conservation, environment and ecology

8/13/2019 Conservation, Environment and Ecology

1/5

A Lake Revived

Source: www.indiatogether.org/2005/apr/env-chennai.htm

It is the story of water woes everywhere, be it floods or droughts.It is the woeful story

of water everywhere-Any positive stories about water, conservation, regeneration are

hard to come by, more so truly success stories. However, a recent one aboutVengaivasal gladdens the heart like no other. ore socoming from a place near !"#

km to the south$ the eternally water starved city %hennai. &ther cities would do well

to take note and work on similar lines if they are not to earn a similar tag.

'our years ago the farmers of Vengaivasal village got together to revive their lake.

(he )#*+acre lake was deepened and encroachments removed in "##) under a

A-A/+funded 0ater esource %onservation 1ro2ect+II. (here is a 0ater 3sers4Association !03A$ in which the villagers are given the responsibility of maintaining

the irrigation lake and channels. 5fforts were taken by the 6ancheepuram

%ollectorate to recharge the ground water. After the lake was re2uvenated their wells

have not gone dry, even in peak summer. (his helped them move to a round+the+yearcrop cycle from rain+fed agriculture.

ow for the black lining. 'or the last two years, this conservation effort goes more

towards serving %hennai and its suburb than those of its fields.

Since the mid )78#s the %hennai9s water managers have looked elsewhere to meet the

needs of urban agglomeration !city plus its neighboring #" municipalities and

panchayats$: from the well+fields of Arani+6ortrailaiyar iver !A+6$ basin to the non+

flowing 1alar basin. &ver the last five years the farmers of the two districts havestarted selling water from their irrigation wells to the detriment of cultivation in their

own land and those of their neighbors.

-ut it is a divided panchayat, presently. (he farmers trained to preserve their water

resources find themselves fighting a losing battle with those among them selling

water from their irrigation wells and with the water mafia. ost of the selling is beingdone illegally. 'armers have obtained permission to sink wells for irrigation purposes,

but separate permits are needed for using irrigation wells to sell and transport water

under the %hennai etropolitan Area ;roundwater !egulation$ Act, )7


2/5

5arlier, the farmers looked for signs of water spilling over into the surplus storage areas

as an indication for cultivating rice and now the farmers have taken recourse to rain+fedagriculture as their wells have failed and the irrigation lake is no more able to meet their

needs. 1addy cultivation has come down from )?7 acres annually to )# acres, leading to

loss of livelihood among landless agricultural laborers.(o complete the cycle, there have beenspillouts in terms of employment where annual

workdays have decreased from "?# to )7# and also on the socio+economic front. 0ith the

drop in employment opportunities there has been an increase in lawlessness, urbanmigration and anti+social activities such as brewing of illicit li@uor.

Biopesticides: Good eco-sense makes good money too

6ey lesson: &rganic farming and eco+sensitive agriculture methods can scale up and

produce enough to feed the entire population of a country and makes sound economic and

environment sense.

%ase 5>ample: &rganic farming

ocation and Bear: %uba )77#s

Scale: 5ntire country

Source: http:CCwww.cosg.org.ukCrosset.htm

;lobal agriculture is in the midst of a crisis. %ountries, faced with hunger and poverty,

have sought @uick measures to eradicate these but have, in the bargain, messed up theenvironment and indeed the future of agriculture. (his case study of %uba is a pertinent

point in this regard, and how a country and its people have overcome the ills of theirpractices.

%uba, in the )7tensive monocrop production of e>port crops,

heavily dependent on imported agrichemicals, hybrid seeds, machinery, and petroleum.

Initially it gave good results and in the )7ports to the Soviet 3nion that was ?.* times higher than the world price. Sinceagriculture and trade of sugar were favorable, its production far outweighed that of food

crops so much that about three times as much land was devoted to sugar in )7port plantations

and in subse@uent years, by the late )7


3/5

0hen the Soviet bloc crumbled in late )7


4/5

-y mid+)77? the food shortage had been overcome, and the vast ma2ority of the

population no longer faced drastic reductions of their basic food supply. In the )778+7=

growing season %uba recorded its highest+ever production levels for ten of the thirteenbasic food items in the %uban diet. (he production increases came primarily from small

farms, and in the case of eggs and pork, from booming backyard production. (he

proliferation of urban farmers who produce fresh produce has also been e>tremelyimportant to the %uban food supply. (he earlier food shortages and the rise in food prices

suddenly turned urban agriculture into a very profitable activity for %ubans, and once the

government threw its full support behind a nascent urban gardening movement, ite>ploded to near epic proportions.

(he effort was so successful that formerly vacant lots and backyards in all %uban cities

now sport food crops and farm animals, and fresh produce is sold from private stands

throughout urban areas at prices substantially below those prevailing in the farmersmarkets. 'arming, relying almost e>clusively on organic techni@ues, has played a key

role in assuring the food security of %uban families over the past two to three years.

Beach the Tourists

(ourism on the volcanic isles of -oa Vista, off Africa9s Atlantic coast is certainly a no+go

as far as the environment and its supporters are concerned. oggerhead turtles flock to

%ape Verde9s @uiet, white beaches to lay their eggs but the tran@uility does not seem longlived what with the 0est African islands trying to lure more tourists. (here are plans to

increase tourist arrivals on -oa Vista to as many as ) million a year.

%ape Verde9s biodiversity is of global importance as it includes many endemic species ofplants, birds, and insects as well as marine species. %ape Verde9s coral reefs are among

the world9s most important and most threatened, and the islands9 waters are also a feedingground for humpback whales. 5nvironmentalists warn that plans to boost tourism do nottake account of the need to protect fragile species, like the turtles. &n 5rvatao beach,

around midnight tiny loggerhead hatchlings break through the sand after days of digging

and dash under cover of darkness towards the waves. (he tiny turtles swim for "* to *ide emissions. (his has been achieved
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=33234&newsdate=31-Oct-2005http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=33234&newsdate=31-Oct-2005http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=33234&newsdate=31-Oct-2005http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=33234&newsdate=31-Oct-2005


5/5

through the %linton ;lobal Initiative !%;I$, a gathering of political, corporate, and social

leaders committed to global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, held on

September )?+)=, "##? in ew Bork %ity.

(he advantage of the S5' solution was that it addressed not 2ust one but two of %;I9s

four main goals: to combat global warming and to alleviate poverty. %;I plannerscalculated the total %&" emissions that the conference would generate through fossil+

based energy use, including transportation, air conditioning, lighting, etc and looked to

reduce it.At the same time, the three igerian villages in the S5' pro2ect have replaced fossil fuel

use + kerosene for lighting and diesel for small generators + with solar power. (his

replacement has earned carbon credits, which %;I purchased from S5', thereby

making the conference carbon+neutral.

%;I9s payments for the carbon credits will be re+invested by S5' into a second phase of

the pro2ect in northern igeria, which will bring solar power to # additional villages,

with a combined population of =?,###. Solar power has shown its potential to raise livingstandards in the three villages, with a total population of 7,### where solar electricity is

now powering health clinics, schools, micro+enterprise centers, homes, streetlights, andwater pumps.

http:CCwww.world+wire.comCnewsC)##*#?###).html

arks =
http://www.world-wire.com/news/1004050001.htmlhttp://www.world-wire.com/news/1004050001.html

conservation, environment and ecology

Documents