National Budget: Will It Address Climate Change Concern?

India has just joined trillion dollar GDP club just before the usual Finance Minister’s budget speech this year. The fifth consecutive budget presentation by the incumbent finance minister (FM) P Chidambaram is itself a rare achievement which was only rivaled by his present Prime Minister. When Dr. Manmohan Singh was finance minister, the Congress party government then, didn’t worry about the Earth Summit or climate change but just opened the Indian market for the west (waste!) world to plunge into it.

Avilash Roul

A New Dimension of Water Conflict in Orissa: Industry vs Agriculture

While water war syndrome is being contested in the internatioanl security discourse, the real water conflict remains as an active flashpoint within the national boundary. On November 6, 2007 some 30,000 farmers stormed Hirakud reservoir on Mahanadi River in Sambalpur in Orissa. The reason is water from the reservoir originally meant for irrigation, is being increasingly given to industries. The mass agitation was faced with police high-handedness injuring many. The November agitation has a state wise political ramification.

Ranjan K. Panda

India Needs a Coherent Climate Change Strategy

For the Indian climate crusaders the year 2007 has become more important for three reasons. First the entry of climate change as an agenda item to United Nations Security Council on April 18. Now, the Nobel award for Peace to the scientific community - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice-President Al Gore for making people aware of climate change. It’s argued that after the prestigious award, the issue would become everybody’s business to know, manage and resolve it.

Avilash Roul

Myanmar: Quest for Nuclear Energy and Concerns

The Cold War mindset is difficult to fade away. With the announcement of designing and building the nuclear energy centre in Myanmar by Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the US has raised concerns about the peaceful nature of Myanmar’s nuclear energy programme. The proposed 10 megawatt light water reactor has attracted international attention to Myanmar. The negotiation for acquiring the nuclear technology between Russian Agency and Myanmar was shelved since 2003 due to certain payment problems.

Dr. Pankaj Kumar Jha

Beyond Tradition: Securitization of Climate Change

All over the world, environmentalists and green activists are jubilant. Even, renowned international environmental organization Greenpeace is thrilled for its nomenclature when the climate change has officially ‘securitized’ at the United Nation. But, traditional war theorists or security experts have kept an eerie silence over the historic development of re-emergence of concept of ‘environmental security’. Beyond its tradition, on April 17 the UN Security Council (UNSC) debated the impacts of climate change and its linkages to international security for the first time in history.

Avilash Roul

Bauxite Mining: Threatened Eastern Ghats of India

Since decades the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government has been trying hard to unearth the vast bauxite reserves in the Eastern Ghats despite campaigns and protests from the tribal community. The tribal communities believe that bauxite mining would not only render thousands of tribal people homeless, it would also sound the death-knell for the cultural diversity of the community and the endemic biodiversity of Eastern Ghats. Instead, the state government is in a hurry to sign agreements with private firms for bauxite mining.

Srinivas Ganjivarapu

The Baglihar Verdict: Brighter Days Ahead for J&K?

There has been much ado over the neutral expert’s verdict on the Baglihar Hydel Project (BHP). For over sixteen years, the 450 Mega Watt (MW) BHP on the Chenab River in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan. After holding five meetings – in Paris, Geneva, London, Paris & Washington; visiting the project site including its hydraulic model at Roorkee University and examining the written and oral submissions made by both parties, the final report of the neutral expert has given the BHP the ‘go ahead’.

SEEMA SRIDHAR

Solar Energy: Alternative to Combat Energy Insecurity in India

With a growing economy, an increasing population, India’s energy demands is mounting. The household sector is the largest consumer of energy in India, accounting for 40-50 percent of the total energy consumption in the country. In rural areas, the domestic sector accounts for nearly 80 percent of total energy consumption. It has been estimated that with the current rate of consumption, India would require over 450 million tones of coal, 94 million tones of oil and 220 million units of electricity by 2006 to sustain its energy needs.

Shikha Bisht & Biswajayee Patra

Impending Ecological Anarchy: Orissa will turn into a Barren Land!

The eastern Indian state of Orissa will turn to a mass of barren and desert like lands in another 150 years, warned Water Initiatives Orissa (WIO). This is an alarming finding considering that the whole world is observing this year as the year of deserts and desertification with the theme, "Let's stop dry lands from turning deserts". Desertification is a process of productivity loss of lands. When severe, it leads to permanent damages.

Ranjan K Panda