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16-30 APRIL, 2016

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BLACK
TO
WHITE Should ivory trade be legalised to Seized ivory stock in
combat elephant poaching? a government godown
in the Philippines

01Cover.indd 5 08/04/16 2:39 PM

 AGENDA FOR

SURVIVAL JUNE 2016

See 2015 assi Special

gnment
FOOTPRINT (o discount for
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issues that lie at the interface of environment and development;
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interrogate policy makers & activists, hear
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module to explore the community-led-eco-
restoration efforts of rural India
Course assignment: Assignments are
designed to help participants to polish their
communication skills, field based reporting
and writing to understand environment as a
subject of coverage. With the help of CSEs
publication unit, they get to publish their
own magazine at the end of the course.
Eligibility: This summer school is open to
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all streams.
The course will cover:
Fee: INR 26,000/ this covers cost of the course,
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For more: Log on to http://cseindia.org/content/agenda-survival

02 apr30 2016
02Agenda for survival Ad 2016.indd 49 08/04/16 4:12 PM

HOW TO REINVENT THE
SANITATION WHEEL
S
WACHH BHARAT Mission, the governments much-need-
ed flagship programme, is not just about building toilets.
It is about building toilets that people can use, and most
importantly, are linked to the waste disposal and treat-
ment systems. This much is clear. But how will this be done? This is
still a million dollar question. The reason is that we do not even
know where our waste comes from and where it goes.
My colleagues studied the excreta sums of different cities. The
city shit-flow diagram shows that the situation is grim as all
cities either do not treat or safely dispose the bulk of the human
excreta. This is because we often confuse toilets with sanitation.
But the fact is that toilets are mere receptacles to receive waste; when
we flush or pour water, the waste flows into a piped drain, which
could be either connected, or not, to a sewage treatment plant (stp).
This stp could be working, or not. In this case, the faecal sludge
human excretacould be conveyed, but not safely disposed as it
would be discharged into the nearest river, lake or a
drain. All this will pollute.
In most cities, this connection from the flush to
the stp does not exist. According to Census 2011, the
flush water of some 30 per cent of urban India is con-
nected to a piped sewer. But our survey found that in
most cases, these underground drains have either lost
their connectionsthey need repairor are not con-
nected to stps.
There is another route for excreta to flow. The
household flush or pour latrine could be connected to
a septic tank, which, if it is well constructed, will retain
the sludge and discharge the liquid through a soak pit.
The faecal sludge would still need to be emptied and conveyed for
treatment. But in most cases, our survey found the septic tank is not
built to any specificationsit is a box to contain excretaand it
is either connected to a drain or emptied out. This is where the dra-
ma of faecal sludge begins.
Who collects it? How is it transported, and most importantly,
where does it go? Nobody knows. There is a focus on sanitation
providing toiletsand, a focus on pollutionbuilding stps. But
the fact is that the bulk of Indian households with access to sanita-
tion are connected to septic tanks40 per cent of urban India,
according to the Census, 2011. It is also a fact that as underground
sewerage is unavailable, people, including large builders, have no
options to provide containment of human excreta on-site. They
build septic tanks and call for help to remove the faecal sludge and
take it somewhere else. Our estimate is that every day we generate
roughly 1.75 million tonnes of this wasteeven more than the es-
timated solid waste generated in the country.
16-30 APRIL 2016
03Editors.indd 3
EDITORS PAGE
www.downtoearth.org.in/blogger/sunita-narain-3
This is the sewage collectors tanker businessin almost all cit-
ies, it is private, thriving and underground. The economics are sim-
ple: tankers with pipes suck and empty the sewage for a fee that
ranges between 800 and 1,200 per visit. The faecal sludge is then
emptied into the nearest drain, river, lake, even a field or forest.
I see this every day on the road outside our office in Delhi. The
tankers are ubiquitousyou will not even notice them. But watch
carefully, and you will see a pipe extended from the tanker empty-
ing into the municipal stormwater drain, right outside a major hos-
pital. This drain will make its way to the river. It is no wonder that
cleaning our rivers remains a farfetched dream.
But this is not all bad news. The fact is that septic tanks are de-
centralised waste collection systems. Instead of thinking of build-
ing an underground sewerage networkthat is never built or nev-
er completedit would be best to think of these systems as the
future of urban sanitation. After all, we have gone to mobile teleph-
ony, without the landline. Individual septic tanks
could be the way to achieve full sanitation solutions.
This demands three changes. One, governments
recognise that these systems exist, and what is needed
is to incorporate them in future sanitation plans. Two,
they provide oversight to the building of these sys-
temsthe codes exist, but they need to be implement-
ed and structures certified. Three, they provide mini-
mal regulation for the collection and transportation
faecal sludge business so that waste is taken for treat-
ment, and not dumped somewhere.
And most critically, city governments must work
out the treatment system for faecal sludge. This is
where the real rub lies. The fact is that this sludge is nutrient rich.
Today, the global nitrogen cycle is being destroyed because we take
human excreta, which is rich in nutrients and dispose it in water. In
this case, we can return the human excreta back to land, use it as fer-
tiliser and reverse the sanitation cycle. The faecal sludge, after treat-
ment, can be given to farmers and used as organic compost. Or, it
can be treated and mixed with other organic wastelike kitchen
wasteand used for biogas, or to manufacture fuel pellets or etha-
nol. The technologies exist.
But for all this to happen, the nation must know: where do its
flushed excreta go? Ask and find out.
@sunitanar
www.downtoearth.org.in 3
08/04/16 4:03 PM
 Down To Earth
SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT FORTNIGHTLY
ON THE WEB
WHAT'S HOT
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ASSOCIATE EDITORS
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On March 11, authorities at the Kakrapar
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MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Arnab Pratim Dutta Gujarat closed down one of its units as a
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letters
Cartoon in the cross hairs
Down to Earth is a Science and Environment fortnightly as is proclaimed on the
cover page. However, I would like to know one thing: what was the cartoon that
appeared in the regular column Cross Hairs (1-15 March, 2016) by Sorit Gupto
doing in a publication dedicated to science and environment? The facts presented
in the cartoon are wrong. The cartoonist is probably giving his opinion on the
debate on tolerance and intolerance.
For instance, he has referred to the sedition charges slapped on students,
writers and environmentalists. If you calculate the total number of students,
writers and environmentalists in the country, it will come to a few crores. Out of
that only three students have been slapped with sedition charges because the
freedom of speech guaranteed under our Constitution does not include freedom
to shout slogans for breaking up the country. Please specify whether you support
the breaking up of our country and those who either try doing that or those who
shout slogans demanding that.
Similarly, the cartoonist's other points about the murder of M M Kalburgi, the
attack on rationalists, the suicide of Rohith Vemula, the JNU incident, the incident
regarding mediapersons being attacked by lawyers and the incident of a family
Down To Earth welcomes being asked to leave a cinema hall for not standing up for the national anthem are
letters, responses and his own selective interpretations of events. In no way do they mean that under the
other contributions from
Narendra Modi regime India has become a more intolerant nation.
readers. Send to Sunita
Narain, Editor, Down To
I and my friends pay for our subscription to your science and environment
Earth, 41, Tughlakabad fortnightly to keep abreast of news from the world of science and the
Institutional Area, environment. But if you intend to politicise it then we will be forced not to renew
New Delhi - 110062. Email: the subscription.
editor@downtoearth.org.in DILIP PHANSALKAR
VIA EMAIL

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 5

05-07Letters.indd 5 07/04/16 10:17 AM

letters Our cartoonist replies: a party/ideology. In such bad

PRASHANT WAYDANDE / HINDUSTAN TIMES

Thanks for your letter. The
job of a cartoonist is to work
beyond the headlines and as
a cartoonist of a science and
environment magazine, my
job is to see things on a bigger
canvas and with scientific
temperament. We at Down
To Earth believe that the
environment is not just about
some physical abnormalities
like pollution; we have a wider
approach, that includes the
politics, the economics and
the functioning of the state to
be precise. For us, the politics
means looking at things in the
broader perspective because
for any human-made disaster,
it is the common people like
you and me who become the
victim. As for the points you
have raised in your letter,
let me clear my standpoint.
We can keep on playing the
blame game for years vis-a-
vis the series of unwanted
happenings like the killing
of rationalists, suicide by a
student, state atrocities on
a professor and students.
But the problem arises when
we give such developments
shelter by providing a mask of
times, we are left with very few
options as citizens of a free
and democratic society. Either
we succumb or we accept and
realise our responsibilities by
fearlessly condemning any
act of violence, killing and
every act of destruction of the
democratic fibre of our society.
Let us take again in our hand
the most effective weapon of
democracy the argument.
Through my cartoon I hinted at
exactly the same.
No more burning plastic converted to energy. By far, the
This refers to Mumbai's greatest headache is plastics
burning question (16-29 which are neither recyclable
February, 2016). It is an eye- nor safely disposable. Usually,
opener and needs serious plastic waste is disposed of
attention of all stake-holders. by burning, which in turn
Municipal solid waste, which produces carcinogenic gases
is dumped at municipal like dioxins and furans.
landfills, usually happens Our regulators have failed
to be an assorted mess of miserably to effectively
compostables, construction control rampant use of plastic
debris, recyclables like metals bags, cups and pouches
and papers, biomedical and both in urban and rural
other hazardous wastes areas, not to speak of their
and, above all, bio-non- littering. In this backdrop,
degradables like plastics. it is heartening to find a
There are very few instances recent directive by the Union
of municipal solid waste being Ministry of Road Transport &
segregated, composted or Highways (November, 2015)

http://www.facebook.com/down2earthindia
First of all, let us have a clear definition of
cancer and its causes, not the ones propagated
by multinational drug companies and
their interests.
RA JAN VAYAKKAT TIL
Do you agree with
This is all a farce. Fortunately, it costs
the Union Minister practically nothing in India for making
of State for AYUSH, irresponsible statements from the seat of
responsibility. In fact, politicians here tend to
Shripad Yasso Naik, gain by speaking irresponsibly.
when he says that DHARMENDRA DAUKIA
Yoga can cure cancer? Fanatics may claim anything that satisfies their
ill-conceived belief. Everyone must ignore such
foolish utterances.
JOE BHAT TA
Yes. It is true. The All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has a research wing
on this.
SAUMYA SINGH
I think our main goal is prevention. It is better
than cure. If Yoga or any yogic technique helps
in preventing cancer, then there is no harm in
investigating it further.
RAME SH CHANDRA RATH

6 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

05-07Letters.indd 6 07/04/16 10:17 AM


to concerned departments to make
compulsory use of waste plastics along
with asphalt in hot bituminous mixes for
periodic renewal of highway surfaces
around the periphery of cities having
populations of more than 500,000. But
only time will tell whether this alternative
to plastic burning succeeds or not.
MUKTIPADA DAS,
KOLK ATA
Highly recommended
I enjoyed reading about the Zika virus
(Sting Chorus, 16-29 February, 2016)
and congratulate Down To Earth for
bringing a complete review of the subject.
I just wanted to tell you that I am adding
a slot about the Zika virus in the teaching
programme for my students. I will
acknowledge Down To Earth in my lectures
and will ask my students to read your
magazine. I take this step to break the
disconnect between the rigid academic
programmes and the real issues occurring
in the world.
R BASKAR ,
PROFESSOR, GURU JAMBHESHWAR UNIVERSIT Y
HISAR
Baba black sheep
This refers to the editorial Art of gobbling
up the Yamuna flood plain (16-31 March,
2016). The Modi government and Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar have done incalculable
harm to the fragile Yamuna floodplains
by holding a cultural extravaganza
there despite the National Green
Tribunal (NGT's) orders not to disturb
the environmental sanctity of the area.
Modi's deafening silence on this issue and
Sri Sri's obstinate reaction to the NGT's
queries, followed by his threat to prefer
jail than to pay any fine was a sheer show
of arrogance. It is unfortunate that this
highly publicised event has opened the
flood gates for others to openly flout the
authority of the NGT and the judiciary. All
of us need to seriously assess the gains
and losses of this controversial event for
future guidance.
R M RAMAUL
PAONTA SAHIB
an apprentice programme for teachers
Religious gurus have made deep
inroads into politics and have popular
sanction. The editorial is a narrative of
a religious guru, who, a la Dale Carnegie
won (political) friends and influenced
people (in government) to gobble up
the Yamuna's flanks for a seemingly
innocuous but actually insidious purpose,
whose fallout will be felt in the days to
come. It is indeed a sad commentary on
our politicians who swear by secularism
but do not hesitate to align with
whosoever has the potential to influence
voters at the hustings.
KIRAN SHARMA
VIA EMAIL
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05-07Letters.indd 7 07/04/16 10:30 AM

contents 11

22
THE FORTNIGHT COVER STORY
So near...and yet so far Win the trophy
After four decades, conservationists
made contact with the rare Sumatran Can legalising the ivory
rhino in the Indonesian island of Borneo. trade stop poaching?
But it died due to unknown reasons

Excluding the core Weak foundation

The new plastic waste management rules The Parliamentary Standing Committee's
exclude the informal sector that manages recommendations can further dilute the
most of the plastic waste already weak Compensatory Afforestation
Fund Bill, 2015

16

18

8 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

08-09Contents.indd 8 08/04/16 12:57 PM

 44

Human v
Machine
Will artificial
intelligence bring a
52
boon or doom?
56

OPINION
GOOD NEWS
Think in parallel
Loans for loos India must plan with a lateral
38 Microfinance is helping mindset as extreme weather
poor people in Tamil Nadu events are becoming the norm
to build toilets

48

HEALTH CLASSROOM
Sweet surprise Inclusively
Indian scientists develop smart?
a new device capable of Do slum dwellers
computing different diabetic feature in the grand
tests within minutes plan for smart cities?

REVIEW
Co-evolution
A new book explores the role of
culture in human evolution

Monopoly v
Competition Learn
The Ericsson case
highlights the uneasy from
50 interface between the India,
competition policy and Dilma
the patent law The Brazilian
40 president could
take lessons
SPACE from Narendra
A new dawn Modi on how
India's maiden solar mission,
55 to handle
the crisis
Aditya-I, to be launched in surrounding
2019-2020, will enhance the her leadership
world's knowledge about
the sun
58
SCIENCE 46
Lethal green mutant
A mutation in the genes of vegetarian WORLD EARTH DAY
populations could increase the risk Tree fall
of heart disease and colon cancer The number of trees per
person has declined
37

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 9

08-09Contents.indd 9 08/04/16 2:33 PM

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 THE FORTNIGHT

CROSS HAIRS BY SORIT GUPTO

Rare rhino spotted in Borneo, dies POINT

made
S C I E N T I S T S R E C E N T LY
physical contact with a critically
endangered Sumatran rhino on the
Indonesian part of Borneo Island.
The contact was the first in 40 years.
The rhino was caught in a pit trap in
March in East Kalimantan province
in an area close to mining operations
and plantations. The six-year-old
2.8
female died a few weeks after capture
India's average
for unknown reasons. Borneo is the
internet connection
world's third-largest island that is
speed in the last
shared between Malaysia, Indonesia
quarter of 2015. It is
the slowest average
and Brunei. The capture of the rhino megabits connection speed in
was a joint effort between Indonesian
environment ministry officials, the per second Asia
World Wildlife Fund and the Rhino
Foundation of Indonesia. Source: State of the Internet Report by Massachusetts-
based cloud service provider, Akamai

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 11

11-15The Fortnight.indd 11 07/04/16 5:41 PM

 THE FORTNIGHT

1 ,0 0 0 WO R D S BY VIKAS CHOUDHARY

THE FUELLERS Dung collectors at Tilda Newra, a town on the outskirts of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Groups of them straggle along herds of cattle
throughout the day and collect the dung whenever possible. On an average, they collect 10 kg of dung to be converted into fuel cakes. India is
thought to use as much as 400 million tonnes of cow dung for cooking fuel alone each year, with approximately 30 per cent of rural fuel production
dependent on animal waste. The country faces a huge problem of fuel accessibility, with some 12 million people having no access, according to the
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report

Karnataka abolishes China to more than triple solar

agriculture income capacity by 2020
tax; farmers relieved C H I N A P L A N S to more than
triple its solar power capacity by
2020 to as much as 143 gigawatts
K A R N ATA K A' S AG R I C U LT U R A L income to help reduce carbon emissions.
tax for planters has been abolished, starting from At a recent conference in Beijing,
April 1. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had made the Nur Bekri, head of China's National
announcement in mid-March while presenting Energy Administration (nea), said
the State Budget for 2016-17. By abolishing the the country would add 15 to 20
tax, Karnataka, India's largest coffee producer, gigawatts of photovoltaic power
has followed neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which annually in the next five years. The
abolished a similar tax in 2004. Karnataka's move numbers show that China accounted
will provide relief to about two dozen companies for more than a quarter of global
such as Tata Coffee and Bombay Burmah Trading solar additions with a record 15.1
THINKSTOCK PHOTOS

Corporation that operate coffee, tea and rubber gigawatts of installations in 2015.
plantations in the state besides thousands of China's total solar capacity was
individual coffee growers. Plantation companies 43.2 gigawatts at the end of 2015,
had to pay a 35 per cent tax on their net income surpassing Germany as the country
in the state and the total outgo in the state is with the most installed solar cap- unted for only 3 per cent of China's
estimated at around `20 crore. acity. However, solar energy acco- electricity mix by 2015-end.

12 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

11-15The Fortnight.indd 12 07/04/16 10:20 AM

 THE FORTNIGHT

I N FO C U S I N CO U RT On March 16, the NGT ordered the

India's water blues On March 17, the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) directed three firms,
Kenwood Mercantile, Goodfaith
Builders and Nandak INFOCOM to
deposit a compensation of `one
lakh before the state Pollution
Control Board within 3 weeks.
On March 22, the NGT sought
re-demarcation and exact
classification of Gram Sabha
land encroached by discom
BSES at Asola village in Delhi.
On March 16, the apex court
gave two weeks to Kalkaji
THINKSTOCK PHOTOS
municipality of Almora and all its
members to ensure that municipal solid
waste was properly collected
and dumped.
On March 22, the NGT appointed
Rahul Khurana, advocate present
before it as local commissioner and
asked him to submit a
comprehensive report in relation
to the collection, transportation
and burning of municipal solid
waste in Vrindavan city.
Haryana
Uttarakhand
Delhi Uttar Pradesh

Temple authorities to Jharkhand On March 28, the Delhi

implement measures Madhya Pradesh District Court convicted
suggested by their committee Jharkhand Ispat Pvt Ltd
to clean the temple. Maharashtra
( jipl) and its two directors
On March 17, the Madhya R S Rungta and R C Rungta
India has the highest number of people Pradesh High Court in a case pertaining to
76 million in the world without access admitted the petition filed irregularities in allotment
to safe water, a recent report released by against land acquired to of the North Dhadu coal
international non-profit WaterAid rehabilitate outees of block in Jharkhand to
has revealed. Maheshwar Hydro-electric the firm.
Project and cancelled On March 17, the Nagpur bench
The report titled Water: At what cost? The
acquisition of 0.283 of the Bombay High Court
State of the World's Water names China as hectares of land owned by directed the Nagpur
next to India with 66 million people without a small farmer, commissioner of police to start
access to safe drinking water, followed by the petitioner. a helpline for citizens to report
Nigeria. Pakistan is at the 10th place. cases of violation regarding
WaterAid's analysis shows that in the noise pollution in the city,
developed world, a standard water bill is as especially at night.
little as 0.1 per cent of the income of SO FAR...
someone earning the minimum wage. Total cases on
environment and SUPREME HIGH NATIONAL GREEN
However, in a country like India, a person COURT COURTS TRIBUNAL
development tracked
reliant on a water vendor (tanker) for their
water supply would spend as much as 17 per
since January 1, 2016 till 21 38 274
March 23, 2016
cent of their daily income on water to get
just the recommended daily minimum supply.
In India, aquifers provide 85 per cent of Don't argue for a man-killer tiger, top
drinking water, but levels are falling in
56 per cent of the country. Hand pumps court tells senior lawyer
are exacerbating the crisis in many areas by THE SUPREME Court recently told senior lawyer, Indira Jaising that human life was
depleting shallow aquifers. more important than that of a man-killer tiger. She was representing wildlife activist
The report states that poor management Ajay Dubey who had challenged a Rajasthan High Court order which upheld the state
of water resources is the biggest problem government's translocation of a 10-year-old dominant male tiger named `Ustaad' and `T-
holding India back from reaching all of its 24' from Ranthambore Tiger Reserve to Sajjangarh Zoo, 400 km away after it allegedly
population with water supplies. killed a forest guard in May last year. Jaising said that if Ustaad was forced to stay in the zoo
It highlights three reasons for people's for a further period, his health would deteriorate. A surprised Chief Justice T S Thakur then
struggle to access water: lack of money told Jaising : "How can you argue on behalf of a man-eater? Human life is more important."
or political will, government inability to deliver Compiled by DTE-CSE Data Centre. For detailed verdicts, visit bit.ly/1CIFrcf
and deep prevailing inequalities.

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 13

11-15The Fortnight.indd 13 07/04/16 10:20 AM

 THE FORTNIGHT

This common bacterium grows better in space

S C I E N T I S T S H AV E found that of the 48 harmless bacteria
strains they have been raising on the International Space Station
(iss), one has not just adapted to its new microgravity environment
some 400 km above Earthit prefers it. According to a new study
published recently in the PeerJ journal, Bacillus safensis JPL-
MERTA-8-2a strain originally isolated from a Mars Exploration
Rover at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, before launch in 2004
grew an impressive 60 per cent better in space than the control
colonies on Earth, and it's not yet clear why. The next step will be
to perform more complex tests with the microbes, to try to narrow
down what they respond to most strongly. The scientists have
already sequenced the genome of B. safensis.

EXTREME Q & A

$309 bn
The cost of cumulative damage caused to G20
countries by climate change events from 2005
to 2014 . This is as estimated by the HongKong
and Shnaghai Banking Corporation (hsbc).
18 The number of extreme weather events
in 2014 that were mostly caused due to
anthropogenic influence. This is according to a
paper by the American Meteorological Society
that hsbc cited.
39 per cent The damage incurred by China.
It was followed by the US (22 per cent) and
India (11 per cent)
$44 billion The costs incurred in 2014 due
to extreme weather events.
A hogwash
W H O : Devinder Sharma
Food and agriculture policy analyst &
commentator, Chandigarh
W H A T : The Punjab Legislative
Assembly recently passed the Punjab
Settlement of Agriculture Indebtedness
Bill, 2016, which seeks to provide fair
settlement of debt-related disputes of
persons dependent on agriculture.
W H Y : Passing of this Bill by the
Punjab Assembly is nothing but
hogwash. It is just a pre-election sop.
First of all, this Bill had been pending
for 15 years. Why was it passed only at
this time? Secondly, there is nothing
substantial in the Bill. It merely
transfers debt dispute cases from civil
courts to the tribunals. There are two
main issues concerning farmers in
the state of Punjab. One is that money
lenders charge them exorbitantly.
The Bill does not provide a cap to that.
Second, if the farmer is unable to pay
his loan then his assets are seized. The
Bill does not do anything about that
too. Is it of any use then? It is merely
making a fool of the electorate in
the state.

Former Chambal dacoits now pledge to protect forests

IN A first of its kind gesture to
save the environment, former
Chambal dacoits have come
together in the fight against
deforestation. On the eve of
International Day of Forests in
March, more than 25 former
dacoits of Chambal gathered
in Jaipur and pledged to save
the forests from deforestation.
The former bandits made
the pledge at a programme
COURTESY: YOUTH KI AAWAAZ
organised by Kalpatru, a non-
profit. Most ex-dacoits were of
the view that during the heyday
of dacoity in Chambal, nobody
tried to encroach on the land
or cut trees. That was no longer
the case. The ex-dacoits urged
the government to allot regions
to each of them to protect. They
claimed that the forests would
return back to their original
shape under their protection.

14 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

11-15The Fortnight.indd 14 07/04/16 10:21 AM

 THE FORTNIGHT

MP's Happiness
Department
M A D H YA P R A D E S H Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has
announced his intention to create a
Department of Happiness on the
lines of India's neighbour, Bhutan, to
infuse positivity in the lives of people.
Happiness will not come into the lives
of people merely with materialistic

possessions or development but by
infusing positivity in their lives so that
they don't take extreme steps like
suicide in distress. Madhya Pradesh
will be the first state in the country
to create a Department of Happiness
and I got this inspiration from Bhutan
which gave the world the concept of
Happiness Index way back in 1970s,
Chouhan said recently at the Madhya
Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp)'s
executive meeting. The department,
Chouhan added, would organise yoga,
meditation and cultural programmes
among others to keep people happy.
The proposal to constitute the
Department would be passed in the
next Cabinet meeting.
Dryland birds in `wet' Kerala
ORNITHOLOGISTS AND
birdwatchers in Kerala have noticed
a very unusual and disturbing
phenomenon. They have identified 36
species in Kerala in the past 15 years
that have otherwise been seen only in
the drier parts of India. Our group has
been tracking the spread of dry-land
birds in Kerala systematically and we
are seeing a pattern. Even though we
need to do some more work correlating
our observations from the field with
NAVIN SIGAMANY
historical weather and habitat data,
our initial findings indicate that birds
that seek drier tracts are moving
into Kerala, says P O Nameer, head
of wildlife research at the College of
Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University,
Thrissur. Among the bird species
identified are peafowl, the Greater
Spotted Eagle and Desert Wheatear.
The fact that these birds are coming is
an indication of changing temperature
and also dryness," says Nameer.

L AT I T U D E V E R B AT I M
Scientists at the University
BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

of Kansas in the US, led by

Jesse Grismer, have
published maps showing
that before the final
collision of Eurasia and the
Indian subcontinent, land
bridges between the
landmasses may have
served as freeways of
biodiversity exchange that
flowed in both directions. To
arrive at their conclusion,
Grismer and his co-authors
performed a phylogenomic
analysis of Indian Dragon
Lizards, revealing multiple
A map showing the distribution of Draconinae and the four biogeographic area (differently origins in Southeast Asia.
colored borders) used in ancestral range reconstructions.
"The state
government pays
`70 to a fodder
camp for the keep of
an animal, while the
orphanages and
state-run children's
homes are paid ` 30
for a child per day as
grant"
Anil Bonde, Member of
Legislative Assembly,
Maharashtra

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 15

11-15The Fortnight.indd 15 07/04/16 5:41 PM

 WA S T E

Trashing the ragpicker

The new rules
R
AJA IS a waste dealer in Seema-
puri in Delhi, who employs
for plastic waste around 15 people to segregate
mixed waste into paper, plastic
management exclude and bottles. His monthly income of
and also to make the waste management
system sustainable.
The informal sector is the backbone of
waste management, especially plastic and
solid waste, and yet it has been completely

the informal sector, around ~30,000 is just enough to survive,

key to their successful
implementation
SWATI SINGH SAMBYAL
| new delhi
Waste pickers in Sangam Vihar, New
Delhi. Plastic production is growing 2.5
times faster than the GDP in India
but his business is always at stake. There
are many dealers without a license in the
area. There is frequent harassment from
the police or governmental officials who
ask for a bribe, complains 48-year-old
Raja. For many unrecognised workers like
Raja, who constitute a large part of the
waste management sector in the country,
the long wait to get formally recognised
has ended disappointingly.
The recent notification of rules for plas-
tic waste mangement by the Union Ministry
of Environment and Forest and Climate
Change has once again failed to include the
informal sector. The new rules which were
first notified in 2011 are meant to improve
the implementation of the previous rules,
neglected in the new rules, says Shashi
Bhushan Pandit, secretary, All India Kabadi
Mazdoor Mahasangh (See How the new
rules exclude the informal sector). The
Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016
mention including waste pickers in the
waste management system, but do not men-
tion how that would happen.
The rules have introduced the concept
of Extended Producer Responsibility (epr)
for the first time, which means that produc-
ers, importers and brand owners will be
responsible for plastic waste management
by opening collection centres individually
or collectively. Though a much needed
rule, Pandit says that the introduction of
epr will only secure the formal sector and
not the informal sector, which handles 20
FAITH SANGMA / CSE

16-17Waste.indd 16 08/04/16 4:16 PM

 WA S T E
www.downtoearth.org.in/waste

PLASTIC
PLATOON
5.6 million tonnes
Annual consumption
of plastic in India; 99%
growth in the last 20 years
20%
of recyclable wastes (60%
of it is plastic) handled by
informal workers
2011
India's first plastic
waste management rules
didn't include the
informal sector
2016: HOW THE NEW RULES EXCLUDE THE INFORMAL SECTOR
SECTION 6(2)
Local bodies would be
responsible to engage
civil organisations or
groups working with
waste pickers.
Experts doubt how this will
happen without formally
registering the workers. A
user-friendly mechanism
to register the workers,
thus, should be developed
SECTION 9
The producers, importers or brand
owners need to work out modalities for
setting up a waste collection system
either individually or collectively,
based on Extended Producer
Responsibility, six months from
publishing these rules.
The rule does not make the integration of
the informal sector mandatory. This can
threaten the livelihoods of workers in the
informal sector
SECTION 17
The state level monitoring committee
that would meet once in six months, shall
discuss the monitoring and implementation
of these rules.
The committees will have bureaucrats and
academicians, but nobody who can speak
on behalf of the informal sector. To map the
progress of the inclusion, the committee should
involve civil society, or social groups, and
members of the informal sector

Source: Central Pollution Control Board

per cent recyclable wastesfrom its collec-
tion to treatment.
The rules assume a huge significance
if one looks at the growth of plastic waste
in the country (See Plastic Platoon).
According to a Central Pollution Control
Board (cpcb) report published in 2009, the
per capita plastic consumption in India was
67 kg per annum. The demand for plastic
raw material doubled from 3.3 to 6.8 million
metric tonnes during 2010-2011. In Delhi
alone, 20-30 per cent of recyclable waste
consisted of plastic till four years ago, but to-
day, almost 60-75 per cent of recyclable
waste consists of plastic, according to cpcb.
Who gets affected?
Experts doubt whether epr can work with-
out recognising the informal workers. The
informal sector in Delhi employs about 0.2-
0.35 million people who transport almost
1,088 tonnes per day (tpd) of recyclable
waste, says Pandit. If Pandit is to be be-
lieved, urban local bodies save 80 lakh a
year in Delhi because of their services.
Shyamala Mani, professor, National
Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru
says that without incorporating the infor-
mal sector, epr can never be successful.
Chandra Bhushan, deputy director gen-
eral, Centre for Science and Environment,
suggests that the state pollution control
boards, or the approving authority must en-
sure the integration of the informal sector in
the waste management plan made by the
producer, and without such integration, the
plan must not be approved.
Municipal corporations, he adds, sho-
uld enumerate waste pickers and other in-
formal waste workers with the help of civil
society organisations. Online registrations
and a frequently updated list of vendors on
a web portal accessible to the public can en-
sure transparency. They should also help in-
formal recyclers organise themselves. This
will help in implementing the rules better,
especially in areas where the informal sector
is still largely unorganised.
The new rules have introduced some
necessary provisions like increasing the
thickness of carry bags and plastic sheets
from 40 to 50 microns. The generator will
have to segregate the waste, and penalties
as per the by-laws of the municipal body
will have to be paid in case segregation is
not done. However, the rules fail to address
the management of short-lived plastic
products such as disposable plates, glasses,
and cutlery which are used extensively.
Another contentious provision is the fee
of 4,000 per month, which street vendors
and shops will have to pay to provide plastic
carry bags. Bhushan says that rule lacks clar-
"The informal sector is
the backbone of waste
management, and yet it has
been completely neglected
in the new rules"
ity on how the municipality will channelise
this money and are uncertain on the pur-
pose of its use in plastic waste management.
Since the amount can be rather expensive
for the vendors, a differential pricing mech-
anism could have been proposed. Shops
should be encouraged to do away with the
plastic bags by providing alternatives such
as jute or cloth bags, he adds.
To protect the livelihoods of the work-
ers, he suggests, more should be done. The
framing of by-laws under epr should include
an action plan for waste management, and
emphasis should be placed on recycling
rather than incineration or its usage in road
construction, Bhushan adds.
Imran Khan of Chintan, a Delhi-based
non-profit which works with waste pickers
and recyclers, says waste pickers work for
about six days per week and around 9-12
hours per day without protective gear. This
puts them at a risk of frequent injuries like
cuts and bruises. The disposal of plastic also
carries severe health risks as it contains
heavy metals like lead, copper, cobalt, sele-
nium, cadmium, and chromium, which are
highly toxic.
Though the new rules look at the bigger
picture, plastic waste management is a local
problem. The government can set up small
enterprises to help the informal sector or-
ganise, as proposed in the epr. Providing
health and security benefits must be priori-
ty to safeguard their livelihoods.
@swatisambyal

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 17

16-17Waste.indd 17 08/04/16 4:16 PM

 FOREST
Flawed attempt
The recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing
Committee Report can further dilute the already weak
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015
AJAY KUMAR SAXENA | NEW DELHI
I
NDIA'S LONG and confused chase on
how to compensate the forests divert-
ed for development projects just got a
bit more complex. Notwithstanding a
rare political consensus. Recently, the
Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Science and Technology, Environment and
Forests (psc) submitted its report on the
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill,
(caf) 2015, giving wide ranging suggestions
to the contentious proposed law. More to it,
committee chairperson Ashwani Kumar, a
Congress member of Parliament, demand-
ed immediate adoption of the bill. We are
concerned that over `38,000 crore is lying
unutilised under this account and The
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill,
2015 should make its way in the Budget ses-
sion of Parliament, he said.
The caf bill has always been articulat-
ed as a law to unlock the money deposited
by companies/entities taking over forest
lands for afforestation work. However, 11
years after the Compensatory Afforestation
Management and Planning Authority
(campa) was set up by the Union gov-
ernment, problems contin-
18 DOWN TO EARTH
18-20Forest.indd 18
ue to plague the compensatory forestry re-
gime (see Pushed to act p19). Unfortuna-
tely, the recent psc report has not only
missed many critical issues ailing the caf
regime but also made some alarming rec-
ommendations.
This is worrying because caf 2015 al-
ready has too many lacunae to be plugged.
For starters, the bill is weaker than the
caf 2008 bill, which is loosely adapted into
the 2015 bill. New Delhi-based non-profit
Centre for Science and Environment (cse)
says caf 2015 is less participatory than caf
2008, it has no time frame for creating
compensatory forests, and is
highly bureaucratic in opera-
tions (see Getting worse
with time p20).
Idling away
1.3 million hectares
Forestland diverted since 1980
K40,000 crore*
Total amount lying with Ad hoc CAMPA
K6,000 crore
Annual increment to Ad hoc CAMPA out of
fresh collections and interests
11 Out of the 30 states audited by CAG were
unable to spend more than half of their funds
between 2009 and 2012
7 StatesGujarat, Haryana, Kerala,
Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab and
Rajasthancarried out no compensatory
afforestation between 2006 and 2012
*Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
reply to a Rajya Sabha question on March 14, 2016
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 2:19 PM

While the psc report has addressed cer-
tain critical lacunae in caf 2015, the report
has faltered in many others. It suggests re-
Pushed to act
ducing the share of National Fund, a corpus The road and struggle with compensatory afforestation continues
in caf 2015 to fund the proposed National
Authority, from 10 per cent to five per cent.
2002 | Supreme Court (SC) orders the
setting up of Compensatory Afforestation
This means states will have more funds for
Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
afforestation activities. It also prohibits the
and Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF)
use of Compensatory Afforestation Funds,
accumulated in the ad hoc campa (a tempo- 2004 | Centre constitutes CAMPA, but with
no prescription to establish a mechanism to
manage CAMPA funds
2006 | SC orders establishing Ad hoc CAMPA
to operationalise CAMPA funds. Funds start
flowing in. But without CAFs in place, the
rary body set up in 2006), for the Green
India Programme, noting that it is a sepa-
rate programme of the government having
its own budgetary allocation. Green India
Programme is a national commitment of
creating additional forest assets to mitigate
climate change, which is in sharp contrast
to compensatory afforestation that does not
create additional forests.
The psc report also recommends
16-30 APRIL 2016
18-20Forest.indd 19
FOREST
www.downtoearth.org.in/forests
funds are parked in bank fixed deposits
2008 | CAF bill proposed, but lapses in 2009
after 14th Lok Sabha's tenure ends
2009 | SC orders release of `1,000 crore per
year to states. Centre sets up National CAMPA
Advisory Council and issues State CAMPA
guidelines
2015 | Reworked bill introduced in
Parliament by NDA government
the use of native species in plantations and
broadening the scope of environmental ser-
vices (including pollination and seed dis-
persal). The report seeks clarity on infra-
structure development, supply of wood and
other forest produce saving devices and
other allied activities in the bill to avoid
ambiguity and misuse. It also recommends
voluntary relocation from critical wildlife
habitats which will help address this long
standing issue ailing Indias wildlife sector.
The recommendations of including
ministries of Space and Earth Sciences
in the governing body of the National
Authority and including an expert on tribal
affairs or a representative of tribal commu-
nity in national and state authorities will
make these bodies more representative and
TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
www.downtoearth.org.in 19
08/04/16 2:19 PM
 FOREST
sensitive to tribal concerns. The report also
prescribes a time-bound approval (within
three months) of annual plans received
from the states/union territories (UTs) by
the National Authority, which will expedite
the afforestation activities on the ground.
Going wrong
Currently, private user agencies are man-
dated to provide non-forestland equal in
extent to the area of the forestland pro-
posed to be diverted. Where non-forestland
is not available or available in lesser extent
to the diverted forest, compensatory affor-
estation must be carried out over degraded
forests twice in extent to the diverted forest-
land (or twice the difference in case of a
mix). Against this background, the psc re-
port makes an alarming recommendation
that in order to meet the situation where
enough land is not available for afforesta-
tion, specific provisions should be made in
the bill for encouraging densification and
revitalization of available forests closest to
areas where deforestation is considered un-
avoidable on account of critically important
national projects. Thus the bill should con-
tain provisions emphasizing the same.
This indiscriminate recommendation
can be misused by forest authorities to divert
forests on the pretext of densification and
revitalization of available forests with no im-
plied liability to compensate diverted forests.
Given the poor track record of the forest de-
partments of letting forests degrade over dec-
ades, such a relaxation in land acquisition
process put forth by psc seems outlandish. It
will enhance forest degradation and worsen
irresponsible forest diversions. This clause
also has the potential to curb the implemen-
tation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, espe-
cially when many forest communities are
waiting to get rights. It can also be misused
to reduce Indias overall forest cover by re-
stricting compensatory afforestation.
Not enough
caf 2015 has several other problems that
need to be plugged for compensatory affor-
estation to be effective. cse, which recently
analysed the proposed bill, has found sever-
al flaws in it. It says that a look at the campa
annual plans of operations from states re-
veals a meagre 20-40 per cent allocation for
afforestation activities.
20 DOWN TO EARTH
18-20Forest.indd 20
Getting worse with time
How the two bills and the report fare on important issues
CAF Bill, 2008 CAF Bill, 2015 PSC Report
Afforestation money Prescribes 90 per cent Recommends reduction of National
collected from a state utilisation in states/UTs Fund share to five per cent
to be used within that state and earmarks 10 per cent
for National Fund
Afforestation targets This clause is missing. This Recommends approval by National
should be met within can seriously delay the Authority within three months
one year or two growing utilisation of funds, a from the date of receipt of the
seasons major problem annual plan of operations of
state authorities
More people-oriented and No such JFMC involvement Recommends an expert on tribal
states that All work at the prescribed. This makes the matters or a representative from
ground level shall be structure extremely the tribal community in the
executed through Joint bureaucratic and executive committees of National
Forest Management non-participatory Authority and State Authorities.
Committee (JFMC) But fails to prescribe any grassroot
democracy
The bill mentions investment of funds, including farm forestry, strengthening eco-
which is not the original purpose of cafs. It sensitive zones and promoting community
fails to provide specific periodicity for revi- conserved areas. caf money must also be
sion of net present value (the current value of used to strengthen forest democracy by
a forestland). caf, which promises to provide making communities participate in affor-
sustainable development, is also silent on the estation activities. This will speed up forest
issue of community involvement. It pre- restoration, revive the livelihood base of
scribes a heavily bureaucratic institutional forest-dependent communities and help
arrangement without significant public/ build a long-term people oriented forest
community participation. Worse, the bill is economy in the country. In fact, activities
silent on the much-needed social or environ- under cafs have the potential to generate
mental audit process too. employment to rural people, similar to
So what can be done? Ecologically spe- the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
aking, forests once cut cannot be compen- Employment Guarantee Act, and create
sated entirely, at least for centuries. Despite permanent green assets for the poor for
this fact, Indias forests, which are spread long-term ecological and economic sustain-
over a quarter of its land area, continue to ability. Ensuring the survival of planted
be diverted for industries and develop- stock must also be ensured. Given the huge
ment. Since the enactment of the Forest financial resource, this opportunity should
(Conservation) Act, 1980, the government be used to design an integrated long-term
has diverted over 1.3 million hectares of national forest action plan in consonance
forests. While a complete ban on forest with national and peoples needs.
diversion is difficult, considering the While it is true that the recent psc report
immense development pressure, the gov- has suggested some positive changes in the
ernment must develop healthy compensa- bill, it has also suggested some that can lead
tory mechanisms. to large-scale corruption and forest losses.
The bill should be based on the princi- Parliament should review the psc report cau-
ples of healthy forest regeneration and eq- tiouslyincorporating only the positive
uitable benefit sharing between the govern- suggestionsand act soon to avoid further
ment and the local communities. caf should degradation of forests.
be used for diversifying livelihood options, @ajay_ecologist
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 2:19 PM
 21 april30, 2016
21AMway ad.indd 21 08/04/16 4:09 PM
 COVER STORY

SHOULD
IVORY
TRADE BE
LEGALISED?
International ban on ivory trade has neither
reduced elephant poaching nor the volume of
the illegal trade. Is it time the trade is legalised?
RAJESHWARI GANESAN in India, ALOK GUPTA
in Hong Kong, SIFELANI TSIKO in Zimbabwe and
MANDI SMALLHORNE in South Africa, analyse how
such a decision will prevent elephant killings and
financially empower communities in Africa

Zimbabwe has an ivory

stockpile of more than
90 tonnes, worth
REUTERS

US $13 million, which it

wants to sell

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 COVER STORY

22-32Cover Story.indd 23 08/04/16 11:34 AM

 COVER STORY

A
LL OBJECTS are made of one hun- of conservation at wwf, Hong Kong, told Down
dred per cent genuine ivory, says To Earth. Between 2010 and 2012, more than
the shopkeeper at Ming Hing Arts 100,000 elephants were poached in Africa, with
showroom in Hong Kongs Kowloon forest elephants bearing the greatest impact, he
locality. Hong Kong is the worlds said. A cites meeting held in 2013 grouped China,
largest market for ivory and the Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania,
showroom is one of Hong Kongs oldest shops sell- Vietnam and the Philippines as parties of prima-
ing ivory artefacts. The shop proudly displays a ry concern where poaching and/or illegal trade
board that reads, In business since 1952, and has in ivory is at its peak.
artefacts ranging from 10,000 Hong Kong dollars
(hkd) to 1,000,000 hkd. We show him a picture of Penalised for saving elephants
Ganesha and ask how much would it cost to get the While the cites ban has failed to protect the ele-
image carved into a 15 x 10 cm ivory idol. It will be phant, it has led to a disquiet among African coun-
98,000 hkd. Delivery in a month, he says, adding, tries like Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana,
50,000 hkd for ivory and 48,000 hkd for carving. Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Swaziland.
When we ask him when and where the ivory was These countries have managed to protect the an-
procured, he curtly asks us to leave. imal and its population has increased beyond the
The shop is symbolic of the global ivory trade, carrying capacity of the land. They say that ivory
which is illegal, but continues to thrive in countries trade should not be banned because they need rev-
such as China. Unofficial estimates put the annu- enue from ivory sales to fund conservation efforts.
al volume of illegal ivory trade at US $18 billion. Many of these countries have stockpiles of ivory
Ivory trade was banned in 1989 by the Con- and they want to earn from its sale. Zimbabwe, for
vention for International Trade in Endangered
Species (cites), an international agreement be- To curb trade, many
tween 181 governments to ensure that trade in countries destroy all
specimens of wild animals and plants does not ivory confiscated from
poachers or obtained
threaten their survival. The countries voted to from animals who have
place African elephants on cites' Appendix 1, which died natural deaths
prohibits trade in ivory and other elephant parts.
However, the ban caused a vertical split in
cites, with one side demanding that the trade be
declared legal and the other saying that legalising
would be fatal for African elephants, which are the
source of most of the illegally traded ivory in the
world. The issue is likely to come to a head at the
17th Conference of Parties of cites to be held at
Johannesburg, South Africa, from September 24
to October 24. cites is under pressure to devise in-
novative methods to allow ivory trade while ensur-
Most of the ing elephant conservation.
Ivory trade has caused a rapid decline in ele-
illegally phant population in the continent (see Ivory trail
traded ivory on p26). The Hard Truth, a report released by
in the world the World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf) in 2015,
comes from states that there were three million to five million
Africa. This African elephants at the beginning of the last cen-
has caused a tury but the figure came down to 0.47 million in
90 per cent 2015. The situation deteriorated particularly dur-
ing 2000-2015, when the number of elephants in
decline in central Africa declined by 62 per cent.
elephant Though habitat loss and conflicts with hu-
population in mans contributed to this decline, poaching for
COURTESY: IFAW

the continent ivory has been identified as the biggest threat to

over the past elephants. Illegal international ivory trade has ac-
100 years tually tripled since 1998, Gavin Edward, director

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22-32Cover Story.indd 24 08/04/16 12:24 PM


example, has a stockpile of more than 90 tonnes,
worth nearly US$13 million, obtained mostly from
elephants that died a natural death. Rather than
being able to earn from it, Zimbabwe spends al-
most the same amount ($13 million) every year
on retrieving, preserving, transporting and stor-
ing ivory, say wildlife officials. With the countrys
economy in a precarious situation, the govern-
ment cannot afford such expenditure. Moreover,
against a holding capacity (the maximum num-
ber of elephants that a countrys ecosystem can
support in natural conditions without affecting
its equilibrium) of 45,000, Zimbabwe has an el-
ephant population of around 100,000. Till about
a decade ago, legal trophy hunting could pro-
vide the communities that manage forests under
Zimbabwes campfire programme (see The trophy
would not hold on p28) enough money to survive
in the harsh land where agriculture is not possible.
But that is no longer the case (see Hunter hunted
on p36). The US has been campaigning against
sport hunting and this has reduced our earnings
22-32Cover Story.indd 25
COVER STORY
which we could have used for conservation ef-
forts, says Zimbabwes Environment, Water and
Climate Minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri.
Licensed hunters pay $120,000 for an elephant
and $60,000 for a lion, while tourists pay $3 to
view animals, she says.
Prior to a ban on trophy hunting and carry-
ing of ivory products on major US airlines, the ele-
phant-hunting industry in southern African coun-
tries used to generate $14 million annually. Now,
instead of earning, they spend huge amounts on
protecting the ivory stockpile. And it is not that the
elephants are now safe. They continue to be killed
because domestic trade is still allowed in countries
like Zimbabwe. In the absence of options, com-
munities resort to poaching even though the lo-
cal market lacks the financial clout to consume
large amounts of ivory. MuchinguriKashiri says
the ban has actually increased poaching across
the country. In 2015 alone, 11 suspected poachers
were shot dead, 2,139 incursions were detected,
and 1,354 local poachers and 129 foreign poachers
www.downtoearth.org.in 25
08/04/16 11:35 AM
 COVER STORY

IVORY 1989 The Convention for International Trade in

Endangered Species (CITES) bans international
commercial trade in elephant ivory. Zimbabwe, Botswana,

TRAIL
Mozambique, Malawi and Burundi announce they would leave
the convention so they could continue trading in ivory

Unofficial estimates put the annual 600,000 African elephant population

between 1979 and 1989

volume of illegal ivory trade at CITES membership: 101 countries

US $18 billion. Most of the ivory comes

from Africa. India and China are
the major carving centres,
and the US and Europe
the main markets of
finished goods

US

FINISH
ED IVO

Major ivory sources

Major ivory carving centres
Major ivory markets

Infographics: Raj Kumar Singh

Compiled by: Rajeshwari Ganesan
Source: Reports by government institutes and
non-profits, and published research papers

were arrested. The country also lost 35 elephants
to poaching the same year. The government has
roped in the army to improve security in protect-
ed areas. But with inadequate revenue to support
these operations, poaching is likely to continue.
MuchinguriKashiri says she will present a report
on poaching to the Cabinet soon. We are holding
more than 90 tonnes of ivory and we are losing
some of the tusks, she says. Poaching will con-
tinue because there is a market out there. If we are
permitted to do sport hunting and trade in a legal
way, it will help us a lot.
Overpopulation and poaching
South Africa faces the same dilemma. The coun-
trys elephants have grown in numbers to a point
of overpopulation. Poaching cases are also on the
rise. The Kruger National Park has had the high-
est poaching incidence within the last 15 years dur-
ing just the past six months, says Michelle Henley,
co-founder, programme manager and principal
researcher at Elephants Alive, a research organi-
sation based in Hoedspruit, South Africa. Twenty-
two elephants have been poached from the park
since September last year.
Southern AfricaSouth Africa, Botswana,
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique, effec-
tivelyis the last stronghold of the African
elephant, says Henley. Thirty years ago, this
region had only 21 per cent of the elephants in
Africa; today it has over 50 per cent. A wave of
poaching has swept across Africa, starting in
West Africa (which has less than two per cent of its
elephants remaining) and taking 65 per cent of the
elephants in Central Africa.
About 0.8 million elephants have been killed
in the last three decades, according to the Wildlife
Conservation Society, a New York-based non-
profit. The non-profit launched a 96 Elephants
Campaign in 2013, to highlight that 96 elephants

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 COVER STORY

Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe agree to an 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties
1997 international ban on ivory trade, but want to sell 2016 of CITES to be held from September 24 to
their ivory stockpiles. CITES approves the sales based on the October 5, 2016, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The
positive status of these countries' national herds. The "one-off discussions are likely to centre on the possibility of legalising
sale" occurs in 1999 to a single CITES-approved buyerJapan ivory trade

850,000 African elephant

population in 1999 470,000 African elephant
population in 2013
CITES membership: 136 countries CITES membership: 181 countries

China is
United Kingdom the largest
market of raw
Germany ivory
Dip in ivory
France rates
Italy Japan Raw ivory rates fell to
Spain China
South Korea $ 1,100
Taiwan per kg in 2015 from
$2,100 in 2014
Hong Kong
INISHED I
VORY GOODS Thailand
Malaysia
Kenya OR
Y

Tanzania IV
F R AW
S U P P LY O
Mozambique
India
(Delhi, Jaipur,
South Africa Lucknow,
Murshidabad and
Thiruvananthapuram)

were then being killed every day. The majority of
these deaths were because of poaching. Trophy
hunting contributes a very tiny percentage of
elephant deaths, says Henley.
The rising elephant population is a problem
because elephant herds can cause substantial losses
if they enter farms. As far back as in 2008, the South
African government had lifted the moratorium on
the culling of elephants. At that time, the countrys
environment minister, Martinus van Schalkwyk,
said that culling would be considered only as a
management option of last resort. But culling has
not been practised for years, and experts at the
Kruger park say they are using natural methods
such as closing boreholes and allowing more
natural patterns of movement to prevail by opening
up the borders with Mozambique, for exampleto
keep the numbers down. They reckon the numbers
have risen, but not by as much as they could have
without these methods.
Like Zimbabwe, South Africa is in the posses-
sion of a fairly significant stockpile of ivory confis-
cated from poachers or collected following natural
deaths. Currently, the countrys stand on legal ivo-
ry trade is officially undecided, with huge inter-
nal debate in the Department of Environmental
Affairs, says Ross Harvey, senior researcher at
South African Institute of International Affairs,
a Johannesburg-based non-governmental rese-
arch institute.
Theres a strong chance that South Africa will
come out in support of legalising trade in ivory,
says Chris Galliers, a unit leader in biodiversity at
the Wildlife and Environment Society of South
Africa, a Howick-based non-profit. There is quite
a prominent ideological stance that this is our ivo-
ry and we should be able to capitalise on it, says
Harvey. Moreover, in certain pockets, poaching is
the only option available to communities to sur-
vive. Though poachers get only about a tenth of

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 COVER STORY

The trophy would not hold

Zimbabwe's CAMPFIRE programme to manage wild areas was a success. But now things have changed for the worse
AFTER INDEPENDENCE
in 1980, the Zimbabwe
government established
the Communal Areas
Management Programme
for Indigenous Resources
(CAMPFIRE). The aim
was twofold: to increase
income opportunities in
dry and arid areas close
to animal sanctuaries and
to maintain the ecological
balance. Income was to be
generated through various
forms of natural resource
exploitationtourism
and sale of wild animals or
animal products. The land
still belonged to the state,
but benefit-sharing became
more acceptable unlike in the
colonial era.
Proceeds from the project
were used for the benefit
of communities. Under the
programme, rural district
councils were authorised to
market wildlife resources
in their districts to safari
operators on behalf of
communities. The operators
would sell hunting safaris to
mostly foreign sport hunters
and eco-tourists, before
paying the communities a
dividend.
But over the years, due to a
combination of factors, both
internal and external, the
CAMPFIRE programme
weakened, and stopped
remitting the 60 per cent it
was supposed to give village
wards. Donor support
withdrawal (USAID was a
major funder but withdrew
in 1999), poor leadership,
conflicts between local
authorities and communities,
political interference and poor
funding contributed to the
diminished role of CAMPFIRE.
At present, 58 out of
60 rural districts in the
country are members of the
programme, although just
16 of these are regarded as
"major" CAMPFIRE areas in
which income generation is
primarily through big-game
trophy hunting. CAMPFIRE
director Charles Jonga
says, "Currently, CAMPFIRE
generates, on an average $2
million in net income every
year, which is much lower than
estimated potential earnings
for the programme."

the price, it still is a huge amount. For instance,
one tusk, weighing 35-40 kg, gets a poacher over
$8,000 in Malawi, an east African country whose
per capita income in 2015 was $275. So it came
as no surprise when assistant director of National
Parks and Wildlife of Malawi, William Mgoora,
announced in September 2014 that the population
of elephants in the country had fallen to less than
2,000 due to poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
Illegal wildlife trade has been escalating, with re-
cent evidence [suggesting] that organised inter-
national crime syndicate are targeting and exploit-
ing Malawi as a source and transit route for their
illegal wildlife trade, he had said. Low per capi-
ta income and rampant elephant poaching make
The ban on Malawi an ideal country to source ivory.
ivory trade
has caused Legal market will curb poaching
a vertical If the trade is legalised, there would be regular
split in CITES, markets for ivory and this would help curb poach-
ing. Regulated sale of ivory can benefit conserva-
with one side tion, as claimed by the countries with regulated
demanding markets [for instance, Zimbabwe, South Africa
that the trade and Namibia]; perhaps more important, the re-
be declared sults [of the study] also suggest that action to
legal, and close unregulated ivory markets in Africa is need-
the other ed to protect the elephant, Ronald Clarke, author
saying that of The International Ban on Ivory Sales and its
Effects on Elephant Poaching in Africa, a paper
legalising published in The British Journal of Criminology
it would be in 2009, told Down To Earth.
fatal for In an article published in Conservation
elephants Biology in 2014, Elizabeth L Bennett, vice-presi-
dent, Species Conservation, Wildlife Conservation
Society, says, The legal market would be supplied
from animals in the wild now or recent past (e.g.,
sales from stockpiles of ivory and saiga horn), from
captive or semi-captive animals (e.g., rhinoceros
horn removed from live animals), or from farmed
animals (e.g., bear bile, tiger bones). Numerous
plant and animal species are already subject to a
managed trade which, in many cases, is sustaina-
ble; legal trade dominates the market and illegal
trade is minimal (e.g., ornamental plants, croco-
dilian skins).
In Africa, budgets are tight, and governments
have bigger priorities such as funding health and
education. At an international level, public sym-
pathy for elephants rarely translates into cash, so
donor funding is normally short-term and unpre-
dictable, says Bob Smith, senior research fellow in
conservation science, University of Kent, the UK.
This is why many African governments stockpiled
ivory that was confiscated from poachers or came
from elephants that died of natural causes before
selling their ivory legally and using the money to
fund conservation work, he explains.
The passionate opposition to the trade part-
ly comes from lack of awarenessmany people
think all ivory comes from poaching, whereas some
comes from elephant deaths and herd conservation
and management. Many people are also uneasy
about the idea of making money from wildlife and
are particularly uncomfortable when it involves
animals as majestic as elephants, explains Smith.
In An Analysis of Ivory Demand Drivers, a

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 29 APR30 2016
29EFRAC ad.indd 29 08/04/16 4:10 PM
 COVER STORY
2015 study sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation
Society, author Daniel Stiles of the International
Union for Conservation of Nature, argues that
Closing the legal market will not make the black
market disappear; if anything, it will grow larger
There are more than enough elephants to supply
a legal market from natural mortality without il-
legally killing a single elephantif the ivory items
are kept expensive, which, he says, can only be as-
sured if theres a legal market.
How to legalise?
The task is to chalk out the road map to legalise
the trade. There are a few examples to learn from.
Take, for instance, crocodile farming. With de-
clining wild populations in the 1960s and 1970s,
crocodile farming began to gather momentum in
as many as six countriesZimbabwe, Australia,
Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Venezuela and
the US. During this time many countries enact-
ed legislations to protect crocodilian population,
and cites was enacted in 1975 to regulate trade in
wild species. Crocodile farming was seen not only
as a way to reduce the pressure on the wild popula-
tions, but also as a means through which commer-
cial incentives for the conservation of crocodilians
could be generated.
By late 1970s and 1980s many programmes
were being developed, based on the sustainable
use of crocodilians to generate conservation ben-
efits for several subspecies, including the Nile
crocodile, Saltwater crocodile, American alliga-
tor, Spectacled Caiman and New Guinea croco-
dile. As all species of crocodilian are listed on the
cites Appendices, international trade is regulated.
Countries that are signatories to cites, and which
utilise wild crocodilian resources, must demon-
strate that the use does not threaten the survival
of the species. This typically involves some sort of
Closing the monitoring of the wild population to assess the im-
legal market pacts of use, and regulation of products in trade.
will not For example, all crocodilian skins in international
make the trade must have a uniquely numbered, non-reus-
able tag attached to themthis allows legal skins
black market
to be easily identified. With only farmed crocodiles
disappear. being used to meet the demand for meat and leath-
It will grow er, the population in wild has increased considera-
larger. There bly. According to a 2015 report by the unep World
are enough Conservation Monitoring Centre, the population
elephants of crocodiles in the world has increased from 0.3
to supply a million in the 1960s to 2.5 million in 2013.
Chinas successful breeding of tigers in captiv-
legal market
ity is another example that can be followed. Trade
from natural Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce
mortality (traffic), the wildlife trade monitoring network,
30 DOWN TO EARTH
22-32Cover Story.indd 30
In Hong Kong, nearly
242 tonnes of ivory
was sold between
1990 and 2008,
an average of over
13 tonnes per year
indicates that between 2000 and April 2014, at
least 1,590 tigers were poached around the world.
In the same period, the number of captive tigers in
about 200 farms in China soared from less than
1,000 to 6,000.
Though there are claims that the animal is
ill-treated in captivity, Chinas tiger farm indus-
try vouches that the trade in captive animals
helps to relieve the pressure on wild felines. Terry
Anderson, executive director of Property and
Environment Research Center, a US-based non-
governmental organisation that looks at mar-
ket-based approaches to conservation, feels that
Regulated tiger farms could provide enough tiger
products to reduce the pressure on wild tigers from
poaching. It would be wrong to say that by elimi-
nating the market we eliminate the demand for ti-
gers. Anderson adds that the focus on the issue of
killing the animals means many animal rights ac-
tivists may lose sight of the potential of what he
calls a conservation-commodity solution.
These examples show that the demand for ivo-
ry too could be met by farming. It is also said that
the tusks of captive elephants are more in demand
because of their off-white buttery colour. The tusks
of wild elephants have black striations and the ar-
tefacts made of wild tusks are considered inferior.
Countries with sizeable elephant populations can
consider the option. In Zimbabwe, South Africa,
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 12:24 PM

and Botswana, for example, people already farm
elephants on ranches for trophy hunters.
The naysayers
Though there have been a lot of arguments in fa-
vour of legalising ivory trade, not everyone is con-
vinced that it would help matters. The propo-
nents of legal ivory trade say that allowing sales
of stockpiles would flood the market with ivory
and bring the price down. But this did not hap-
pen in 2008 when cites allowed African countries
to auction their stockpiles and China and Japan
bought it in significant amounts. Even pre-1990
ivory was allowed to be sold in this one-time sale.
In fact, this sale of ivory is said to be the reason
for the continued decline in elephant numbers.
George Wittemyer and five other researchers in
their study Illegal killing for ivory drives global
decline in African elephants highlight that illegal
killing of elephants in Africa increased significant-
ly after 2008 and correlated strongly with the lo-
cal black market ivory price and increased seizures
of ivory destined for China. The study, which was
published in Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences in 2014, says that in Africa 29,124 tusk-
ers were killed in 2010 and the figure increased to
41,044 in 2011. Li Zhang, professor of ecology at
Beijing Normal University, China, says that cites
move to auction ivory stockpile proved fatal for
16-30 APRIL 2016
22-32Cover Story.indd 31
REUTERS
India and ivory trade
AS PER the last countrywide elephant
census held in 2007-08, India has over 27,000
elephants and the country is one of the main
ivory carving centres of the world. India has
also had its share of poaching cases. According
to Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India, about
30 elephants were poached in August 2015
from Kerala and Tamil Nadu alone. According
to Raman Sukumar, senior elephant biologist
at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru,
around 1,000 elephants were poached from
the country during 1990-2015. India is a part
of CITES and is against removing the ban on
international ivory trade despite having an
ivory stockpile of around 25,000 kg, worth
over $275 million, stored with the forest
departments of various states.
African elephants. The auction opened up the di-
minishing ivory market and its effect is still contin-
uing with rampant poaching of elephants, Li says.
Even the decision to ban only the post-1990 ivo-
ry is now considered short-sighted. Its extreme-
ly difficult to differentiate between post- and pre-
1990 ivory, says Gavin Edward. He says that cites
may not have thought of this problem while im-
posing the ban.
www.downtoearth.org.in 31
08/04/16 12:58 PM
 COVER STORY
Legalising ivory trade will not end the
problem, says Henley. As long as there is ivory
available, the killing will continue. Most of the
illegal trade is, in fact, apparently happening at
the less expensive end of the market, with seizure
data showing enormous amounts entering China,
explains Harvey. Henley says, If you open up the
market, you risk unintended consequences which
could be disastrous for the elephant. She adds, It
is poverty and unemployment that make poaching
so uncontrollable. With the best of intentions,
people around the world pour money into
increasing the guns and protection in vulnerable
areasbut to me, thats addressing a symptom
and not the cause. More money should be going
into community development and education,
raising awareness of the value of this wildlife to
the community.
There is also a need to bring the demand of
ivory down. Ivory is a status productit has no
medicinal use, says Henley. When you know it
is a social status artefact, what you need to do is
shame it.
Ivory trade is unlike any other industry, says
Harvey. There isnt enough data to understand the
possible consequences of a legal trade. We have to
ban the stuff, we have to enact strong internation-
al law and enforcement efforts.
Globally, a lot of effort is being made towards
continuing the ban on the trade. Even Hong Kong
has succumbed to the pressure. This January,
Leung Chun-ying, head of Hong Kongs adminis-
tration, announced plans to ban ivory trade. At a
press briefing held after the announcement, Leung
said, We will take steps to totally ban the sale of
ivory in Hong Kong... As to the matter of timing,
we will do it expeditiously, as quickly as we can, but
this will require legislative amendments and that
will be a matter for the Legislative Council.
The prices of ivory are already going down. In
Rather than December 2015, a new research to be published
being able by Save the Elephants, a UK-registered non-
to earn from profit based in Kenya, indicated that the price of il-
its ivory legal raw ivory in China has almost halved over the
stockpiles, past 18 months. The value of raw ivory in Beijing
had tripled in the four years up to 2014, reaching
Zimbabwe an average wholesale price of $2,100/kg, but by
spends November 2015 this had dropped to $1,100, as re-
$13 million vealed in the new study by experts on ivory mar-
every year on kets, say Lucy Vigne and Esmond Martin, authors
retrieving, of the study. This is because of the growing aware-
preserving, ness in China about the impacts of buying ivory
and the slowdown of the Chinese economy, say the
transporting
researchers in the study.
and storing it There is huge pressure on China too to ban ivo-
32 DOWN TO EARTH
22-32Cover Story.indd 32
ry trade and President Xi Jinping has already con-
stituted a working group to prepare an effective ivo-
ry ban policy. The government has apprised ivory
carvers and traders to exhaust their stock within
12 months. After that ivory permits wont be re-
newed, Li said. It means that the domestic market
of ivory in China will be abolished by the end of next
year. Li, however, says that such country-wise ban
will have a very limited or no impact on elephant
poaching. He points out that China and Hong
Kong might have huge stockpiles of ivory, but the
US and many European countries also have hun-
dreds of tonnes of ivory brought through trophy
hunting. Though US President Barrack Obama
has taken a tough stand on the trade of endangered
species, only three of the 50 states in the USNew
York, New Jersey and Californiahave banned it,
Li adds. This despite a recent US-China agreement
which, according to a White House press release
issued during Chinese president Xi Jinpings vis-
it in September 2015, says, The United States and
China commit to enact nearly complete bans on
ivory import and export, including significant and
timely restrictions on the import of ivory as hunting
trophies, and to take significant and timely steps to
halt the domestic commercial trade of ivory.
Li advocates for a complete global ban with
governments buying the entire stock of ivory to
put an end to elephant poaching. If China is se-
rious about the ban, it would buy the entire stock
of ivory from the market and donate it to muse-
ums. No ivory in the market will end ivory trade,
he says. He calculates that going by the current
price of ivory at $1,350 per kg, and adding inven-
tory and storage expenses, China will have to invest
$84 million to buy raw ivory and another $500
million to purchase carved ivory. These pieces can
be conserved in a museum as an educational ini-
tiative to teach children about wildlife crime and
how China ended it, Li adds. He advocates simi-
lar initiatives by all the countries.
Ivory is not used to make any life-saving
drugs. The only purpose is to carve statues and
make seals. There are already suitable alternatives
to ivory and I think totally banning ivory trade
should be the answer, says Jose Louies, Head,
Enforcement & Law Division, Wildlife Trust of
India. Ivory is not something without which we
cannot live and farmed ivory will only increase the
poaching, Edwards says.
This does leave the question of what is to be
done with the increasing elephant population in
the African countries that have successfully pro-
tected elephants.
@down2earthindia
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 12:24 PM
33Ion Exchange.indd 33 08/04/16 4:11 PM
 COVER STORY

HUNTER
HUNTED
Should the trophy hunter be driven to extinction?
IAN VORSTER
SORIT / CSE

34 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

34-36Cover package.indd 34 08/04/16 11:25 AM


A
BLACK RHINO in Namibia, a ma-
jestic elephant outside Gonare-
zhou National Park in Zimba-
bwe, and Cecil the lion: it
seems like 2015 was the year of
the trophy hunter. As western
society digested this shopping list of threatened and
endangered species, members of the scientific
community, conservation practitioners, hunting
associations and ecotourism operators continued
their acrimonious and long-standing debate aro-
und one question: should the trophy hunter be dri-
ven into extinction?
Now would be the time to answer that ques-
tionin December 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife
Service announced that lions are now protected un-
der the Endangered Species Act of 1973, something
that prevents the import of trophies to the US, the
nation that leads the market.
Wildlife filmmaker and photographer Dereck
Joubert runs camps in Botswanas Okavango Delta.
When asked what he considers to be the solution to
the problems faced by a nation like Zimbabwe, with
its recent abysmal conservation history, Joubert,
who is also the founder and chairman of the Nati-
onal Geographic Big Cats Initiative, said, Follow
the Botswana modelincrease high-value low-vol-
ume tourism; phase out high-volume tourism by
clustering it into limited areas; ban all big cat hunt-
ing, and let the species grow back; convert hunting
areas into ecotourism concessions; encourage do-
nor funding of parks and projects in parks.
The view that trophy hunting is detrimental to
species is also supported by a paper written by
Andrew Loveridge (the researcher who collared
Cecil) in which mortality among lions between
1999 and 2004 in Hwange National Park, Zimba-
bwes largest gaming reserve, was examined. The
study, published in Biological Conservation in
2007, was designed to measure the impact of sport
hunting beyond the park on the lion population
within the park. While hunting is not allowed in-
side the park, it is permitted in the safari areas that
surround it. The researchers tagged 62 animals
(male and female) and found that sport hunters in
the safari areas surrounding the park killed 72 per
cent of tagged adult males. That is unsustainable.
There is also the view that money earned from
trophy hunting can finance conservation efforts.
Johnny Rodrigues, director of the Zimbabwe Con-
servation Task Force, which carries out much of the
nature conservation responsibilities in the country,
says trophy hunting of lions might contribute to
16-30 APRIL 2016
34-36Cover package.indd 35
COVER STORY
conservation efforts if certain parameters are kept
in place, such as legal limits, buffers around nation-
al parks, no illegal baiting and more. But the prob-
lem is that before issuing hunting permits, you need
to know the wildlife population, and the govern-
ment doesnt have that information. It seems intu-
itive that if you are going to shoot an animal for its
cape, you want to know if that kill will hasten ex-
tinction of the species.
Paying to kill
Hunters have always said that they pay for conser-
vation. In support of this, the Safari Club Inter-
national has a link to a New York Times Op-Ed
posted on their website. Written by Tanzanias most
senior wildlife conservation official, Alexander N
Songorwa, the article says, Hunters pay $9,800
in government fees for the opportunity [to hunt].
An average of about 200 lions are shot a year,
generating about $19.6 million in revenue. All told,
trophy hunting generated roughly $75 million
for Tanzanias economy from 2008 to 2011. This
income supports conservation in 26 game reserves,
claims Sogorwa.
Markus Borner, former director of the Frank-
furt Zoological Garden, Germany, who oversaw It is not trophy
conservation programmes in Tanzania, comments, hunting that
It is not trophy hunting that is threatening the sur- is threatening
vival of lions in Africa. It is mainly the loss of habi-
the survival of
tat due to fast growing populations that is reducing
wildlife. Borner then drives home an essential ele-
lions in Africa.
ment of the hunting argument, Whatever one It is mainly
thinks about the moral of trophy hunting, the in- the loss of
dustry is essential if the large reserves are to survive, habitat due to
not just in Africa but also in Alaska. fast growing
Adri Kitshoff, ceo of Professional Hunters populations
Association of South Africa, says that the country that is
has an estimated 20.5 million animals that can be reducing
hunted, with the off-take through trophy hunting wildlife
in 2013 being just 0.002 per cent of that wildlife.
Although this generalises the differentiation of
species, Kitshoff emphasises, It just goes to show
how sustainable trophy hunting is in South Africa,
and how well our natural resources are being man-
aged. It creates incentives for our people to look
after our animals by negating competition with
wildlife for land
Communal benefits
Professional hunting associations are also quick to
mention communal programmes that benefit from
trophy fees. There are three primary examples
campfire in Zimbabwe, admade in Zambia, and
www.downtoearth.org.in 35
08/04/16 12:58 PM
 COVER STORY
the Communal Conservation Program in Namibia.
The director of Zimbabwes campfire pro-
gramme, Charles Jonga, says, Our information
shows that communities are receiving 55 per cent
of income directly from safari operators. We are un-
able to determine at this stage what the implica-
tions of this are on wildlife monitoring and protec-
tion... Some of this obfuscation may be due to
corruption, which has also been blamed on a histo-
ry of violence and colonialism.
Regarding the campfire figures, Vernon Bo-
oth, a wildlife conservation ecologist in Zimbabwe,
says, You will see that it is not that easy to arrive at
an amount that each individual in a community
would potentially receive. The number of people,
in the case of campfire, is often just too many
to make this meaningful. So, one has to define what
is meant by a community. Are there several tho-
usand people in a village, as in Tanzania and Mo-
zambique, or just a few families, as in Namibia
or Botswana?
So for the trophy-hunters fees to support con-
servation, the issue appears to be how to define
what is meant by community and then to devel-
op incentives at the community level to encourage
Shifting the conservation of wildlife. Has this been done?
ownership and The director of southern Africas World Wide
responsibility Fund for Nature, Chris Weaver, says yes. He points
to Namibias highly respected community conser-
over wildlife
vation programme. The market-based approach
resources to to conservation has dramatically altered the mind-
communities set of communities from animosity to that of
will cultivate embracing wildlife as a livelihood asset. Weaver
a sense of provides guidance to conservation partner organ-
proprietorship, isations for whom the term community normal-
provided it ly means just a few families.
offers more
than the So, what's the answer?
alternative Allow the trophy hunter to go extinct? Perhaps the
best person to answer that question is an African
form of land use
village resident. In an article published in The New
York Times on September 12, 2015, Jimmy
Baitsholedi Ntema says, Before, when there was
hunting, we wanted to protect those animals be-
cause we knew we earned something out of them.
Now we dont benefit at all from the animals. The
elephants and buffaloes leave after destroying our
plowing fields during the day. Then, at night, the li-
ons come into our kraals [cattle enclosures].
Shifting ownership and responsibility over
wildlife resources to communities, many of the spe-
cialists say, will cultivate a sense of proprietorship,
provided it offers more than the alternative forms
36 DOWN TO EARTH
34-36Cover package.indd 36
of land use. Michael H Knight, the chair of iucns
African Rhino Specialist Group and the director of
science for South African National Parks, offers a
concrete solution to the mess of corrupted coun-
tries, corporate concerns, and complicated caveats.
There is a need for certification of hunting conces-
sions to promote a better hunting ethic. I would
also push for the best possible value through some
sort of ticket system for lions, leopards, elephants,
buffalo and rhino, he says.
That would be similar to the Forest Stewar-
dship Council brand seen on many wood products
in the US, where certification ensures that products
come from responsibly managed landscapes.
Knight adds, By this I mean that the hunting asso-
ciations will only patronise those concessions, and
the professional hunters and outfitters that sign up
to the certification system.
Rosie Cooney, the Chair of the iucns Sus-
tainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group,
summarises, We need to move towards such a cer-
tification system, and we need the big, developing-
world based hunting organisations to show leader-
ship on this. Otherwise poor practices, corruption,
and unsustainability that plague some parts of the
hunting world, will completely tarnish the really
excellent examples of good practice. Currently, in
most areas where this high value tourist hunting is
active, there are no other land uses that make wild-
life, and wild areas as valuable to people as hunting.
If the hunting goes, it will hasten the vicious cycle
of persecution of wildlife, agricultural encroach-
ment, and de-gazetting of protected areas.
But not everyone is of the same view. Regarding
the role of revenue raised from trophy hunting, lion
researcher Craig Packer comments, Its a myth that
sport hunting raises enough money to conserve lion
habitats. A trophy lion costs about a million dollars
to protect through its life. Twenty hunters should
each pay $50,000 for a lottery tag to shoot one six-
year old maleif this isnt done, all the land set
aside for sport hunting will lose its lions in the next
20 years, so hunting will disappear anyway.And
the trophy hunter would follow.
It seems incongruous to have to roll this boul-
der of trophy hunting up the hill of western senti-
ment, when in effect the same Sisyphean task has
to be accomplished for all of biodiversity using eco-
system services, or with carbon trade-off plans for
climate change. As unpalatable as it might be, the
strategy needs consideration.
@down2earthindia
Ian Vorster is a freelance writer based in the US
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 12:58 PM
 SCIENCE
BYTES
www.downtoearth.org.in/science-and-technology ECOLOGY

Cloud of data
R E S E A R C H E R S H A V E interpreted

Vege mute! the popular phrase "every cloud has a silver

lining" in a new way. They used cloud cover
to identify threatened biodiversity. Clouds
A mutation in the genes of vegetarian influence factors such as rain, sunlight,
populations could increase the risk surface temperature and leaf wetness
that dictate where plants and animals can
of heart disease and colon cancer survive. The study found variations in cloud
cover sharply delineated the boundaries of
ecological biomes, including tropical cloud
forests that harbor many species not found
anywhere else in the world. Clouds also helped
better predict where specific species live.
PLOS Biology, March 31

BIOLOGY

Key to virus spread

V I R U S E V O L U T I O N differs by species
of mosquito carrier. That's the finding of
researchers who studied how the West Nile
virus has evolved. They infected four different
mosquito species with the virus and used
next-generation sequencing to characterise
virus populations within distinct tissues. The
greatest accumulation of mutations occurred
in the southern house mosquito, Culex
quinquefasciatus. Diseases transmitted by
mosquitoes, including West Nile, Zika, dengue
THINKSTOCK PHOTOS and chikungunya claim several million lives

C
ORNELL UNIVERSITY researchers have found evidence each year. Cell Host & Microbe, March 31
that a vegetarian diet over many generations among
PHYSICS
Indians has led to a mutation that if they stray from
a balanced omega-6 to omega-3 dietcould make people Trash the wash
more susceptible to inflammation, and by association, NANOTECHNOLOGY HAS thrown up an
increase the risk of heart disease and colon cancer. The amazing discovery. Researchers have
study found traces of a higher frequency of a particular developed a cheap and efficient method
mutation among a vegetarian population in Pune, when to grow special nanostructures, which can
compared to a traditional meat-eating population in degrade organic matter when exposed to
Kansas, usa. The mutation, called rs66698963, is an light. The discovery holds a range of
insertion or deletion of a sequence of DNA that regulates applications, including nano-enhanced
the expression of two genes that are key to making long textiles that can spontaneously clean
chain polyunsaturated fats. The insertion mutation may stains simply when put under a light bulb.
be favoured in populations subsisting on vegetarian diet. Advanced Materials Interfaces, March 23
Molecular Biology and Evolution, March 29

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 37

37S&T Bytes.indd 37 07/04/16 10:22 AM

 HEALTH
www.downtoearth.org.in/health

Sweet I
F YOU are a diabeticand there are about 65.1 million
diabetics in Indiaor have a family history of diabe-
tes, you would know that regular monitoring through

miracle
A cheap hand-held device that
does multiple tests accurately
and quickly could revolutionise
diabetic treatment
MEGHA PRAKASH
multiple tests is the key to fight the disorder. At present,
these tests are done in labs and they take at least 24 hours
to deliver the results. They are expensive too. Instant glu-
cometers only monitor blood sugar levels and are not al-
ways accurate.
But this scenario could change soon. A team of re-
searchers from the Indian Institute of Science (iisc), Benga-
luru, has engineered a device which could revolutionise di-
abetic treatment. The device can compute eight different
tests essential for diabetes management in a few minutes.
These tests include blood sugar, hba1c (which gives a trend
of what average blood sugar levels have been over a period of
weeks/months), haemoglobin, glycated albumin, microal-
buminuria, urine acr (albumin/creatinine ratio), urine cre-
atinine and serum albumin.

38 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

38-39Health.indd 38 06/04/16 4:30 PM

 COURTESY: PATHSHODH HEALTHCARE PVT LTD
Navakanta Bhat
(centre) holds
the PathShodh
device he
developed
along with
Gautam Sharma
(right) and
Vinay Chauhan
(left) at the
Indian Institute
of Science,
Bengaluru
The technology is non-invasive and do-
esnt require medical procedures like sample
preparation and storage. Using the device is
also simplea prick for a drop of blood that
has to be placed on a paper strip, and in less
than two minutes, the results flash on the
digital monitor.
Navkanta Bhat, the lead research-
er at the Centre for Nano Science and
Engineering (cense) at iisc, says the device
will help healthcare professionals, physi-
cians and, more importantly, individual
The technology is non-invasive and using the device
is simplea prick for a drop of blood that has to
be placed on the paper strip and in less than two
minutes, the results flash on the digital monitor
patients to monitor and manage their dia-
betes better.
To market the product, the researchers
have patented the technology and founded
a company, PathShod Healthcare Pvt Ltd.
The co-founders are Bhat, Vinay Chauhan
(who became a diabetic when he was
14-years-old) and Gautam Sharma. They
have also filed for a patent for the strip. The
device is pocket-sized and has a touch screen
display, just like a mobile phone.
Easy to use
Once the paper strip is inserted, the device is
automated to decipher what test is required.
The display screen then guides the user on
how to proceed. We are developing an ap-
plication for users having a smart phone,
adds Sharma. The application will be con-
nected to the database which will provide in-
formation on test results as old as one year.
This data can be mailed to physicians to fa-
cilitate easy follow ups.
Conventionally, approximately 5-6 ml
of venous blood is taken from the patients
and the blood sample is stored at an ambi-
ent room temperature. However, the Path-
Shodh device requires only a tiny blood drop
(less than 20 microlitre). Since the device
doesnt require sample preparation, no
chemicals and reagents are required. This
further cuts costs, Bhat told Down To Earth.
He says developing the test for albu-
min was challenging because it is a protein
and acts as an insulator, not allowing elec-
tric current to pass through it. Since our in-
vention is based on the principle of electro-
chemistry, we found it difficult. To resolve
the problem, we designed paper strips to
measure the metal ions that attach them-
selves to the protein molecule. The biomark-
er for testing this protein is directly propor-
tional to the amount of metal ions present,
adds Bhat. A diabetic needs to frequently
monitor albumin levels, a protein which if
found in urine, is an indicator of poor kidney
health. It can even cause kidney failure. At
present, albumin test results take at least 48
hours, and this device will reduce the time
period to a few minutes, adds Chauhan.
The current market rates for these tests
are expensive to say the least. While the rates
for blood tests vary across the country, test-
ing microalbuminuria could cost as much as
I500, urine acr test could cost I420 and the
hba1c tests costs I400.
The company plans to provide the in-
strument free to customers, so the only
cost is that of the strips. Each test is likely to
cost about I150 only. The price is likely to
dip further when the strips are manufac-
tured in bulk. The company is finding in-
vestors for this initiative. The manufactur-
ing of strips is now being done at iisc and a
new unit is being established.
Trials for accuracy
Instant glucometers in the market must
provide results that are within 20 per cent
of the laboratory standard 95 per cent of the
time. However, a number of factors affect
its accuracy. These include calibration of
meter, ambient temperature, pressure use
to wipe off strip, high levels of certain sub-
stances such as ascorbic acid in blood, dirt
on meter, humidity and aging of test strips.
Keeping these errors in mind, Bhats
team is busy testing the device. The re-
searchers say that the device is accurate as
results show a plus-minus 20, which is a
gold standard accepted worldwide. The
device is being tested by S S Srikanta of the
Samatvam Endocrinology Diabetes Center
in Bengaluru. Srikanta, who has been test-
ing the PathShodh device for the past five
months, says this device will be very useful in
every healthcare situation, especially in re-
mote clinics and primary healthcare centres.
Sharma says the device will be available
through hospitals and physicians but will
not be immediately available as an over-
the-counter product. The researchers re-
cently demonstrated their device during
the Festival of Innovation at Rashtrapati
Bhavan in New Delhi.
@megha_prakash

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 39

38-39Health.indd 39 06/04/16 4:31 PM

 SCIENCE
SPACE
www.downtoearth.org.in/science-and-technology

A new awakening
When India
T
HOUGH THE sun marks the differ- failed to grow. In Ireland, a famine and a
ence between a habitable world subsequent typhoid epidemic killed 65,000
launches its maiden and a barren wasteland, we are on- people, says Bill Bryson in A Short History

Aditya-1 Mission, ly beginning to understand the var-

ious dynamics of our parent star. The yellow
it will further ball of gas that brightens up our days (and
nights) shapes the physical processes on
illuminate our Earth and sustains our foodchain. Earths
of Nearly Everything.
More than 20 international space mis-
sions are trying to understand suns struc-
ture and composition. Now India is gearing
up to launch its maiden mission, Aditya-1,

understanding of climate is governed by the sun and the suns

variability is a hotly debated issue in climate
the sun science. For instance, the Little Ice Age of
1816 was the result of a mere one degree fall
JIGYASA WATWANI in global temperatures. 1816 came to be
known as the year without summer. Crops
which will be launched in 2019-2020. More
than 50 solar scientists from 10 institutions
across the country are working round the
clock to shield us from the impacts of unru-
ly space weather and suns variability on
Earths climate. When Aditya-1 is launch-

BRUNO CAIMI

40 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

40-42Space.indd 40 06/04/16 4:07 PM

 Sun surfing Light alight
What other sun missions are
Prototype of India's Aditya-1; what its various trying to find out
components will study, and why

SUIT
VELC
HEL1OS 1995
NASA/ESA
SOLAR AND HELIOSPHERIC
OBSERVATORY (SOHO)

PAPA SOHO changed our understanding of the

sun, from a static object to a dynamic
beast. The mission is now studying sun's
ASPEX
interior, solar wind and solar corona

2006 SOLAR TERRESTRIAL

RELATIONS OBSERVATORY
(STEREO)
NASA
Aims to understand the causes
and mechanisms of coronal mass
SoLEXS ejections and how they propagate
through the heliosphere

ASPEX: Will study the variation, distribution and spectral characterstic of solar wind HINODE
WHY: Solar wind can affect our power lines, communication satellites and high NASA/JAXA/ESA*
altitude spacecraft Intends to study the magnetic
VELC: Will study the parameters of the solar corona and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) activities on the photosphere
WHY: CMEs can collide with Earth's magnetic field and change its shape and its effect on the corona
SUIT: Will image the photosphere and chromosphere in UV range
WHY: A better understanding can help us keep track solar flares emanating from the photosphere
SoLEXS: Will monitor X-ray flares to study the heating mechanism of the corona
WHY: Energy from X-ray flare can disrupt radio waves, causing blackouts in navigation and
communications signals
2011
NASA/ESA
SOLAR DYNAMIC
OBSERVATORY (SDO)

PAPA: Will study the composition of solar wind and its energy distribution Has been to be able to send data
WHY: Solar wind can disrupt communication and navigation satellites 24 hours a day. The mission aims
HEL1OS: Will observe the dymanic events in the corona and estimate the energy used to to study the solar magnetic field
accelerate the particles during the eruptive events
WHY: An estimate of the energy can help us shield ourselves in an effective and timely manner

ed, India will join a select group, which in- outstanding problems of solar physics, says
cludes usa, Japan and the European Space Karnik (see Sun surfing).
Agency, that have sent missions to the sun. We are in the process of designing the
2015 INTERFACE REGION
IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH
(IRIS)
payloads. Aditya-1 will be launched from NASA
What Aditya-1 will study Sriharikota, an island off Sullurupeta, a sm- The mission is studying solar wind as well
Our primary objective is to study the solar all town in Nellore district, Andhra Pra- as understanding energy transport from
the photosphere to the corona
corona, processes leading to changes in it, desh, Karnik says.
and to understand what heats the corona. The other institutes working on Aditya-1
Observations of suns photosphere, chromo- include the Indian Institute of Astrophysics,

2018
sphere and corona are also possible, says Bengaluru, which is working on the Visible SOLAR PROBE PLUS
Deviprasad Karnik of the Indian Space Re- Emission Line Coronagraph (see interview), (TO BE LAUNCHED)
search Organisation (isro), which is leading the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmeda-
the mission. bad, which is working on the Aditya Solar NASA
The corona is the outermost layer of the Wind Particle Experiment and the Vikram
The proble will go as close as we have
ever gone to the sunone quarter of the
suns atmosphere, preceded by the chromo- Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapu-
distance between us
sphere and photosphere respectively. The ram, which is working on Plasma Analyser
mission will provide a multi-pronged holis- Package for Aditya.
* NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
tic approach to understanding some of the When the mission was first conceptual- JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; ESA:
European Space Agency
16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 41

40-42Space.indd 41 06/04/16 4:07 PM

 INTERVIEW
`Aditya-1 will
take images
every second'
D
IPANKAR BANERJEE of
the Indian Institute
of Astrophysics (IIA),
Bengaluru, which is one of
the institutions working on Mission
Aditya-1, speaks to Down To Earth
What specific area of the mission is
the IIA working on?
IIA is making the Visible Emission
Line Coronagraph (VELC), which
is one of the main
payloads. Coronagraph
creates an artificial
total solar eclipse in
space by blocking the
sunlight by an occultor.
This telescope will have
capabilities of spectral
imaging of the corona
in visible and infra-red.
We are in phase 1 of
the mission. Design and review are
almost complete.
What is going to be the payload
capacity of the mission?
The coronagraph is the biggest
payload occupying 60 per cent
of weight of the instruments on
board Aditya-1. Using this payload,
we want to study the dynamic
changes in the sun.
How is Aditya-1 different from
previous missions to the sun?
Aditya-1 is a multi-wavelength
observatory which will look
at different layers of the solar
atmosphere. Aditya-1 is different in
many ways. Take NASA's STEREO.
It has two coronagraphs and one
imager. The coronagraphs on board
STEREO take images every 10
minutes, and probes only at the outer
corona. Aditya-1's VELC, on the other
hand, will look at the inner corona
and will take images every second.
42 DOWN TO EARTH
40-42Space.indd 42
ised in 2008, its launch was envisioned to
coincide with solar maximaa period of in-
tense sun activity that occurs every 11 years.
However, it was later decided that the satel-
lite would be placed in a halo orbit around
lagrangian point 1, which is 1.5 million km
from Earth (where a satellite can maintain
its position with respect to other bodies).
The initial concept was to put the corona-
graph payload in a small satellite in an 800
km low Earth orbit. Aditya-1 is an updated
version of the original Aditya mission with
six additional payloads, adds Karnik.
The advantages of placing the satellite
in a halo orbit are many. Situated outside
Earths atmosphere and magnetosphere, it
remains unaffected by Earth. A halo orbit
also ensures that there is no occultation for
the spacecrafts line of sight. Moreover, a sat-
ellite placed in a halo orbit experiences much
less mechanical and thermal disturbances,
and is, therefore, more stable.
What past missions have found
Other sun missions have added gravity to our
understanding of the sun. The Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (soho), a collab-
oration between the European Space Agency
and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (nasa), celebrated its 20th
anniversary on December 2, 2015. soho
changed our popular view of the sun from a
picture of a static, unchanging object in the
sky to the dynamic beast it is. It showed us
what we had never seen before. We realised
we need more eyes on the sun, says Bernhard
Fleck, a project scientist with soho.
This gave birth to a plethora of space-
based solar observatories: Hinode, the Solar
Dynamics Observatory (sdo), the Interface
Region Imaging Spectrograph and the Solar
and Terrestrial Relations Observatory. nasas
sdo has been recording the suns dynamic so-
lar activity since its launch on November 2,
2011 (see Light alight).
The scientific objective of the sdo mis-
sion was to understand the lifecycle of the so-
lar magnetic field. We wanted to understand
how the suns magnetic field is generated,
how it moves around the sun, and how it is
destroyed. With this understanding, we sou-
ght to develop the science needed to predict
solar activity, says Dean Pesnell, a project
scientist with sdo.
Predicting solar activity assumes imm-
More than 50 solar
scientists from 10 institutes
across the country are
working to shield us
from the impacts of
unruly space weather
and sun's variability on
Earth's climate
ense significance. On the night of Sep-
tember 2, 1859, the world woke up to red,
green and purple auroras that had erupted
nearly everywhere on Earth and not just at
the poles where they are a characteristic
feature. Telegraph systems were disrupted
as the world witnessed its first recorded so-
lar flare, also known as the solar storm of
1859. And as recently as on July 23, 2012, a
solar storm, touted to be as strong as the
one in 1859, was predicted. Fortunately, we
missed it by a weekEarth had moved
ahead in its orbit.
Disruptions in the solar atmosphere and
surface can also cause a flurry of solar activi-
ty that affects space weather. A better under-
standing of the sun can also help in aeronaut-
ics (high-altitude aircraft exposure to
radiation), astronautics (radiation threat to
astronauts and spacecrafts) and technology
infrastructure development (effects of radi-
ation on communication satellites).
As new frontiers in scientific enquiry are
being conquered, they are only throwing up
more questions. The next frontier in our un-
derstanding of the sun is to measure its polar
regions with the same instrumentation we
use near the equator. At present, we have very
few measurements from above the poles,
says Pesnell. Better predictions will lead to
a more cost-effective response. Power plants
that will be affected can be isolated; satellites
can be tuned to power off sensitive high-volt-
age components, and, astronauts in deep
space can get into a safe shelter before the
danger arrives, adds Pesnell.
Aditya-1 will hopefully reveal, among
other things, why the solar corona heats up
to temperatures of a million degrees or so,
much higher than the visible outer layer of
the suns surfacethe photosphere. Fin-
dings that will unlock the secrets to our un-
derstanding of our parent star.
@jigyasawatwani
16-30 APRIL 2016
07/04/16 11:57 AM
 Advertisement

43 APRIL30 2016
43USIEF ad.indd 43 08/04/16 4:11 PM
 COLUMN
H E D G E H O G TA L E S RAKESH KALSHIAN

The rise of the machines

Artificial Intelligence is riding on both hope
and fear. Here's why

L
AST MONTH a computer program called AlphaGo telligence. So, for problems that require sorting out and
took on one of the greatest players of the complex interpreting gobs of data, such as managing peak-hour
board game, Go, and beat him four games to one. traffic, or making sense of census data, smart algorithms
Lee Sedol, the South Korean Go master, lost $1 mil- should be our go-to thing. But when it comes to making
lion, offered as prize money by Google, the challengers policies or laws on complex subjects like nuclear power
proprietor. But, more momentously, his humbling has or juvenile crimes, it is best to leave AI out of the picture.
taken the battle of wits between machines and humans At the other extreme, some Cassandras fear that AI
to yet another level. could potentially turn into a Frankenstein nightmare.
To be sure, this isnt the first time software has got Critics say its merely a trope exploited by sci-fi writers,
the better of an exceptionally clever human. In 1997, but there are valid anxieties over AIs military applica-
ibms Deep Blue had checkmated Garry tions. Even physicist Stephen Hawking
Kasparov, the erstwhile world chess believes that AI could spell doom for hu-
champion. Deep Blue triumphed be- man existence. In cue with such con-
cause its brute computing power enabled cerns, some people have started creat-
it to dive deep into chess archives and ing moats against such Trojan horses.
quickly come up with the most winna- DeepMind, Googles AI arm and devel-
ble move. AlphaGo too exploits the same oper of AlphaGo, for instance, has put to-
processing agility and thick memory but, gether a safety and ethics board to ensure
unlike Deep Blue, it is also groomed to that such technologies are not hijacked
be an autodidactit can become smart- for evil designs. All of this may sound a
er by playing against itself and, just like bit fantastically alarmist, especially fears
we do, commit that learning to memory, about robots enslaving us, but make no
thus creating a primitive analogue of hu- mistake: wittingly or unwittingly, we
man experience or intuition. are already caught in the ever-expand-
Many have dubbed AlphaGos victo- ing web of AI software. What are Google
TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
ry as spectacularly precocious and path- search and maps, if not one of the many
breaking. They believe that algorithms like AlphaGo will tentacles of this web?
eventually make human tasks and skills that entail trawl- The trouble is that some of this software is so efficient
ing through and parsing reams of data, such as diagnos- and smart that before we know it, we are hooked. For in-
ing disease, predicting weather or even detecting art for- stance, anyone who relies on Google maps for directions
geries, easier and more accurate. while driving would be totally lost without it. That said,
However, some observers, though in a minority, are isnt that generally true of our relationship with technol-
not euphoric about artificial intelligences (AI) latest ogy? It is almost always a trade-off between aesthetics
poster boy. They contend computers were in any case de- and ethics on the one hand, and economics and efficien-
signed to excel in solving complex puzzles like chess and cy on the other.
Go, and as they become more powerful and their algo- Besides, we are too intellectually arrogant to brook
rithms cannier, machines will eventually make humans any challenge from even other species, let alone ma-
pass in data-heavy tasks. But luckily for us, a majority chines, which, ironically, are products of the same hu-
of human endeavours require unprogrammable traits as brisKasparov blamed ibm of foul play while Sedol
empathy, ethics, esprit de corps, and irrationality. vowed never to play against a machine. Burton suggests
American neurologist Robert Burton believes it is a graceful way out of this Catch-22: Rather than fret-
unhelpful to pit AI against ours. Instead, he proposes that ting over what sources of pride machines will take from
we should humbly concede that AlphaGo is a new kind of us, we should focus on those areas where man alone can
intellect, though utterly devoid of moral or emotional in- make a difference.

44 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

44Column.indd 44 07/04/16 10:22 AM

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45Triveni ad.indd 45 apr30,16 Down To Earth4:1245

08/04/16 PM
 WS O
P ER
CLI ADL E
R EAP R
OTRH
T D AY

TREE TALE
As one billion people in 192 countries pledge to do their bit to save trees
this Earth Day on April 22, the conflict between human habitats and
trees becomes clearer. Tree growth is condusive in wetter and warmer
regions, which even humans prefer. As a result, trees are now forced
to grow in dry regions such as the American West

1 Density plot

91,000 Density plots

Global tree cover

Map highlights the eco-regions from which the 429,775

ground-sourced measurements of tree density were
collected. Shading indicates the total number of plot
measurements collected in each eco-region. A global forest
map was overlaid in green to highlight that collected data
span the majority of forest ecosystems on a global scale.
A tree is defined as a plant with woody stems larger than Number of trees per person
10 cm diameter at breast height Deforestation and changes in
land-use patterns are the major
Prepared by DTE-CSE Data Centre
Infographics: Raj Kumar Singh; Analysis: Rajit Sengupta reasons for the loss of trees
Data source: Mapping tree density at a global scale report, published in
Nature on September 10, 2015. For more such infographics visit:
www.downtoearth.org.in/infographics

46 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

46-47World earth day.indd 46 08/04/16 11:30 AM

 749.3 Before cities were born
(1,200 years ago)

6.5 trillion 1.3 million

The number of trees when humans Trees per person
started to settle in cities

Today's story

3.04 trillion 429

The number of trees in the world today Trees per person
53.0
64.6

2.6
3 6
15 billion
4
53.
8.2

.3
Boreal forests
Deserts

60

.6
s
ssland

Trees lost every year due to

150
s
rove

deforestation and land-use changes

gra forest
a
Mo iterra Mang

.3
ed gr

ds

148
an

f
n

lea
ssl
nta nea
Flood

d
roa
b fer
oni
ne

ra te c
e
pe erat sslands
d

22.2
Me

m
T Temp te gra
e
pera
Tem pical coni
ferou
s
156.4
Tro ry
Tropical d
Tropical grasslands
318.0
Tropical moist
Tundra
94.9 799.4

Trees in major terrestrial biomes (in billions)

FALKLAND* INDIA SINGAPORE SAUDI ARABIA MALDIVES

282,900 28 Less than one
*British overseas territory

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 47

46-47World earth day.indd 47 08/04/16 11:31 AM

 GOOD NEWS

Flush W HEN BHANUMATHI'S son got married, she faced a

strange situation, which threatened to divide her
family. Her daughter-in-law left the house as she
simply refused to defecate in the open like her

with
mother-in-law. We are not economically well-off and could not
bear the expenses of constructing a toilet, confesses Bhanumathi,
a resident of Sellipalayam village in Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil
Nadu. Help came in the form of a microfinance programme of

finance
Microfinance is helping
poor people construct toilets
in Tamil Nadu
RASHMI VERMA | tiruchirappalli
Microfinance has increased the bargaining power of women, who are
typically more interested in bringing sanitation home
Gramalaya, a non-profit, which provides loans for constructing toi-
lets. Her daughter-in-law has now returned home, and the family
is now living a dignified life.
Bhanumathi is not alone. Over 73 per cent of rural Tamil Nadu
defecates in the open. The construction cost is a major deterrent for
poor people. It equals our monthly income, says Trirathimala of
Chettikulam village in Tiruchirappalli district. Realising this crit-
ical gap in providing sanitation, Gramalaya started a microfinance
programme, the Gramalaya Urban and Rural Development Initia-
tive Network (guardian) in 2007 and targeted womens self-help
groups (shgs) . Women play a very crucial role in decision-making
in any household. The mobilisation of shgs helped reduce physical
and emotional barriers to avail commercial credit and increase in-
vestment in sanitation facilities, says M Elangovan, executive di-
rector of Gramalaya.

GRAMALAHYA

48-49Good news.indd 48 06/04/16 4:31 PM


RASHMI VERMA
Though ECOSAN toilets are expensive, they generate excellent fertiliser and conserve water
The establishment of guardian has
helped mobilise funds so that individual
linkages between shgs and local banks for
toilet construction are strengthened. Gram-
alaya provides community mobilisation and
facilitation support, and sanitation loans are
disbursed by guardian with technical sup-
port from non-profits such as Water.org
and Basix.
Jayshree, who is among the 70 commu-
nity health educators working with Gram-
alaya, says, A maximum loan of up to
I14,000 is given as per the requirement
of the borrower. The beneficiary has to
return a monthly installment of I980 (vari-
able with loan taken) for 18 months with an
interest rate of 18 per cent. The repayment
rate is 98 per cent. The beneficiaries, main-
ly women, are selected on the basis of their
age, whether they either own the house or
have land, and whether they are physically
challenged.
The impact has been telling. Within a
year, Thathaiengarpet block in Tiruchira-
ppalli district was declared open defecation
free. So far, 56 of the 404 panchayats in the
district have been declared open defecation
free. Though guardian offers various kinds
of loans, including water, biogas and water
16-30 APRIL 2016
48-49Good news.indd 49
purifier loans, it received the maximum
number of applications for sanitation loans.
Of the 70,595 loans disbursed by guardian
till 2015, 45,055 were for constructing toi-
lets (see Sanitation surge).
Eco models
But providing sanitation loans is just a part
of Gramalayas interventions. To ensure the-
se toilets are integrated with nature, the
non-profit is promoting two eco-friendly
toilet modelstwin-pit toilets and ecosan
toilets. Though ecosan toilets are expensive,
they generate excellent fertiliser that help
increase crop productivity. It also conserves
water. The quality and quantity of our crops
have improved as we use compost from the
ecosan toilet, says Kamalaveni of Naras-
ingapuram village.
In Kavalkaraipariyom, Tiruchirappalli
district, twin-pit toilets have been con-
structed. These toilets have a prolonged life
cycle and are cost-effective. The faecal slu-
dge is converted to compost or biosolid and
can be used to enhance the fertility of the
soil. Both toilet models are highly decentral-
ised in terms of operation and maintenance
and have been appreciated by the people in
the region.
Sanitation surge
Over 60 per cent of loans
disbursed by GUARDIAN were
for constructing toilets
Water loans
Sanitation loans
Other loans (biogas, water purifier, etc)
12,000
10,000
Number of loans
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Source: Compiled from annual reports of GUARDIAN
Andy Barebery, an economist with the
University of Massachusetts, usa, who has
been closely working with Gramalaya, feels
there are strong externalities to sanitation.
Microfinance increases the bargaining po-
wer of women, who are typically more inter-
ested in improving sanitation facilities, says
Barebery. Theres always a huge response
from the community during microfinance
exercises, says S Mohanmed Sheriff, proj-
ect director with Gramalaya.
One of the most significant outcomes of
microfinance for sanitation is that with the
availability of capital, women have got em-
powered, and they take keen interest in
utilising the loan for sanitation.
Gramalaya is now expending its work in
286 slums that come under the Tiru-
chirappalli City Municipal Corporation
(tcmc). It is also planning to construct 1,000
toilets each month in the villages of Tiru-
chirappalli in collaboration with WaterAid,
Acumen, and the tcmc. This success of this
initiative shows that microfinance can help
fill critical gaps in the sanitation sector. But
more importantly, the initiative has provid-
ed self-respect to the marginalised. Like
Bhanumathi, who was able to save her sons
marital life.
www.downtoearth.org.in 49
06/04/16 4:31 PM
 REVIEW

Cultural calling
Henrich attempts a thrilling adventure in the fierce
interplay between genes and culture in human evolution
RAKESH KALSHIAN

The Secret of Our Success: How

Culture Is Driving Human Evolution,
Domesticating Our Species, and
Making Us Smar ter Joseph Henrich
Princeton Universit y Press | `1,491 (hardcover)

A
ABOUT FOUR million years ago, an ape that walked on two natural selection has conferred special cognitive abilities on us that
legs emerged in eastern Africa. It had brains only slightly are coded into our genes, most notably with respect to two skills:
bigger than a chimpanzee, but its freed fore limbs meant working memory and information processing and scheming in a
it could do things that its quadruped cousins couldnt Machiavellian world. The first is self-explanatory. The second
wield a sharp stone to cut flesh, for instance. Over the next two alludes to the view that our brains grew bigger and we smarter in a
million years, the capricious chisel of nature and chance sculpted sort of arms race in which individuals competed in an ever-
this new ape into our earliest ancestor. Eventually, about 50,000 escalating battle of wits to strategically manipulate, trick, exploit,
years ago, this early human gave rise to its modern vintage, who at
some point left the African shores and gradually spread across the
world as the preeminent human species by the sheer dint of its
intelligence. Or so the story has been told a countless times over, each
adding its own embellishment. But the main arc of this standard
narrative has remained largely unaltered ever since Darwin pub-
lished The Descent of Mannatural selection or genes shaping our
brains, which, in turn, fashioned our behaviour and culture.
Joseph Henrich in his provocative book, The Secret of our
Success, dares to unsettle this evolutionary doctrine. Collating
findings from a melange of disciplines like anthropology, palae-
ontology, behavioural economics, and psychology, he seeks to make
culture as the centrepiece of our evolutionary history. He claims that
ever since the first ape stood up, genes and culture have been
engaged in an intricate evolutionary tango. Even more audacious,
he posits that while genes were the dominant partner for the first
few million years, once we became a cultural species, which is around
one million years ago, it is culture that has been leading the dance.
Henrich, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, de-
fends his hypothesis by asking fundamental question: what makes
us smart or unique? He then provides the mainstream theorys
answers, and then one by one, picks holes in them. Take the most
common one: we are smarter simply because we are more intelligent.
Henrich refutes this view citing a landmark study that found no
difference between adult apes and toddlers in cognitive skills related
TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE

to space, causality, and quantity, despite toddlers having much larger

brains. In fact, in some tests the apes did much better. The only skill
in which the toddlers beat the apes had to do with social learning.
Another conventional explanation for our smartness is that

50 DOWN TO EARTH

50-51Book.indd 50 07/04/16 10:24 AM

 www.downtoearth.org.in/reviews

and deceive each other.

EXCERPTS
Henrich offers two much-cited studies that pitted chimpanzees
against university students and found that humans didnt exhibit a
significant edge. In Henrichs view, this simply suggests that THE KEY to understanding
although we are an intelligent species, we are not nearly smart how humans evolved and
enough to account for our species ecological success. For instance, why we are so different from
he cites the chilling saga of how an expedition of British explorers, other animals is to recognize
headed for the Arctic, perished when marooned on an island. An that we are a cultural species.
apparently superior brain, that can build advanced technologies like Probably over a million
a ship, was useless when it came to surviving in an unfamiliar setting. years ago, members of our
Henrich contrasts this with an equally incredible story of an evolutionary lineage began
aboriginal woman who found herself stranded all alone for 18 years learning from each other
on her island-village 70 km off the Los Angeles coast. Since she had in such a way that culture
grown up on the island, she had the skill-set to survive against the became cumulative. That is,
odds. Through these stories, Henrich wants to drive home the point hunting practices, tool-making
that our ecological pre-eminence stems less from our larger brains skills, tracking knowhow, and
or superior intelligence and more from our social and cultural ability edible plant knowledge began
to learn, cooperate, and adapt in a challenging environment. to improve and aggregate
He then unravells how humans became a cultural species with by learning from others
brains biased in favour of learning from others, and how culture so that one generation could
leaves an imprint on our bodies and minds. For instance, he argues build on and hone the skills
that complex cultural traits, such as respect for elders, or affinity for and knowhow gleaned from
ones community are reflections of a mind shaped by genes that the previous generations.
nature has selected over eons. Conversely, he cites three well- After several generations,
documented cases in which he believes the spread of certain cultural this process produced a
practices may have engineered genetic changesthe appearance of sufficiently large toolkit of
practices and techniques that
individuals, relying only on
their ingenuity and personal
experience, could not get
anywhere close to figuring
out over their lifetime. We will
see myriad examples of such
complex cultural packages,
from Inuit snow houses,
Fuegian arrows, and Fijian fish
taboos to numerals, writing,
and the abacus.
Once these useful skills and
practices began to accumulate
and improve over generations,
natural selection had to
favour individuals who were
better cultural learners,
who could more effectively
tap into and use the ever-
expanding body of adaptive
information available. The
newly produced products of
this cultural evolution, such
as fire, cooking, cutting tools,
clothing, simple gestural
languages, throwing spears,
and water containers,
became the sources of the
main selective pressures that
genetically shaped our minds
and bodies. This interaction
between culture and genes,
or what I'll call culture-gene
coevolution, drove our species
down a novel evolutionary
pathway not observed
elsewhere in nature, making
us very different from other
speciesa new kind
of animal.

blue and green eyes in some people living around the Baltic sea for
whom cereals was the main staple; the probable link between the
expansion of rice farming and the spread of a new gene that breaks
down alcohol more efficiently in the liver; and, the huddling of genes
favourable to lactose tolerance among Europeans.
While one is impressed by his attempt to rewrite the story of
human evolution with culture as the main protagonist, culture is so
humongous, complex and nebulous a concept that at the end of it,
one feels more seduced than convinced. At times, he is even guilty of
making presumptuously sweeping propositions such as prestigious
people are often generous, or that lower-status individuals tend to
admire and imitate prestigious individuals more than dominant
ones, or that elders lose their prestige in rapidly changing societies.
Still, The Secret of Our Success is a bold and thrilling theoretical
adventure into the borderland between genetics and culture. More
importantly, it is a welcome harbinger for future collaborations
between science and social science on the ever-contentious yet
fascinating subject of culture.

www.downtoearth.org.in 51

50-51Book.indd 51 07/04/16 10:24 AM

 The skyline of Delhi looks beautiful through the window of the metro train, giving it the `world
CLASSROOM class look'. But a city is not about its skyline only. It's about the residents as well. People
come to this city from different places and slowly develop a sense of belonging to it.But not
everyone is fortunate to get a place in the formal city.

Life in informal
cities
Do slum dwellers feature in the
grand plan of smart cities?
SORIT GUPTO A vast number of people are forced to live in the informal city, the slums .
According to the Census 2011 data, over 65 million Government data acknowledges that slum But they lack basic civic services like safe drinking
people in India live in slums. The number will swell dwellers participate in the workforce at a water, sanitation, solid waste management and
to 104 million by 2017. higher rate than the urban average. street lighting.

The Census defines a slum as a residential area where Civic bodies do not provide the required municipal
dwellings are unfit for human habitation. services in slums.
Slum dwellers also face social burdens and health problems 12 Dec '15-Ramvilas was unloading the Ramvilas knows its meaning. He ran towards
worse than their non-slum and rural counterparts. cement bags in Shakoorbasti Cement yard. his hut in the nearby slum.
Devastation of slum by fire is as common as the
Oh No
not again!!!

ravaging of a slum by bulldozers by the civic autherities to

free the state land of illegal encrochment. As It had Everything was usual till he heard a voice, What he saw on reaching there was a number
happened in a slum near the Shakurbasti cement yard. Masheen aaya! Masheen aaya! of bulldozers.
Smashing and demolishing his home, his slum, Even media persons covering the event Thousand families were left homeless.
destroying and flattening whatever came under their were not spared.
mighty wheels. Somewhere in this
rubble were my
belongings, my home.

And a large contingent of police force chasing away the The residents were allowed to return Like other people of the slum, Ramvilas had no clue
residents trying to save their belongings. only in the evening. about what to do.

52 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

52-54Comic strip.indd 52 07/04/16 10:25 AM

 We unload cement Kuddus is from Alamnagar-Lakshmania
If you want ...talk to in Madhepura district of Bihar. He is one
bags from railway to know our This slum is our ...For five thousand people
bogies and load them plight... Kuddus bhai of the oldest inhabitants of this slum only shelter. And there is just one water tap.
onto trucks... look how we are No electricity , no toilets
I have been Nothing is left living... nothing.
here since
1978. in the village.
My Indira Awas
home has been
snached away We steal water
by puncturing nearby
municipal water
pipeline!

Another labourer said Cement decays our

Every time we built
our homes government legs and hands. We
smashed them with the don't have any medical
bulldozers fecility
Most of us
have breathing
Don't we have problems, even TB We live in
the right to cement, we die
have a roof becuase of it
above our
heads?

Women are the main victims. After the demolition

drive on 12th December, Government had sent water tankers for a
Rajina Khatun, a resident, says
railways distributed couple of days. Then tankers stopped
food packets comming. We have no water to drink, let
Demolitions
are not new alone to meet our other daily needs
for us.

Usman, a lobourer, said Living with double-edged sword

I have been
living here
since it was a We have nothing
For fear of to eat. How can we
mere sapling bulldozers earn without work?
we can't
go to work
This tree is more
fortunate. Unlike us
at least it is allowed
to develop Its root
over here

16-30 APRIL 2016 www.downtoearth.org.in 53

52-54Comic strip.indd 53 07/04/16 10:25 AM

 After the uproar over the death of a kid Resident Arun Kumar shows identity cards provided to
during the demolition drive, state lent the residents of the slum by different state authorities
a hand of support, temporarily
We are provided
with candles as
well
What's the use of these
cards when we can
be rendered homeless
any time?

Shamsuddin, son of a labourer, studies in

We made Delhi Till a few days ago I had a jhuggi (hut) of my Class XII
Metro, we made own. Now I have an orange plastic sheet with
this city by carrying some writings over it, our only identity !
cement on our My home was
backs. And see what demolished
we are geting in just
return. before my
Don't we have a exams.
stake in this city ?

Slum is limping back to life Muhammed Mustkeem weaves The metro line passes near the slum. It
I appeared for bamboo sticks, rebuilding his hut looks like the fence deviding two sections,
exams without
one devoid of any civic aminity and the
any books or Don't know for
how long other enjoying the metro.
notes
my new hut will
be safe from
the bulldozers.

I was on my way back, leaving behind slum residents to face the Delhi cold in the open, with the help of just of
candle. Smart cities are the talk of the town. I wonder whether our policymakers have any marked space for the
people like Kuddus, Rajia Khatun and Ramvilas in their grand plan?
I tried to spot the slum but
nothing was visible from
inside the metro.
Just like the answer to this
simple question.

54 DOWN TO EARTH 16-30 APRIL 2016

52-54Comic strip.indd 54 07/04/16 10:25 AM

 COLUMN
PAT E N T LY A B S U R D L AT H A J I S H N U
Competitive policies
The Ericsson case highlights the uneasy interface
between competition policy and patent law
T
HERE IS an uneasy interface between competi-
tion policy and patent law, an inherent tension
between these regulations. While patent laws
give the inventor or the patent holder a monop-
oly by preventing the copying or imitation of patented
goods, competition policy regulations, on the other hand,
seek to ensure a fair market behaviour by barring rights
holders from abusing their dominance of the market.
Finding the right balance between competition pol-
icy and patent rights is sometimes not easy and courts
are frequently brought in to adjudicate in disputes where
patent holders rights infringe on the operation of a free
and fair market. The core principles of the system have
been broadly framed by the government to ensure that
the system simultaneously fos-
ters innovation and remains
consistent with fair market rules.
There is also the question of pub-
lic interest which is best illustrat-
ed by the ability of companies to
access and use standard essential
patents (sep). These are basical- RITIKA BOHRA / CSE
ly technologies which have been
accepted as standards to be uniformly accepted and im-
plemented across various countries in order to ensure
uniformity as with wireless standards for 3G, WiFi or
Bluetooth. If a patent is deemed essential to a stand-
ard it means that every company that is in the business of
making such devices requires a license. This gives owners
of seps huge market power and many countries regulate
it by requiring that holders licence their patents on Fair,
Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (frand) terms.
In India, domestic smartphone manufacturers
Micromax and Intex had complained to the Competition
Commission of India (cci) that Ericsson, holder of seps,
was abusing its dominant position by demanding ex-
cessive royalties and refusing to be transparent about
its licencing terms. In January 2014, cci had found pri-
ma facie evidence that Ericsson was abusing its market
dominance and ordered an investigation into its prac-
tices. However, Ericsson challenged ccis jurisdiction.
16-30 APRIL 2016
55Patently Absurd.indd 55
Justice Vibhu Bakhru has now dismissed the challenge
stating categorically that there is no irreconcilable re-
pugnancy or conflict between the Competition Act and
the Patents Act. As such, the jurisdiction of cci to enter-
tain complaints of market abuse against patent holders
cannot be taken away.
Significantly, the judge also held that provisions for
compulsory licensing (CL) under the patents law did not
take away the jurisdiction of cci to look into complaints
of market abuse. Under the Patents Act, companies like
Micromax or Intex that have been denied license at rea-
sonable terms can seek recourse to CL. On its part, cci can
pass orders in any case where there is abuse of dominant
position by a company. The court found that the two pro-
visions are not mutually exclu-
sive; that is, grant of one is not
destructive of the other.
The ruling is important
for its clarity on another is-
sue which has led to legal tan-
gles. Bakhru said if there is an
investigation underway by cci
against a patentee, then the
Controller of Patents can consider it if it is considering CL
applications. However, if cci has found a patentees con-
duct to be anti-competitive, the Patent Office would have
to compulsorily consider it while giving its final order.
Legal experts say in high-tech industries, patents
are used strategically to saddle new entrants to the mar-
ket with higher costs to gain access to technology. This
is done through tough licencing norms or by throwing
a patent thicket around critical inventions. While none
of this is wrong in law, it circumscribes competition and
impacts the consumer, specially where seps are involved.
There have been several high-profile disputes over seps
such as the Samsung-Apple case. Negotiations between
the two broke down over what amounted to a fair and
reasonable royalty-rate for seps. Samsung then applied
for injunctions, leading to a messy legal row.
Bakhrus clear ruling should prevent any further con-
fusion on the jurisdictions of these laws.
www.downtoearth.org.in 55
07/04/16 5:58 PM
 OPINION

THE LATERAL
PUSH
India must think in parallel
because extreme weather events
both known and unknownare
becoming the order of the day
J HARSHA

T
HE CONTRAST is striking. Over 90 per cent of Rotterdam in the
Netherlands sits below sea level whereas 100 per cent of Chennai,
Mumbai and Kolkata sit either above or at sea level. Yet, Rotterdam
is considered safer than Chennai, Mumbai or Kolkata. Why? Be-
cause bands of smart dykes and computer-controlled massive floating arms,
constructed by the visionary and gritty Dutch, bind Rotterdams shorelines,
keeping away the storm surges from invading the port city. On the other
hand, Chennais, Mumbais or Bengalurus stormwater and drainage infra-
structure crumbles every time there are incessant rains, drowning major
parts of the cities. Though extreme events strike western countries too, they
rarely transform into large-scale disasters. Images of the recent floods that
submerged Chennai have not faded out of public memory.
Twenty five years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(ipcc) made its first scientific climate change assessment and confirmed
global rise in mean temperatures and sea-levels. It predicted that rise in
global mean temperatures and associated shifts would lead to extreme hy-
drological events in the 21st century. Since the first ipcc report, many inter-
national agencies have come up with various scientific studies on climate
change so that governments mitigate the impacts of extreme events. While
the Dutch, Germans, French and Americans have taken this science seri-
ously and taken action to protect their citizens, Indians either view these
studies as science fiction or have just confined the science of climate change
to reports, advertisements, seminars and symposiums.
The country has failed to focus on the mitigation and adaptive meas-
ures to various extreme weather events. As a result, coastal cities like Chen-
nai, Mumbai and Kochi continue to march closer towards the shorelines,
when they should have, instead, moved away from the sea. Similarly, cities
like Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi are encroaching upon vital flood-
plains, making residents vulnerable to extreme events.

The `unknown' extremes

But consider the paradoxes. Till recently, Chennai was synonymous with
water scarcity. Yet the city is hailed as the pioneer in rainwater harvesting

56 DOWN TO EARTH

56-57Opinion.indd 56 07/04/16 5:42 PM


Water scarcity isn't the
only dimension in water
management as the Chennai
floods showed. Nor is
water-abundance the only
dimension in Cherrapunji
SORIT / CSE
56-57Opinion.indd 57
with a remarkable 90 per cent coverage. The record rainfall during Novem-
ber/December last year exposed the gaping holes in Chennais water man-
agementclogged drains and dysfunctional rainwater harvesting struc-
tures. Decades ago, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya used to be the largest
recipient of rainfall in the world. Today, it is facing a severe water scarcity.
These paradoxes expose Indians penchant for serial thinking, even as ret-
rospective debates regarding adaptation to extreme events rage across the
media. The blame game is ubiquitous, but all in hindsight.
Worse, this regressive blame game continues unabashedly despite re-
curring warning signals about extreme events, like the 2011 floods in
Odisha, floods in the Northeast in 2012, the Uttarakhand flood fury in 2013
and devastating floods of Jammu & Kashmir in 2014. Academic institu-
tions such as the Indian Institute of Technology and National Institute of
Technology have become elitist, focusing merely on academic excellence in
water managementagain a serial thinking mindset. This approach is con-
trary to the parallel thinking of many world class institutionslike the
National University of Singapore, TU Delft and unesco-ihe in the
Netherlands and the University of California in the USthat have collab-
orated their innovations with governing bodies so that their work benefits
the common person on the ground.
El Nio driven events have given rise to new extremes. Gradually, more
people are now waking up to the new reality of this unknown extreme
the reality that water scarcity isnt the only dimension of water manage-
ment, as was illustrated in the case of the Chennai floods. And on the con-
trary, water abundance is no longer the only dimension in Cherra-punji. So,
there is an urgent need to shift towards a parallel thinking to better under-
stand the unknown extremes.
What needs to be done?
Coastal cities should halt development towards shorelines before sea levels
rise further causing devastation to life and property. Development strate-
gies should be diversified so that the focus shifts from major metros to small-
er towns and cities. Authorities must prepare for any eventuality by keep-
ing reservoirs desilted; by decongesting drains and pipe outlets; and by
reviving rainwater harvesting structures.
But cities remain vulnerable as authorities are stuck in a serial mind-
set. Groundwater has already been overexploited and can no longer guar-
antee water during a drought. Therefore, water conservation, including re-
cycling and reuse of water, improving the efficiency of water management
agencies, and, improving water governance and delivering efficient water
services should be given a priority.
More importantly, India needs to shift focus towards the unknown ex-
tremes through higher investments in r&d in the water sector. It must in-
crease engagement between government agencies and academic institu-
tions. There must be development of technology and innovation on a par
with the western world. Now with the flood season behind, a severe season
of water scarcity is staring at us. The faster the administration learns les-
sons from the impacts of unknown extreme events like the Chennai floods
or the Cherrapunji water scarcity and takes lateral decisions, the better it
will be for common people and their quality of life.
The author is Director, Central Water Commission.
The views expressed in this article are personal.
@infoharsha75
www.downtoearth.org.in 57
07/04/16 10:26 AM
 LAST WORD
CIVIL LINES R I C H A R D M A H A PAT R A
Indian lessons for Dilma Rousseff
Brazil's handling of its social programmes amidst a
political crisis will have immense ramifications
O
NE AND a half years ago, this column argued
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi must
learn a few lessons from the election of Brazi-
lian President Dilma Rousseff (Brazilian les-
sons for Modi, Down To Earth, 15-30 November, 2014).
Like Modis predecessor, Manmohan Singh, Dilma faced
widespread corruption charges even though her govern-
ments social programmes were appreciated across the
world. Such programmes helped close to 20 million poor
Brazilians escape poverty.
Her narrow victory margin made one thing clear:
an effective delivery of social
programmes can sway votes in
ones favour, despite the anger
of middle class voters who alw-
ays treat government assistan-
ce to the poor as anti-growth.
At that time, this column sug-
gested Modi shouldnt tinker
with social programmes like
the Mahatma Gandhi Nati-
TARIQUE AZIZ / CSE
onal Rural Employment Guar-
antee Act (mgnrega) that could work as an electoral
cushion in case of dwindling popularity. In other words,
dont treat development spending as anti-growth.
The current situation, in both India and Brazil, and
for the respective executive heads, convincingly prove
that. First, lets look at how the situations for Modi and
Rousseff have changed. Modi, for close to one-and-a-half
years focused on economic growth and made it clear that
the erstwhile Manmohan Singh governments vast devel-
opment programmes were not yielding results and were
not contributing to economic growth. But after he lost
major state elections, in the last budget, he painted his
government in pro-poor colours with significant alloca-
tion for agriculture and rural development. He made a
public declaration: Money for the poor shouldnt be
termed as anti-growth.
Rousseff, on the other hand, is facing her worst po-
litical crisis: there is even a threat of her removal
58 DOWN TO EARTH
58Last word.indd 58
through impeachment. Corruption cases against her
government rival those of Singhs, like the huge corrup-
tion in the allocation of coal mines. Brazils economy is
fast slipping into an abyss. There are protests across
the country against her government. Nobody talks
about the social programmes that bridged the gap be-
tween rich and poor. The middle class has virtually per-
petuated this perception: corruption and huge social
spending have wasted public money which, in turn,
have contributed to the decline of the economy.
Now, should Rousseff take lessons from Modi?
Notwithstanding the corruption
charges against her government,
nobody should doubt the impacts
of her social spending on reducing
poverty. Perhaps, cowed down by
the country-wide sentiment agai-
nst her, she has not been able to
mount a public campaign to pro-
ject her achievements.
But the threat is more disturb-
ing: the re-distribution principle is
being questioned. Any development messages from di-
verse countries like India and Brazil are accepted with
credibility. And if a government is thrown out on this ba-
sis using democratic procedure, it further adds value to
such a perception. A new government coming to power
in this context will tend to spend less on the social sector,
like the Modi regime did until the last budget.
Interestingly, such a shift always gets the approval from
the global economic fraternity who have sold the growth
rate as the sole parameter of well-being.
Modis recent turnaround is a lesson for not just
Rousseff, but any leader representing a developing coun-
try. Modis re-focus on the social sector is not just an elec-
toral trick, but also a pragmatic economic decision. If the
majority rural people dont spend, the national economy
is not going to grow. She may be thrown out of power or
be re-elected, but how she handles the situation, and her
focus on social spending is going to be her legacy.
16-30 APRIL 2016
08/04/16 11:25 AM
 A Down To Earth ANNUAL

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