csd news (vol.3, issue 1&2) (final)

21
  Newsle tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2  Chair for Sustainable Developmen t, IGNOU “INSPIRING CHANGE ENHANCING VALUE”  June 2010 Volume 3, Issue 1&2 Chair for Sustainable Development, IGNOU organized the la un chi ng cer emony of book "Science and Sustainable Food Security" written by Pr of. M. S. Swaminathan. Add re ssi ng the audience, duri ng the la unch of hi s book Pr of . Swaminat ha n emph as iz ed th e import ance of fo od secu ri ty in controlling the malnutrition in India. He emphasized the importance of foo d sec uri ty and discussed the issues related to it. The country faces a formidable task on food production, and there is a need to impl emen t re commen da ti ons of th e Na ti on al Commissi on of Fa rmers (NCF ). Thes e pr ovide a roadma p to stre ngthen th e ec ol ogical-economic foundations for sustainable advances in productivity and  production and impart an income orientation to farming, hel pin g bri dge the gap bet wee n pot ent ial and act ual yields and income in farming systems. The NCF has urge d the spre ad of conse rvat ion and clima te-r esili ent far min g. A con ser vat ion-cu lti vat ion -co nsu mpt ion - commerce chain shoul d be promoted in ever y bloc k. This wi ll call for tec hni cal and ski ll upg rad ati on of farming practices, and IGNOU should play a proactive role in it. The country has to shift from viewing food secur ity at the aggregat e leve l to ensur ing nutr ition - security at the level of each individual. A sustainable food security system can be developed only with home- grown food, not imports. He added that there is much to learn from the past in ter ms of the eco logica l and soc ial sus tai nab ili ty of technologies. At the same time, new developments have op en ed up ne w opportu ni ti es for de ve lo pi ng tec hno logies whi ch ca n lea d to hig her pro duc tivity wi thout adve rs e impa ct on na tura l re sour ce ba se . Blending traditional and frontier technologies leads to the birth of eco-technologies with combined strengths in CSDnews 1 June 2010 CSDnews  Sustainable Development in Action Defining Food Security for the Nation

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Page 1: CSD NEWS (Vol.3, Issue 1&2) (Final)

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   Newsle

tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2economics, ecology, social and gender equity,

employment generation and energy conservation. He

also reiterated “that our country was facing manychallenges - primarily among them is the land, which has

 become a shrinking resource for agriculture. We can't

even think of sustainable development without

 preserving our water, climate and biodiversity. Scientists

have a great role to play in this, especially in the use of appropriate technology for enhancing the environment.

They should not just predict, but shape the future".

Prof. Swaminathan announced the launch of eight new

  programmes by CSD, IGNOU. These include

 programmes on Sustainability Science, Climate Change,Population and Sustainable Development, Biodiversity,

Wetland Management, Sustainable Management of 

Ganga, Himalayan Ecosystem and Sustainability Audit.

Honorable Vice Chancellor, IGNOU,

Prof. V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai in his deliberations

commented that, "The country needs to focus on

nutrition; food security and education, the rest of the

things will automatically fall into place. Any country

which has focused on these three has becomeempowered. This was the main rationale for starting the

Chair for Sustainable Development in 2007, under the

able leadership of Prof. Swaminathan."

The book ‘Science and Sustainable Food Security' is

dedicated to Dr. Norman Borlaug; who along withSwaminathan was at the forefront of the scientific

achievements that led to the Green Revolution, which

  provides a roadmap for achieving sustainable

agricultural advance and food security in an era of 

climate change and global economic meltdown.The book showcases a number of methods of linking

ecological security with livelihood security, and provides

a scientific basis for entering an era of bio-happiness

  based on the sustainable and equitable use of 

 biodiversity. It also describes the methods of adaptation

to the impact of global warming.

Through the Chair for Sustainable Development,

IGNOU is disseminating awareness and information to awide spectrum of scientists, environmentalists,

administrators, social scientists, policy makers and

enlightened corporate sectors on the urgent need to put

sustainability in the centre of all their endeavors.

*****

Prof. M.S. Swaminathan released the book “Science and

Sustainable Food Security” which is authored by him at

a time when the Government is at the preparatory stage

of introducing a bill on “National Food Security”. He

reflected upon issues related to Food Security and

advocated for implementation of recommendations of 

the NCF, and urged for climate-resilient farming. A

sustainable food security system can be developed only

with home grown food, not imports. The book provides a

roadmap for achieving sustainable agricultural advance

and food security in an era of climate change and global

economic meltdown.

The article on “Nutrition Security and Sustainable

Development” once again reminds us about the nutrition

for survival, health and development for current and

succeeding generations of a nation. The article in the

issue inferences that the global and Indian evidence

indicates that high level leadership is needed in order to

make major improvements in nutrition, health and

development areas.

The second article on “Sustainable Development of 

Groundwater resources in India” reveals that due to

highly variable nature of climate, groundwater has

 become a popular alternative source for irrigation and

domestic water use across India. To reserve thegroundwater resources for current and future generation

sustainable groundwater management should be given

more stress and proactive measures to be initiated to

cope up with the potential impacts of climate change.

There is an immediate need to open more dialogue and

 bring more awareness amongst the masses on this.

CSDnews 2 June 2010

Editorial

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but 

not for man's greed – M K Gandhi

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   Newsle

tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2Apart from the above, our “Green News” column deals

with the aspects of 1) Rise in Carbon Emissions, 2) More

 birds in list of threatened species, reveals new study, 3)

shrinking glaciers to spark food crisis.

Looking for your valuable suggestions and

feedback on this issue.

*****

Dear Sir,

This is to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your 

letter dated 02.05.2010 enclosing therewith a copy of 

your recent publication of Volume 2 and Issue 4 of “CSD News”. I have gone through this and found it very

informative and useful.

With warm regards

Yours sincerelyProf. S.K.Thorat

ChairmanUniversity Grants Commission

Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg

 New Delhi - 110002

*****

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you very much for sending CSD News. I found it

interesting and full of good ideas. I was struck 

 particularly by your quote from Mahatma Gandhi "There

is no way to peace: Peace is the way". That is how Iunderstand your Figure 2 : the arrows not meaning a

casual relationship, let alone a necessary sequence of 

events, but rather the way in which the items in the

figure might fit together under the conditions of peace.

At the same time the quote should not make one forget

that currently we are not in a state of peace, and thus

how to get there is a serious problem.

All the best

Sincerely,

Professor K. Kortmulder,

Former Head of Ethology Division,

Dept of Biological Sciences,University of Leiden,

The NetherlandsEmail:[email protected]

*****

Dear Sir,

me. I further would like to add a few points which I

think might be useful for you. I would like to add that if 

 possible please add a database of alumni so that there

can be a network that can be formed by the

networking opportunities. Furthermore a few more writeups and pictures would certainly be appreciated.

Sincerely,

Your Environmental Friend,

 Nisheeth SrivastavaProgram Director 

Green Zone Conservation SocietyC-222,Lohia Nagar,

Ghaziabad-NCR, Delhi, India

Email:www.unitedgreenzones.com

[email protected]

*****

Dear Sir,

First of all, I wish to convey my hearty congradulations

to Prof. P.C.Kesavan for having been conferred the

 prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award for 2008-09.

CDS news is truly educational and informative news

letter on sustainable development. I am very happy to

understand through the news letter that IGNOU andMSSRF have jointly started Coastal Community College

to impart knowledge pertaining to the coastal areas to thefishing community. I am sure, this will go a long way in

the knowledge empowerment of the fishers.

The article written by Prof. G A Nair has related peace

and nonviolence to sustainable development very well.

Compilation of important international observances in

the months of October, November and December of the

year 2010 in the “Do You Know” section of the newsletter is valuable.I enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for sending the

same.

With kind regards,

Ramesh, A.M

#523/41, III Cross, 10th Main,

CSDnews 3 June 2010

Reader's view

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves - David Orr 

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2Karnataka

Email: [email protected]

 *****

Dear Sir 

I was glad to read the copy of CSD News which youkindly sent me. I found the article on “Peace, non-

violence and sustainable development” pleasant and

enlightening. I wonder how a scientist could write so

well on a human subject.

With kind regards and best wishesYours sincerely

 

Professor K.J. Jaleel

Formerly Vice Chancellor, Calicut University

E-mail: [email protected]

*****

ARTICLE

 Shashi Prabha Gupta *

*Nutrition Consultant, Former Technical Adviser (Food and Nutrition Board), Ministry of Women and Child 

 Development, Government of India

 Nutrition is an essential input as well as a key indicator 

of development. While good nutrition is the material

 basis for human resource development of a country,nutritional indices are important indicators of national

development. According to Prof. Amartya Sen,

 prevalence of underweight in children under 5 years is

the most sensitive indicator of development.

Nutrition and Health

 Nutrition is an issue of survival, health and developmentfor current and succeeding generations. Nutrition and

health are two sides of the same coin. Good health is the

ultimate objective of nutrition and nutrition is a vital

component of health. Recent scientific evidence reveals

that foetal and early childhood nutrition impacts the

health and development of human beings throughouttheir life span. Children born under-weight have

impaired immune function and increased risk of diseasessuch as diabetes and heart disease in their later life.

Malnourished children tend to have lower I.Q. and

impaired cognitive ability thus affecting their school

 performance and then the productivity in their later life.

Such an important relationship between nutrition and

development is yet to be widely acknowledged to have

adequate influence in policy making.

Importance of Nutrition

It is rightly stated that the strength of a nation in 21 st

century is determined not by its military force but by thenutritional well being of its population. The nutritional

health of a population represents its national economic

asset. The achievement of national goals depends upon

it. The importance of nutrition for human resource

development, productivity of the population and

economic growth of a nation is increasingly being

recognized by economists all over the world. Thenutritional status of a community particularly of its

vulnerable groups comprising of infants and young

children, expectant and nursing mothers and elderly has

 been recognized as an important indicator of national

development. The high levels of malnutrition particularly among children and women are directly or 

indirectly associated with high morbidity and mortality

rates such as infant mortality rate, mortality under-5

years, maternal mortality rate, and life expectancy at

 birth – all of which are indicators used for measuring the

development of a country in the present age. The

 problem of malnutrition has, therefore, to be seen in a  proper perspective. It is only in recent years that the

 problem of malnutrition has gone beyond the fields of 

 public health and welfare services and has assumed a

wider dimension. Possibly for the first time the dangers

of malnutrition have now been accepted as definite

impediments in the national development of the country.In fact, it is now accepted at the highest policy-making

level that the effects of malnutrition are so widespreadand having tentacles on every sphere of human life that

all efforts for total economic development will bear no

fruit if the menace of malnutrition continues unabated. It

would be unwise to consider the problem as just the

sufferings of certain segments of the population in

certain regions of the country from the effects of 

nutritional deficiencies. The problem is much deeper 

needing consideration in a very much wider sphere. The

real question is how far malnutrition is a drain on the

economic resources of a nation and how these can be

 plugged to achieve the desired development goals. Infact, nutrition and health are now accepted as important

 parameters of development.

Millennium Development Goals

At the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 

2000, world leaders placed development at the heart of 

the global agenda by adopting the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDG). The Goals set clear targets

for reducing poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease,

CSDnews 4 June 2010

Nutrition Security and Sustainable Development

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2discrimination against women and environmental

degradation by 2015. Out of the eight Millennium

Development Goals, nutrition is crucial for theachievement of the first six, namely:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

Achieve universal primary education.

Promote gender equality and empower 

women. Reduce child mortality.

Improve maternal health.

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other 

diseases.

Economic growth alone is unlikely to besufficient to significantly lower the prevalence of 

malnutrition – it will certainly not be sufficient to meet

the MDG target of halving the prevalence of 

underweight children between 1990 and 2015. Only by

rapidly scaling up health, nutrition, education, and

infrastructure interventions and improving their 

effectiveness can this target be met.

  National strategies for the Millennium DevelopmentGoals must include a commitment to women’s right to

education, reproductive health services, property

ownership, secure tenure and labour force participation.

Empowerment of women in particular to make decisions

relating to food, nutrition and feeding practices is

extremely important for achieving the goal of sustainable

development

Nutrition Security

The FAO in 1983 stated that food security means

“ensuring that all people at all times have both physical

and economic access to the basic food they need”. The

World Bank (WB) took this definition forward in 1986

to assert that, food security is “access by all people at alltimes to enough food for an active and healthy life”.

Today, food security concerns include not only the

 problems of physical availability of food stocks as well

as economic and physical access to food stocks, but also

  biological utilisation of food consumed. That is,environmental conditions such as availability or 

otherwise of safe drinking water and sanitation as well as

nutrition practices and knowledge that can help or hinder 

the absorption of food into the body form part of the

more inclusive contemporary conception of food

security.

In the 1990s, there were significant efforts to define and

identify the nutritional requirements of people as well asemphasis on the importance of a balanced nutritious diet

in ensuring overall food security. One of the most

important observations of the nutrition security debate

has been that, “people’s food security (i.e. their physical

and economic access to nutritionally adequate food) does

not automatically translate into their nutritional

wellbeing. Nutritional disorders, including

undernourishment, do not necessarily disappear oncefood security has been achieved. In addition to having

access to foods that are nutritionally adequate and safe,

 people must have:

• Sufficient knowledge and skills to acquire, prepare andconsume a nutritionally adequate diet, including those to

meet the needs of young children;

• Access to health services and a healthy environment to

ensure effective biological utilisation of the foods

consumed; and• Time and motivation to make the best use of their 

resources to provide adequate family /household care

and feeding practices” (FAO, 2000)

An individual’s actual nutritional status is thus

determined by a number of interrelated factors, of whichfood security is only one. The term ‘nutrition security’ is

used to describe the condition of having access to all the

food, health, social, economic and environmental factors

necessary to achieve nutritional well-being, in

accordance with the prevailing cultural context .

However, it needs to be reiterated that attaining food

security in terms of just physical and economic access to

food is a necessary condition for attaining the moreholistic state of food security that subsumes nutrition

security.

The definition of food and nutrition security derived by

the FAO in the Rome Declaration on World Food

Security in 1996, states that food security exists when

“all people at all times have physical and economic

access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their 

dietary needs and food preferences for an active andhealthy life”.

Today, the Nutrition Security is broadly defined as“physical, economic and social access to, and utilization

of, an appropriate, balanced diet, safe drinking water,environmental hygiene, and primary health care for all”.

The following three aspects underlie mostconceptualisations of food and nutrition insecurity – 

• Availability – the physical availability of food

stocks in desired quantities, which is a function of 

domestic production, changes in stocks and imports aswell as the distribution of food across territories.

• Access – determined by the bundle of 

entitlements, i.e., related to people’s initial endowments,

what they can acquire (especially in terms of physical

and economic access to food) and the opportunities open

to them to achieve entitlement sets with enough food

either through their own endeavours or through State

intervention or both.

• Absorption – defined as the ability to  biologically utilise the food consumed. This is in turn,

related to several factors such as nutrition knowledge

and practices, stable and sanitary physical and

environmental conditions to allow for effective

 biological absorption of food and health status.

Role of Food and Non-Food Factors

The problem of malnutrition is no longer considered a

result of food deficiency or as a health problem but

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Maln

 

 Newsle

tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2recognized as a multi-faceted problem interfering with

all efforts for development of human resources. A

striking feature in the manifestation of malnutrition isthe convergence phenomenon, convergence of poverty

and unemployment, of disease and illiteracy, of rapid

 population growth and of environmental degradation.

These in turn are linked to cultural factors, economic

distortions, human inequities and social injustices. Thedeterminants of malnutrition are, therefore, many – 

including besides the food factors, the non-food factors

also such as health care, hygiene, environmental

sanitation etc. which have an important bearing on the

nutritional status of the people. Increased food production is a necessary condition but not sufficient in

itself to ensure nutrition for all.

The role of non-food factors is just as important, e.g.

“immunization” breaks the dangerous partnership

  between malnutrition and infection while family

 planning enhances the nutritional well-being of families.

Supplementary feeding of children suffering from

diarrhoea or an infectious disease will not have any benefit on their nutritional status unless the child is

treated for diarrhoea or the infectious disease. There is

increased loss of nutrients from the body during

infection/ diarrhoea. Similarly, sound storage practices at

the village level to minimize post harvest losses of food

grains, sound infant feeding and child caring practices

are equally important non-food factors for nutrition

 promotion of the people.Malnutrition is a multi-faceted problem having tentacles

on different spheres of human life. Low food

consumption, poor caring practices, poor sanitary and

environmental conditions and restricted access to health

services contribute to malnutrition which in turn

adversely impacts on physical and cognitivedevelopment of children, school performance, work 

output, returns on investment in education resulting in

 poverty, low productivity and low income as illustrated

in Fig. 1. Thus, malnutrition and poverty make a viciouscycle which demands a frontal attack on malnutrition for 

eradicating poverty.

Achieving food security for all, reducing the number of 

under-nourished people to half by 2015 and meeting the

 basic nutritional needs of the people are the three planks

of the Rome Declaration on World Food Summit, 1996.

Incidentally, all the three goals are common to the

mandates advocated by the National Nutrition

Policy(1993) and the National Plan of Action of  Nutrition (1995) adopted by the Government of India..

Looking into the various causes of food insecurity and

the vulnerable population affected by it, it would not be

wrong to say that the policies and programmes of all

development sectors should aim at achieving food

security for the people, particularly for the vulnerable

segments, namely women and children.Malnutrition being a multi-faceted problem requires

inputs in various areas namely agriculture including

horticulture, public distribution of food, food processing,

health and family welfare, education, rural and urban

development, panchayati raj, information and

  broadcasting, tribal affairs, social justice andempowerment, women and child development, public

 private partnership, nutrition surveillance, nutrition of 

tribals etc. Making nutritional outcome an explicit

objective of each of the concerned sectors holds promise

for accelerated reduction in malnutrition levels.  Theglobal and Indian evidence indicates that high level

leadership is needed in order to make major 

improvements in nutrition, health and developmentareas. In addition, only a high level inter-agency

coordination mechanism can help integrate nutritional

concerns in sectoral policies and programmes.

The successive Five Year Plans of the country

 particularly the Ninth, the Tenth and the Eleventh Five

Year Plans have given high importance to achieving

food and nutrition security in the country. There is a

separate chapter on Food and Nutrition security in the

Plan documents which covers mandate for the nutrition

sector. A number of nutrition related programmes are being implemented by different sectors of the Govt. like

the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Mid

Day Meal (MDM) scheme, Public Distribution System

of Food (PDS) etc. This is enough testimony to the fact

that India is totally committed to achieving food and

nutrition security for its people.

A continuous education of public for nutrition

  promotion is required. Investment in nutrition wouldneed to be viewed as investment for human resource

development, higher economic productivity, food and

nutrition security and national development.

Sustainable Development

A well nourished, healthy workforce is a preconditionfor sustainable development. At the same time, the

nutritional well being of a population is a reflection of the performance of its social an economic sectors; and to

a large extent, an indicator of the efficiency of national

resource allocation.

In order for a national social and economic development

 programme to be successful and sustainable, the majority

of the population should be able to participate in the

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 920 920 921 926 926 926 928 929 928 930 932

7321 72127433

7690

8070

8489

90079242

9647

100671025

853

1353

1990199119921993199419951996199719981999200

Income Growth vs. Infant

Survival

Infant survival (Number reaching the age of one per 1,000 live births )Income (per capita income in Rs)

(Source: Selected Socio –economic Statistics, India 2001 and Sample)

Registration System

   Newsle

tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2  process. Therefore, the majority of the population

should be in good health and have good nutritional

status.Malnutrition undermines investments in education,

health and other development sectors. When human

 potential and resources are trapped in the vicious cycle

of malnutrition, development goals and improved

standards of living will not be realized.Sustainable development is one where people are

empowered to take care of their nutrition and health so

that they are productive, free from physical and mental

ailments and are contributing to the socioeconomic

development of the nation.Investing in human development needs to be bolstered

  by much larger donor contributions even before

economic growth takes hold. Because better health and

education are both goals of human development and

  precursors to sustained growth, investments in these

areas are important for a later take off in private

activities. Supported by additional donor resources,

 public investments can make major progress in health, population, nutrition, education and water and sanitation.

The needed technologies are well known and well

 proven. Thus big gains in health and education can - and

should - be achieved well before per capita income rise

substantially. A graph on Economic Growth vs Infant

Survival given below reveals that income growth is no

guarantee to improve health indicators like infant

survival, and hence, investment in nutrition and healthmust receive priority without waiting for the economic

growth.

The ‘Report on the State of Food Insecurity in Rural

India’ brought out by the M.S. Swaminathan Research

Foundation, Centre for Research on Sustainable

Agriculture and Rural Development and the World FoodProgramme, the Food Aid Organization of the United

 Nations in December, 2008 has identified 7 indicators

for assessing food Insecurity. These are:

% population consuming <1890 Kcal / cu /

diem

% ever married women (15-49years) who are

Anaemic

%households without Access to Safe Drinking

Water 

% Women (15-49 years) with Chronic Energy

deficiency

% Households without Toilets within the

Premises

% Children (6-35 Months) who are Anaemic

% Children (6-35 Months) who are stunted

Sustainable development requires meeting the major 

needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to

satisfy their aspirations for a better life.

From the foregoing it is apparent that nutrition indicators

would be the most appropriate indicators for sustainable

Development. The following flow chart further 

illustrates it.

‘Nutrition’ as a National Development Agenda

Recognizing the important link between nutritionsecurity and sustainable development, it is imperative

that malnutrition is articulated as a national problem and

nutrition is made an important part of national agenda. Itneeds to be made visible at all levels of Government and

society. One of the important reasons for neglect or 

inadequate attention to the problem of malnutrition is the

“invisibility of malnutrition”. Unlike communicable

diseases like cholera, typhoid, malaria, tuberculosis,

measles etc., which have a dramatic appearance and get

immediate attention of all, the onset of malnutrition is

slow and insidious and the state of malnutrition has to be

told to the people by the clinicians. Often malnourished

children succumb to various diseases and only at thetime of treatment of diseases it is realized that the child

is malnourished. Because of the invisible nature of 

malnutrition there is no demand from the community for 

its prevention or control. Hence, the problem of 

malnutrition has to be made visible to the people as well

as to the professionals and implementers of various

nutrition, health and welfare programmes so that due

attention is given at the early stages and the problem isnot allowed to go beyond the stage of repair. Most

micronutrient deficiencies are designated as “hidden

hunger”.

Malnutrition must be recognized as an impediment to

national development at the highest policy making with

time bound objectives must be launched. It must also beemphasized before the top planners and financial

managers of the Government that the presentmalnutrition rates in the country have adverse outcomes,

and cause leakage into different programmes such as

health, education, industrial production, agriculture,

level. It is also imperative that a Comprehensive

 National Nutrition Programme to eradicate malnutrition,

and sum total of GDP.

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2It may be desirable to highlight the importance of 

nutrition through constitution of a ‘Cabinet Committee

on Food and Nutrition”. A high level Standing Inter Agency Coordination Mechanism at national and state

levels is essential to direct macro and micro level

strategies to the concerned partners of development in

the country. A close and systematic collaboration

  between different ministries implementingdevelopmental programmes, public and private sector,

national and international organizations is required for 

meaningful implementation of various strategies

identified for nutrition promotion.

The existence of such high level structure at the nationallevel would provide an enabling mechanism for 

integration of nutritional concerns in developmental

  planning and programming. These structures could be

supported by inter-ministerial coordination committees,

task forces, steering committees, working groups etc.

 Nutrition being a multi sectoral issue, it is imperative to

introduce nutritional considerations and concerns in

sectoral policies and programmes. In other words,nutrition is to be made an explicit objective of various

developmental programmes of the country if nutritional

outcome is to be maximized. The intersectoral

coordination mechanism at different levels would help

coordinate activities of different sectors of the

Government, such as health, agriculture, horticulture,

socio-economic development, development of 

vulnerable groups like women and children etc, relatedto nutrition and health of the population with special

reference to the vulnerable groups.

The need for planning for nutrition cannot be

overemphasized. It is necessary to update the National

  Nutrition Policy and publish the same after seeking

approval of the Cabinet. Besides there should be a major section in the Five Year Plan documents devoted to

nutrition.

 Nutrition being critical to national development, public

expenditure in the area of nutrition should be viewed asan investment for future. Better nutritional status of the

 population is bound to result in optimal development of 

human resources, higher productivity and faster 

economic growth. Once this is achieved, investment in

nutrition would not be necessary. It is, therefore, of 

  prime importance to mobilize resources for this

important social sector programme at least for the next

ten years. Incentives to the corporate sector for 

contributing to this important cause could also beconsidered.

A vigorous awareness campaign on malnutrition to reach

all sections of society starting from policy makers down

to the village level functionaries and the public is one of 

the most critical nutrition intervention required for the

long term solution to the problem of malnutrition.

Advocacy and sensitization of the policy makers towardsthe magnitude of the problem of malnutrition, its

consequences on productivity, economic growth and

national development and the need for undertaking a

multi-sectoral approach for controlling this widespread

 problem is an essential link for articulating malnutritionas a national problem. Maternal malnutrition

 perpetuating an inter-generational cycle of malnutrition

needs to be explained to the policy makers so that due

attention is accorded to ensuring the nutrition of the girl

child, the adolescent girls, all pregnant and lactatingwomen, infants and young children. A national

 programme for nutrition advocacy, awareness generation

and capacity building needs to be implemented.

The nutritional well being of the people is a pre-

condition for the development of societies and it should be a key objective of progress in human development. It

must be at the centre of all socio-economic development

 plans and strategies. Success is dependent on fostering

the participation of the people and the community and

multi sectoral actions at all levels, taking into account

their long-term effects. Short-term measures to improve

nutritional well-being may need to be initiated or 

strengthened to complement the benefits resulting fromlong-term development efforts. Thus, a series of action

in different spheres are required for addressing the

 problem of malnutrition in the country.

The cutting edge of various developmental programmes

is at the State level. It is, therefore, important to have

involvement of States in planning and execution of 

nutrition interventions with adequate flexibility. The

Central Authority should lay down broad policies for   planning and coordinate strategies for improving the

nutrition of the people. But the actual micro level

  planning and execution of nutrition interventions and

developmental programmes has to be undertaken by the

States. The State authority can translate the broad

  National Policies in terms of their practicalimplementation with such modification necessary to suit

the regional and local needs. They should be given full

authority to set-up their own implementation strategies

since States differ in developmental indices and  population nutrition profile. Certain goals could be set

in terms of indicators of nutrition, social, health and

economic development profile of the States population

like IMR, prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, birth

weight of infants, BMI of adolescents and adults,

anaemia prevalence, maternal mortality rate etc, to be

achieved. The achievements of each State can be judged

at the end of specific time frame.

Community participation has an essential role in theimplementation and support of nutritional plans and

interventions. Communities need to be involved in

implementing and monitoring nutrition interventions, to

 bring additional resources to the centres, improve the

quality of service delivery, and increase accountability in

the system.

Let us accelerate the pace of national development byimproving nutrition.

CSDnews 8 June 2010

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2*****

CSDnews 9 June 2010

Modern technology

Owes ecology

 An apology- Alan M. Eddison

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2

Compiled by:

M.K. Salooja, CSD, IGNOU

58 Percent Rise in Carbon EmissionsOVER 16 YEARS Biggest culprit is coal fired power 

sector, says report.

NEW DELHI: In a span of 16 years, India’s climate

change causing green house gas emissions have

increased by 58 per cent and the biggest contributor has

  been coal fired power sector, a government report

released on Tuesday said.

The footprint of India’s growth story was visible with

emissions increasing to 1.7 billion tonnes in 2007 from1.2 billion tonnes in 1994, confirming India being among

the world’s five biggest carbon polluters.China is the

world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases blamed for 

heating up the planet. The United States is second.

The amount of carbon emissions India added to

the atmosphere between 1994 and 2007 was equal to

what Australia emits every year. That meant that India’s

  per capita emission remained 10 times less thanAustralia that was 1.5 tonnes per person.

“India is till not using its emission space,” Planning

Commission Deputy chairperson Montek Singh

Ahluwalia said. “Cut off is two tonnes per capita and we

a still below that.”

Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh saidthe study would be used in the global climate

negotiations to propagate India’s stand of global treaty based on per capita.

Thank half of rural India without electricity for low per 

capita as the study ‘Green House Gas Emissions 2007’

suggested that the emissions transport sector (mostly in

urban areas) and growing electricity demand (in urban

area) has increased the most.

The power sector accounted for 719.30 million tonnes of 

emissions against 355.03 million tonnes in 1994, while

the transport sector’s share jumped to 142.04 million

tonnes from 80.28 million tonnes during the same

 period.Even though India’s agriculture production has

increased, the study, described by the Ramesh as “most

updated in the world”, said its share in total emissions

dipped by around 10 per cent.

Of the total emissions in 2007, 74 per cent was carbon

dioxide, 22 per cent was methane, which caused climate

change 21 times more than and remaining was nitrogendioxide.

While unveiling the report, Ramesh said India wouldlaunch a satellite to monitor carbon emissions by 2013.

“We have already spoke to Indian Space Research

Organization in this regard,” he said.

[Source: Hindustan Times, New Delhi, Wednesday,

May 12, 2010, Nation/Page No. 15]

*****

More Birds in List of Threatened Species,

Reveals New StudyRecent studies by BirdLife International and Bombay

 Natural History Society have revealed that the list of 

CSDnews 10 June 2010

 

This

emi 1.9

27.6

10

7.2

6.3

6.3

7.5

28.4

3

17.6

8.7

6.2

5.3

7.2

6.4

37.8

0 20 40

Waste

Agriculture

Other

industry

Iron and

Steel

Other energy

Residential

 Transport

Electricity

2007

1994

Green News

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2threatened bird species in the country has risen from 149

in 2008 to 154 now.

Destruction of habitat is the prime reason for all thesedisappearing species. According to BirdLife Studies in

Asia, the condition of Great Slaty Woodpecker has

deteriorated from “least concern” to “vulnerable” while

that of Rufous-backed Bunting has deteriorated from

“vulnerable” to “Endangered”.Commenting on the decline in bird numbers, BNHS

director Dr. Asad Rahmani said: “it is extremely

alarming that almost 13 per cent of the world’s birds are

critically endangered or vulnerable. Great Slaty

Woodpecker is an addition from India into thevulnerable category, primarily due to habitat loss. The

fact that now 154 bird species from India are threatened

as against 149 some time back is indicator of further 

deretoration of the environment”.

Dr. Rahmani added that supposedly common species in

India like Nilgiri Blue Robin have been included in the

endangered category. Himalayan quail and Pink-headed

Duck are considered extinct in India since they have not been seen for nearly 100 years. But as there is still hope

to rediscover these birds, they have been included in the

critically endangered category.

BNHS and Indian Bird Conservation network have been

working on several critically endangered species

including Bengal Florican, Jerdon’s Courser, Sociable

Lapwing, Forest Owlet and four species of vultures.

Dr. Rahmani, who has been working on the Great IndianBustard for 30 years, noted that the Bustard is among the

16 endangered species in India and is very likely to

 become critically endangered soon, unless concrete steps

are taken for the protection of its habitat.

In light of the alarming situation of several bird species

in India, BNHA has strongly urged the IndianGovernment to start special programmes for the

  protection of birds and their habitats. BNHS has

identified 466 important bird areas across India which

are crucial bird habitats. At present 200 among them arenot officially protected.

A release issued by the BNHS noted that all such areas

should be protected and the local communities involved

in such conservation measures in manner that is becomes

a win-win situation for all with a sustainable

development model.Destruction of habitat is the prime reason for

disappearance

[Source: The Hindu; Friday, May 28, 2010.]

*****

Shrinking Glaciers to Spark Food Crisis• Scientists claim that 60 million people living

around the Himalayas will suffer food

shortages in the coming decades.

• Scientists for the most part agree glaciers are

melting at an accelerated rate as

temperatures increase.

• Most scientists tie that warming directly to

higher atmospheric concentrations of 

greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

• Some glaciers, such as in the Himalayas,

could hold out for centuries in a warmerworld.

But more than 90 per cent of glaciers worldwide are

in retreat.

 Nearly 60 million people living around the Himalayaswill suffer food shortages in the coming decades as

glaciers shrink and the water sources for crops dry up, a

study said on Thursday.

But Dutch scientist writing in the journal Science

councluded the impact would be much less than

 previously extimated a few years ago by the United

 Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The UN report in 2007 warned that hundred of millions

of people were at risk from disappearing glaciers.The reason for the discrepancy, scientists said, is that

some basins surrounding the Himalayas depend more

rainfall than melting glaciers for their water sources.

Those that do count heavily on glaciers, like the Indus,

Ganges and Brahmaputra basin in South Asia could see

their water supplies decline by as much as 19.6 per cent

 by 2005.

China’s Yellow River basin, in contrast, would see a 9.5

  per cent increase precipitation as monsson patternschange due to changing climate.

The study is one of the first to examine the impact of 

shrinking glaciers on the Himalayan river basins.

It will likely further fuel the debate on the degree that

climate change will devastate the river basins that are

mostly located in India, Pakistan Nepal, Bangladesh,

Bhutan and China.

Scientists for the most part agree glaciers are melting at

an accelerated rate as temperatures increase. Most

scientists tie that warming directly to higher atmospheric

concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon

dioxide.

CSDnews 11 June 2010

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[Source: Hindustan Times, New Delhi; Saturday,

June12, 2010; Page No. 17]

*****

CSDnews 12 June 2010

 If civilization has risen from the Stone Age, it can

rise again from the Wastepaper Age - JacquesBarzun

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CSDnews 13 June 2010

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ARTICLE

 M. Prashanth* 

*Chair for Sustainable Development 

 Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

Introduction

Groundwater is the most important source of domestic,

industrial, and agricultural water and is also a finite

resource. Population growth has created an

unprecedented demand for water, with the situation most

critical in the developing world, especially countries like

India where several million people depend on

groundwater for drinking and agriculture purposes. India

is the largest groundwater user in the world, with an

estimated usage of around 230 cubic kilometers per year,

more than a quarter of the global total. With more than

60 percent of irrigated agriculture and 85 percent of 

drinking water supplies dependent on it, groundwater is

a vital resource for rural areas in India. Due to the highly

variable nature of the climate, groundwater has become a

 popular alternative for irrigation and domestic water use

across India. Dependence on groundwater resources is

 particularly strong where dry season surface water levels

are low or where wet season flows are too disruptive to

  be easily tapped. In addition to being accessible,

groundwater quality is generally excellent in most areas

and presents a relatively safe source of drinking water 

for Indians in rural and urban centers. Reliance of urbanand industrial waste supplies on groundwater is also

 becoming increasingly significant in India. Through the

construction of millions of private wells, there has been a

  phenomenal growth in the over exploitation of 

groundwater in the last five decades.

Despite the significance of groundwater for sustainable

development it has not always been properly managed

which resulted in depletion and degradation of the

resource. In addition to these existing challenges,

groundwater management faces a new challenge of 

confronting the negative impacts of climate change.Groundwater overexploitation has a series of 

consequences, such as increasing water cost,

environmental changes (affects on wetlands, salinity

 problems, etc), reduction of other water sources already

in use, water salinization and impairment of quality due

to impacts of climate change. To reserve the

groundwater resource for current and future generations,

sustainable groundwater management should be given

more stress and proactive measures to be initiated to

cope up with the potential impacts of climate change.

 Availability of Groundwater in India

Availability of groundwater is widely variable across the

country with changes in topography, subsurface geologyand the prevailing climate in the region. In general the

great Himalayan ranges in the north act as rainshed

divide ushering rainfall in the Indian plains making a

important source of groundwater in the country. The

mountains and hilly regions in the north and west do not

allow adequate infiltration and a consequencegroundwater is mostly limited to valleys and other lower 

lying areas.

The Indo-Gangetic alluvium forms the most

  productive and extensive multi-aquifer system in Indiawith tube wells yielding 24 to 75 liters per second (lps).

Semi-consolidated formations with moderate

groundwater yield occur in narrow valleys or structurally

faulted basins in the belts fringing the peninsular region

adjacent to the Ganga plain, Narmada and Tapi valleys,

coastal belt and in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and also

  parts of the northeastern region. Open wells in these

sedimentary formations have yield in the range 1–5 lps.

Basalt lava flows of the Deccan Traps in Central India inMaharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have usually

  poor to moderate potential. Dug wells and dug-cum-

 borewells are the most common groundwater structures

generally yielding between 1 and 20 lps.

Peninsular India is mostly characterized with

consolidated formations like granites–gneisses and other 

igneous and metamorphic rock assemblages.Groundwater in these formations occurs in weathered

and fractured zones. Open wells generally record a yield

  between 1 and 9 lps and borewells tapping deeper 

fracture zones have occasionally recorded high yields, up

to 30 lps.

The coastal areas having thick alluviumdeposits form the prospective aquifer systems. Deep

tubewells tapping multi-aquifers in these tracts have

yield potential up to 60 lps. Groundwater development in

these coastal areas is, however, associated with the risk of sea-water intrusion. Groundwater yield potentials in

different parts of the country are presented in (Figure 1).Figure 1. Major aquifer systems of India.(source

CGWB)

CSDnews 14 June 2010

Sustainable Development of Groundwater Resources in India

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Unsustainable Groundwater Resource Exploitation 

The total annual groundwater draft is 231 bcm (billion

cubic meters), out of which 213 bcm is used for irrigation and 18 bcm is for domestic and industrial use.

In general, the irrigation sector remains the main

consumer of groundwater (92% of total annual

groundwater draft for all uses (Figure-2).

The overall stage of groundwater developmentin the country is 58% and the ground water potential in

river basins is represented in (Table-1).The stage of 

groundwater development is high in the states

Delhi,Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan,and UT of Daman

& Diu and Puducherry, where the overall stage of groundwater development is more than 100%.

In the peninsular states of Andhra Pradesh,

Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the general scarcity of 

sustainable water supply has led to over-stress on the

groundwater regime. Since most of the area in this

region is occupied by hardrock terrains, limited

availability of groundwater has resulted in growingnumber of over-exploited blocks/mandals/taluks. The

average stage of groundwater development in these

states is also high. Parts of Uttar Pradesh and

Uttarakhand also have high stage of groundwater 

development.

Figure-2 Status of groundwater utilization in India as on

2004

Out of 5723 assessed administrative units

(blocks/taluks/mandals/districts), 4078 are ‘safe’, 550

are ‘semicritical’, 226 are ‘critical’, and 839 units are

‘overexploited’. The areas of the remaining 30 units are

completely covered by saline groundwater. The number 

of over-exploited and critical administrative units was

significantly higher (more than 15% of the total assessed

CSDnews 15 June 2010

 Balance gr

 S. N. Name of the Basin Total

ReplenishableGround

water

Resources

Ground water

Potential Availablefor use

1. Brahmani with Baitarni 4.05 3.16

2. Brahmaputra 26.55 21.80

3. Chambal Composite 7.19 3.66

4. Cauvery 12.30 4.67

5. Ganga 170.99 96.37

6. Godavari 40.65 24.94

7. Indus 26.49 5.22

8. Krishna 26.41 14.50

9. Kutch & Saurashtra

Composite

11.23 4.64

10. Madras and South TamilNadu 18.22 6.55

11. Mahanadi 16.46 13.02

12. Meghna 8.52 6.95

13. Narmada 10.83 7.18

14. Northeast

Composite

18.84 13.26

15. Pennar 4.93 2.66

16. Subarnarekha 1.82 1.40

17. Tapi 8.27 3.97

18. Western Ghat 17.69 11.18

Total 431.43 245.13

Table-1 Ground Water Potential in River Basins of India (Pro Rat

Basis) (Unit: km3/year)

(Source: www.india.gov.in)

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2units) in Andhra Pradesh (where categorization was done

up to sub-unit level, i.e. within a mandal – command and

non-command-wise), Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana,Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, and also

the UTs of Daman & Diu and Puducherry.

Impacts of Climate Change on Groundwater

Climate change results in spatial and temporal changesin precipitation, which significantly influences naturalrecharge. We know little about how exactly rainfall

 patterns will change, but increased temporal variability

seems guaranteed. There are intense and large rainfall

events in short monsoons followed by long dry spells.

Higher variability in precipitation thus negatively impact

natural recharge in general. The net impact on a given

location depends upon the change in both the total

 precipitation and the variability of that precipitation.The Indo-Gangetic aquifer system has been getting

heavy recharge from the Himalayan snow-melt. As

snow-melt-based run-off increases during the coming

decades, their contribution to potential recharge may

increase; however, a great deal of this may end up as

‘rejected recharge’ and enhance river flows and intensify

the flood proneness of eastern India and Bangladesh. As

the snow-melt-based run-off is declining, there is also adecline in run-off as well as groundwater recharge in this

vast basin.

A major interplay of climate change and groundwater is

more witnessed in coastal areas. Using the records of 

coastal tide gauges in the north Indian Ocean for more

than 40 years, it is estimated that a sea level rise between

1.06 and 1.75 mm per year, consistent with the 1–2 mm

 per year global sea level rise estimates of IPCC.

Rising sea levels threatens coastal aquifers. Many of 

India’s coastal aquifers are already experiencing salinityingress. This problem is particularly acute in Saurashtra

coast in Gujarat and Minjur aquifer in Tamil Nadu. In

coastal West Bengal, Sundarbans (mangrove forest) are

threatened by saline intrusion overland, affecting its

aquifers. The precarious balance between freshwater 

aquifers and sea water leads to growing stress as sea

levels rise. Coastal aquifers are thus likely to face serious

threats from climate-change-induced sea level rise.Some scientists have suggested that climate change will

alter the physical characteristics of aquifers themselves.

Higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, they

argue, may influence carbonate dissolution and promote

the formation of carst which in turn may negativelyaffect infiltration properties of topsoils. Many others

have argued the opposite. From experimental data, some

scientists have claimed that elevated atmospheric CO2

levels may affect plants, vadose zone and groundwater in

ways that may hasten infiltration from precipitation byup to 119% in a Mediterranean climate to up to 500% in

a Sub-tropical climate.

  Sustainable Management of Groundwater

For sustainable management of groundwater in India as

increasing number of aquifers are reaching unsustainablelevels of exploitation a host of practical interventions

which can be implemented in the present scenario are as

follows :(a) Regulatory measures. Effective regulation requires

not only sound legislation but also theadministrative capacity to monitor and enforce rules.

(b) Economic instruments. Pricing measures,

including volumetric charges, taxes, and user fees,can act as incentives to conservation and more

efficient allocation of water resources, provided they

address concerns of equity and affordability to the

 poor.(c) Tradable groundwater rights. While a well-

defined rights regime helps resource users to reach

optimal outcomes, the measure encounters the samefundamental difficulty as for regulation and pricing

 – the very high transaction costs of implementation.(d) Community management of groundwater. The

key feature of community groundwater management

is that the resource user community instead of the

state is the primary custodian of groundwater and is

charged with implementing management measures.Community groundwater management can involve

any mix of instruments, including regulation,

 property rights, and pricing.(e) Building capacity and adjusting the role of state

groundwater institutions. The capacity of state

groundwater institutions will need to be developed

to ensure that they can perform the key functions of 

  providing information and technical support,

enabling community management, and enforcing

regulatory measures.(f) Promoting conjunctive use in agriculture. More

optimized conjunctive use through microzone

  planning (for example, sealing bank embankments

and de-sedimentation of major canals) in the

irrigated canal command areas could increase the

cropping intensity without compromisinggroundwater resource sustainability.

(g) Integrating groundwater in urban water supply

planning. There is a need to move from

opportunistic exploitation of groundwater resources

to more systematic evaluation of the status of urban

groundwater use and the contribution it can make to

meeting future demand.(h) Technical and political solutions to agricultural

power pricing. The current situation of heavily

subsidized power in the agricultural sector is placing

a heavy financial burden on the state electricity

 boards, and a politically pragmatic resolution of the

energy–groundwater nexus is important for ensuring

the viability and sustainability of both groundwater-

 based agriculture and the power sector in India

CSDnews 16 June 2010

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.*****

Cities and their Growth: Sustainability and Fractality

5 to 6 August 2010,Poznañ, PolandWebsite: http://www.geoconf.amu.edu.pl

 RenewCon India 2010

26 to 27 August 2010,Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaWebsite: http://www.renewcon-india.com/?

utm_campaign=EVENTCALENDAR&utm_medium=EVENTLISTING&utm_source=CONFERENCEALERTSCO

M

 Auroville Green Practices Seminar 

26 to 28 August 2010,Auroville, Tamil Nadu, IndiaWebsite: http://www.auroco.in/greenpractices

 Sustainable Planning QLD 2010

30 to 31 August 2010 ,Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaWebsite:http://connectconferences.intuitwebsites.com/Sustainable_Planning_Queensland_201

0_Brochure_plus_Registration.pdf 

CSDnews 17 June 2010

Sustainability Related Seminars/Conferences/Workshops

Book Release

SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURITY

Selected Papers of M S Swaminathan

This book provides a roadmap for achieving sustainable agriculturaladvance and food security in an era of climate change and global economic

melt-down. The contents include a description of the paradigm shift under the leadership of the author, from a green to an ever-green revolutionnecessary for advancing productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm.

Science and Sustainable Food Security shows many methods of linking

ecological security with livelihood security, and provides a scientific basisfor entering an era of biohappiness based on the sustainable and equitable

use of biodiversity. Also, methods of adaptation to the impact of global

warming are described. This book will prove invaluable to all interested insustainable human security and happiness.

Contents:

• Food Security and Economic Development — How Science is

Applied to Solve Problems of Poverty, Drought and Famine

• Science and Food Security — How Science is Used to GenerateEfficient and Optimal Agricultural Outputs

• Food Security and Ecological Balance — How the Gains of Green Revolution are Impacted by Climate Change, How ScienceWill be Helpful in Ensuring Sustainable Food Security, Green

Revolution to Ever-Green Revolution — A Roadmap

• Hardback : 436 pages

• Author/Editor : M S Swaminathan

• Year of Publication : 2010

• Publisher : IISc, Bangalore and WorldScientific, Singapore

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry -

Thomas Fuller 

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*****

CSDnews 18 June 2010

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 Appreciation Programme on Sustainability Science

(APSS)

The programme is rooted in the principles of Agenda 21.

It endeavours to promote Sustainable Development witha global spirit of  “Our Common Future”, to rescue

  planet Earth from the brink of collapse. The

Appreciation Programme also takes cognizance of the

threat of climate change to sustainable development. To

know more about the Chair please visit our website at

http://www.ignou.ac.in/csd/home.htm 

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

• The core objective of this programme is to build

the capacity of policy makers, administrators,

scientists and educators as well as the general public

in the science and art of environmentally,

economically and socially sustainable development.

• The course will help the participants to develop an

Agenda 21 Plan of Action for their respective

village/town/city.

• To help those involved in agriculture to launch anera of ever-green revolution which can help to

enhance productivity in perpetuity without

ecological harm.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME

The special feature is conceptualization and development

of excellent study material by the eminent experts in the

country under the guidance of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan.The contributors to the programme include: Professor 

M.S. Swaminathan, Prof. P.C. Kesavan, Dr. K.

Balasubramanian, Ms. Ganga Vidya , Dr. A.A. Nambi,

Mr. S. Senthilkumaran , Dr. G.N. Hariharan and Dr.

Ajay Parida.

The programme has been developed in collaboration

with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

DURATION

The programme can be completed in a minimum period

of one month and a maximum period of six months.

MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

The Programme is offered in English.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The programme is open to Graduates in any discipline or 

its equivalent from any recognised University. The

  preference will be given to postgraduate scholars,scientists and policy makers working in the areas of 

agriculture, rural development, environmental scienceand sustainable development.

WALK IN ADMISSION

Admission to online APSS will be available throughout

the year. There shall be four cycles in an academic year 

i.e. January, April, July and October. 

FEE

Rs. 500/- (Five hundred)

The details of the programme are available at

www.ignouonline.ac.in/save

*****

 Leadership Programme on “Nutrition Security &

 Sustainable Development” (LPNSSD)

India continues to rank poorly in the world on the human

development scale and nutrition. Malnutrition in India

 persists despite an apparent surplus of food grains at thenational level, highlighting the fact that national food

security alone is not sufficient to attain nutrition security

at the household and individual levels. On the other 

hand, the Government of India has already beenimplementing a number of direct as well as cross cutting

  programmes related to nutrition. However there aresignificant gaps in public sector efforts underlining the

need for greater focus on the household and community

level rather than merely at the national or state level.

The Chair for Sustainable Development has developed a

 programme on “Leadership Course on Nutrition Security

and Sustainable Development” in Collaboration with the

Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India(CSNSI or the Coalition) to bring together evidence-

  based lessons for better nutrition programming to

achieve nutrition security.

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

This Leadership course is intended to sensitize and guide

  policy and program implementers to make more

evidence-based programming for achieving nutrition

security and sustainable development.

CSDnews 19 June 2010

Admission Open

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tter Vol. 3, Issue 1&2

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME

The special feature of this programme is itsconceptualization and development in collaboration with

the Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India

(CSNSI or ‘the Coalition’). The Coalition, chaired by

Professor M.S. Swaminathan, is a group of public and

 private sector leaders who have united in an effort toimprove nutrition security, ensuring that every Indian

has access to balanced diet, safe drinking water,

environmental hygiene, sanitation, and primary health

care. The Coalition has developed and committed itself 

to a Leadership Agenda for Action with help of an expertTask Force to review nutrition security in India in order 

to (1) highlight the urgent need to address high levels of 

malnutrition in India; (2) develop recommendations for 

  priority actions based on evidence and programming

experience; and (3) help build awareness, capacity and

commitment among policy and programme leaders for 

implementation of the recommendations. The course is

designed based on the Leadership Agenda for Action.The contributors to this program include: Prof. M.S.

Swaminathan, task force members, special reviewers,

consultants and the Coalition Secretariat who greatly

contributed to develop this programme.

DURATION

The programme can be completed in a minimum period

of one month and a maximum period of six months.

MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

The programme is offered in English.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The programme is open to candidates who are graduates

or equivalent in any discipline from any recognized

University. There is a special focus on candidates

working in the health and nutrition sector, including  policy makers and programme implementers, civil

society and public health nutrition professionals.

WALK IN ADMISSION

Admission will be available throughout the year. Therewill be four cycles in an academic year i.e. February,

May, August, and November. The two month period

  between each of the two cycles will be used for 

advertising the course and registration of the students for 

the next cycle. The registration form will be

available online at  www.ignouonline.ac.in/save. 

Registration will be confirmed only after verification of 

the certificates and payment of the required admissionfee. Facility for online payment is available through the

 payment gateway (AXIS Bank and Credit Card) being

offered by the University for online programmes.

Students can also pay through Demand Draft (in favour 

of IGNOU, New Delhi).FEE

The fee for the programme is Rs.500.

*****

CSDnews 20 June 2010

For further information and feedback contact:The Executive Director 

Chair for Sustainable Development

INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY

Block No. 1, Room No. 21 & 22, Maidan Garhi,

 New Delhi-110068

Phones: +91-11-29532374, +91-11-29571121/22, Fax: +91-11-29532374

E-mail: [email protected][email protected]

Webpage: www.ignou.ac.in/csd/home.htm & www.ignouonline.ac.in/save