Spreading the good word.
RESPONDING to the lack of awareness on environmental and developmental issues in the country, some non-governmental organisations are trying to spread information in these areas on two fronts. The first is by providing news to agencies and individuals involved in environment-related issues, which is essentially an updating programme. The second involves putting the environmental messages across to people who may not be convinced by them. In this case, the emphasis is more on promoting eco-friendly habits and lifestyles.
The Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Education publishes The SASEANEE Circular, a newsletter of the South and Southeast Asia Network for Environmental Education. The newsletter provides a link between agencies and individuals involved in environmental education in the region. Each issue focuses on an event or subject related to environmental education.
Hima-Paryavaran, published by the G B Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development in Almora, analyses various projects in the Himalayan region. The topics include an action plan for the Himalaya, a proposed programme for conserving plant biodiversity, installation of weather monitoring systems and ecological development.
Development information
Besides work on the environment, there has been a spurt of campaigns on literacy, biogas plants, biomass conservation and utilisation, encouraging women in development activities and solar and wind energy technologies.
The Consortium on Rural Technology newsletter, Changing Villages, focuses on the development of appropriate technologies and industries, such as biogas plants, wind energy, vermiculture and integrated rural energy planning, in rural areas. The newsletter carries research papers, news of the consortium's programmes and projects of other agencies.
UNDP in India, published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), features projects on environment, human resource development, grassroots participation and appropriate technology. It highlights the various activities of UNDP in India.
Moving Technologies, the newsletter of the Council for Advancement of People's Action & Rural Technology, carries articles on smokeless chulhas, sewage treatment through pisciculture, improved implements for agricultural production and training programmes for village youth.