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"For private circulation only" Volume 2.3, April 22, 2000
The Mysore Environment
Trust(R) News Letter EARTH DAY SPECIAL -Web Version
Mysore Local Agenda-21
The Mysore
Environment Trust(R)
"Sahana" 437, A & B Block, Double Road, Kuvempu
Nagara, Mysore 570 023,INDIA, Tel : 542694/543135/483332/443236
Fax : 544918(pp)
Mobile : 98450-13657, E-Mail : Jags_environs57@yahoo.com:jags_environs@vsnl.com
Design : "jags@ environs"
Advisors: Prof. V M Parvathamma, Shri. Krishna Vattam, Shri.R G Narasimha Iyengar
MET initiated Mysore Local Agenda Network (MLAN) since 1998 with participation of Civic & Environmental NGOs, CBOs & Individuals at Mysore. Any NGO,CBO or an individual at Mysore concerned and wishing to participate for a vision and agenda on Mysore environment can participate in MLAN. MLAN is an informal networking platform for Civic and Environmental issues. Exchange of information from the community perspective is the objective of MLAN. In MLAN there are over 120 individual voluntary members from 12 NGOs, 7 CBOs.MLAN monthly meeting’s are voluntary individual meeting’s representing organizations or individuals themselves. Since May ‘98 till April 2000, 25 MLAN meetings have been held, a maximum of 52 and minimum of 06 members have participated in these meetings. As per the MLAN principle two individuals/organizations are necessary to establish minimum networking. On MLAN Contact Conveners; SGV-515187 and VJ:98450 13657.
Since 1970, April 22, is the Earth Day. About 2 Million people in USA during 1970 demanded action to protect the environment. by 1990, 200 Million people world over influenced heads of state leading to Earth Summit 1992. Every Earth Day has been a symbolic human response to an essential proactive life style. Since 1990, citizen group's world over have been celebrating Earth Day as INTERNATIONAL CITIZEN'S DAY. On April 22, 2000 over 4000groups in 168 countries are planning to make a difference by mobilising people with concern for action . MET® is a partner in Earth Day Network.
On April 22, 2000 Earth Day Network is Launching an ENERGY REVOLUTION. It aims a swift transition from out dated, polluting energy sources to an energy system based on super efficiency and clean, safe, renewable energy sources.
Earth Day 2000 has six specific objectives:
What Students Say on Earth Day?
Mother Earth
May I request all of you to close your eyes for a minute ?
Now, you will see a luscious velvety green valley: everywhere you find colorful bright flowers smiling at you. A clean stream is flowing down with rhythmical melodious music. The little birds are chirping from tree tops.
Oh, what a splendid sight !
On the other hand if you open your eyes and see around, you find rubble and trash and polythene bags- everywhere. The sun is scorching over your head. Oh God, where is the cool shade of trees ? No birds, no rabbits,no deer ! No music - but only the jarring noise of machines and automobiles.! There you find only the roasting sand. You are suffocated. This dust-this smoke-you are grasping for oxygen.
You wish to run back to the serene
valley:but can you ?
Can we still hope to get back to the valley ?
Remember, "Where there is a will, there is a way."
Miss.S.Shambhavi,VI B, DMS School, @ Earth Day’99
Why celebrate earth day ?
Man is using the earth from millions of years ago till now. Hence
he should protect the earth. But he is not, he is polluting the
environment and creating trouble to other animal, plants and
himself too. So to protect the earth at least once a year we
should think and act. The is what is Earth Day for !
Master M K Dhaval,VII A, DMS School @Earth
Day’99
World Environment Day 1999 at Mysore !
WED was celebrated on June 5,1999 jointly by the Institution of Mysore(India), Mysore, KSPCB and MET(R). Earlier, in the day MET(R) with partnership of ten CBOs and NGOS organized at Kuvempu Nagar community programmes of tree planting and medicinal plants.. Prizes were distributed to the children who won essay and painting competitions. Three Environmental Engineers namely, Er. V. Jagannatha, Er.V.Chandrashekar and Er.T P Halappa Gowda, were honored on the occasion. Prof U R Anantha Murthy, Gnana Peetha Awardee and Sri. A N Yellappa Reddy, former Secretary, Department of Ecology & Environment,GOK delivered speeches. I(E), Mysore Chairman, Er. K N .Subba Rao Presided over the function. Prof. URA stressed that the youths must take lead and work for the presevation of the environment. Best practices in selected industries were identified and its representatives were honored on the occasion.
Mysore hosted National Seminar on Environmental Impact of Urban Development Projects during November 26-27,1999.
The seminar was attended by over 56 participants representing Central,State, and Local bodies, Acdemicians,Consultants,NGO,and Students deliberated on the EIA for Urban Development projects.
The Seminar was jointly organized by Decentralized Training for Urban Development Projects(DTUDP),ATI,Mysore & HUDCO,New Delhi,hsml,New Delhi and IHS, The Netherlands. Prof. S N Hegde, vice-chancellor University of Mysore delivered a key note address.
21 recommendations were evolved at the seminar, namely, 1) A human settlement policy 2) Evolving EIAs tools in urban projects 3) India’s Compliance to Agenda-21 4) EIAs for major urban projects 5) Stake holders participation in urban projects 6) Empowerment of community through specific action plans 7) Validation of Environmental Sound Technologies(ESTs) and use of GIS and remote sensing in urban projects 8) Expertise from outside and inside optimized for professional input 9) Communication tools for effective dialogues 10) Development of environmental data bank 11) Use of LCA in EIA studies 12) Proper resettlement plans for affected populations 13) Effective emergency and disaster management plans 14) Action on 12 and 13 by District Magistrates 15) Consultants to take pro-active role 16) Promotion of Eco-friendly life styles and materials 17) Effective use of participatory tools 18) Integrated comprehensive environmental action plan for housing projects 19) Demonstrative pilot projects through networking with best practices 20) Capacity building through training for effectiveness of 74th amendment to Constitution of India. 21) Curbing unsustainble consumerism.
A paper on " EIAs and ESTs in the Urban Development Projects- A case study on Mysore Urban Region " presented in the seminar., with full text of it is now available at web site http://www.vishalcomputech.faithweb.com/MLAN.
Sri Suresha, an internet network expert/ computer trainer and a member,MLAN has sponsored the above paper/MET(R) few details in his web site won in a competition. Congratulations. Suresha !
"LAKES - The Eyes of the Earth : Preserve them"
Mysore witnessed yet an other Public Hearing. This time it was on the Lingabudhi Lake and Outer Ring Road(ORR) on Jan 12th,2000
MET(R) filed its views and written communications on the issue. MET(R) focused on the issue of ecological planning not taken account in spite of such a demand in the form of 37 specific suggestions received by the MUDA for its RCDP in 1992 itself. The present impasse could have been prevented saving precious money and time, if ecological planning and guideline on the lakes preservation is built within the CDP for Mysore city.
It is an unpalatable fact that, sheer ecological concerns do not protect the lakes, and it is the absence of ecological concepts in urban planning which are of serious concern for Mysore.
Shri. R G Narasimha Iyengar, Advocate & Former Mayor, Mysore suggested in the meeting that ORR at Lingabudhi lake portion may be dropped. and deviated to minimum of over 2 kms away. This can be done by developing all intermediate roads around the Lake.
More than anything else, absence of a perspective planning guideline for water bodies at Mysore worries any ecologically sensible soul..
workshop on Conservation and Management of Lakes in Mysore region "Vision and Agenda"was organized jointly by MET(R) and Dvanyaloka,.
Sri.Shrikantadattanarasimharaja Wodeyor,Former Prince and Member of Parliament, Mysore inaugurated the Workshop on Jan 22nd, 2000 at Mysore. Shri. Wodeyar expressed serious concern about the trends which overlook the ecological aspects of Lingabudhi Lake.The tanks are a part of our heritage which we have inherited from our ancestors and therefore must be saved. There are about 700 to 800 tanks in Mysore and nearly 60 percent of them were in bad shape because of urbanization and disruption of the water shed, Wodeyor said..
THE BID DAM FOOLISHNESS APPROACH" of the modern times, Wodeyor referred and cited how over 400 to 500 years old Mysore kingdom examples give us adequate wisdom to over come the present day water resource constraint.
Prof. C D Narasimhaiah, Director,DvanyaLoka welcomed the gathering and recalled the great American naturalist Thoreau, Munis and Rishis and Buddha who have stressed a need of harmony with Nature.
Prof. V M Parvathamma, Chairman,MET(R)& Senate/ Syndicate Member, University of Mysore was present.. Prof. C N Srinath, Director, PG Centre, Mandya,UOM compeered the inaugural programme. The Workshop was technically designed by Er.V.Jagannatha, Former Director, ETI-KSPCB-DANIDA
In the Workshop Dr. B S Chandra Shekara Mutt, Chief Geophysicist, Bangalore and Mr.V.Mahesh, Hydrogeologist, Mines and Geology Dept., Prof. E T Puttaiah, Chairman, Dept. of Studies in Envl. Science, Kuvempu University, Dr.Somasherkara Reddy, IIM Bangalore, Dr.Y.Lingaraju, Director, Karnataka Remote Sensing Centre, Mr. U N Ravi Kumar, CART,NIE, Dr.C K Murthy, MD, Karnataka Fisheries Federation, Mysore, Er.V.Jagannatha, Environmental Engineer presented papers. Proceedings of the workshop are now available at MET: Contact Mobile 98450 13657. The Workshop was partly sponsored by Mahajana Education Society, Sri. R Vasudeva Murthy, Karnataka Cooperative Fisheries Federation and Sri. R G Narsimha Iyengar.
MET...action : Flash News
# The International Lake
Environment Committee (UNEP) Japan is keen to support the
movement of presevation of lakes and tanks at Mysore region
through Kyoto University of Japan with University of Mysore and
The Mysore Environment Trust®
# A Workshop on Conservation and Management of Kukkarahalli Lake
in June 2000 and an Action plan for the Kukkarahalli Lake
including its environs in December 2000 is planned by MET® and
Dhwanyaloka in partenership with University of Mysore
