NEWS………..
-Dr. Susan Sharma
The season of migratory birds is here again. So we thought it appropriate to have our month’s chat on Crane migration. Mr. Gopi Sundar, the India programme coordinator for the International Crane Foundation based in Wisconsin moderated
the chat. (Read the
transcript here). News reports appearing in newspapers had put the “ultra light plane “ adventure in forefront but Gopi managed putting the whole thing in perspective. Very often, in wildlife issues, we tend to forget the real issues which are, in this
case, the shrinking of wetlands and non-availability of water in bird sanctuaries. Keeping the overall theme in mind, we have a quiz on cranes and storks, which are wetland birds and also a compilation of issues about wetlands and mangroves. Plus our usual
features, some light hearted, some serious but all written by nature & wildlife lovers.
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Till next month bye for now!
And VIEWS…….
“A third of the world's hungry and marginalized live in India. And if India alone were to launch a frontal attack on poverty eradication and feeding its 320 million hungry, much of the world's hunger problem would be resolved. Never
before in contemporary history has the mankind been witness to such a glaring and shameful 'paradox of plenty'. In India alone, more than 60 million tonnes of food grains are stacked, bulk of it in the open, while some 320 million go to bed hungry every night.
In neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan too, food silos are bursting. And yet, these three countries are home to nearly half the world's population of hungry and the marginalized. While none of these countries has shown the political courage to use the mountains
of food grain surplus to address the age-old problem of hunger, the international scientific and development community too is equally guilty by turning a blind eye to the biggest human folly of the 21st century. After all, science and technology is aimed at
removing hunger. The green revolution was aimed at addressing the problem of hunger, and did a remarkable job within its limitation. And now, when we have stockpiles of food surpluses, the global community appears reluctant to make the food available to the
marginalized communities who cannot afford to buy the rotting stocks. No aid agency, including the so-called philanthropic ones: Ford, Rockefeller, Action Aid, Christian Aid, Oxfam, British DFID and the likes are willing to take the bull by the horn.”
Devinder Sharma in The Ecologist Oct, 2001