serinews february 2016 - Shrishti Eco

SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
Vol. 10, No. 2, February, 2016
With you in Pursuit of Sustainable
Management of Finite Water Resources
Chief Editor
Sayali Joshi, CEO
Executive Editor, Design
Susmit
Editorial Board
Dr. Pramod Salaskar
Pallavi Patil
Samadhan Janganure
Advisors
Dr. Mangesh Kashyap
Dr. Jayant Mandlik
Dr. Suresh Karkhanis
Mr. Vinod Bodhankar
Contact: Executive Editor, Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, B-106, Devgiri,
Opp. P. L. Deshpande Garden, Near Ganesh Mala, Pune – 411 030. India.
Phone: 91-20-24253773 /Telefax: 91-20-66206539
Website: www.seriecotech.com
Email: [email protected]
Point for discussion this month
In Indian context, which smart cities are
we need?
(For private circulation only) Pl. note that the ownership of views expressed by the
author lies with him / her only. SERI‟s management does not endorse or own them.
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
Our health relies entirely on the vitality of our fellow species on Earth.
~ Harrison Ford
The beauty of Mother Nature is her ability to make complex things appear
simple.
~ Loius E Samuels, M.D.
Everybody loves birdsong. It's a human need... the sound of birds gives a
deep, if sometimes almost unnoticed, pleasure
- Simon Barnes, Wild Notebook, The Times (31.12.2011)
1
SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
Dear Readers,
Condolence
Greetings!
In India, everywhere, rounds of discussions on Smart Cities are going on. Since our
Hon. Prime Minister has announced the idea of developing 100 Smart Cities, local
authority of each city is in the race to enroll their city in the list of those 100 cities.
In India we have total 497 cities (having population 1 lakh and above) out of which
10 are metro-cities (having population more than 4 million).
So many ideas are coming forward from different fields of the society. Most of
them are based on developing big infrastructures, state of art facilities,
automations, etc. Is it really possible to change the existing cities in “Smart City”
with the current mindset of the citizens and administration? Can big engineering
marvels and capital investment assure the sustainability and good governance?
Very less number of discussions is focused on the environmental governance and
environmental sustainability of the dream cities.
Smartness is not a physical property. It reflects the passionate, applied state of
mind which can survive in any given situation. We are thinking of such cities
which can take care of livelihood of the citizens and provide good environment to
live in. The next SERInews issue will discuss about „Smart City‟ in detail.
SERI Team is very much honored to have Padmshri Dr. Arun Firodiaji to deliver
the second lecture of Prof. Sandeep Joshi memorial lecture series, to commemorate
his passionate work for the environment. The lecture was focused on the Smart
City issue. We at SERI are very much thankful to all the supporters and wellwishers for making the programme very interactive and memorable.
SERI team is grateful to the organizers of National Conference on " Coastal and
Estuarine Habitat Restoration" held on 23rd September,2015 to observe the first
death anniversary of our mentor late Prof. Sandeep Joshi. We really appreciate the
hard work and efforts taken by organizing committee to make the conference a
success.
Thanking you
Chief Editor
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
Rest in Peace Er. Mukund Dharashivkar
Unfortunately we lost Er. Mukund Dharashivkar, a great engineer and a devoted
water worrier on 13th February 2016.
May the divine soul rest in peace!
SERI team is with his family in this period of grief. May God give the family, the
strength and courage to sustain this difficult situation.
Some remarkable achievements by Er Dharashivkar:
First Novel "Ringan" in Marathi language published in 1980 and recognized by
listing in best 10 novels of the year.
Up to now--14 books published. 4 novels, 3 one act plays, 1 poetry book, books on
housing, 2 books on water conservation. 2 books on Vision Document of Dhule
District (Chief Editor of the project) 2 novels won the prize of best novels.
Worked on the 1st phase of making the seasonal Panzara River Perennial again, this
project funded by govt. of India and executed by local govt. authorities.
He was involved as a consultant of the project and the member of the expert
committee.
Researched on “Evolution of Civil Engineering and its development in the
Khandesh region (the north-western portion of Maharashtra state)"
Wrote a series on water awakening in Daily "lokmat" in 180 parts titled "Pani
Tumache –Aamche (Water – Our & Yours)"
Worked in searching out the engineering knowledge in old Sanskrit Granthas
Involved in many cultural circles & cultural activities
2
SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
Prof. Sandeep Joshi Memorial Lecture Series – Second
Year 2016
Since the year 2015 Shrishti Eco-Research Institute (SERI), Society for Environment
Education Research And Management (SEERAM) and Shrishti Environment and
Sustainability Society (SESS) started Prof. Sandeep Joshi Memorial Lecture Series
to commemorate the loving memories of our mentor Prof. Sandeep Joshi,
Ecotechnologist, who relentlessly worked for more than 25 years for the restoration
of the polluted waters, rivers and drains both nationally and internationally. To
reminisce his extravagant achievement and to honor the great tradition of work set
by Prof. Sandeep Joshi, every year we organize this memorial lecture on his birth
anniversary on 7th January,2016.
We are honoured to invite Stockholm water prize winner Dr. Madhav Chitale as
Guest speaker for first memorial lecture as he has witnessed the hard work of Prof.
Sandeep Joshi very closely. He enlighten the audience on „Environmental
Management of Water‟
The second lecture of the series was organized on 7 th January 2016 in Pune. This
year Padmashri Dr. Arun Firodia, Thinker and Chairman of Kinetic group of
industries was the guest speaker and Guest of Honor was Dr. D. M. More, Director
SinchanYog. Also on the dais was Mrs. Sayali Joshi CEO of SERI and Dr. Mangesh
Kashyap, President of SEERAM. The programme was inaugurated traditionally
with Jal-Pujan.
The programme was well attended by people from all walks of societies who
worked with Prof. Joshi and know his work and passion. All were gathered to
show their gratitude towards the great visionary.
A film „Sandeep Joshi… An inspiring Confidence‟ was shown at the beginning.
The journey of devoted life of Prof. Sandeep Joshi for the restoration of water
bodies has been showcased in the film which is conceptualized by Mr. Kiran Joshi,
well-known reporter who traveled a lot with Mr. Joshi on river journey in
Maharashtra state and scripted by Mrs. Ambegaonkar of SEERAM. It touched the
heart of the audience and inspired them a lot.
Prof. Sandeep Joshi was a world-renowned Indian ecologist. He worked
unswervingly for sustainable ecological restoration of polluted water bodies both
nationally and internationally. He served as atechnical expert for various national
as well as international organizations like the „International Lake Environment
Committee‟ (ILEC) foundation of Japan, „Indian Association of Aquatic Biologists‟
(IAAB) etc. He worked with JICA, Japan and Government of Zimbabwe for
ecological restoration of Lake Chivero and also worked with ILEC and
Government of Kenya for the effective solution for the pollution of one of the
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
biggest trans-boundary lakes, Lake Victoria. He published more than 100 scientific
reports and research papers on eco-technology at national and international podia.
Dr. Kashyap of SEERAM made the audience familiar with the objective and the
thought behind the programme. Mrs. Sayali Joshi of SERI shared some memories
of Prof. Joshi as a guide, visionary and founder Director of SERI. She also told
about SERI‟s recent projects.
Dr. D. M. More shared some of the memories of Late Prof. Sandeep Joshi with the
audience. In his motivating speech he explained concept of “Water Ethics” and
“equitable distribution of water among the people.” He elucidated the need of
proper implementation of Zero discharge concept among the community to solve
the problems of the urban cities. He explained, how enormous discharges of
untreated or partially treated domestic and industrial wastewater has affected the
water quality of river. He emphasized the use of treated domestic waste water for
irrigation/agricultural instead of releasing back into the river.
Prof. Sandeep Joshi memorial lecture was delivered by Dr. Firodia. His talk was on
“Water Management, Control and Utilization of water for Smart City”. He
elaborated the concept of smart cities with pertinent examples.
According to him, in India, more than thousands of rivers are flowing through
different areas of the country still some areas are facing water scarcity. Hence
proper management of water is highly important.
Construction of dam is useful for some places to control floods but dams destroy
river‟s upstream as well as downstream biodiversity. Also it is main reason for
over-exploitation of water. It influences the natural water cycle. So he stressed to
stop construction of new dams.
Use of sustainable, eco-friendly and low cost techniques for treating and recycling
of waste water for non-consumptive purposes is the need of the hour. Recycling of
treated water will help to reduce burden on fresh water supply. He discussed
about sustainable water cycle to be adopted for smart cities. He talked about
importance of the public participation in smart cities development. He intricate the
need to work relentlessly to bring about the changes needed in society and in
governance for sustainable environment.
Question and answer session followed the lectures by experts. Audience actively
asked their queries to the experts.
Mrs. Shirish Ambegaonkar anchored this event. Dr. Mangesh Kashyap expressed
the vote of thanks.
3
SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
Mrs. Sayali Joshi
Dr. Mangesh Kashyap
On dice – from Left Dr. Magesh Kashyap, Dr. D. M. More, Dr.
Padmashi Arun Firodia, Mrs. Sayali Joshi
Prof. Sandeep Joshi memorial lecture by Dr. Padmashi Arun Firodia
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
Dignified audience / August Gathering
Chief Guest address by Dr. D. M. More
4
SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
From SERI’s Desk
National conference on “Coastal and Estuarine Habitat
Restoration”
The coastal ecosystems Viz. estuaries, backwaters, mangrove forests, sea grass beds
sea weeds and coral reefs contribute considerably to the fertility and productivity
of the coastal waters. These are breeding centers and nursery grounds for a
numbers of fishes, prawns and other aquatic fauna. Sincere efforts are needed to
protect and restore these ecosystems. The cities of Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and
Mumbai are fortunate to have creeks (Thane) and estuaries (Ulhas River estuary
and Mahim) alongside. However in past few decades, the anthropogenic activities
have polluted them significantly.
Considering the importance of the coastal ecosystems and the need for their,
conservation and restoration a one day national conference on “Coastal and
Estuarine Habitat Restoration” was jointly organized by VPM‟s B. N. Bandodkar
College of Science, Thane and Naushad Ali Sarovar Samvardhini (NASS), Mumbai
in association with Indian Association of Aquatic Biologists (IAAB), Hyderabad
and Society for Environment Education Research and Management (SEERAM),
Pune on 23rd September 2015 at Thane to commensurate the loving memory of
Prof. Sandeep Joshi ( Founder Director of SERI, Pune) on his first death
anniversary.
participation in Urban Solid Waste Management.” He talked about issue of solid
waste generation in Metro cities and role of segregation and how recycling of
plastic will be a promising solution not only for Municipal Solid Waste
Management but also for deteriorating ecological health of rivers and sea.
The book written by Dr. S. G. Yeragi, President of NASS, Mumbai on “Fishes of
Mithbav Creek and Environment” was published on this occasion.
Students from various institutions, active environmentalist and technologist
working in field of environment actively participated and shared their experiences
in the poster presentation competition. Ecotourism in creeks/Estuaries, Coastal
Ecosystems in urban environment, Public Participation in Conservation of
creeks/estuaries, Current Status of Mangroves Forests and Biodiversity,
Management Plans for Conservation of Sustainable use of Mangroves and Future
Plans and Policies for Preservation of Coastal Ecosystem such topics was selected
for poster presentation.
At the end, Dr. Mrs. N. N. Patil, Professor of B. N. Bandodkar College of Science,
Thane expressed the vote of thanks.
Next day morning, optional one day field trip was arranged to study nearby
mangroves area under the guidance of experts. Interested students and
participants participated in this field visit.
Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh, Vice Chancellor of University of Mumbai was chief guest.
Mrs. Sayali Joshi, CEO, SERI was specially invited for the programme. The
programme started in a traditional way by enlightening of auspicious lamp. Dr. V.
V. Bedekar, Chairman of Vidya Prasarak Mandal, Thane gave Presidential address
of this workshop.
This conference was organized to commemorate the loving memories of Dr.
Sandeep Joshi, a world-renowned Indian ecologist who worked for sustainable
ecological restoration of polluted water bodies both nationally and internationally,
on his first death anniversary and Dr. Mohan Kodarkar, an outstanding ecologist
of India who literally lived “Ecosystem Approach” throughout his professional
career.
Dr. A. G. Untawale, President of Mangrove Society of India was delivered Dr.
Mohan Kodarkar memorial lecture on “Management of Coastal Vegetation” while
Dr. Sandeep Joshi memorial lecture was delivered by Dr. Goldin Quodrous, Senior
Scientist of Salim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON),
Coimbatore on topic “Public Participation in Conservation of Creeks /Estuaries”.
A well-known activist in solid waste recycling/management Mr. Vinod
Bodahankar, Director of Sagarmitra Abhiyan, Pune discussed “People’s
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
5
SERInews Vol. 10, No.2, February, 2016
On dice - From Left to right Dr Sanjay Deshmukh Chief guest and Vice-Chancellor,
University of Mumbai, Dr. S. G. Yeragi, Dr. Mangesh Kashyap, Dr. P. A. Azeez, Dr.
Madhuri Pajaver and Dr. Athalye R. P.
Dr. P A Azeez, Director, Salim Ali Centre
for Ornithology and Natural History
Anaikatty
Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, Pune
Dr. Mohan Kodarkar memorial lecture
delivered by Dr Arvind Untawale, ExDy. Director,National Institute of
Oceanography (NIO), Goa
Dignified audience / August Gathering
Prof Sandeep Joshi memorial lecture
delivered by Dr. Goldin Quadros, Sr.
Scientist, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology
and Natural History Anaikatty
Dr. S. G. Yeragi President, NASS,
Powai, Mumbai
6