Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 11, 2005
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)has just been unveiled.
The Ministries which get into the bandwagon now stand to benefit immensely. The Ministry of Income tax is a case in point where technology is working wonders to boost revenues and plug loopholes.
We appeal to the Ministry of Environment and Forest to actively participate in the NeGp. This will benefit conservation, regulate poaching, boost tourist revenues and create jobs.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 11, 2005
There are traditional practices such as sacred tanks and sacred groves, institutions such as Van Panchayats as well as new initiatives such as joint forest management (JFM).
A lot of community based conservation happens on Government lands such as reserve forests, wetlands, and coasts. A good example is the efforts of villagers in Alwar district in protecting the catchment forests of Arvari river, most of which are on
Government land.
Once this area is declared as a Conservation Reserve, several Government Agencies will take over the conservation work. A government –people participation approach rather than amending laws and coining new terms seems to be the need of the hour.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 10, 2005
At a generic level I agree that Environment issues are very simple. It is people and natural resources at the basic level. People and animals competing for the same natural resources in the case of forests in India. The vision in my paper is to create
jobs for the people away from livelihood options utilising the natural resources; but help them become small entrepreneurs by encouraging them to protect/show off the natural resources. The work you have done for Canadian Environment Agency sounds interesting.
Was the purpose of this project to protect/assess the environmental impact on an ongoing basis?
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Posted by
Amin Adatia
on
November 10, 2005
Dr Susan Sharma I read your paper. You make the process sound very complex. I think the solution would be by starting to look for a generic approach.
For example, all the stakeholders (and I reallly hate that word) are really the same just different roles (and some with multiple roles). The Environment has several aspects as of now and more will come into play. There is a relationship among the Environment
Factors. And finally the "Stakeholders" and The Environment have several attributes you need to track and record.
I did a system here for the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency using the same concepts and it worked fine and provided a vastly superior capability for research and investigation then if they had remained in the "independent" stakeholder and environment
factor mode.
All the best Regards
Dr Amin Adatia MBA, PhD
amin@knowtech.ca KnowTech Solutions Inc
(www.knowtech.ca)
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 10, 2005
Been trekking? Visited a tribal village? Or saw some amazing wildlife in a national park? Write in to iwc@indianwildlifeclub.com along with two good photographs. Published articles get paid.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 10, 2005
Read a book on nature or wildlife recently? Write a review here. It will reach a wide audience who love reading such books.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 10, 2005
The total forest cover in India is estimated to be 19.27 per cent of India's geographic area.
This area accounts for our bio-diversity, our natural wilderness heritage.
Is bio-diversity an end by itself or a mere tool for obtaining tourist revenues?
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 10, 2005
I have uploaded a paper presented at an e-Government conference held in October 2005 at The Grand, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. The Conference "Conflux 2005" was a joint effort by Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS), Government of NCT
of Delhi along with Department of Information Technology, Government of India, UNDP, Danish Technological Institute and key academic and civil society organizations and various multilateral agencies.
The full presentation is uploaded at the following link
http://www.slideshare.net/susansharma/egovernance-for-conservation
The paper makes a case for the potential of e-Governance for creating jobs as a major byproduct. Giving livelihood options to fringe villages of national parks seems to be the only solution for avoiding man -animal conflicts and exploitation. If the livelihood
options are related to protecting the parks, it becomes a win -win situation for conservation and people.
I am throwing the paper for a "no-holds barred discussion "by IWC members. Please do add your valuable opinions.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
October 31, 2005
Well-known agricultural scientist and chairman, National Commission on Farmers, M. S. Swaminathan, has favoured construction of the Polavaram project and for that matter any big project, provided the environmental and social aspects are taken care of.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the Chief Minister, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Thursday, he said such big projects were the need of the hour in the light of the Bharat Nirman programme under which 1 crore hectares of additional ayacut would be brought
under the plough. It was not the first time that big projects were taken up in the world, he said, citing the Aswan Dam in Egypt and the Three Gorges project in China. Dr. Swaminathan, however, wanted a realistic assessment of benefits and risks before embarking
upon any big project. If a particular project displaced tribals and others and affected the environment, sufficient steps must be taken up. "It's a win-win situation for people and the environment. There is no free lunch." Asked to comment on Medha Patkar's
strong opposition to Polavaram project, he said, "some people are ideologically opposed to big dams and prefer smaller ones." He said his policies "are going on right direction." During the meeting, Dr Swaminathan and the Chief Minister discussed the need
for bridging the gaps between scientific knowledge and field-level needs.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
October 31, 2005
A day after the State Government secured the much-awaited environmental clearance for the Polavaram (Indirasagar) project, noted environmental activist Medha Patkar and the tribals facing displacement strongly opposed the Government's moves to go ahead
with the project. "What the project has secured from the Centre is only environmental clearance. But there is no forest clearance yet which is mandatory for any major dam," Ms. Medha Patkar said at an interface with the adivasis. Asserting that the project
was part of efforts to boost industrialisation at the expense of agriculture and tribal areas, she volunteered to spearhead the agitations to be launched by tribals against giving clearances to Indirasagar project in violation of the people's right to life
and the right to livelihood guaranteed by the Constitution.
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