From this, the 61st issue of the TRINet newsletter, you will see a new look in the format that reaches you by email as well as in the content, made considering that we have crossed five years. The focus of the newsletter, nevertheless, remains coastal, environmental and community issues. We would appreciate your opinions, ideas, and suggestions on the form and content of the newsletter to info.trinet@gmail.com.

The lead story is on Nine of the Most Dangerous Oil Disasters in History followed by News Headlines from the Indian coast, and this time, we handpicked two interesting debates on TED and a link to watch Mike Pandey's film on whale sharks, on Youtube. There's a book review and TRINet DeBunk, a new feature that answers questions on the predicted solar storm of 2013, if we can make DNA as we wish and if mankind suddenly appeared on this planet.

Disaster resilience and sustainable development go hand in hand. Local initiatives taken with the participation and support of people are what count in the long term as milestones for achieving sustainable development. This has been the focus of BEDROC, the successor to NCRC working in the disaster prone district of Nagapattinam. This issue of the TRINet Newsletter carries a note about the latest set of activities undertaken by Bedroc which were formally inaugurated on 22nd May 2010.
We all cry hoarse about pollution and pollutants. Quite rightly so for we are increasingly living in a world dominated by lab-produced chemicals. A majority of these do not have any toxicology data. Our development activities demand increased use of chemicals. Sage Publications has brought out a new easy-to-read publication titled “Our Toxic World” which is reviewed in this newsletter.
The newsletter has the usual “Useful Reads” and “News you can use” sections. This is the 60th issue of the newsletter.

V.Vivekananandan's note on the IPZ for wider discussion

The recent volcanic eruption and the closing down of the European airspace all of a sudden disrupting thousands of flights and millions of passengers showed how vulnerable we are. While the direct losses due to the volcanic eruption may not be high, the indirect losses run to billions of dollars. Clearly human society is vulnerable in ways not conceived before. The impact of disasters on the environment and the environmental drivers of disasters are equally important to understand. While we talk of disaster mitigation, we also need to be aware of what kind of long term and long range impacts on the environment can be there. A small example is given in this newsletter to illustrate this.
The newsletter also contains useful reads and news you can use.

Writing about environmental issues requires understanding and sensitivity. A knowledge of both science and social sciences is required. Environmental journalism has moved from being nature and wildlife journalism to focusing increasingly on environment and development related issues, mostly of the conflict type. Sage Publications has brought out a book, “The Green Pen” that traces the history of environmental journalism in South Asia, the issues that are being highlighted and the need for journalists to understand and report on a long term basis. The collection of essays in this volume make interesting reading and improves our understanding of a variety of issues. This is the opening piece of the April 2010 issue of the TRINet newsletter. The newsletter also features Useful Reads and News You can Use.

National Coastal Protection Campaign (NCPC)

Outcome of the CRZ consultations and the proposed draft notification

Views and Recommendations

THE MARINE FISHERIES (REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT) ACT, 2009
A Bill

National Fishworkers Forum (NFF)

Empowering Central Bureaucracy, Ignoring fishermen?

Our objections to the draft Bill to manage and regulate marine fisheries in India

Let’s Protect Fish and Fishermen

Towards revising the Draft Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management Act, 2009

A POSITION PAPER
(Draft for discussion) Revised 15 Feb 2010

National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF)

Proposals to revise the draft Marine Fisheries Regulation and Management Act

Highlights: Detailed proposal contained in the Position Paper submitted by NFF entitled “Let’s Protect Fish and Fishermen” to Ministry of Agriculture. This is just a short note highlighting key points in the paper.