians become ultimate victims of the wrong doings of the belligerrents. As Kevin Rafferty has aptly observed: “Billions of dollars are being wasted and millions of lives being destroyed for no good reason apart from the overweening egos of politicians who are not prepared to admit that they are wrong.” The war in Iraq and Afghanistan has left at least 910,000 people dead, or more tha

By Dr Arvind Kumar The vast majority of public service operators in the world are in the public sector and 90 per cent of all major cities are served by such bodies. In other words, the largest pool of experience and expertise, and the great majority of examples of good practice and sound institutions, are to be found in existing public sector. Because they are public sector, however, they do not have any natural commercial incentive to provide international support. Their incentive stems from solidarity, not profit. Since 1990, however, the policies of international donors and development banks have focussed on the private companies and their incentives. The vast resources of the public sector have been overlooked, even blocked by pro-private policies. Out of sight of these global policy-makers, however, a growing number of public sector companies have been engaged, in a great variety of ways, in helping others develop the capacity to be effective and accountable public services. Th

By Dr Arvind Kumar Nature has endowed us with varieties of flora and fauna which also contain many herbals. Sea buckthorn is such herbal plant which possesses many medicinal values. It grows on hill slopes, riversides, lakes, seashores and other wastelands. In the Indian Subcontinent it is visible in high-altitude regions ranging from 2000 metres to 5500 metres above sea level while in Europe it exists in lower reaches. It is a plant of cold regions of Asia and Europe. Apart from Ladakh region of J&K, sea buckthorn is found in plenty in Lahaul-Spiti, upper Kinnuar and Pangi areas of Himachal Pradesh. It is also found in Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. According to broad estimates, the maximum of about 11500 hectares of area in Ladakh is under sea buckthorn. In view of the medicinal virtues of this ancient plant many countries are vying for exploiting it for medical and financial gains. China is reported to possess about 90 per cent of the earth's total sea buckthorn

"Friendship is that sheltering tree which covers you with warmth when you are cold with Sorrow, balms your soul when you are hurt in heart and bandages with love when you bleed inside, Human being ultimately depends on the health of the ecosystems which envelope and sustains us. We exploit ecosystem for the food, water and timber we need for everyday living and depend on ecosystem processes to regulate natural cycles and keep diseases at bay. We rely on them for recreation, mental and spiritual enrichment, intellectual development, reflection and religious experience . It comprises knowledge systems, social relations, aesthetic values and appreciation of nature.” "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with friendship." "Friendship is like a precious flower, Ready to bloo