Access to Energy:
Towards Energy Efficiency for Orissa

CEE Orissa has initiated a project titled “Access to Energy” to collect baseline data on electricity distribution, use and bill collection to understand the use of electricity in different categories in rural sectors of Orissa. This was part of a detailed plan of activities to improve energy efficiency in rural areas of the State being designed by Orissa Government.

Preparing social map in Bandalo village

Baseline data of energy usage pattern was collected from 20 villages in 4 clusters; which were selected based upon certain criteria (e.g. highest consumption of electricity, maximum no. of consumers, good bill collection status, etc.). The data was collected directly from the villagers and social institutions with the help of Energy Auditors through participatory methods. The survey considered energy use into 5 categories i.e. domestic use (illumination, cooling appliances, entertainment & other domestic appliances), community use (use of electricity in public places like temple, community hall, etc.), agriculture use (irrigation pumps), public drinking water pumps and Small and Medium Enterprises i.e. SMEs (rice huller, leaf cup and plate pressing machines, etc.).

The study revealed some interesting trends: i) Power consumption in the domestic sector is the maximum, (ii) Power consumption by cooling appliances like fans is more during warmer seasons, (iii) Use of Refrigerators is more in hotter seasons and also in villages having close proximity to towns and cities, (iv) Similarly, use of grinders is also more in villages having close proximity to towns and cities, and (v) Consumption in Agriculture and SME Sectors does not follow any particular pattern; rather it mostly depends on the irrigation potential and raw materials available in the locality. The survey revealed that replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs could save energy by about 70%.

In the second phase, a strategy to improve the energy efficiency is planned. It includes raising awareness at all social levels, making sustainable village energy plan through energy champions in Gram Panchayats, replacing incandescent bulbs at domestic and community level with CFLs and LEDs, devising a cost sharing mechanism with the local community to introduce smokeless chullahas, solar street lights.

CANSA workshop at CEE Ahmedabad

The weak outcome of the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009 underlines the importance of local action – in contrast to international agreements- to combat climate change and adapt to its unavoidable impacts. The Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) for local actions trengthens and expands activities at the regional level towards bridging the different policy levels.

CANSA is part of the Climate Action Network - International (CAN), a worldwide network of over 450 NGOs working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. 

The workshop was attended by Government Departments, NGOs, CANSA members and other institutions

CEE invited CANSA to Ahmedabad for a joint capacity building and networking workshop for 30 NGOs and local actors from Gujaraton climate change in the state. Sanjay Vashist, CANSA member, shared and discussed his views on the Copenhagen outcome, India 's stand at the UNFCCC negotiations and the challenges ahead. His colleagues Dr. Bharat Desai, Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Ram Kishan and Harjeet Singh gave inputs on legal implications, India 's mitigation potentials as well as the need and possibilities of adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Opportunities for cooperation between CANSA and Gujarati NGOs were discussed for follow up of this workshop, held on 29 March 2010. More information about CAN and its membership is available on the website http://www.climatenetwork.org/

Exploring Birhauli Wildlife

A three-day nature camp was organized by Forest Development Agency (FDA), Jabalpur in collaboration with Winrock International India under the programme “Green Young Minds” for developing young climate change leaders.

Dilip Chakravarty, CEE, Madhya Pradesh was actively involved in carrying out nature based activities for students during the camp at Birhuali Range , Katni.

Participants explored Bhadar river through a Water Trail

52 students, 6 teachers and 30 forest officials from different blocks of Katni including forest ranges participated in the camp. Students took part in various activities like Nature Trail, Bird Watching, Jungle Safari, Rope & Ladder Games on Climate Change, Web of Life, Who Am I, Drawing and Painting competition, Lecture, and took active part in group discussions, and cultural events.

A Convergence Model for Development

CEE Kannur has initiated the ‘Pilot Project for Integrated Development' (PPID); a unique convergence model for development through participatory approach. Objectives of the project are to develop the villages under block panchayats in an integrated manner, which would include economic development, infrastructure development and other aspects of human development, i.e., education, health, drinking water supply. The project envisages collaborating with all agencies working at grassroots level. The major focus of the project is to facilitate convergence of all major schemes/ support for the overall development of the block.

The programme brochure was launched by Mr. K. C. Shashidhar, Chief General Manager NABARD on 21 March 2010.

From Riverside to Thaltej Hill

Children of the primary section from Riverside School visited CEE campus on Thaltej Tekra (hill) as part of their educational field trip. The group was taken on a nature trail, where they spotted several birds. Children enjoyed playing treasure hunt games where they had to find clues which match the dry leaves and seeds they saw while on trail. The session ended with children making clay models of snakes and crocodiles. The half day session was facilitated by Girish Jathar from Futures Group, Master Anna from Exhibit Studio group, Radha Rajiv and Darshan Kaur along with CEE's IFC.

Children were shown life size models of animals to discuss life cycles
Endogenous Tourism Project in FACTS

Field Action Science Report (FACTS Report) is a journal of Field Actions published by the Veolia Institute, Paris. The Journal has published a paper on CEE's Endogenous Tourism Project in Vol. 4/1, 2010 and can be accessed online at http://factsreports.revues.org/index424.html .

The paper focuses on the activities carried out under the project, strategies, difficulties faced and how these were addressed. Project activities involved rural infrastructure development and capacity enhancement of local communities through institution building, exposure, training and networking for rural tourism management. CEE has been involved in capacity building of the community.

 

Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management : Resource Guide in Hindi

CEE North has been working with Gender and Water Alliance ( GWA ) for trans-adapting the resource guide on mainstreaming gender in water management into Hindi, for use in India based on the South Asia version. The mission of GWA is to promote women's and men's equitable access to and management of safe and adequate water, for domestic supply, sanitation, food security and environmental sustainability.

The Guide is a reference document to assist water and gender practitioners and professionals as well as persons responsible for gender mainstreaming, and others interested in the water sector.

In addition to the Resource Guide in Hindi, CEE North has also produced a CD which includes the resource guide in four languages i.e. English, Hindi, Bangla and Urdu. The CD links to the four sections of the guide: the key areas of mainstreaming, case studies, reference documents and programme details. The Bangla and Urdu version have been prepared by the partners in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

EcoGuru:
A Teachers' Handbook on EE

CEE and the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) have developed a Teachers' Handbook on EE for classes 3 to 12. This handbook has been developed with the support from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) under its project Strengthening Environmental Education in School System (StrEESS).

EcoGuru attempts to provide opportunities and resources for teachers to support them in developing healthy attitudes and encouraging positive actions through activities, projects and field experiences.

In Punjab , environment education has been introduced at all levels and PSEB is a nodal agency for implementing the Supreme Court directive in the State. For classes 1-10, infusion approach is being followed, while for class 11 and 12, it is being taught as separate subject. PSEB felt strong need of providing resources for teachers to help them effectively transact EE.

ESD Orientation Programme for NSS, Rajasthan

CEE is developing Facilitators' Manual on Environment and Sustainable Development for the National Service Scheme (NSS) on behalf of Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. NSS provides a meaningful window to integrate values and principles of ESD in higher education. The manual explores ideas that can integrate work experience and national service into education system.

For field-testing of the manual, Gopal Jain, Prajeet Shekhawat and Shivani Jain of CEE conducted an Orientation Workshop on Environment and Sustainable Development for Rajasthan NSS Programme Officers. The three-day workshop at Jaipur was conducted for 30 NSS officers on request of RGNIYD.

Besides the classroom sessions, the participants visited Laporiya village where Gram Vikas Navyuvak Mandal has been working for about 30 years. Participants analysed the village development work of the NGO in context of sustainable development.

Delhi Schools Go Greener

The ‘Go Green Programme' with schools in Delhi is in full swing. The programme supported by the Ministry of Human Resources Development aims at promoting sustainable lifestyles and environment education among students, through hands-on experience. A paper recycling unit was set up at Richmond Global School to encourage the school to save paper and recycle the waste paper.

An introductory workshop and demonstration session was conducted to introduce the students to the concept, need and process of paper recycling. Students participated in the workshop with enthusiasm and made several sheets of recycled paper. A small biodiversity garden was also set up in the 3 schools with several medicinal and aromatic plants. Children were acquainted with the concept of biodiversity and the need for gardens through interactive workshops. As a follow-up, students will adopt one plant each, find out details about it like medicinal uses etc. and continue to monitor its growth over a period of time, recording it through photographs and observations.

Multi-stakeholder Consultation on Polluted Sites

Waste and Resource Management (WaRM) group of CEE has taken the initiative towards facilitating the remediation of contaminated soil, and improving environmental scenario of select districts of Orissa through the project "Multi-stakeholder group consultation for addressing Industrial Waste Management in Orissa ".

Under the project, CEE is working towards the attempt to address/explore some participatory solutions to remediate the contaminated soil, as well as on the ways to decrease the environmental burden caused by industrial waste.

The first multi-stakeholder consultation was conducted on 25 March 2010 in Bhubaneswar. The agenda of the meeting was to highlight the major interventions that various stakeholders can provide to build up a plan of action and to develop a roadmap for further addressing the problem in the region.

The consultation was facilitated by Coordinator with inputs from WaRM team based in Bhubaneswar . CEE aims to take the recommendations of the consultations as a guide for planning the next quarter intervention in the project.

CEE NE highlights Climate Change

All India Radio, Guwahati broadcast a discussion about Post Copenhagen Scenario of Climate Negotiation. Representatives of Environment Division of Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, Assam Engineering College and CEE North East Coordinator participated in the programme. Simanta Kalita of CEE NE narrated the roadmap to Copenhagen from Rio through Montreal , Bali and Bonn.

The discussion supported India 's proactive declaration of target to reduce emission. Emphasizing India 's leading role in the third world, the discussion expressed hope that India will continue to play a more proactive role in the future and expected that soon all the countries will join the Convention.

Environmental Watch and Management Institute at the Regional Science Centre, Guwahati arranged a seminar on Climate Change and Renewable Energy on March 29, 2010 . Simanta delivered a talk in the opening session of the seminar.

Simanta, in his interactive session highlighted the current development trends in developed and developing countries and analyzed the critical role of energy in development of any economy. Citing example of Bus Rapid Transport system in Ahmedabad and rocket trains in Europe , he explained how proper development planning can transform transportation sector and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Upholding India 's National Action Plan on Climate Change, he expressed hope as the Government is already spending more than 2% of GDP in climate change adaptations. He explained CEE's ‘Hand Print' concept and appealed to students and researchers to concentrate to increase hand print along with reducing footprint.

CEE