RAMANATHAPURAM: The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT) has introduced a solar fish drier for the first time in the district.

It has been installed at Olaikuda in Rameswaram at a cost of around Rs.4 lakh. The operation and maintenance of the drier will be with the Eco Development Committee promoted by the trust.

Aruna Basu Sarcar, Chief Conservator of Forests, and Director, GOMBRT, told The Hindu that it was a major step to transform the fish drying practices by the fishermen.

In the traditional drying, fishes, which contain dust, bacterial moulds and other impurities, were dried under the sun.

It would also emit foul smell during cooking. But in the solar drying technology, the fishes would be carefully washed and kept in driers. The drier would enable the fishermen to dry fishes hygienically.

The solar drier would give maximum results in the day time. It would also pack the dried fishes in the packets. The EDC had been asked to repay actual cost of the drier gradually.

She said that 75 to 100 kg of fish could be dried per day. It could be dried using electricity during rainy days. Fishermen could visit the drier.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/28/stories/2010072860010300.htm

CUDDALORE: Thousands of casuarina trees raised as part of the bio-shield along the coast near the Cuddalore Port are facing the axe.

Forest Department officials are already numbering the trees and evaluating their worth as a prelude to felling them. The felling of the trees has become inevitable as Port authorities see them as a security threat.

Forester K. Natarajan told The Hindu that after the tsunami, over 7.50 lakh casuarina trees were raised along the 25-km long coast from Pudupettai to Suba Uppalavadi. In the past six years, these trees had attained their full height. These trees were planted on the sand dunes close to the shore so as to provide a “natural shield” against cyclones, sea erosion and the tsunami.

The tree cover had in fact instilled confidence among the residents of the coastal area who believed that these would provide them a semblance of security from the natural disasters originating from the sea. But the Port authorities had taken the differing view that the trees were posing a security threat.

Standing tall

Mr Natarajan said that the Port officials had reported that since the trees were standing tall and blocking the view of the sea. Hence, officials could not mount a close vigil on the movement of either any suspicious vessels or persons. Therefore, they wanted the trees to be cut down to get an unobstructed view. The security aspect outweighed the natural disaster angle, and the move to cut down the tress was initiated.

For instance, the casuarinas thickets would have to be removed for a length of 500 metres on the Singarathope side and another 1,000 metres length on the Sothikuppam side. The officials-Mr Natarajan and Forester K. Devadas and Forest Guards R. Banumurthy and K. Balasundaram-are painstakingly measuring the girth and height of each tree and were preparing the estimate of their value. In the past one month they have thus numbered 11,800 trees and it would take another couple of months before completing the assignment.

Based on the evaluation, tenders would be floated and contractors would be engaged to uproot the trees, Mr Natarajan added. Residents are averse to cutting down the trees because it would leave weak spots in the bio-shield and deny them the indirect benefits derived from either the naturally fallen trees or illegally felled ones.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Federation Tamil Nadu has voiced its strong protest against the proposal and vowed to mobilise the local people to prevent the move.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/27/stories/2010072750470300.htm

CHENNAI: The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has cleared the proposal to construct an elevated expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal after rejecting it twice.

The Expert Appraisal Committee for Coastal Regulation Zone (Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Projects), convened recently, accepted the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority's (TNSCZMA) recommendations and gave the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.

The TNSCZMA, which had earlier objected to the elevated expressway, changed its position and assured the MoEF that construction of the elevated expressway would not affect the free flow of water in the river Cooum. It also stated that the project was permissible under the CRZ Notification, 1991.

The 19-km elevated expressway is aligned partly along the Cooum and partly over Poonamallee High Road.

About 34.58 ha of this proposed road falls within the CRZ and 35 foundation pits fall in the riverbed. In May 2009, when the project was first submitted for CRZ clearance, the expert committee refused to clear it. When it was submitted for the third time and scrutinized in June, the expert committee recommended it for CRZ clearance.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/26/stories/2010072661360100.htm

NAGAPATTINAM: Gender and social justice, democratised worldview and participation of communities ensure that people are not turning beggars by disaster, overnight. This was observed by a report on the role of panchayati raj institutions in disaster preparedness and management by the Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies of Gandhi Gram Rural University, which was presented at a media workshop here on Saturday.

The pilot study carried out in four panchayats in three districts studied the disaster management preparedness and resilience capacity of the community. K.Pazhanidurai, professor, Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies, said community arrangements could be democratised but not broken.

The four panchayats in Kaatucherri and Vadakupanayur in Nagapattinam, Nanalmedu in Cuddalore and Simon Colony in Kanyakumari, were selected on the basis of transparency, gender and social consciouness and human development. After the reasonable parameters existed as a deductive premise, the study was conducted, said Prof. Pazhanidurai.

The idea for the study was mooted following an earlier grassroots study conducted on resilience of communities after the tsunami. That study on the rescue and resilience front in the first two days after the tsunami, even before the world had access to the tsunami ravaged communities, floated the proposal for this study, said Prof. Pazhanidurai. “It was the affected communities that picked up the bodies and started relief work till they were geographically accessible.” This observation was a result of a study conducted on 17 panchayats in the district.

In 2008, the Chair also studied disaster management efforts in Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.Wherever, community leadership – constitutional and traditional - elected panchayat presidents and panchayatars (fishing community heads) respectively were strong, disaster management was efficient. Even when institutional delivery was lacking, in pro-active communities delivery-system continued to work, he said .

The study would be used to discuss the draft policy on disaster management scheduled for this month-end, said Prof. Pazhanidurai. The Rajiv Gandhi Chair for Panchayati Raj Studies of Gandhi Gram Rural University has been engaged in research, advocacy, outreach and capacity building.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/25/stories/2010072555560300.htm

The Government of India and the World Bank today signed two loan agreements, one for the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project and another for capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management (CBIPMP), which aims to remediate ten highly polluted sites in the country.

The ICZM loan will provide assistance to implement the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project with overall cost of Rs.1155.63crore, in which, the World Bank will contribute an amount of Rs.897crore (77.7%), Government of India Rs.177.49crore (15.5%) and the States Rs.80.02crores (6.9%).

The CBIPMP project will aim to remediate ten highly polluted sites, two in Andhra Pradesh and eight in West Bengal on a pilot basis, develop a National Plan for rehabilitation of polluted sites and build human and technical capacity in selected Pollution Control Boards for undertaking environmentally sound remediation of polluted sites. The estimated cost of the project, to be implemented for a period of five years, is Rs. 339.26 crores. The project will be funded through financial assistance from the World Bank (85%) and contribution from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Government of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal (15%).

Welcoming the signing of the agreements, the Minister of State (I/C), Environment & Forests, Shri Jairam Ramesh noted: “These are both very significant projects for us. India has a vast coastline which needs to be conserved and protected based on scientific principles. The capacity of our states for coastal management also needs to be enhanced. The ICZM project will enable us to make the investments in these areas. The CBIPMP Project is also critical as we attempt to clean up our polluted sites and develop longer term capacity for remediation. While both these projects are being launched with a focus on a few states, I am eager that we scale these up rapidly to include the other states. We have already initiated discussions in this direction both within government and with the World Bank. We are also in talks with the World Bank for another important project to strengthen the technical and human capacity of our Central and State Pollution Control Boards/Committees. I welcome the positive and proactive manner in which these projects have been negotiated and look forward to their implementation.”

The ICZM Project consists of four components which include National and three state level components. The National component includes mapping; delineation and demarcation of the hazard lines; and delineation of coastal sediment cells all along the mainland coast of India, mapping, delineation and demarcation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs), Capacity building of the MoEF and the State Coastal Zone Management Authorities, and Nation-wide training program for coastal zone management and setting up of a National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM). The NCSCM shall be set up in Anna University in Chennai with an outlay of Rs.116crores. The centre will be working with the collaborating institutes in each of the coastal States/UTs. This component has a budget outlay of Rs.355.41 crores.

Second component will comprise of capacity building of the Gujarat state government, including the State Pollution Control Board, for effective management of the coastal areas. Pilot studies will be undertaken on the ICZM approach for the stretch falling along Gulf of Kachchh. Further, Transplantation of corals in Gulf of Kachchh, sewage treatment facilities for Jamnagar District would also be undertaken. This component will also support priority investments in Gujarat, all located in the Gulf of Kachchh, to complement the ICZMP. Under the project a Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative (G.A.N.D.H.I.) will also be developed. This component was launched on 7th July, 2010. The budget for the Gujarat component is Rs.298.34 crores.

Third component includes pilot studies for Orissa coast. This component includes, capacity building of the state level agencies and institutions; preparation of an ICZM plan for the coastal sediment cells in the stretches of Paradip-Dhamra and opalpur-Chilika; regional coastal process study, and priority investments. The project will support capacity building in the area of coastal management and wetland research. The priority nvestments in Orissa shall be concentrated in two stretches namely, (i) Gopalpur-Chilika and (ii) Paradip-Dhamra. The budget for the Orissa component is Rs.201.62crores.

The fourth component involves pilot ICZM studies for West Bengal. The project will support capacity building of the various agencies involved in coastal management and priority investments. This component mainly addresses the coastal zone management issues in three sectors of West Bengal namely, Sundarban, Haldia and Digha-Shankarpur. The budget for the West Bengal component is Rs.300.26 crores.

This World Bank ICZM project is for a period of 5 years. The other States/Union territories would be considered in the subsequent phase of the project. The process has already been initiated and letters has been issued to the Chief Ministers requesting them to send the proposals. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is a nodal agency to implement the above project. The Ministry has set up a Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) for implementing the project. The States of Gujarat, Orissa and West Bengal set up a state level State Project Management Units (SPMU). The total number of indirect beneficiaries is 3.56 crore people from the three state components. The total number of indirect beneficiaries from the project, is 6.30 crore people.

The objective of Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management Project (CBIPMP) is to build human and technical capacity in selected Pollution Control Boards for undertaking environmentally sound remediation of polluted sites and to develop a National programme for rehabilitation of polluted sites. Ten highly polluted sites, two in Andhra Pradesh and eight in West Bengal, have been identified for remediation on a pilot basis. The estimated cost of the project is USD 75.39 million. It will be implemented over a period of five years The CBIPMP has three components namely investments in remediation, rehabilitation and environmental improvements of identified contaminated sites, preparation of a National Plan for Rehabilitation of Polluted Sites (NPRPS) by 2012 and Capacity building of CPCB & the SPCBs.

Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency to implement the above project. A Project Oversight Committee (POC) under the chairmanship of the Secretary (E&F) with the representatives of the concerned Ministries /Departments and experts will be set up in the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The project will be funded through financial assistance from the World Bank (85%) and contribution from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal (15 %).
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=63414