Himalayas: the agenda for development and environment

Himalayas: the agenda for development and environment

Author(s): Sunita Narain @sunitanar
Date:Jun 28, 2013

The recent events in Uttarakhand have shown, more than ever, that we need a development strategy for the Himalayas that takes into account the vulnerability of the region and the need for environment protection. There is no doubt that the region needs economic growth. But this development cannot come at the cost of the environment. It will only make the already risk-prone and ecologically fragile region more vulnerable and development more “deadly”. We also know that climate change will exacerbate the vulnerability of this already fragile ecosystem 

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The question is what should be the development strategy for this region? Most importantly, we need to think about a pan-Himalayan strategy so that states can evolve common policies and not follow the race to the bottom. 

More Uttarakhand disasters in the offing

More Uttarakhand disasters in the offing
Author(s): Indrajit Bose @boseindrajit

Date:Jun 28, 2013
The cloudburst-induced flood in Uttarakhand was a disaster waiting to happen. The state’s draft action plan on climate change is full of such warnings. A prudent document, it captures vulnerability assessments on Uttarakhand, people’s perceptions of climate change and how they are getting affected by the change. The document is also a comment on the development model in the state and raises several points about how development should not be done in an ecologically fragile region. The draft plan also gives a long list of activities that the state has planned or is planning to make its people more resilient, but it is a case of too little, too late as far as the current floods are concerned.

Vulnerable state

Uttarakhand has been a story of droughts, landslides and floods. In 2008 and 2009, the state experienced severe drought conditions. In 2010, people had to grapple with floods, flash floods, landslides and cloud bursts. Little wonder that the draft plan says “Uttarakhand is most vulnerable to climate-mediated risks”. 

Banbasa dam caused flood in Nepal, Uttar Pradesh

Banbasa dam caused flood in Nepal, Uttar Pradesh

Author(s): Soma Basu @sbasu_in
Date:Jun 28, 2013

Sluice gates were opened on June 22 following unprecedented water build up

Government officials claim that dams contained floods in many areas in Uttarkhand during the recent cloudburst and extreme rain events, and that the devastation would have been much more severe if it were not for these structures. But this was hardly true in the case of Banbasa barrage in Champawat district, bordering Nepal. The sluice gates of the barrage were opened after water upstream of it swelled to unprecedented levels. The flooding caused by sudden release of such large quantity of water submerged villages in Nepal and in Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh where 41 people reportedly died.

Residents of Banwasa say the river Sarda or Kali and Mahakali, as it is known in Uttarakhand and Nepal, started swelling from June 19. Water behind the dam increased to 544,000 cusecs on June 20, which was more than the previous high of 522,000 cusecs in 1934, said Devendra Singh assistant engineer with National Hydroelectrioc Power Corporation (NHPC). The sluice gates were opened because there was a lot of debris which would have damaged the dam. Singh informed that a column of the dam in Bhujela village on no man's land on the border had collapsed in the floods.

For More: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/banbasa-dam-caused-flood-nepal-uttar-pradesh

Comment by Anumakonda Jagadeesh

Yet another calamity.

Transition failure

Transition failure
Author(s): Jitendra @jitendrachoube1 , Aparna Pallavi @AparnaPallavi1 , Akshay Deshmane @DeshmaneAkshay , Alok Gupta @alok227 , M Suchitra | Jun 30, 2013 | From the print edition

With an eye on the 2014 general election, the UPA government is expanding its ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer programme that promises welfare as cash in bank accounts. But without any groundwork it is only creating more trouble for beneficiaries.

Come July 1, the UPA government will roll out the second phase of its ambitious programme, Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT. The programme aims to transfer welfare benefits, such as scholarship, pension and subsidies, directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. When the government kicked off the first phase in 43 districts in January this year, it hyped DBT as a “game changer” in the way it provides benefits to the people.

The controversy-hit UPA sees the programme as its trump card for the 2014 general election. It plans to expand DBT to 78 districts, covering almost a fifth of the country.

The cost of development in Himalaya

The cost of development in Himalaya

Author(s): Sunita Narain
Date:Jun 23, 2013

There is a link between the disaster and the manner in which development has been carried out in this ecologically fragile region

(Courtesy Indian Army)

The extent of the Himalayan tsunami is still unfolding as I write. It is clear that we do not know how many people are still trapped under rubble; cut off by landslides and desperate for food and water. The human cost of this calamity will be horrendous, it is feared.

But even as governments and the army work on rescue and relief work, we must ask the question if this is only a natural disaster or has human action and inaction exacerbated the scale and magnitude of the tragedy?

Himalaya are the world’s youngest mountain range; they are prone to erosion, landslides and seismic activity and brutal rainstorms lash the region. Therefore, this region is vulnerable and fragile. But two human-induced factors make it even more risk-prone today.

Flash floods are man-made

Flash floods are man-made
Author(s): Anupam Chakravartty
Sep 30, 2012 | From the print edition

Environmental geologist K S Valdiya lives in Uttarakhand and keeps a tab on the changing geological processes in the Himalayan region. He was recently conferred with the G M Modi Award for Innovative Science and Technology for his contribution in the fields of Himalayan geology and neotectonics. Formerly a member of the prime minister’s science advisory council, Valdiya tells Anupam Chakravartty what triggered the recent landslide in Uttarkashi

K S Valdiya

Flash floods are becoming recurrent in the Himalaya as well as in other parts of India. What are the geological processes that could trigger them?

Flash floods have little to do with geology. They are related to the rainfall pattern that has changed considerably over the years due to warming up of the atmosphere. There has been evidence that with increasing atmospheric temperature, precipitation during the rainy season is no longer uniform. In summers there is prolonged drought followed by short spells of heavy rainfall. So quick and vast is the rate of precipitation that there is not enough time for water to percolate down the soil. To worsen the situation, there is hardly any tree cover; soil is compacted to the extent that it becomes impermeable. This results in increased river discharge and flash floods.

Delhi witnesses record June flood

Delhi witnesses record June flood
Author(s): Bharat Lal Seth

In the past few days several thousands were evacuated from low lying areas in the national capital after the water level of the river Yamuna touched 207.32 metre, just centimetres short of the maximum level during the infamous 1978 floods in Delhi. The level was well above the danger mark of 204.83 metre. While one child died, carried away by the strong current at Wazirabad in north-east Delhi, many others had to be evacuated from low-lying areas. The Yamuna spilled over its banks as unprecedented rainfall and the consequent discharge from the upper reaches inundated the Ring Road.

“Periodical floods of varying magnitudes are natural phenomena. The very concepts of 25-year flood, 50-year flood and 100-year flood show that this will happen from time to time; only we can't say when,” says Ramaswamy Iyer, former secretary of the ministry of water resources. Others have alluded to the odd timing of the rainfall and flood event given that this rise in water levels in mid June is unprecedented. “Similar rise is plausible, welcome and accepted in July and August,” says Manoj Misra, convenor of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, a campaign front in Delhi against the encroachment of rivers' floodplains. In fact, most of the high flood levels have historically been attained in the month of September (see graph).

Tamil Nadu Solar Policy: will it be enforced?

Tamil Nadu Solar Policy: will it be enforced?

Author(s): Jonas Hamberg
Date:Nov 22, 2012



Tamil Nadu has recently launched one of the most ambitious solar policies by any state in the country. It has mandated that all high tension consumers source six per cent of their energy usage from solar power by January 2014 through a Solar Purchase Obligation (SPO). High tension users are those that are connected directly to a high tension line with a voltage of over 33,000 volts or 33 kV. This includes large industries, special economic zones, colleges, residential schools and buildings with a built-up area of over 20,000 square metres. Domestic users, agriculture and other low tension consumers would be excluded from the SPO.

Solar energy not war

Solar energy not war
Sunita Narain

If you know that a sector has arrived when it makes for trade wars between countries, then solar energy clearly has. Last year, the US imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports of solar panels; now the EU has proposed the same. The Chinese have in turn threatened that they will take action against European exports of poly-silicon, the material used for manufacturing solar panels. In February this year, the US filed a case against India at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for “favouring sourcing of panels from domestic manufacturers”. Earlier this month, Canada lost a similar case filed against it at WTO for its support to domestic manufacturers in procurement of solar panels. So, what you thought was all good and nice has suddenly become the biggest bugbear in international trade relations. It tells you that this sector is growing, it is lucrative and it makes for fierce trade politics and competitiveness.

But this is only part of the story. The big issue underlying these “wars” is the role of solar energy—a new source of power to lead the world to a low-carbon future and thus, away from the looming climate crisis. It has big objectives.

‘Modern buildings cannot breathe’ - Down To Earth - Special

‘Modern buildings cannot breathe’
Issue Date: Aug 15, 2012
Author(s): Sayantan Bera

Laurent Fournier’s tiny flat in Kolkata looks as if he moved in yesterday. The furniture is sparse, there are no fancy gadgets—not even a television—and none of the windows are curtained. The space gives a bare feel, yet brims with life. The French architect’s and his Bengali wife Bithi’s three children run around pretending to be circus artists, declaring they are going to sing or march with their faces covered with upturned cane stools.

Their room resembles a modest rural anganwadi with rundown toys strewn around, bunk beds in one corner and a wall-to-wall blackboard. Between circus sessions and a meal of samosas and sweets, the kids giggle looking up now and then, as Fournier explains the creamy handcrafted false ceiling overhead. Made of bamboo mesh, smudged with a paste of lime and rice husk, the false ceiling traps the muggy Kolkata heat. The organic ceiling also regulates moisture; it breathes, he says excitedly. It helps make the top floor room a little more bearable in summer.