Urban Update September 2022

Quality is just one of our strengths

AIILSG has begun skill development programmes in Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The institute with its 90+ years of experience in the field of capacity building would impart training to youth living in rural areas of these two states to make them employable in various emerging sectorsApparel, Beauty & Wellness, Electronics, Healthcare, IT-ITEs, and Renewable Energy. As per Mou singed, AIILSG will train 16,000 youngsters.

AIILSG IS comm I tted to bu IL d empowered Ind IA w I th S k ILL ed hum A n workforce

For Details, email at delhi@aiilsg.org

UrbanUpdate

A

Ranjit

Dr

Ashok Wankhade

Abhishek

Ravi Ranjan

Hitesh Nigam

Pushpender

Arjun Singh

Meenakshi Rajput

Volume VIII - Issue V

Printed and published by Ranjit Chavan on behalf of All India Institute of Local Self-Government. Printed at Artz & Printz, 208, DSIDC Shed, Okhla Industrial Area Phase-I New PublishedDelhi-110020atSardar Patel Bhavan, 22-23, Institutional Area D-Block Pankha Road, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058

Note: Subscriptions are only invited from municipal corporations, government bodies, academic & research institutions, etc. working in the domain of urban development. We only levy courier and handling charges. We may fully waive-off the charges for municipalities and academic institutions upon receiving such request and approval from our management.

Despite careful selection of sources, no responsibility can be taken for accuracy of the contents. The magazine assumes no liability or responsibility of any kind in connection with the information thereof. The views expressed in the articles are the personal opinions of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the All India Institute of Local Self-Government. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.

Mail Box

Readers’ comments, criticism and suggestions are welcome. Letters to the Editor can be sent by e-mail, or regular mail. They should include name, address, phone number(s), and e-mail address, if available. The subject of the communication should be clearly mentioned, and we reserve the right to edit for sense, style, and space.

Address

Urban Update (All India Institute of Local Self-Government) Sardar Patel Bhavan, 22-23, Institutional Area, D Block Pankha Road, Janakpuri, Delhi-110058

FOR SUBSCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING RELATED ASSISTANCE, CONTACT Phone: 011 - 2852 1783/ 5473 (Extn. 37) E-mail: contacturbanupdate@gmail.com

UrbanUpdate

Join Urban Update Community Online to read our previous issues, regular posts and news updates.

European Union AIILSG

The project is funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented by the AIILSG. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.

Dr Jairaj Phatak Editor-In-Chief

Biodiversity conservation for our planet’s well-being

iodiversity starts in the distant past and it points toward the future’ is an apt quote much valid in today’s world. Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life forms one will find in one’s surroundings – plants animals, trees, insects, marine life and microorganisms. All these make up the natural world. Naturally, the biodiversity of every place could vary; that which we find in coastal regions, in arid regions, in the hills, the plains, etc. And therein lies the magnificence of nature’s bounty that we have been blessed with.

As humans, it is therefore our duty to preserve and nourish the biodiversity around us which nature has blessed us with. Each of the life forms comprising the biodiversity serves a purpose in maintaining the ecological balance in our surroundings as well as meeting the needs of other life forms including mankind. For instance, small insects and other creatures serve as food for sparrows. The loss of insects due to use of pesticides could lead to extinction of sparrows. Similarly microorganisms as well as seaweeds serve as food for fishes which in turn feed humans and provide us nutrition. Various species also provide us natural fuels, medicines, etc. They also provide services such as pollination and climate regulation and water purification. This entire chain is necessary for sustaining all life forms and ensuring well-being of this planet. Sadly, the current situation in most parts of our planet is far from satisfactory. Rapid and relentless urbanisation among other phenomena is, for example, destroying many of our urban spaces and robbing them of their flora and fauna, tree cover, and natural inhabitants. Similarly, pollution of our rivers, lakes and oceans has already deprived these water bodies of much of their living elements and led to great ecological imbalance. Not only that, pollutants (such as micro plastics) in the seas have entered the marine life and therefrom the human food chain, putting us all in grave physical danger.

There is thus need for urgent corrective measures. Local government authorities who govern our urban spaces could play a leading role. Primarily there is need for awareness building among the citizens on the wide biodiversity, how these are all intricately linked, and their role in enabling well-being of this planet. Schools are a good place to start such awareness building; in fact, many facets of biodiversity are built into school curriculums. Local governments could reinforce these with special programmes during national event days and festivals. Some cities have created biodiversity parks. These are very useful in attracting visits by local citizen groups, school children, etc. and knowledge sharing during such visits.

In addition to such awareness building there is the Biological Diversity Act 2002 which provides a legislative framework to guide the activities of local governments and other authorities. The Act provides for setting up regulatory bodies and mechanisms to ensure efforts are made in the right direction towards biodiversity conservation.

This issue of Urban Update brings together views and recommendations from knowledgeable contributors in the field and is likely to help accelerate action towards biodiversity conservation.

PIN POINT BUZZ

Greta Thunberg Swedish Climate

The young generation is a generation that has grown up with climate change and which is rightly demanding intergenerational solidarity and inclusion of their asks in policymaking. They can be effective agents of change, taking lead in addressing this planetary crisis and climate movements worldwide

Ovais Sarmad Deputy Executive Secretary,

There’sUN

a huge need to seed innovation today to invest in the new technologies we will need tomorrow if we are going to operate our global economy and support a healthy society at scale in a way that’s sustainable for the planet

Unprecedented(GIIN)price

surges mean that for many people across the world, the food that they could afford yesterday is no longer attainable today. This cost-of-living crisis is tipping millions of people into poverty and even starvation at a breathtaking speed

@GretaThunbergActivist

The world is still expanding fossil fuel infrastructure and pouring astronomical amounts of money into destruction. We are still speeding in the wrong direction. There is indeed a long way ahead of us - but we are still here and we are not planning on going anywhere

Ibrahim Thiaw Executive Secretary

@ibrahimThiawUNCCD

I urge you to sincerely implement the G20 initiative’s target of a 50 percent reduction in degraded land by 2040, but also to make plans to exceed it in terms of timeline and scope. I urge you to invest in restoring land, so that it boosts water storage, reverses biodiver sity loss, and increases food production

Assaad Razzouk CEO, Gurin

Based@assaadRazzoukEnergyonthesame

Achim Steiner UNDP Administrator

principle that powers the stars including our own sun, a couple of nuclear reactors running on small pellets could power our planet without the risk of a catastrophic meltdown and zero greenhouse gas emissions

Cartoonists & Cities

The names of some cartoonists have been associated with cities. Mario Miranda for drawing Mumbai and Goa in a humorously vivid way; Paul Fernandes capturing the Bengaluru in his unique telling style; and RK Laxman covering urban woes of common man in various cities and elsewhere in his famous Times of India column

Amit Boura CEO, Global Impact Investing Network

Commercial benifits of cashing in on poultry farming

Jharkhand is a state rich in culture and diversity. For ages, poultry and livestock rearing has been a part of Jharkhand’s culture. The culture is so deeply embedded in the roots that it has been seen that every household in the villages has some cattle or poultry birds. Since independence poultry farming in India has changed tremendously.

It has evolved from an unorganised sector and non-scientific system to organized and more methodical, planned, scientific, commercial, and structured ways. It has progressed from a backyard farming practice to a full-fledged technological-commercial sector e.g. Layer Chicken Farming. During the CovID -19 pandemic period, we have seen a huge demand for proteins. So that consumers have started looking for something which can fulfil their needs in a cost-effective manner. With chicken and egg being a source of protein, poultry farming has shown surprising growth.

obJeCTIveS oF CapaCITy buILDIng oF Women In pouLTry

TheFarmIngprojectrecognizes the potential in the villages and aims to promote culture into entrepreneurship among rural women. one of the primary objectives of promoting entrepreneurship in poultry farming in Jharkhand is to provide better income opportunities to poor women farmers and people from indigenous communities living in remote areas. Among its benefits, it can help make rural women economically and socially empowered and can address the issues of food insecurity and malnutrition. Thus, fulfilling the goals of SDgs. Women interested in poultry production can start a business after receiving training from the girl power project in poultry which includes layer and broiler raising, feed formulation, cage fabrication, poultry pharmaceuticals, processing of poultry

TEAM GIRL POWER

Non-residential training programme in Khunti district

meat and eggs, hatchery management, and poultry equipment. The poultry industry has enormous potential to employ unemployed youngsters, rural women, and small and marginal farmers.

The main goal of the girl power project is to create rural women entrepreneurs and enterprises in order to provide them with opportunities for growth, financial stability, and social status and recognition. The objective of the project is to create women entrepreneurs and enterprises at a rural level by creating a platform that provides them with an opportunity for growth, financial stability and social status and recognition. Training on poultry was arranged for women entrepreneurs with the aim of creating women entrepreneurs and building their skills and capacity to foster entrepreneurial skills.

TConDuCTIngraInIngon pouLTry unDer gIrL poWer uproJeCTndertheambit

of girl power project a non-residential training was organised from July 23 to July 25, 2022 at Khunti Sadar block in Khunti District in

Jharkhand on poultry Farming as there is highly potentiality for livestock development due to climate and biodiversity in Jharkhand. There were around 72 women who participated in this training. The trainees were motivated to learn the various types of techniques used in poultry farming such as; broiler poultry farming, layer poultry farming, country chicken farming, etc. The trainer informed women participants about the benefits of poultry farming and how they can set up infrastructure for the same. Starting a poultry farm may be challenging but it will benefit in long term. They have also emphasised the selection of the location, shelters, breed, feeding and vaccination.vaccination plays a major role in this type of farming as it protects from diseases and viruses. The selection of location is as important as the selection of breed. The size of the land will be determined by the number of birds the person want on the farm. The location should be ideal and free from predatory animals that could harm birds or farm structures. The shelter also plays a vital role in this. To protect them from extreme climate conditions, it is important to have a good shelter. The

shelter should have good ventilation as it enables better growth of birds. by ensuring all these one can easily earn profit and sustain their business for a long period of time.

beneFITS oF CommerCIaL pouLTry pFarmIngoultryfarming has a lucrative marketplace in India and has many benefits.

♦ Initial Capital is not very high. The business can sustain itself with minimal cost and grow into something greater over time.

♦ The market share is good and has full opportunities which can provide entrepreneurship prospects to those who are looking for them.

♦ In India, all good quality birds are available in the market for commercial production.

♦ poultry farming is one of those industries that can provide a significant profit margin. Poultry farming generates greater profit than expected because it is costeffective. one can start with a few birds and expand their poultry company from there.

♦ Farmers have easy access to bank loans to start their enterprise. There are various schemes from the government to help such enterprises.

♦ poultry products like egg and chicken meat have high nutritional value. It contains all amino acids and proteins. because of this high nutritional value, it has huge demand in the market.

gouTComeirlpowerproject aims to empower and uplift rural women entrepreneurs, by promoting social entrepreneurship in the poultry farming business. Thus, women entrepreneurs will enhance and uplift the socioeconomic status of their families besides earnings. The girl power project will further provide the marketing support needed for the marketing of poultry products and other products which will help their business to flourish.

Trainer briefing the participants about benefits of Poultry Farming

Gadkari confers diplomas to meritorious SI Students

MuMbai: The Convocation Ceremony of all india institute of Local SelfGovernment (aiiLSG), held on august 27, 2022, in Mumbai, was graced by the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Government of india, as the chief guest. apart from him, Ranjit S Chavan, President of aiiLSG and Co-President of united Cities and Local Government (uCLG-aSPaC) and Dr Jairak Phatak, iaS (Retd), Director General, aiiLSG, were also present.

The ceremony began with the lighting of a lamp which symbolises the spread of light and knowledge. Following the lamp lighting, President of aiiLSG, Ranjit S Chavan delivered his inaugural address. He thanked

the central minister for accepting the invitation and attending the event. While tracing the history of aiiLSG he said, “the institute, established in 1926, is a pioneering institution with a glorious record of 96 years in the sphere of education, capacity building, training, policy advocacy, research in local governance of urban local bodies (uLb)”.DrJairaj Phatak quoted abraham Lincoln, the Former President of the united States of america in his speech. He said,” democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.” He added further, “aiiLSG is an institution of the municipalities, for the municipalities and by the municipalities.

Later the Central Minister was invited on the stage to address the ceremony. Nitin Gadkari began by expressing his best wishes to the students. He later delved into the definition of knowledge and said, ”by knowledge, we refer to innovations, entrepreneurship, science, technology, skill and practices.”

He said that knowledge is power, and our future lies in the conversion of that knowledge into power. He added that he insists on two things “knowledge to wealth and waste to wealth” while emphasising that nothing is waste. it depends on appropriate leadership that enables the conversion of waste into a resource and unskilled to resourced person.

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, awarded diplomas to the successful students during the convocation ceremony held in Mumbai. Ranjit S Chavan, President, AIILSG; Dr Jairaj Phatak IAS (Retd), Director General, AIILSG; Rajkishor Modi, Vijay Sane, Members of the Governing Council of AIILSG; and Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General, AIILSG and other senior officials were present during the ceremony

InfoComm India 2022 exhibits cutting age business solutions

MuMbai: infoComm india 2022 held in Mumbai during September 5-7, recorded around 11,381 visitors discovering cutting-edge solutions presented by over 160 exhibiting companies from more than 15 countries, and gaining technology and industry insights from renowned speakers through 35 Summit sessions.

In the show floor, visitors saw innovative solutions up close in action like powerful unified communication systems for offices with Zoom and Microsoft Teams-certified devices; mission-critical application solutions for command and control centers; 4K interactive LCD screens for smart classrooms; high-quality digital signage and displays for advertising and retail; and so much more.

Gracing the Show with his presence was Thiru Mano Thangaraj, Minister for information Technology, Government of Tamil Nadu. He said, “infoComm india is a professional platform that gathers industry experts with the latest knowledge and valuable insights while providing a significant platform for the business community to network and connect.” Thiru Mano Thangaraj was also the chief guest at the NiXT Summit industry Forum for Education on Day Visitors2.

explored the latest and most innovative solutions from 160 exhibiting brands including leading industry players like aero, Crestron, Delta, Harman and Vega. Of these, 31 companies exhibited for the first time at infoComm india. They included brands like anixter, LG, NEC, Fore Excel and Prama Hikvision.

Pratik agrawal, Director of Fore Excel enthused, “aR/VR is still a new technology in india and we are excited to be able to showcase our solutions at infoComm india. Many visitors were very interested in our aR/VR products

and we received hundreds of leads during the Returningshow.”exhibitor, Crestron had a good showing and saw productive engagements with its customers and prospects at its booth over the three days. Joel Mulpeter, Director, Product Marketing asia shared, “infoComm india is a fantastic show. it brought the industry back together. The Show is a great way for us and our partners to demonstrate our technology and solutions to our customers in person.”

The Hosted buyers Program welcomed 150 buyers who came from the government, education, healthcare, defense, iT, architecture and consultancy sectors. The Hosted buyers were brought on guided tours around the show floor for a personal introduction to leading solution providers and their latest technology and product offerings.

Hosted buyer Dheeraj Kumar, additional Municipal Commissioner, Yamuna Nagar Municipal Corporation said, “i am thoroughly impressed with the technologies put up by the exhibitors.”

The insightful and inspiring infoComm india 2022 Summit sessions have also paved the way for more initiatives to be launched on the back of the event. Specific needs of different audience segments were addressed by industry experts and sector leaders via the various learning tracks – aV Leaders Connect (by invitation only), aViXa Seminars, industry Forums and aV Managers Day.

“india is expected to be the world’s fastest growing Professional audioVisual market, and it is also expected to be the world’s fastest growing economy. With its robust economy, a huge market hungry for disruption driven solutions, and a population always seeking innovation, india is the place for Pro-aV technology to flourish,” said See Lay Eng, Senior Director of infoComm asia. She continued, “This is reflected in the high energy levels on the show floor since the opening day of infoComm india.” The next edition of infoComm india is set to take place from 25 – 27 October 2023, at a different venue of Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.

Gujarat hosts National Conclave on Urban Planning

SPCB of Arunachal Pradesh calls for better solid waste management

GaNDHiNaGaR: The Chief Minister of Gujarat bhupendra Patel inaugurated the state’s first ever National Conclave on urban Planning, in ahmedabad. according to him, it will serve as the “amrit Kaal” of urban well-being. CM recognised the Sabarmati Riverfront’s world-class infrastructure development as the best example of political will during this conference.Theexpansion of the urban economy is essential, according to the CM, if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to turn the country into a $5 trillion economy is to become a reality. For the construction of smart cities in Gujarat, the Government of india has chosen

six cities, including ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, and Dahod, in which Vadodara and ahmedabad rank in the top ten cities for both Municipal Corporation and ease of life. Housing for people from socially and educationally disadvantaged classes is reserved for 5 per cent of the TP (Town Planning) scheme land area given by the Gujarat government. additionally, the urban forest strategy has been used to build a clean, green metropolis. Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and urban affairs, expressed his belief that cities should be developed inclusively, keeping even the poorest residents in mind.

Assam Cabinet approves ‘Tourism Policy 2022’

DiSPuR: The state cabinet of assam has given green signal to the ‘Tourism Policy 2022’, aimed at the development of infrastructure facilities at tourist destinations while preserving the cultural heritage and ecology of the state. The cabinet meet chaired by the Chief Minister of assam Himanta biswa Sarma also approved the creation of Special Tourism Zones (STZs) by promoting visits to tea gardens in the state, wellness programmes and adventures, and the existing wildlife and heritage circuit.

Jayanta Malla baruah, Department of Tourism, Government of assam, said

that the state government has prepared guidelines to be followed during the promotion and development of infrastructure in the state.

The cabinet also approved the infrastructure development in 50 tea gardens with iconic bungalows situated along the existing tourism routes in the Public Private Participation (PPP) model. Earlier, `50 cores as has been set aside for the promotion of tea tourism in the state budget of 2022-23. The policy envisages local participation in the tourism initiatives, development of homestays and facilitating coordination between tourism and transport.

The arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control board (aPSPCb) has issued instructions for better waste management of solid wastes dumped into the Kameng River. it served a notice to the East Kameng Deputy Commissioner (DC) in response to a complaint filed by the Youth Mission for Clean River (YMCR). The pollution board has directed the District urban Development agency (DuDa) to immediately stop dumping solid trash into the river, as per Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016. The board has prohibited throwing, burning, or disposal of solid trash in open public spaces or water bodies and has proposed scientific disposal of waste.

8000 MT waste removed from landfill sites of Delhi

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in its statement on Thursday, august 25, said that it has received an order from private entities for utilising approximately 10,500 tonnes of construction and demolition waste from the landfill sites. Over 8421 tonnes have already been removed from the landfill sites out of a total order of 10,500 tonnes. The MCD stated that the reusable waste was provided free of cost to the private entities. Three landfill sites of bhalaswa, Okhla and Ghazipur cumulatively store over 280 lakh tonnes of waste.

BrIEfS

Karnataka releases document for improving public health system

Chief Minister of Karnataka basavaraj bommai launched a vision document that attempts to lay out a long-term strategy for the comprehensive growth of the state’s healthcare system. The document, titled “advancing People’s Health in Karnataka: Vision for Progress,” has been created following a year of extensive research and discussions by 250 specialists. The document includes a roadmap for development of primary healthcare in rural areas, tertiary care and tele-medicine. in urban regions, with a concentration of the underprivileged and other vulnerable groups of society, ‘Namma Clinics’ will be established.

MCD to construct 19 model toilets in North Delhi

Lok Sabha passes Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill

NEW DELHi: The Lok Sabha has passed a bill to amend the Wildlife (Protection) act, 1972, to add a new chapter for the proper implementation of the Convention on international Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in a response to the debate on the bill, said that development and protection of environment are not contrary concepts. He also said that the conservation of environment is the central government’s constitutional responsibility. illustrating his point, he stated that the protected areas in the country have gone up from 693 to 987 in the last eight years, which also includes 52 tiger reserves. The Wildlife (Protection) act, 1972, protects wild animals, birds, and plants as well as everything related to, incidental to, or associated with those things. india is a signatory to the Convention on international Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which mandates the implementation of suitable enforcement measures. The Wild Life (Protection) amendment bill 2021, seeks to amend the act’s preamble to highlight the “conservation” and “management” of wildlife that the act addresses, as well as streamlining and clarifying the Schedules to the act.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will construct 19 model toilets in North Delhi. These toilets will have facilities such as sanitary pad vending machines, baby diaper changing stations, and seats for men, women and transgender people. The first toilet has already been built in Jhandewalan, while the rest of them will come up in areas like Karol bagh, Rajinder Nagar, etc. Shashanka ala, Deputy Commissioner of MCD, said that it will be ten-seat toilet and will be equipped with soap dispenser, dustbins, hand dryer, 24x7 electricity and water facility.

Rajya Sabha passes India Antarctic Bill, 2022

NEW DELHi: The india antarctic bill, 2022, was passed by the Rajya Sabha in order to protect the continent, where India is involved in scientific research projects and expeditions. This will ensure that any activity india is party to in the South Pole does not violate any international convention. Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (independent Charge) Science & Technology, Government of india, emphasised that the bill’s primary goal is to ensure that the territory is demilitarised in addition to eliminating mining and unlawful operations. additionally, it seeks to

prevent any nuclear explosions or tests in the area. Singh added that the bill will aid in the effective and voluntary operations of the indian antarctic Program by providing a uniform policy and regulatory framework for india’s antarctic efforts through well-established legal processes. The indian antarctic authority (iaa), which would be the ultimate decisionmaking body and would support the programmes and activities approved under the bill, was also proposed to be established under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of india.

Climate challenge: Floods in Pakistan & drought in China

NEW DELHi: The neighbouring countries of india, Pakistan and China are facing the climate challenges posed by extreme weather events. On one hand, Pakistan is witnessing devastation due to floods, not seen in decades. On the other hand, China is facing severe drought and a prolonged spell of heatwave. The National Disaster Management authority (NDMa) of Pakistan has declared 72 districts as calamity-hit districts of the country out of a total of 160 districts. NDMa has

also highlighted that at least 1 million houses, 3,500 kilometers of roads and over 162 bridges have been damaged or destroyed by the recent events of flood in Pakistan. China, the second largest economy in the world, on the other hand, is undergoing its longest and most intense spell of heatwave, in the last 60 years.

according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the heatwave is being witnessed over 4.5 million sq km of land area that constitute more than half of the total land area of the country. Earlier four government departments of China issued a joint warning regarding the autumn harvest in the country. Over 75 per cent of the annual grain production of the country is produced in the autumn harvest that was under “severe threat” from drought.

MAUD Dept to hire private firm for scientific disposal of waste

HYDERabaD: The Municipal administration and urban Development (MauD) Department of Telangana is planning to hire an independent agency to supervise the scientific disposal of accumulated waste in 123 urban Local bodies (uLbs) under the bio-mining project. The process of bio-mining utilises natural organisms to decompose the biodegradable elements of the waste, which could then be used as byproducts in various sectors. all the 123 uLbs have been grouped into 9 clusters and agencies have been identified for each of the clusters with an estimated cost of `550 per metric tonne. Within the clusters, uLbs have been prioritised based on the quantity of legacy waste stored in the dumping grounds. The biomining project is being implemented

under the Swachh bharat Mission of the Ministry of Housing and urban affairs, Government of india.

The Ministry has approved the bio mining project at an estimated cost of `178.60 crores, out of which the central government will provide `69.09 crores, and state governments will provide `109.51 crores.

Maharashtra to hold direct elections for ULB heads

Two new bills in Maharashtra will enable elections of Presidents of Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Gram Panchayats directly by the voters. The bills were cleared by the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Tuesday, august 23 after being cleared by the Legislative assembly on Monday. amidst strong opposition of the bills, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde explained that the aim of the bills is to bring more accountability to urban local bodies. Earlier, the leaders of these local bodies were elected by their members. according to critics, this move will lead to concentration of power in the hands of one person.

Usha Devi inaugurates SUDA web portal in Odisha

usha Devi, Minister of Housing and urban Development, Government of Odisha inaugurated web portal of the State urban Development agency (SuDa) on august 24. She interacted with the officials and group of professionals to get an idea of the works in progress under various initiatives being implemented across 115 urban local bodies to improve the livelihood of the urban poor in the state. The online portal of the SuDa aims to provide people access to information on various urban focused initiatives and their progresses in the state, meanwhile also acting as a point of reference for administration of other states for planning similar initiatives.

BrIEfS

Assam to get 100 electric buses from Department of Heavy Industry

The Government of assam to get 100 electric buses from the Department of Heavy industry, Government of india, which earlier sanctioned a total of 5595 electric buses for 64 cities under the Faster adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FaME ii) scheme. to improve intercity and intra-city transportation. Out of a total of 100 electric buses, Guwahati will get 50 buses while Jorhat and Silchar will get 25 buses each. These buses will reduce fuel usage by approximately 1.2 billion liters thus reducing the carbon emission of india by 2.6 million tonnes.

MoSJ & NHA’s MoU to provide medical package for Transgender persons

Coimbatore to establish ward committees, area sabhas

COiMbaTORE: The Department of Municipal administration and Water Supply has issued the Tamil Nadu urban Local bodies (ward committees and area Sabha) Rules, 2022, with an aim to enhance local participation in governance and feedback mechanisms on local issues. The Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (CMC) passed a resolution during the general council meeting, held on Monday, august 29, under which ward committees and area sabhas will be established in all 100 wards. according to the provisions of the rules, the ward councillors will act as chairpersons of the committees and area sabhas. Concurrently, an

official from the corporation will be nominated by the council as the secretary of the ward committees and area sabhas. a ward will be further divided into 10 areas and sabhas will be formed accordingly. The sabhas will consist of registered voters from a particular area in the ward, and the council shall have the power to nominate one member from each sabha to the ward committee. both the bodies can recommend and propose projects regarding the development of the ward and highlight the citizen grievances to the council. as per the mandate of the rules, both bodies have to meet once in three months.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ), Government of india, signs a memorandum of understanding (Mou) with the National Health authority (NHa) to provide a comprehensive medical package for the Transgender people. The Mou will be signed at the Nalanda auditorium, Dr ambedkar international Centre in New Delhi in the presence of Dr Virendra Kumar, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of india and Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of india. This is a first of its kind initiative in the country that aims to enhance access of Transgender persons in india to quality healthcare.

BMC’s performance dismal in property tax collection: CAG

MuMbai: in a report presented to the state assembly of Maharashtra, the Comptroller and auditor General (CaG) of india criticised the Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation (bMC) for its appalling performance in collecting property tax. according to the CaG report, Mumbai’s effectiveness in collecting property taxes is only 28 percent, much below the average rate of 53 percent for other urban local bodies. The report has claimed that, in the 44 urban local authorities throughout the course of five fiscal years, from 2015–16 to 2019–20, the average effectiveness of collecting property taxes was 53 percent. However, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s rate during that time was only 28 percent. according to the survey, even among municipal corporations, the average tax collection rate is 47 percent, which is significantly higher than that of Mumbai. The bMC has also failed to establish The Property Tax board (PTb), which aids urban authorities in appropriate property tax management.

Solar, Wind Energy potential to fall due to climate change: Study

NEW DELHi: a study recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Science revealed that india’s solar and wind potential is anticipated to experience a downward trend in the future owing to climate change. The researchers analysed the wind and solar estimates for the renewable energy sector over the indian subcontinent using advanced climate models created by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (iPCC). While the yearly wind and seasonal wind speed is predicted to fall over North india, it will rise in South india. Conducted by the indian institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, the study titled “analysis of future wind and solar potential across india using climate models” states that the southern coast of Odisha and the southern indian states of andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu show great potential for wind energy in the case of climate change. Low energy producing winds are expected to increase in the future, while high energy producing winds will decrease. according to future solar predictions, there will be a decline in solar radiation throughout the year over most of the country. The pre-monsoon months in central and south-central india must be taken into consideration for future investments in the solar power sector, it stated, as the potential loss is limited there.

Rajkot inaugurates ‘Ram Van’ Urban Forest

Chhattisgarh CM launches ‘Krishna kunj’ plantation drive

The Government of Chhattisgarh launched a plantation drive in ‘Krishna Kunj’, an urban forest located in the Telibandha area of the state to mark the festival of Janmashtami. The plantation drive has been launched with an aim to increase green cover in the state and to create awareness among the local population about the importance of trees. CM baghel added that the reasoning behind the name ‘Krishna Kunj’ is to make people aware of the “god-like and divine values” of trees like neem, peepal and banyan. CM baghel also planted a Kadamba sapling in ‘Krishna Kunj’ and fed gram and jaggery to a cow.

Tamil Nadu gets its fifth Elephant Reserve

RaJKOT: Chief Minister of Gujarat bhupendra Patel recently inaugurated the newly constructed urban Forest ‘Ram Van’. The cost of the project, constructed by Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), is estimated to be Rs 13.77 crores, which is spread over 47 acres of land near aji dam. CM Patel also formally inaugurated 23 electric buses and the charging stations for them, as well as gave the go-ahead for theabuses.totalof 50 buses were sanctioned by the RMC. The buses are well-equipped with facilities such as fully automatic entry and exit, SOS - Emergency alarm for passenger safety, camera, GPS

tracking system, etc. The primary goal of Ram Van’s construction is to conserve india’s natural and cultural legacy. at this time, when concrete jungles are expanding, massive tree plantations are essential for maintaining the environmental balance.

The RMC built an urban forest modelled on the life of Lord Rama in an effort to give visitors a taste of the mythological era. in addition to this, roughly 80,000 species have been planted on 25 blocks of land. The drip irrigation system will be used to water all of the trees. To conserve water, trees will only be grown using seepage recycled water.

The Government of Tamil Nadu has added a fifth Elephant Reserve to its repository of conservation parks. The newly notified reserve will go by the name of agasthyamalai Elephant reserve. The official notification stated that the forest areas of the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in agasthyamalai and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve together form one of the most important habitats of the asian elephant in the southern part of the Western Ghats. The creation of an elephant reserve will not only protect the habitat of the endangered species but will also ensure its safety and health on the migratory routes by facilitating research in the above mentioned landscape.

Tiny ForesTs in Big CiTies: A good ideA

THE NETHERLaNDS iS growing tiny dense urban forests in its cities. The Muziekplein forest (in the Picture) is one of many such tiny forests in utrecht City. The best thing about this initiative is that citizens, corporates and school children joined hands to convert an unused parking lot into a tiny forest. Over 144 such forests are in the Netherlands and seven in utrecht city. according to iVN Nature Education, the organization leading the country’s initiative, over 200 such tiny forests have been planned. It defines Tiny Forest as a dense, native forest the size of a tennis court. These forests are not only a pleasant place for butterflies, birds, bees and small mammals but also for people.

Climate Change to increase mortality rate due to excess heat: Lancet

NEW DELHi: in a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health Journal, it has been found that climate change will increase mortality rate six times by the end of the century.

The study, conducted by the university of North Carolina, united States of america, said that high temperatures at night may disrupt normal sleep. Lack of sleep can, in turn, cause damage to the immune system and cause cardiovascular diseases, chronic illnesses or mental health issues. The temperature rise could go up from 20.4 degrees Celsius to 39.7 degrees Celsius in 2090, across

28 cities from East asia, increasing the risk of disease. The results of the study indicate towards a troubling future for the planet, even after restrictions placed by the Paris Climate agreement, which aims to limit the global rise in temperatures to below two degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial times. The researchers were able to predict that the probability of death from exceptionally hot nights will nearly double between 2016 and 2100. The mortality risk from daily average warming predicted by climate change models is substantially lower than this projection.

HLCA approves 10 industrial projects worth `74,620 crores

bHubaNESWaR: Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik led High-Level Clearance authority (HLCa), on Wednesday, august 10, approved ten industrial projects in areas of green hydrogen, green ammonia, metal and infrastructure. The estimated cost of all the projects stands at `74,620.18 crores. The approved projects include a proposal to set up a Green Hydrogen Plant with a capacity of 20 Kilo-Tonnes Per annum (KTPa) and a Green ammonia Plant with a capacity of 100 KTPa in Jagatsingh district and Paradip district with a total investment of `2000 crore which will generate nearly 2000 jobs. The committee has also given approval to Tata Steel Limited for setting up 60,000 MT industrial structure and 6000 MT steel plant equipment facilities with a total investment of Rs 1000 crores that are expected to generate employment opportunities for 2451 people. adani Enterprises, on the other hand, has got approval to set up Alumina Refinery of 4.0 Million Tonnes Per annum (MTPa) capacity and 175 MW Captive Power Plant (CPP) in Kashipur and Rayagada district with a total investment of `41,653 crore, which will generate over 7750 employment opportunities.

NIDM to ‘Psychologicalprovidecare in Disaster Management’

The National institute of Disaster Management (NiDM) has joined hands with the State Disaster Management authority (SDMa) of Meghalaya to organise a 3-day training programme on ‘Psychological Care in Disaster Management’. The training programme was held from august 16 to august 18, at the conference hall of Meghalaya administrative Training institute (MaTi) in Shillong. The programme stressed upon understanding the needs of the survivors of disasters and also understanding the role of a psychological caregiver in helping the survivors deal with their disaster induced trauma.

HP to ban ‘non-woven’ plastic carry bags

The Government of Himachal Pradesh has decided to put a ban on the use of non-woven plastics from January 1, 2023. The usage of non-woven plastic carry bags weighing less than 60 grammes per square metre (GSM) as well as plastic carry bags of all sizes and thicknesses was outlawed by the state administration last month. However, the state government has now decided to completely ban the use of non-woven plastic carry bags, by putting a ban on such bags of more than 60 GSM as well. This is because it was discovered that these bags, which contain nonbiodegradable polypropylene, were being used on a large scale in the markets throughout the hill state.

Assam Logistic Policy 2022 approved by state cabinet

DiSPuR: in a recent meeting, Chief Minister Himanta biswa Sarma led cabinet approved the assam Logistic Policy 2022, and also the amendment to expand the scope of master plan aimed at the development of urban areas in the state. The policy involves proposal and incentives disbursement with the help of the Ease of Doing business (EoDb) Portal. under this policy, the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Government of assam, will give priority to the conversion of land, if required, to set up a logistic facility. For the industrial parks developed by the assam industrial infrastructure Development Corporation (aiiDC), it will set aside 15 per cent of their land for the development of logistic infrastructure under the policy. The envisaged logistic infrastructure will include logistic parks, cold storage, warehouses, primary processing centres and truck terminal to facilitate transport. During the meeting, the state cabinet approved an amendment to the Guwahati Metropolitan Development authority act, 1985, for the expansion and implementation of the Guwahati Master Plan. The amendment will pave way for the development of Guwahati Metropolitan area, transit-oriented development and will introduce new land use zones to meet the reform agenda. apart from that, the development of local area plans and town planning schemes are the other component that the amendment deals with.

Nagaland Govt launches eSanjeevani teleconsultation Service

KOHiMa: The Government of Nagaland, on Saturday, august 6, launched the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the Government of india’s, national level teleconsultation service.

The eSanjeevani service is a telecommunication-based doctor to patient consultation service.

S Pangnyu Phom, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland, said that the newly launched programme will replace the state’s Naga telehealth, a telecommunication and telemedicine platform aimed at

eliminating the rural-urban divide in the healthcare sector. Phom was addressing the gathering that coincided with the felicitation of three healthcare facilities in the state for receiving the National Quality assurance Standards (NaQS) in healthcare service. asangla imti, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Nagaland, highlighted that the programme would eliminate the need to visit the healthcare centre personally, and it will ensure the reach of people residing in remote areas to quality healthcare services.

Following a directive from the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde that all roads in the state’s capital city should be cement concretised by 2024, the brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (bMC) on august 2, issued notice inviting bids from five companies for the work to do away with the problem of potholes. The bid invitation is for `5800 crore works for 400 km of roads, which is more than twice the amount bMC spends on an average on road repairs, annually. BMC officials said that floating of the tenders was a step towards making the city pothole-free.

Delhi Govt to provide Affordable Rental Housing

The Ministry of Housing and urban affairs, Government of India has notified changes to the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 for the rollout of affordable Rental Housing Complexes (aRHCs) scheme. after widespread reports of reverse migration during the COViD-19 pandemic, the Center established the aRHC programme in 2020, to supply migrant workers with cheap accommodation around the nation. The two models for putting the aRHC scheme into action are either the central government rents out apartments built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National urban Renewal Mission (JnNuRM) and Rajiv awas Yojana, or allowing government organisations or private organisations to construct rental houses on their land.

BMC sets aside `5800 crore for pothole-freeconcrete,roads

Delhi government to launch action plan for air pollution

NEW DELHi: Gopal Rai, Minister of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, has said that the Delhi government will be launching a 15-point action plan to combat the menace of air pollution in the winter season. The plan will aim to target major sources of pollution, like vehicular emissions, controlling stubble, dust pollution, open burning of trash, industrial pollution, pollution hotspots, real-time apportionment studies, smog towers, e-waste parks, plantations, the Green Delhi application, eco-farming, public involvement, firecrackers, etc.

in a meeting, Rai will go over each of the 33 departments’ concerns in depth. The winter action plan will take into account their comments and advice. The revised Graded Response action Plan’s implementation will also be discussed during the meeting. according to Rai, local sources account for 39 per cent of Delhi’s air pollution, with the remaining coming from nearby National Capital Region areas. a revised version of the Graded Response action Plan (GRaP) will be implemented from October 1, 2022. GRaP is a set of guidelines to be followed during those months, when air quality in Delhi dips to a dangerously low level. The plan is coming into action 15 days before its usual date every year. until now, the authorities would only put the measures into

1 Delhi, India

2 Kolkata, India

3 Kano, Nigeria

4 Lima, Peru

5 Dhaka, Bangladesh

6 Jakarta, Indonesia

7 Lagos, Nigeria

8 Karachi, Pakistan

9 Beijing, China

10 Accra, Ghana

place once the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations reached a certain point. The updated plan, which is part of a new policy created by the Commission for air Quality Management (CaQM) to reduce air pollution in Delhi-NCR, and relies on forecasts to enact bans up to three days in advance.

The revised plan also calls for a ban on bS iV four-wheeler diesel cars in Delhi and the NCR’s surrounding districts, with the exception of those performing essential services, if the air quality index (aQi) crosses the mark of 450. Delhi’s GRaP has been categorised into four phases of poor air quality: Stage I, ‘Poor,’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II, ‘Very Poor,’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III, ‘Severe,’ (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV, ‘Severe Plus,’ (aQi >450).

Earlier, in august 2022, the ‘air

Beijing, China Chengdu, China Kyiv, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine Jakarta, Indonesia 106 Delhi, India 106 Shanghai, China 105 Kolkata, India 99 Bucharest, Romania 90 Calarasi, Romania 90

Quality and Health in Cities’ report released by the State of Global air initiative of the Health Effects institute (HEi), Delhi has been ranked as the most polluted city in the world in terms of annual average population–weighted PM 2.5 concentrations with 110µg/m3. Kolkata, West bengal has been ranked second in the survey with 84 points followed by Kano city in Nigeria, Lima in Peru, Dhaka in bangladesh and Jakarta in indonesia are positioned in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively. another city in india, Mumbai has been placed in the 14th position.Onthe other hand, in terms of death due to air pollution, two cities in india Delhi and Kolkata have been placed in 6th and 8th place with 106 and 99 deaths respectively.

15.3% increase in crime against women in 2021: NCRB Report

NEW DELHi: The National Crime Records bureau (NCRb) published its latest report for the year 2021 on august 29. in 2021, there was a 15.3 per cent increase in crime against women compared to the previous year.

Delhi has been named as the most unsafe city for women, as 13,892 cases of crime against women were registered in the city in 2021, which is notably 40 percent higher from that of last year’s. The total crime against women in all the 19 metropolitan cities stood at 43,414. The national capital is followed by Mumbai and bengaluru.

according to the NCRb, 1,357 incidents of girl child victims of sexual offences were recorded under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses act in 2021. according to the data, the number of girl child rape cases reported in 2021 reached 833, the greatest number among major cities. While Delhi recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases amongst the metro cities (in 2020 at 5,475 as against 4,011 in 2020), the cases of murder registered a marginal

decline in 2021. The national capital has reported the highest number of crimes in categories including cruelty by husbands (4674) and Kidnapping (3948) in comparison to other metropolitan cities having a population of more than two million in the yearThe2021.number of cybercrimes in the national capital increased by 111% in 2021 compared to the previous year, with the majority of cases being motivated by sexual exploitation, according to NCRb data. The majority of these incidents involved online fraud, online harassment, the publication of explicit content, etc., according to data assessed by NCRb for the year 2021. Despite the Delhi Police’s establishment of a social media centre and a dedicated division for cybercrime, there has been an upsurge. The majority of the offenders in the over 356 incidents of cybercrime that were reported last year were arrested for publishing and transmitting sexually explicit content. Most of the complainants were females or children

between the ages of 12 and 17.

Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, is termed unsafe for senior citizens (above 60 years) with a crime of rate of 92.3, followed by Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh with a crime rate of 70 and 59.6. The crime rate in these states is far higher than the national average that is 25.1.

according to the 2022 report, West bengal had the most cases of counterfeit bank and currency notes in the nation last year, with 82 incidents detected. With 75 cases reported, assam came in second, followed by Tamil Nadu in third place with 62 cases. according to the survey, among other states, Maharashtra recorded 55 cases, Rajasthan reported 54 cases, and uttar Pradesh reported 42 cases. india recorded a total of 639 instances of fake bank and currency notes in 2021.

According to NCRB figures, there was a 20 percent increase in crimes against children in 2021 over the previous year. in contrast to the 2,121 cases reported in 2020, 2,556 cases of crimes against minors were reported in the previous year under various sections of the indian Penal Code (iPC) and Special acts and Local Laws (SLL). as a result, the rate of crime against children— measured as the number of crimes committed per lakh population— has also skyrocketed, rising to 29.2 in 2021 from 24.3 the year before. 1,40,839 crimes against children were committed in all 28 states.

The report figures a 7.6 per cent decline in the number of cases registered in the year 2021 in comparison to 2020. The crime rate per lakh population which stood at 487.8 in 2020 came down to 445.9 in 2021.

The report includes data that is collected from 36 states and union territories in india.

UP Cabinet approves various proposals on growth of cities, people

LuCKNOW: The cabinet of Government of uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, august 2, provided a major boost for development in ayodhya and Varanasi. The cabinet gave a green signal to a proposal to spend `797.69 crore on construction and widening of a main road in ayodhya that will provide easy access to devotees and tourists to the Ram Temple, which is in the process of getting built.

under the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Road Widening Project, a stretch of 12.94 km long road from Sahadatganj Nayaghat as the main spine road is to be constructed and widened, for which the cost of land and building acquisition will be `378.77 crore. in addition, the state has developed a project for rehabilitation and compensation to shopkeepers and residents. The Public Works Department will execute the project after completion of the work of acquisition of land and buildings.

in a bid to implement ease of doing business, the state cabinet took major decision of clearing uP Shops and Commercial Establishments (Ninth amendment) Rules, 2022. This allows the shops and establishments to register only once, without the need for renewal of licenses. However, the registration fees for them has increased manifold. The new law states that the registration fee will be levied on maximum number of employees in commercial establishments registering during the financial year. For instance, for commercial establishments employing more than 25 persons, the registration fees will be `30,000, which is up from `2000 charged earlier.

A shop that employs one to five persons now have to pay a registration fee of `2,250, earlier they had to pay only `150. The shop employing six to ten people will now have to pay `4,500, as opposed to `200, and `7,500 for employing 11 to 25 people

earlier. Similarly, for employing 25 the shopkeeper have to now pay 15,000.

The Cabinet also gave green signal to new rules on the safety and security of factory workers of state. under these laws, making an employee work for more than 48 hours in a week will require the employer to give double payment for every additional hour. it also states that women can be employed as long as all rules are followed and including the rest hours, an employee/ worker cannot be asked to work for more than 12 hours in a day. apart from that, the company has to provide for health check-up on ayearly basis for an employee of over 45 years of age, engaged in dangerous work.

additionally, the Cabinet approved 11 proposals for expansion of existing local bodies and creation of a new nagar panchayat. aK Sharma, Minister for urban Development, Government of uttar Pradesh, noted that the boundaries of three nagar panchayats, including Khaga in Fatehpur, Nigohi in Shahjahanpur and Sonebhadra in

Sonebhadra district had already been extended. in addition to that, the boundaries of seven nagar palikas was also expanded, these nagar palikas include anupshahr in bulandshahar, Shamli in Kairana, Muradnagar, Loni and Modinagar in Ghaziabad and Khatauni in Muzaffarnagar.

in another decision in relation to the urban development, the Cabinet approved a plan of spending `550 crore on new local bodies, as proposed in the budget. under the newly introduced Mukhya Mantri Nagar Srijan Yojna, 90 per cent of the funds will be spent on people and 10 per cent on the people. a K Sharma, Minister of urban Development, Government of uttar Pradesh, said that a masterplan will be developed for spending of funds and various activities to be undertaken.

The state has also approved settingup of a regional centre of National Security university, Gandhinagar in the premises of Dr Shakuntala Mishra National Rehabilitation university, free of cost.

Be selfish to save urBan Biodiversity!

Be selfish to save urBan Biodiversity!

We must save biodiversity to save ourselves! In other words, if the wonderful biodiversity around us disappears, it would directly impact human beings and their activities. So let us be ‘selfish’ to protect it

Organising the 1st National Conference on Urban Biodiversity Conservation (NCUBC) was an entirely new experience for me. While I have been dabbling in the much wider environment sector for many years now, I did not have brunch with biodiversity, let alone its sub-section, urbanBeingbiodiversity.theorganiser

of this conference (I am not a biodiversity expert at all) and as the Co-founder of The Nature Volunteers (TNV), we, in our small group, were constantly thinking about how cities are growing at the cost of biodiversity. It was troubling me for some time. After much deliberations across the country, I decided to host this two-day event. TNV is “An Informal Pressure Group of Environmentally Restless People”. We claim to have restored 140-year-old Sirpur Lake, the latest Ramsar Site of August 2022. But it took us more than 25 years to restore an urban wetland with more than 190 bird species found there, in a recent survey. Our experience of working with municipal corporation Indore exposed some challenges. This led to the idea of building awareness about urban biodiversity conservation.

A number of architects, forest officials, civil engineers, urban planners, students and Govt officials (Municipal Commissioners and CEO Smart Cities) who attended the two-day event came out wiser.

AbhilAsh KhAndeKAr | Senior Journalist

COVER STORY Urban Biodiversity

GLOBAL & NATIONAL ACTIONS TO ItBIODIVERSITSAVEyisexactly30yearsago,as

some of

us know, that the first global summit on biodiversity protection was held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It came to be popularly known as CBD 1992 (Convention on Biological Diversity). The world had just woken up to a series of threats the planet had started facing, and the United Nations had already organised the first Earth Summit in the same city around the same time.

In a way, 1992 was a watershed year for the environment across the world. It is, however, unfortunate that India needed to be reminded by the UN agencies to conserve its centuries-old natural treasure of forests, medicinal plants, rivers, wildlife, birds, bees, butterflies, reptiles, grasslands, marine life and lakes through the CBD. As the growing Asian economy which was set to take a big leap of physical development in the forthcoming decades, the year 1992 was just the right time to look inwards and start protecting the biological diversity India had been known for. But India took a decade to frame its legislation, and then came the landmark Biological Diversity Act 2002 (which actually commenced in 2003-04). The government soon constituted a statutory body named the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in Chennai. Considering the widespread assault on the natural resources spread across the country, it was also imperative to set up state-level agencies, which were formed in the shape of State Biodiversity Boards from 2005 onwards. But today, I am gripped with a lurking fear that the provisions of the present Act could get diluted if the Union Government goes ahead with new amendments to water down some of its provisions. I would like to be proven wrong. It would be a setback if the Parliamentary Committee formed to strengthen the Act further, fails to do so. It is being said that Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) would be affected adversely in the first step if new amendments go through. We may have to wait.

CONSERVING ThE URBAN BIODIVERSITy: A DAUNTING TASk!

Instead of going into the background of the Act, its implementation etc., I would like to focus on the conservation of urban biodiversity, which I feel is a much more neglected area in our country. Who is to blame? The authors of the Act or the implementation agencies or both? It is because no one is heard talking about protecting urban biodiversity anywhere! My experience of conserving an urban wetland and its biodiversity has taught my team of TNV and me a lot over the past 25 years. It’s not so easy, rather a much daunting task. Unfortunately, as urbanisation is picking up at a frightening speed in our country, I see cities turning brown, and desertification is increasing on the fringes, which needs to be addressed quickly by all concerned. According to State of the World’s Trees report (Sept 2021) by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), there are 17,510 tree species threatened, of the total 58,497 known species in the world. And it’s a dangerous trend in times of climate crisis. And what is the status in India? here, the report quotes, a total of 413 tree species are facing extinction of the 2608 varieties found in India (Indo-Malaya and Palearctic region.)

There is no need, I suppose, to explain the importance of trees or the role they play in absorbing carbon emissions.

In addition, or as a corollary, traditional and modern water sources have begun to dry up fast. Aquatic diversity is also facing problems. All these are intrinsically linked to each other and cannot be separated. And that is precisely what is impacting the biodiversity in our ever-expanding cities directly. But no one seems bothered! Cities are burning beyond expectation, and they are turning more and more barren over the years.

I would like to state that MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the only politician with big stature who is planting a tree a day and has tried to make it a popular movement in the state for people to come forward and plant trees on their own. But then, such

examples are very few and far between. Before conceiving the idea of an urban biodiversity conference, I spoke to at least ten present and past municipal commissioners. Almost all of them agreed that it was something that they could never look into during their tenures as city bosses, despite their good intentions. Although the Act mandates maintaining Peoples’ Biodiversity Registers (PBR) by local self-governments at all tiers, it has not been done in most states. I checked in Madhya Pradesh, where the scenario is not satisfactory. But in Gujarat, some work has been done. It was thanks to the petition in the (NGT) by one Chandra Bal Singh, which helped activate the MoEFCC and others in 2016, as the performance and implementation of the BDA (Biodiversity Act) were less than noteworthy then.

We can take the example of Chennai or Bengaluru lakes (a recent article in Frontline has again underlined the plight of lakes in the Silicon Valley of India). Or take the example of the once-beautiful gardens and hillocks of Pune or talk of any city in Uttar Pradesh, and we have the same answers. Everywhere we see a depressing situation with mounting population numbers and unchecked encroachments and constructions, backed by selfish contractors’ lobbies. At times, one wonders why authorities do not act on illegal encroachments that shrink our wetland areas or why they do not use their ‘authority’ to save old trees in the cities? Is anyone actively involved in protecting birds or butterflies in our big cities in the official set-up? I would like the newly elected Mayors and councillors of MP to commit themselves to the cause of urban biodiversity conservation. The Biodiversity Act was brought in some 20 years ago only to save all these and many other natural resources mentioned above. It is the duty of all of us to mount pressure on the authorities -- executive and political -- to save our precious biodiversity. Because there is noThetomorrow.rootcause lies in the system of city governance. The Smart Cities

initiative, started with much fanfare, has had an impact on the green cover in some cases because trees were cut down in the name of retrofitting etc. and then make City Smart.

The Municipal Corporations, the development authorities and other construction agencies such as PWD, PhE housing Boards, or NhAI or State Road Building Corporations are often involved in firefighting or managing local groups in their efforts at governing cities or building infrastructure. It is a pity thatuUrban biodiversity conservation does not seem to be among their priorities. The conference was aimed at turning focus on that. A former forest officer who was a Member Secretary (executive head) of the State Biodiversity Board conceded frankly that nothing much (encouraging) was happening as yet in the board.

I am, however, told that in kochi or in hyderabad, a Delhi-based organisation is working on drawing up a City Biodiversity Index, the way Singapore had done some two decades ago. If that works well, perhaps some indicators would be available about the loss of biodiversity in our cities and how to check this loss. National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has prepared training manuals for municipal officials and WWF has worked in Nagpur and other cities. Such developments hold hopes for the future. The GOI also started the National Mission on Biodiversity and human Well-being (NhBhWB) to improve biodiversity science in all areas. The State Biodiversity Boards were to formulate State Action Plans and help local bodies maintain biodiversity registers, form committees and undertake training on how to conserve traditional knowledge strewn all over and then benefit society. But, I’m led to believe, the ground-level situation is yet to gather momentum. Not much has been happening on that front, barring a few states. Like protecting the forests, biodiversity protection cannot be left to Biodiversity Boards alone. Other agencies and people must also come forward. Because they also benefit from

it. Why are the municipal corporations not made responsible for conserving urban lakes, large parks, trees, birds and shrubs in the city? Can they hire professionals competent in the area? Do local governments have enough funds to undertake massive biodiversity protection drives with a clear focus? Do urban planners think of green causes first and keep certain grounds/fields open for decades in their planning process, like the no-go areas? Are open lands, grasslands, small ponds, wild growth pockets in cities an eyesore for our private developers? Surely, not for me! We hope to find answers to all, or some of them, through such conferences where the best brains meet. I also feel district collectors, if they wish, can turn around cities; they have the requisite powers. What is missing, perhaps, is the willingness and capacity-building of the concerned officials.

We were always taught to appreciate and preserve beautiful trees, fragrant flowers, chirping birds and large parks having tremendous aesthetic value and cultural importance in this country a few years ago. Today, there are no takers for trees, much less for birds, bees and butterflies in urban areas, and that is a sad commentary. This is my personal observation. Some readers may also be thinking on these lines.

The Biological Diversity Rules 2004 stipulate that every local body shall constitute a BMC within its jurisdiction (Under Section 22). But have they been formed all over the country? Especially in urban areas? My inquiries reveal that urban biodiversity actually has no takers and, therefore, the limited implementation of the Act’s provisions. The CBD had categorically stated in 1992 that conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of the components of the biodiversity, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the genetic resources were the objectives of CBD. It had also hoped that “conservation of biodiversity would be a common concern of the population”. In fact, 2011-20 was celebrated as the Decade of Biodiversity by the UN. In 2010, the first Cities and

I would like to state that MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is the only politician with big stature who is planting a tree a day and has tried to make it a popular movement in the state for people to come forward and plant trees on their own. But then, such examples are very few and far between

Biodiversity Outlook was released, and the picture was not rosy. Looking back, much of that is yet to be achieved, and sadly urban biodiversity is under severe threat. Some senior officials in the government admit in confidence that engineers, contractors and various construction agencies’ heads are yet to understand the full importance of urban biodiversity, and they need to be made fully aware of the provisions of the Central Act of 2002.

In this background, TNV organised the 1st National Conference of Urban Biodiversity Conservation (NCUBC) at Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh. Many experts deliberated on this serious issue together and saw if our cities could have their own ‘green future’. Policy interventions, use of technology, public awareness, synergy between departments, using new tools, etc should be brought into play., they suggested. Delhi’s School of Planning (SPA) suggested in master planning process and introducing biodiversity at the planning stage, for instance. I am glad to share that the ‘Indore Declaration’ was also released on 6th August, thus rolling out an important debate on issues on which Governments and people have to act fast and meaningfully in a time bound manner. It was handed over to Dr VB Mathur, Chairperson of the NBA Chennai. The declaration would also be sent to other states to pave the way for generating further debates and to ensure urban biodiversity becomes a priority area in India.

India has enough rules, regulations and acts for conserving biodiversity. Over 36 Acts and Rules are there for monitoring and managing biodiversity concerns. Yet, the biodiversity is getting depleted. While the human population has grown at an accelerated pace over the years, animal species,on the other hand, have been struggling to survive in the changing environment. The most important reason for this is the loss of their habitats. Whether a city or a far-flung village, our ecosystem needs diversity in biodiversity to remain healthy and thriving. A look at the state of biodiversity...

Vanguards

NBA is national level body constituted in 2003 by the Government of India to implement the provisions of Biological Diversity Act 2002. The statutory body functions as a regualtor and advisor to the central government on matters pertaining to the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources.

SBB assists state governments to ensure proper implemntation of the guidelines issued by the Central Government. There are 28 State Biodiversity Boards and 8 Biodiversity Councils (for UTs) in India.

BMC are responsible for the documentation of the biological diversity in People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs). There are a total of 276895 BMCs in India. The states/UTs with the least number of BMCs are Puducherry (0), Chandigarh (1) and Delhi (4).

Source: State of India’s Environment in Figures 2021

NationalAuthorityBiodiversity(NBA) State Biodiversity Board (SBB) / Biodiversity Councils CommitteesManagement(BMCs)

Where have Sparrows gone?

Biodiversity is depleting fast everywhere and the rate of depletion is high in our urban centers. The issue of maintaining a balance between development and urban biodiversity is increasingly becoming a concern. The pattern of development, vehicular emissions, and rampant urbanisation are endangering many species of birds, animals and aquatic life. The more visible and felt disappreance of sparrows is a warning signal. Our informed and empowered municipalities can be instrumental in tackling biodiversity loss

Biodiversity, to my understanding, is a subject that covers almost everything in our environment—from birds, aquatic life, insects, butterflies, animals, water bodies, floodplains, plants and what not. i am no expert on this particular subject, but seeing the depletion of the biodiversity around us does not require specialized training. it is disheartening to see that we are losing our biodiversity fast. Environmental degradation coupled with mindless construction everywhere is endangering the future of coming generations. it is quite visible. now and then we see the impacts on our cities.

in this edition of urban update, many experts are writing on technical aspects of urban biodiversity. i will not dwell on those subjects. i would rather like to write on something which i experienced in the last few years. i am intrigued by gradual disappearance of house sparrows from our cities. House sparrow is a social bird and lives comfortably in human proximity. The birds have always been friendly. it has been seen that they

allow kids to hold them in their hands and then let them fly again. Once abundant, the sighting of this humble bird is becoming a rarity. The decline can be attributed to reducing nesting sites in ever-growing cities, non-availability of insects or other foods these birds eat, use of pesticides, radiation from mobile towers, and vehicular pollution.

Decline in HousepOpulaTiOnsparrowswere everywhere, in our villages and also in urban centers. people born in the last century witnessed these much-loved birds in their surroundings. Sparrows could be found on rooftops, balconies and gardens. in the last two decades, the bird suddenly began disappearing from our urban homes. if you go to villages or to places where there is less pollution, you can still find them.

a recent study by indian Council of agricultural Research (iCaR) published a report that analyzes the change in population pattern of sparrows in

Ranjit S Chavan | President, AIILSG

different indian states. it says, “the house Sparrow population in andhra pradesh has reduced up to 88 per cent and in other states like Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan it has dropped down up to 20 per cent. in coastal areas of india, the population has dropped very significantly to 70 - 80 per cent. The main cause of the decline of this species remains unidentified but it is believed that the unavailability of nests because of modernization, rapid construction growth, and deforestation can lead to their decline.”

an article in Down to Earth magazine says, “at the MS university campus in Baroda, house sparrows have been studied extensively since 1960 using nest boxes. Bony pilo of the Zoology department reports that these boxes have been lying vacant for the last few years, marking a definite fall in the campus sparrow population. Dr Shyam Sunder Rao, head of the all india Coordinated project on agricultural Ornithology, reports declining sparrow populations at most of the places where

studies have been conducted.”

So people from all walks of life have realized that the population of the bird is going down everywhere. However, some initiatives here and there bring some good news now and then. Recently a write-up in a newspaper in Kerala said that the population of the bird might be going down in cities but it has significantly improved in coastal areas. But this news is an exception, not a norm in a large geographical area.

Their population is also getting affected because of declining food availability for the birds. Earlier, in cities too, people used to dry their grains on roofs or in the verandah but with changing consumerism pattern, people are buying packaged foods. Moreover, birds eat insects and worms from nearby farmlands but the increased use of pesticides has affected their availability. The conservation of sparrows needs a holistic approach in which farmers, villagers, local governments and common citizens need to come together.

WHaT Can CiTiZEnS DO it has been seen in many cities that people’s participation in saving house sparrows is of utmost importance. Many bird lovers and community groups have placed artificial nests to provide the birds with safe nesting places. The experts suggest that it has been seen that number of birds visiting artificial nests increases dramatically in a couple of days. Some organisations are actively participating and promoting the use of artificial nests at homes, gardens, and other open spaces. lucknow university’s Zoology Department with the State Biodiversity Board ran an awareness program and gifted artificial nests as mementos to dignitaries in their events. in Visakhapatnam, environmental nGO Green Climate organizes workshops in schools and colleges and teaches students how to make bird feeders from discarded items. it is a good initiative; if the youngsters are made aware they will understand the importance of these birds. Hopefully, they will not do anything that harms their existence. Such

Delhi and Bihar have declared House Sparrow, binomial name Passer domesticus, as the State Bird. People from all over the country are realizing the bird is disappearing, and they are coming forward and joining hands to conserve sparrows with their individual and collective efforts. The Nature Forever Society of India started celebrating World Sparrow Day on March 20, 2010 and since then, many bird lover organisations celebrate the day world over

initiatives can be replicated elsewhere too. it is true if the urban environment and its ecosystem is not healthy, then a city cannot become prosperous riding on the back of concrete jungle. Humans need to take care, not just of their own interests, but those of every other living organism too. There are some initiatives which people can take on their own and make a difference. We need to make sure that we address the root cause, that is reduce burning of fossil fuels and bring down pollution levels. Governments are also supporting the campaign of saving sparrows. Delhi and Bihar have declared House Sparrow, binomial name passer domesticus, as the State Bird. people from all over the country are realizing the bird is disappearing, and they are coming forward and joining hands to conserve sparrows with their individual and collective efforts. The nature Forever Society of india started celebrating World Sparrow Day on March 20, 2010 and since then, many bird lover organisations celebrate the day world over. Experts say that the sparrows are also indicators of healthy urban biodiversity; so when these humble birds return to cities, we will know that our urban biodiversity is healthy once again.

Conservation of Urban Biodiversity in India

Dr V B Mathur | Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority

Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life forms on Earth. It is also a measure of variety and variability at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Biodiversity provides a range of ecosystem services (Cultural, Provisioning, Regulating and Supporting), which are responsible for the existence and well-being of all lifeOftenforms.

the term biodiversity is understood in the context of forests and rural areas. However, biodiversity exists much beyond these areas. Urban biodiversity (or the biodiversity existing in urban areas) is a critical component of the biodiversity that exists on Earth. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity refers to urban nature as the remnants of natural landscapes, traditional agricultural landscapes and urban–industrial landscapes.

One of the first publications that brought out the significance of urban biodiversity is the Cities and Biodiversity Outlook (2010). Co-developed by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the report provides a global assessment of the links between Urbanization, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services. As the world moves towards higher proportion of urbanised areas, the significance of urban biodiversity is going to increase further.

The fact that urban biodiversity plays a significant role in India as well is highlighted from the fact that the Draft National Forest Policy, 2018 of the Government of India includes a section on urban biodiversity (Box 1).

The legislative framework in India

also supports the mainstreaming and governance of urban biodiversity. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, enacted to meet the obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, supports the preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. Under the Act, formation of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) is mandated at the local level (urban local body or panchayat, the respective urban and rural local level administrative entities). One of the primary functions of the BMC is development of the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR). The PBR contains comprehensive information on availability and knowledge of local biological resources, their medicinal or any other use or any other traditional knowledge associated with them in that region. They serve as baseline data for future management strategies required for the sustainable utilization of biodiversity in a decentralized manner.

Smart Cities Mission, a more recent initiative of the Government of India also lays emphasis on blue-green infrastructure – development, planning and maintenance of the same. It has been seen that in most of the Smart City proposals, nature-based solutions and conservation of urban biodiversity has been in-built in the area based as well as the pan-city initiatives that were proposed and are now in various stages of implementation. The fact that the Government of India wants to mainstream urban biodiversity conservation into urban planning

urban Greens Inclusion in the Draft National Forest Policy, 2018

On promoting urban greens which include woodlands, wetlands, parks, wood in institutional areas, gardens, avenue plantations and block plantations, the draft says, “They need to be managed as urban forest ecosystems to enhance optimal urban forest cover and to nurture and sustain urban health, clean air and related benefits”. Management plans for urban green will be prepared and implemented in consonance with the development plan of cities.

Box 1

is reflected in the fact that urban biodiversity is one of the five sectors that comprise the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF). It consists of 28 indicators across five thematic areas, namely: Energy and Green Buildings; Urban Planning, Green Cover and Biodiversity; Mobility and Air Quality; Water Management; Waste Management.

The framework serves as a tool for cities to assess their present climate situation and provides a roadmap for cities to adopt and implement climate actions to help mainstream resilience and conserve nature.

Several cities in India have started championing the cause of urban biodiversity and are serving as the pioneers in this field. Cities in India are now focussing on developing green cover maps, city biodiversity index, PBR, Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans

(refer Box 2). There is a significant focus on increasing the green cover in cities and several techniques like restoration of degraded sites, development of urban forests through Miyawaki technique, development of open spaces and undertaking avenue plantations with a focus on native species. Initiatives focused on conservation of urban biodiversity are being budgeted for by cities in their annual municipal budgets as well. Efforts that cities are taking to conserve urban biodiversity need to be appreciated. These could also be in designating select urban biodiversity parks as “Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs)” that India is now trying to designate to expand its conservation estate. However, this is just the beginning. Extensive trainings and capacity building activities need to be carried out for officials of the urban local bodies in order to ensure

The legislative framework in India also supports the mainstreaming and governance of urban biodiversity. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, enacted to meet the obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, supports the preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of traditional biological resources and knowledge

Development of City Biodiversity Index

Hyderabad, Kochi, Gangtok, Dehradun, Siliguri, Rajkot, Pimpri Chinchwad, Thane, Jammu, Srinagar, Bhopal, Indore

Development of Local Biodiversity Strategy and action Plan

Kochi, Gangtok, Nagpur, Siliguri, Rajkot, Udaipur, Jammu, Srinagar

Development of People’s Biodiversity register Chandigarh, Ichalkaranji, Nagpur, Thane

Development of Biodiversity Parks Gurgaon, Delhi

Box 2

integration of biodiversity conservation and use of nature-based solutions in urban planning. Awareness generation of all stakeholders - ranging from officials of the urban local bodies and other line departments to the urban citizens on the existing biodiversity, the ecosystem services provided by them and the need to conserve the same needs to be effectively carried out. Inadequacy of financial resources invariably acts as a bottleneck. To overcome the same, convergence needs to be mapped from all existing schemes. There is also a need to initiate a process of coordinated inter-departmental planning and implementation at the urban local body level. One of the most effective ways of ensuring conservation of urban biodiversity is to highlight the connect between human health and the biodiversity. The recent Covid pandemic has amply shown the connect between health, food security, overall human wellbeing with urban biodiversity.

As we continue to develop further, we need to move towards sustainable development that integrates biodiversity conservation and urban planning. This will help to undertake climate resilient, low carbon, sustainable urban development in all urban cites across India.

City level efforts for conserving urban Biodiversity

A vision towards sustainability Biodiversity

A vision towards sustainability

Biological Diversity’ which came from Walter G. Rosen coined the word ‘Biodiversity’, which was then stamped in June 1992 at Rio de Janeiro during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).Biological diversity or ‘biodiversity’ refers to the variety and variability of life on earth. Biodiversity is expressed at three levels; a) genetic diversity, b) species diversity and c) ecosystem diversity. Its direct and indirect services are crucial for the sustenance of life on this planet. Biodiversity ensures security of food, fuel, shelter, medicines and other products which are vital for our survival. The protection of declining biodiversity and need for economic security is a major concern of highly populated tropical countries and they face immense pressure for its upward mobility. India being a tropical region, dives in the same pool and its biodiversity is under severe pressure due to complex interactions a among land use change, other human economic activities, and climate change. Preservation and restoration of biodiversity is perhaps

the cheapest and the least risky way to mitigate the impacts of threats such as climate change, diminishing food and nutritional security, declining economy, absence of affordable healthcare, rising zoonotic diseases and lack of capacity to address these issues.

Patrick Geddes has mentions of biodiversity in his works. Originally trained as a biologist, Geddes came to think the process of city growth as an evolving organism - one in which every generation makes its own contribution to the physical space.

He analysed cityscape from its spatial and monumental appearanceemphasizing on the aesthetic values of the history of the city. Geddes introduced a social dimension to the process of analysis, which he called ‘civic survey’, and drawing on established, medical practices and dicta, such as ‘diagnosis before treatment’ and ‘conservative treatment’, he described a process for adapting historic buildings and urban space to modern requirements that focused on minimal intervention in existing conditions and maintenance of the already existing qualities in the

Dr Manita Saxena | Principal, SOA IPS Academy, Indore

environment. The 19th century, he argued, was an age of “carboniferous capitalism” based on non-renewable resources and polluting in its impacts. Produced out of the exhaustion of nature and natural resources, the paleotechnic age had seen the dominance of humans by Machine, by Finance, and by Militarism. But Geddes hoped for a new, neotechnic age based on solar energy and on long lasting alloys, marked by “its better use of resources and population towards the betterment of man and his environment together.”

India has a rich and varied heritage of biodiversity, encompassing a wide spectrum of habitats from tropical rain forests to alpine vegetation and from temperate to coastal wetlands. India is one of the 12-mega diversity countries in the Governmentworld. of India 2000 records 47000 species of plants and 81000 species of animals, which is about 7 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively of global flora and fauna. Centre of origin.

A large number of species are known to have originated in India. India has been the centre of origin of 166 species of crop plants and 320 species of wild species of wild relative of cultivated crops. Nearly 5000 species of flowering plants had their origin in India.

The biodiversity of an area influences every aspect of the lives of people who inhabit it. Their living space and their livelihoods depend on the type of ecosystem.Evenpeople living in urban areas are dependent on the ecological services provided by the wilderness. We frequently don’t see this in everyday life as it is not necessarily overt. It is linked with every service that nature provides us. The quality of water we drink and use, the air we breathe, the soil on which our food grows are all influenced by a wide variety of living organisms, both plants and animals and the ecosystem of which each species is linked with in nature. While it is well known that plant life removes carbon dioxide and releases the oxygen we breathe,

Government of India 2000 records 47000 species of plants and 81000 species of animals, which is about 7 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively of global flora and fauna. Centre of origin. A large number of species are known to have originated in India. India has been the centre of origin of 166 species of crop plants and 320 species of wild species of wild relative of cultivated crops. Nearly 5000 species of flowering plants had their origin in India

it is less obvious that fungi, small soil invertebrates and even microbes are essential for plants to grow. That a natural forest maintains the water in the river after the monsoon, or that the absence of ants could destroy life on earth, are to be appreciated to understand how we are completely dependent on the living ‘web of life’ on earth. The wilderness is an outcome of a long evolutionary process that has created an unimaginably large diversity of living species, their genetic differences and the various ecosystems on earth in which all living creatures live.

This includes mankind as well. Think about this and we cannot but want to protect out earth’s unique biodiversity. We are highly dependent on these living resources.

It has become obvious that the preservation of biological resources is essential for the well-being and the long-term survival of mankind. This diversity of living organisms which is present in the wilderness, as well as in our crops and livestock, plays a major role in human ‘development’. The preservation of ‘biodiversity’ is therefore integral to any strategy that aims at improving the quality of human life.

Role of ULBs paramount in biodiversity conservation in cities

Urban biodiversity refers to the variety and richness of plants and animals available in an urban ecosystem. Urban biodiversity supports multiple regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. Intense urbanization is a major driver of biodiversity and related environmental change. Therefore, developing biodiversity-friendly cities is thus inextricably linked to the sustainable urban development and human well-being.Sustainability illustrates the role of urban environments as pressures on biodiversity, and envisions pathways towards developing more diverse urban ecosystems that are accepted and supported by local people. Contributions reveal promising opportunities for conserving biodiversity within many urban landscapes. The insights from

this conference can support urban conservation policies and their implementation in the development of sustainable cities.

As the world’s population and urbanization increasingly inhabits cities, urbanized areas have become the most rapidly expanding habitat type worldwide. Cities currently represent about 3% of the world’s land usage, but their effects on climate, resources, pollution, and biodiversity extend far beyond their municipal borders. It is clear that urbanization greatly alters plant and animal species diversity and abundance in both negative and positive directions. Relative to other ecosystems, most think of urban ecosystems as tightly controlled, highly manipulated, land intensely managed by individuals, institutions, and governments cities, urbanization and

Dr Atul KumAr SrivAStAvA (iFS) | Principle Chief Conservator of Forest, Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board

sub-urbanization usually reduce both species richness and evenness for most biotic communities. Because the urban footprint extends far beyond municipal boundaries, urbanization may also reduce native species diversity at regional and global scales. About 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68 per cent by 2050. Within cities, biological communities are usually radically altered in terms of species composition, abundances, richness (number of species and a component of diversity), and evenness (how individuals are distributed among species and another component of diversity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services states that “Building sustainable cities that address critical needs while conserving nature, restoring biodiversity, maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services” as an important aspect for achieving sustainability. The quality as well as the quantity of urban nature matters to people and contributes to their well-being. Enhancing biodiversity within urban settings is one important pathway to creating more liveable cities. Urban nature generates and

supports a broad array of regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services and to promote physical and mental health and maintains people’s connection to nature. The Sustainable Development Goals call for the loss of biodiversity to be halted, and the extinction of threatened species prevented. Integrating this thinking into the built environment has been identified as a key pathway to achieve these outcomes.

In 1992, the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, famous for its climate change convention, promulgated another convention the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for the conservation, sustainable use and fair and equitable sharing of benefits of biological diversity. India, is one of the signatories to the convention, enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002, and formed a threetier institutional structure for its implementation Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and finally, the Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at the local body level. As per the BD Act, BMCs have to document biodiversity in their jurisdiction, conserve it, and ensure its sustainable use. The idea is for the local community to be involved in managing its own natural resources. As soon as a BMC is formed, the first task is the preparation of a People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), which records local body level biodiversity and traditional knowledge, acts as a legal document, which confirms the sovereign power of the BMC over the resources documented in the PBR and can be used as an impact assessment tool for developmental activities. BMC is responsible for eco-restoration of local biodiversity, and protection of heritage trees, sacred groves, traditional varieties/breeds of economically important plants and animals, etc. In fact, the mere formation of BMCs has been little safeguard for biodiversity in any region. Looking back, we have to prepare perfect plan to sensitize and to make more effective urban local body level BMCs for environmental preservation and urban biodiversity

conservation improve city’s terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.

As we are so engrossed in development in urban areas, which is also much needed for the cities with growing urban population but we should have also thought about sustainable development, Conservation of biodiversity is a multi-sectoral endeavour and involves multiple stakeholder participation at various tiers of governance at urban level. Therefore, the mainstreaming biodiversity across sectors at local body level becomes very relevant. The role of urban local body administrators is very important to make the effective governance of BMCs at local body level by involving the various biodiversity related departments, institutions, stakeholders and non-Government organisations (NGOs).

There is need to focus the role of urban environments for species, communities, or ecosystems of conservation concern in relation to urbanization, urban land uses, management, and other types of human interference. Apart from this, the mechanism is to be finalised to halt urban biodiversity loss or underpin the survival of species of conservation concern in urban environments. The city planner has to consider and integrate the component of biodiversity conservation into sustainable urban development, particularly into urban planning, environmental education and the urban green infrastructure, and into the development, management, or restoration of urban ecosystems.

The intersection of biodiversity, urban environments and people is a fascinating and important field of research. It is also a promising arena for urban policies aiming at reconciling with biodiversity in urban regions for the sake of both urban residents urbanisation processes and urban nature. The outcome at this national level urban summit will support policies based on urban biodiversity conservation along with their implementation to achieve the objectives of the Biological Diversity Act, 2001 and Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Rules, 2004.

First NCUBC held in Indore

Humans have spent hundreds of years documenting life on Earth, and now, having catalogued a whopping 1.6 million species, an estimated 7-8 million species are yet to be discovered. As the human impact on the planet intensifies, it is feared that many species could be lost before we even discover them. So, why is it so important that we protect this biodiversity? For it is what ensures our survival in the years to come with such grave natural disasters and calamities occurring so

rapidly. Development is inevitable, but how can the human animal create ecosystems as balanced and efficient as the natural ones are? Here is where the concept of Urban Biodiversity comes. It refers to the variety of living organisms, including their genetic variations, as well as the multiplicity of habitats in and around dense human settlements.

According to the report of the United nation, titled, Global Assessment Report, over half a million species are on the brink of extinction due to the

The Nature Volunteers and World Researchers’ Association organised first National Conference on Urban Biodiversity Conservation during August 5-6, at Hotel Radisson Blue (Indore) and Kesar Parvat (Mhow)

ANUSHA PORWAL | RACHITA DALPATI

loss of habitat. Between the period of 1980 to 2000 over 100 million hectares of tropical rainforests have been cleared to meet the demand of growing population in the world. The urban areas on the other hand, have grown to twice the size as they were in the year 1992 when the Earth Summit was held Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

To bring it to the notice of the population, the 1st National Conference on Urban Biodiversity Conservation was organized by The Nature Volunteers (TNV) and World Researchers’ Association, with the aim of raising awareness about Urban Biodiversity Conservation. Held on 5th and 6th August, 2022 at venues Hotel Radisson Blu and Kesar Parvat Plantation respectively, the conference speakers and participants discussed several topics of importance concerning biodiversity conservation in urban areas.

Dr VB Mathur, Chairman – NBA. Dr Aniruddhe Mukherjee (IAS), Nikunj Shrivastava (IAS) and Dr Atul Shrivastava (IFS). Among the honoured guests were: Dr SL Garg, Dr Davish Jain, Dr PRao (SPA), Shri Ritesh Kumar, Dr S Banerjee, RP Singh (Chairman – TNV), Bhalu Mondhe (President – TNV) and Dr Hitesh Vaidya (Director – NIUA) were among the dignitaries present.

CLIMATE BIODIVERSITY

IN URBAN AREAS

The inaugural session began with lighting of lamp and welcome speech by Abhilash Khandekar, President –TNV and Director – NCUBC-2022. The insightful session stressed on the insignificance of sapiens as a species and the right to existence of all organisms alike.

Prof PSN Rao, Director – SPA: CBD 1992 in Rio, Urban wetlands’ conservation shared, that Sirpur lake is now a part of the Ramsar List; it goes unnoticed and is likely headed towards desertification if quick action isn’t taken. He mentioned the 58000 organism species out of which, 17000 free species are threatened. Politicians never seem to look into biodiversity conservation

despite having good intentions. Our honorable Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan plants a tree every day. Municipal governments need to be deeply concerned and committed to the conservation of urban biodiversity, like lakes in Bangalore and Chennai, gardens in Pune. Also, professionals in the construction industry should be sympathetic toward the peril of our natural treasures.

Dr SL Garg spoke of his efforts for creating a city forest in the Kesar Parvat that has 30000 trees. Urban Biodiversity comprises variety and variability.

Dr Subhashish Banerjee, partner of ITPI Geddes 1918 plan, Indore, City Resilience Strategy mentioned that, “In a compact urban sprawl, problematic sewage systems damage biodiversity. Under Van Vihar 1983 its agenda was conserving land. Also, flora and grass cover were curated.” Kolkata wetlands: “time is equivalent to money”. These are sure to have financial implications and need budgetary provisions. Yet development must happen in harmony withThenature.tree census, for example, is a plan where the use of wastelands for transplant is done first and then plans about the buildings are thought of. Budget 2022 forms a dedicated committee along with one for the capacity building of urban planners. They work closely with the states and take into account local experiences.

Dr Aniruddhe Mukherjee, the chairman of the pollution control board spoke about factors that promote wise use of urban wetlands. 15000 wetlands of the state have digital documentation. Also, Ankur is a state plantation program that has combined plantation strategies with sustainability and undergoes regular monitoring. In MP, the city green index has 16 municipalities simply advocating that the more the city forest area, the more will be the parks and green spaces under local body’s jurisdiction.

Dr VB Mathur, chairperson of NBA, suggested to promote ecological economies and local varieties of cattle that are largely affected by climatic

change. He also suggested ecosystem services and believes every city needs documentation to manage its indigenous biodiversity. National parks and Sanctuaries are complex initiatives that raise awareness. Landscaping is an urban entity and rearranges in the priority order. This session was concluded with Vote of Thanks by Dev Kumar Vasudevan, Secretary – TNV, Indore.SESSION COEXISTINGI WITH NATURE SUSTAINABLEFOR CITIES

The session was chaired by Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA, New Delhi with panelists Victor Rana Shinde, Dr Subhashish Banerjee and Dr Manita Saxena. The introductory speaker of this session was U Rajsekar, NIUA, New Delhi who elaborated aspects of climate change, assessment framework of Smart cities and the impact lack of biodiversity management has. The 10-point agenda of URMP Framework had insightful details and the panelists’ questions were invigorating such as the question ‘have we succumbed to poor disaster

Efforts.monitor(CBI)insightsurbanforpresentationNewsessionPlanningandAnkitShrivastava,TheINTERVENTIONSPROCESSESREGIONS-METROPOLITANECOLOGYSESSIONmanagement?’IIINTOOLS,ANDPOLICYsessionwaschairedbyDrAtulIFS.OtherpanelistwereAsthana,CEOSmartCityBhopalMAshraf,Chairperson,TownCommittee,Kochi.TheintroductoryspeakerofthiswasDrMonalisaSen,ICLEI,Delhi,whostartedwithabriefonLocalGovernmentsustainabilityandhowwepromotesustainability.HerinformativeonCityBiodiversityIndexaretoolstohelpcitiesevaluate/theirBiodiversityConservationThecasestudyofKochi,asthe

first city in Kerala with CBI elaborating on the focus areas, their interaction and integrated action on biodiversity

which was an eyeopener.

The next speaker was M Ashraf, Chairperson, Town Planning Committee, Kochi. He presented Stagewise Development of Project.

His elaboration of all the four stages: Baseline Assessment, City Biodiversity Index & Biodiversity Communication followed by Local Biodiversity Strategy And Action Plan (LBSAP), and finally Pilot Project Implementation was informative and engaging.

SESSION III URBAN wereMukherjeeThisCONSERVATIONCHALLENGESWETLANDS;INsessionwaschairedbyAniruddhe(IAS).TheCo–ChairChitranjanTyagiandSandeep Khanwalkar.The first speaker of this session Kaustubh Rishi, TNV Indore, spoke on Urban wetlands and challenges in conservation. The differentiation between wetlands and wastelands and their statistics and importance, the conservation and challenges for the same were discussed in detail, along with the inclusion of Sirpur Lake in the Ramsar List and TNVs Volunteer efforts for the conservation for the same.

SESSION IV ROLE OF LOCAL BODIES IN ThisCONSERVATIONBIODIVERSITYURBANsessionwaschairedby

Dr PSN

Rao, Director SPA, New Delhi. The first speaker Dr Bakul Lad, MPSBB Bhopal presented Role of Local Bodies in Urban Biodiversity Conservation and his views on the same. He started discussing issues with urban biodiversity conservation. Starting with losses of habitat area highlighting that fragmented habitat causes local extinction of certain species and the issues of urbanization with population pressure.

He emphasized on the concept of developing sustainable cities which includes conserving nature, restoring biodiversity, maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services, and SESSIONgovernance.

BIODIVERSITYPROMOTINGV IN

URBAN LANDSCAPES

This session was chaired by Dr VB Mathur, Chairman NBA with HS

Mohanta, IFS, Neha Raghav, Dr Ambika Sharma as panelists.

The first speaker Dr Areendran, WWF, India spoke about Preserving ecosystems, footprint domain and science-based organisation. The information he shared about Drone Mapping, Zoning of Wetlands to work on Rejuvenation and the vision of end desired result were very insightful to say the OPENINGleast.

SESSION; 6TH AUGUST, 2022 KESAR PARVATTheOpening

Session was addressed by Dr SL Garg, an environmentalist, senior academician, researcher and the Founder Director of non-profit organization – World Researchers Association. In 2007 he purchased a barren land of 25 acres near Mhow, District Indore.

With the pledge of planting 50,000 trees from 2015, Dr SL Garg has planted 32,000 trees on the spread of 25 acres of barren rocky hill by 2021. Because of so many plants and trees, Keshar Parvat is now a unique example of biodiversity where various species of flora and fauna reside.

Abhilash Khandekar, Sr Journalist, addressing the gathering during the conference

SESSION CONSERVINGI

wasTheBPSOURCESTRADITIONALURBANWATER–MEANSTOROTECTCLIMATEANDIODIVERSITYchairpersonofthissessionDrLokendraThakkar,senior

scientific officer of EPCO. With fellow panelists Dr Ishwar Narayanan, UNEP and Ambrish Kela. For this session, Lieutenant-General PN Anant Narayanan was invited as the chief guest. The discussion was introduced by a brief presentation on “Enhancing Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change through Conservation of Traditional Water Supply Sources (Wells & Bawdies) of Indore city”. Conservation of traditional water sources has been identified as one of the best Climate Change Adaption strategies highlighted in NAPCC, NWM, National Water Policy and MP SAPCC. Renovation of traditional water sources is one of the five targeted Water Conservation Interventions under Jal Shakti Abhiyan. The process flow includes consultation, meetings, data collections, site visits. The project has built in elements of replicability. Rejuvenation of all the 629 TWSS of Indore city is being done. Conservation of Wells and Bawdies is the major activity. Detailed hydrogeological assessment of these TWSS to assess their yield potential and response to recharge is being undertaken. Online dashboard is being developed and updated regularly.

The project is an adaptation project with the mitigation co-benefits. The estimation of GHG emission reduction is not a part of the project although the project contributes in reduction of GHG emission on account of water pumping. Direct benefit to around 16500 households and Indore Municipal Corporation may save revenue of `5.66 crores through reduced water pumping costs and also leading to reduction in GHG

TheEXPERIMENTURBANSESSIONemissions.IIFORESTpanelistsofthis session were

Padmashri, Bhalu Mondhe, Dr VB Mathur, Director of Wildlife Institute of India, Bhupesh Sharma, R Gupta, IASCEO Smart city, Abhilash Khandekar, President of Nature Volunteers and head of World Research Organization.

The introductory speaker was Vishal Pawar from Anandvan Foundation, Pune. The discussion was introduced by brief presentation on Anandvan Foundation, which is an urban forest. The founder of Anandvan is Praveen Kumar Anand. He turned a dumping ground on a barren hill into an urban forest. He truly believes that India’s environment, biodiversity, forests and wildlife are our greatest assets and we ought to preserve the same for all future generations. Seven years ago the Anandvan area was fully covered with garbage, debris, and tons of plastic. All citizens, students, youngsters started taking part in extensive cleaning drive organized by Anandvan foundation. They started breaking rocks and softening ground. They started building water tanks and artificial ponds. They started removing encroachments and started building walls, gates, benches and gazebos. After three years, a massive tree plantation drive started

and volunteers played a major role. They had started using cocopeat with soil which helps in water retention. They set up proper water management system because of acute water shortage. They implemented a drip irrigation system on 2000 sq ft by planting 550 saplings. Rain water harvesting was also adopted. Among other steps, water stream and other water bodies were set up for birds. 33 acres of barren land were converted into urban forest and now work is going on over 200 acre land.Today

Anandvan is an ideal example of urban green forest created amidst concrete jungle pumping oxygen in this carbon chamber. Various species of indigenous tress like Banyan, Pipal, Neem, Moha, Ber, Bakul, Katesavar, Tamarind, Fig, Taaman, Palas, Shami, Shirish, Sita Ashok, Ramphal, Harad, Behada, Guggul, Bahava, Amla, Bael, Medshingi and Sonsavar have been planted.FUTURE PLAN

A green corridor to connect the adjoining forest patches. Dev Kumar Vasudevan proposed the vote of thanks.

NCUBC calls for action on biodiversity conservation, releases Indore declaration

Global biodiversity assessments indicate that urban expansion has caused about 50% loss of local within-site species richness and 38% loss of total abundance of species in intensively-used urbanized areas. Existing forecasts of global urban expansion indicate that over 290,000 km2 of natural habitats are likely to be lost to urban expansion between 2000 and 2030. This includes a more than threefold increase in the extent of urban lands near protected areas. Much of this urban expansion is predicted to occur in biodiversity hotspots, many of which had relatively little urban lands in 2000

Indian cities are some of the most populous and dynamic entities in the world, home to over 30% of the country’s population. As the land use within and around the cities gives way to a built environment, the natural ecosystems, its biodiversity, goods and services are going to be further impacted. These goods and services are the very reasons for the liveability, health, basic services and functioning of cities and their citizens. For Indian cities to follow a trajectory of sustainable development, the green and blue must be integrated with the grey.

A healthy ecosystem, and a healthy biodiversity associated with a city, will build healthy cities and healthy citizens, improving overall productivity, wellbeing and quality of life.

Indore Call for Action

WE, THE REPRESENTATIVES of city (Smart City Indore), sub-national (Government of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, Environmental Planning & Coordination Organisation) and national (National Biodiversity Authority, National Institute of Urban Affairs) governments; UN bodies (UNEP); urban researchers and practitioners (Institute of Town Planners, School of Planning and Architecture); private sector (HCL Harit); not for profit organisations (The Nature Volunteers, World Researchers Association, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia, WWF, CMS Vatavaran, EcoSoul-Enviro, Jaivik Setu, All India Institute of Local Self Government, Wetlands International South Asia), participating in the National Conference on Urban Biodiversity on 5th6th August 2022 at Indore and Mhow to reinforce our individual and collective commitments towards the implementation of 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Sustainable Development Goals, CBD, NBSAP and NBTs through mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into urban planning.

Acknowledging with concern the scientific evidence on increasing loss of urban biodiversity due to rapid urbanisation, thereby risking health, livelihoods, food security, water supply and other ecosystem services in urbanWelcomingareas. the considerable and concerted efforts that are being made by government agencies (at all three levels of governance), academia, civil society, private sector and other sections of the society.Appreciating that local communities and citizens contribute to the conservation and sustainable utilisation of urban biodiversity through traditional knowledge, innovations and socio-cultural practices, and through their stewardship connect with biodiversity along with the pivotal role played by women and youth.

Recognising the need for integrating biodiversity conservation into urban planning, in order to ensure sustainable urban development, as advocated in the soon to be adopted Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

We urge leaders of all levels of government, United Nations entities, institutions, the private

sector, civil society and academia to:

♦ Make urban biodiversity conservation an integral/core part of urban planning in master plans at district and city levels and align it with Urban Local Body /Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) activities.

♦

Apply nature-based solutions (NbS) for multiple sustainable development outcomes, using spatial planning, blue and green infrastructure options, promoting green zones and integrated coastal and mountain zone management to reconnect and engage with nature in the new urban world

♦

Prioritise the development of healthy local environments through active community engagement to ensure air, water, soil, climate and all natural resources that sustain life and health are conserved

♦

Promote circular development to regulate environmental degradation and optimise resource consumption

♦ Encourage the engagement of local citizens particularly women and youth in promoting/ practising urban biodiversity conservation activities

♦ Develop Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (LBSAPs) at the city level and institutionalise the implementation of the same

♦

♦

♦

Work towards developing financially-viable, biodiversity-friendly and climate-resilient infrastructure projects

Ensure that the natural and built environment in and around urban areas work synergistically to improve liveability and promote human health and well-being

Enhance the availability of adequate financial resources and their timely disbursement to urban local bodies/BMCs for building smart and green cities.

♦

Replicate and organise similar conferences in other cities/states across the country to generate and maintain momentum for urban biodiversity conservation.

The document was adopted with overwhelming support from all the participants in the first National Conference on Biodiversity Conservation which was held in the city of Indore on 6th August 2022.

India@75: Reminiscing past for a hopeful future

To reminisce the journey of Indian cities in the post-Independent era and chalk out a plan for the next 25 years, AIILSG organised a session ‘India@75-Imagining the Next 25 Years’ during the Infocomm India 2022 Show. The exhibition-cumconference was organised between September 5-7 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AILLSG) hosted the session to celebrate 75 years of Independence and also launched the book cover of its upcoming coffee table book-Urban75. A host of participants from various local governments joined this session to discuss the journey of our nation and put forward their vision of how they see India after 100 years of self-rule, which is only 25 years from now. Ravi Ranjan Guru, Deputy Director General, AIILSG, delivered the welcome address and talked about how AIILSG has been working closely with the local bodies since 1926. Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd), Director General, AIILSG, delivered the keynote address and also unveiled the book cover of the coffee table book-Urban75. Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs; Dr Jairaj Phatak, IAS (Retd), Director General, AIILSG; Anshul Gupta, Commissioner, Ujjain Municipal Corporation; Tikender Singh Panwar, Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla among many other were present during theTheceremony.bookis a collection of articles from eminent urban experts from India. The authors writing for the book have not just illustrated the successes in the past but also provided solutions to pressing urban challenges for paving a path for a bright urban future. Authors of the book include Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport

and Highways, Government of India; OP Mathur, eminent urban expert and former director of NIUA; Dr Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries; Chetan Vaidya, former director, SPA; Ashwini Bhide, Additional Commissioner, Greater Mumbai Municipal Corporation (GMMC); Vikas Kharage, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary & Mission Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. Dr Phatak in his address said that local governments are key to India’s success in the next 25 years because urban expansion is imminent and urban local bodies can steer urban development in the right direction.

The launch of the book cover was followed by a panel discussion which was moderated by Abhishek Pandey, Editor of Urban Update. Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA); Tikender Singh Panwar, Former Deputy Mayor, Shimla; Anshul Gupta, Commissioner, Ujjain Municipal Corporation; and Ranjan Panda, Convener, Combat Climate Change Network, India participated in the panel discussion.Themoderator began with talking about the adverse impacts of climatic changes that our cities are facing and asked Vaidya to address the gathering on how to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Vaidya pointed out that many cities in India did not have any proper master plans and raised concerns over the proper planning of Indian cities. He said that to have a paradise land, one must have five components. The first one is well-planned cities, and

the second is the standardization and process to follow protocols. The third is the delegation of financial powers to ULBs. The fourth is having skilled manpower, and the fifth is monitoring and evaluation of work that has been going on. And for the next 25 years, a pollution-free environment, proper housing facilities, and a better life are what we should focus on. India has currently 3000 census towns and that is where for the next 25 years one should focus. Vaidya ended his initial remarks on the note, “Move incrementally to do things better. We have achieved quite a bit but let’s not be harsh on ourselves also that we have not done it because the complexity and the scale of India are much more different than the western and European cities.”

The next guest speaker, Tikender Singh Panwar, Former Deputy Mayor of Shimla, started by highlighting that the present Indian cities are a convergence of both the medieval and the modern world. Post-1947, the change in the political-economy can be divided into three phases: the Nehruvian phase in the 1990s, post-Manmohan Singh, also called the new liberal capitalism and post-2014, which is the continuation of the 1990s. Panwar walked the audience through the transition that happened and how India comprehended the development of cities from the perspective of city governance. “50 per cent of the investment in the cities still happens from the state, 16 per cent happens from indigenous private capital and the capital that we imagine that have come to eliminate

our problems was not more than 15 per cent that too in the Bangalore corridor alone and today you can see Bangalore is still flooded. Even with high-end technology, you can see where we are ending up”.

The moderator asked Anshul Gupta, Municipal Commissioner of Ujjain to shed light on how data collection is changing urban management in his city and how in the coming future cities will change with data management and integration of technology in operation and management. Gupta talked about the multiple challenges in data collection and how technology can be the best solution. Earlier the process of collecting data used to be done manually which has changed to online and easily accessible.

Ranjan Panda of Water Initiative Odisha was next on the panel to share his views on why cities need rivers. “We are a credit card generation in so far as water use is concerned and we are at the moment using the resources of 1.7 Earths. So when we are planning for cities and the future ahead of us, we must think that we have lived our life more than we should have and now we are taking out of our children and grandchildren’s share of resources”.

“Cities, no matter how small a geographical area they may occupy, utilize all the other resources from all around”. Being a water activist, Panda highlighted the fact that although Indians consider rivers very sacred, the most sacred river of our nation is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. He also points out that we are losing our

wetland almost three and a half times faster than the forests and with that, we are losing our capacity to sponge the extreme weather events we are facing at theInmoment.concluding remarks on what should be done to plan our cities, the panelists spoke about managing the challenges of urbanization and migration, promoting the institution of governance, finding ways to equip cities with knowledge, standards, SOPs, improving the financial decentralization, and solving urban problems with the help of urban diagnosis.CLUSTER MEET

A Cluster Meet of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy followed the Panel Discussion. Mayank Meena, Programme Officer, moderated the meeting. The meeting was attended by over 10 municipal commissioners and senior officials from the potential and signatory cities in India. These officials were from the local governments of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana.

It is to be noted that All India Institute of Local Self-Government is the Networking and Governance Coordinator South Asia for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. The project is funded by the European Union.

The agenda of the cluster meeting was to brief the potential cities about the benefits of signing the GCoM commitment letter and hear the experiences of the already signed cities. Ashish Verma, National Coordinator GCoM Asia, presented the details of the project, joining process and benefits offered by GCoM to cities for making cities more climate change resilient and climate-friendly. Director NIUA shed some light on the various capacitybuilding programs organized by NIUA under the GCoM project for assisting cities for their GHG emission inventory mapping and preparation of climate action plans. Tikender Panwar, former deputy mayor of Shimla, shared the experience of working with the GCoM during his tenure and taking climate actions in the mountain city.

Ashok Wankhade Managing Editor

Biological Diversity Act Amendments & implications

India became a party to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1994. India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 and notified rules in 2004. The nation took almost a decade from ratifying the convention to notifying the rules. Better late than never. The primary purpose of bringing this Act was to ensure the implemention of the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, one of the three conventions enacted in the Rio Summit 1992.

The Act provided for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of biological resources, knowledge and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The amendment to the bill was tabled in December last year. And it was moved to a 21- member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by Dr Sanjay Jaiswal for its recommendations. The committee submitted its report on August 2 after 15 hearings and consultations with about 50 stakeholders. The bill was passed on August 8.

The bill seeks to encourage the Indian medicine system and wild medicinal plant cultivation, facilitate fast-tracking processes for research, patent application, and transfer of research results, and encourage foreign investment in the sector. The bill also amends the Act to include references from the Nagoya Protocol, such as sharing benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. It also suggested expanding the constitution of the National Biodiversity Authority with ex-officio members from different central government ministries, a step welcomed by all as it will mainstream biodiversity into national policy-making.

Even though the above amendments were welcomed, many others were criticized as some of the new provisions points toward the exploitation of natural resources, especially the exemption of codifying knowledge and cultivation of medicinal plants, and only AYUSH practitioners gaining access to any biological resources and its expertise for commercial utilization. This will not only deprive the local communities of receiving associated knowledge but only benefit a few. It would pave the way for an unethical practice called “biopiracy”. This will make companies owned by religious institutions easier access to biological resources freely, without any benefit-sharing fee.

Another significant amendment proposed by the bill is to appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary of the Central and state government as an adjudicating officer, giving away a judge’s responsibility to a government official. It is something to worry about whether it is appropriate to empower members of the Executive to adjudicate penalty decisions that now will be based on an inquiry instead of a judgment after arguments in an open court.

It fails to address many significant issues raised by the critics. They have also taken a strong stand against the dilution of its powers as the bill implies easy accessibility for practitioners to practice indigenous medicine without giving prior intimation to the board. The proposed amendments favour industries and contradict the Convention on Biological Diversity spirit, leading people to raise their concerns.

UrbanUpdate

Urban Update is a leading magazine on sustainable development of cities brought out by All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG). Bringing together the experience of the multilateral sector with that of the private sector and the local governments themselves, the magazine focuses on the challenges and solutions for city leaders and local governments.

Urban Update plays a special role — that of a primary, indispensable link among stakeholders that nurtures community. A wellspring of writing and imagery reinforces our vision of evangelizing Urban Infrastructure, Governance, Culture and Sustainability.