People's Science Institute
The People's Science Institute is a non-governmental organization in Dehradun, which promote natural resource management, conservation biology, and sustainable development. It was established in 1988. Founding The stated mission of the organization is "To help eradicate poverty through the empowerment of the poor and the productive, sustainable and equitable use of available human and natural resources." Activism Ganges pollution The People's Science Institute regularly speaks out about action to be taken to reduce pollution of the Ganges. River damming G. D. Agrawal, a chair of the People's Science Institute, undertook a fast to protest government inaction on Ganges preservation. Specifically he was seeking a halt to construction of the Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project and the Pala Maneri project along Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Non-governmental Organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum. NGOs are distinguished from international and intergovernmental organizations (''IOs'') in that the latter are more directly involved with sovereign states and their governments. The term as it is used today was first introduced in Article 71 of the newly-formed United Nations' Charter in 1945. While there is no fixed or formal definition for what NGOs are, they are genera ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly holding its winter sessions in the city as its winter capital. Part of the Garhwal region, and housing the headquarters of its Divisional Commissioner. Dehradun is one of the " Counter Magnets" of the National Capital Region (NCR) being developed as an alternative center of growth to help ease the migration and population explosion in the Delhi metropolitan area and to establish a smart city in the Himalayas. It is the third largest city in the Himalayas after Kathmandu and Srinagar. Dehradun is located in the Doon Valley on the foothills of the Himalayas nestled between Song river, a tributary of Ganga on the east and the Asan river, a tributary of Yamuna on the west. The city is noted for its picturesque landscape and slightly m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Natural Resource Management
Natural resource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ( stewardship). Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and natural landscapes interact. It brings together natural heritage management, land use planning, water management, bio-diversity conservation, and the future sustainability of industries like agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry. It recognizes that people and their livelihoods rely on the health and productivity of our landscapes, and their actions as stewards of the land play a critical role in maintaining this health and productivity. Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technical understanding of resources and ecology and the Life-supporting capacity of those resources. Environmental management is similar to n ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conservation Biology
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences, and the practice of natural resource management. The conservation ethic is based on the findings of conservation biology. Origins The term conservation biology and its conception as a new field originated with the convening of "The First International Conference on Research in Conservation Biology" held at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla, California, in 1978 led by American biologists Bruce A. Wilcox and Michael E. Soulé with a group of leading university and zoo researchers and conservationists including Kurt Benirschke, Sir Otto Frankel, Thomas Lovejoy, and Jared Diamond. The meeting was prompted due to concern over tropical deforestation, disappearin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development was defined in the 1987 Brundtland Report as "Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".United Nations General Assembly (1987''Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future'' Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment. As the concept of sustainable development developed, it has shifted its focus more towards the economic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pollution Of The Ganges
Pollution of the Ganges, the largest river in India, poses significant threats to human health and the larger environment. The river, which is severely polluted with human waste and industrial contaminants, provides water to about 40% of India's population across 11 states, serving an estimated population of 500 million people, which is more than any other river in the world. Today, the Ganges is considered to be the fifth-most polluted river in the world. Raghubir Singh, an Indian photographer, has noted that no one in India spoke of the Ganges as being polluted until the late 1970s. However, pollution had been an old and continuous process in the river by the time people were finally acknowledging it. Stretches of over were essentially ecologically dead zones.Wohl, Ellen E. 2012. A world of rivers: environmental change on ten of the world's great rivers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. A number of initiatives were undertaken to clean the river, but failed to de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Times Of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest selling English-language daily in the world. It is the oldest English-language newspaper in India, and the second-oldest Indian newspaper still in circulation, with its first edition published in 1838. It is nicknamed as "The Old Lady of Bori Bunder", and is an Indian " newspaper of record". Near the beginning of the 20th century, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, called ''TOI'' "the leading paper in Asia". In 1991, the BBC ranked ''TOI'' among the world's six best newspapers. It is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (B.C.C.L.), which is owned by the Sahu Jain family. In the Brand Trust Report India study 2019, ''TOI'' was rated as the most trusted English newspaper in India. Reuters rated ''TOI'' as India's most trus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Loharinag Pala Hydro Power Project
Loharinag Pala Hydropower Project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectricity generating project planned by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd to have an output capacity of 600 MW (150 MW x 4 Units). The project is located on the river Bhagirathi, the headstream of the Ganges River at Loharinag Pala, below the confluence of the Songad River, next to NH 34 in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand state, India. This is about upstream of the Tehri Dam. The main project construction contracts were awarded and construction started in 2006, however, work was stopped in 2009 after Professor G. D. Agrawal, one of India's eminent scientists, came close to dying on the 38th day of his fast in protest of the blocking the headwaters of the sacred River Ganges. ''Tarun Bharat Sangh'', headed by Magsaysay award-winner, Rajendra Singh also played a pivotal role in stopping the project. The project was officially scrapped in 2010. The Loharinag-Pala project was one of several hundr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bhagirathi River
The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu faith, mythology, and culture, the Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of the Ganges. However, in hydrology, the other headstream, Alaknanda, is considered the source stream on account of its great length and discharge. The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join at Devprayag in Garhwal and are thereafter known as the Ganges. Etymology Bhagiratha was a descendant of King Sagara of the Suryavanshi, or Surya Dynasty. He played an important role in the descent of the Ganges. The story of Bhagiratha is narrated in the ''Ramayana'', ''Mahabharata'', and Puranas. Wanting to show his sovereignty, King Sagara performed a ritual known as ashvamedha, where a horse was left to wander for one year. However, Indra stole the horse to prevent the ritual ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Down To Earth (magazine)
''Down to Earth'' is a fortnightly magazine focused on politics of environment and development, published in New Delhi, India. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) assists in the production of the magazine. About It was started in 1992 by environmentalist Anil Agarwal, with a commitment to make people aware of the challenges of environment and development and to create informed change agents. Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain, director general at CSE, is the current editor. The fortnightly format was created specifically to supplement the research, analyses and documentation efforts of CSE, also founded by Anil Agarwal in 1980. The objective / founding principles of the magazine, as envisioned in the first editorial, was to ‘fill a critical information gap’ rather than ‘capture a share of the information market’. Reportage and analysis is geared to enable an increasingly young India with information and analysis from villages, fields, factories and labs, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Water Pollution In India
Water pollution is a major environmental issue in India. The largest source of water pollution in India is untreated sewage. Other sources of pollution include agricultural runoff and unregulated small-scale industry. Most rivers, lakes and surface water in India are polluted due to industries, untreated sewage and solid wastes. Although the average annual precipitation in India is about 4000 billion cubic metres, only about 1122 billion cubic metres of water resources are available for utilization due to lack of infrastructure. Much of this water is unsafe, because pollution degrades water quality. Water pollution severely limits the amount of water available to Indian consumers, its industry and its agriculture. Causes of pollution Untreated sewage There is a large gap between generation and treatment of domestic waste water in India. The problem is not only that India lacks sufficient treatment capacity but also that the sewage treatment plants that exist do not operate and a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Environmental Organisations Based In India
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale from microscopic to global in extent. It can also be subdivided according to its attributes. Examples include the marine environment, the atmospheric environment and the terrestrial environment. The number of biophysical environments is countless, given that each living organism has its own environment. The term ''environment'' can refer to a singular global environment in relation to humanity, or a local biophysical environment, e.g. the UK's Environment Agency. Life-environment interaction All life that has survived must have adapted to the conditions of its environment. Temperature, light, humidity, soil nutrients, etc., all influence the species within an environment. However, life in turn modifies, in various forms, its conditions. S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |