Efficient management of waste disposal sites can curb air pollution

The practical way to deal with such legacy dumpsites, which are a source of local air pollution and fire accidents, is to stabilise the slopes. We must start recovering the landfill gas and then either flaring or harvesting it to be used as a potential fuel.

In 2016, India revised the Solid Waste Management Rules, banning dumping of mixed waste in low-lying areas and open dumps. Yet, many such waste disposal sites are still operational in Delhi and Mumbai. Many of them have gone beyond their permissible operational period because there are no alternative sites. Such sites are now as high as 50-60 m above the ground level, and have also become unstable because of garbage disposal. In October last year, one side of a Ghazipur waste disposal site, managed by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, collapsed, killing at least two people.

However, the stability of the slope is not the only concern in terms of waste disposal sites. Combustibles such as rags, plastics, paper and wood often catch fire. These surface fires emit particulate matter, including black carbon or soot, which is a short-term climate pollutant with global warming potential. While dousing such fires is relatively easy, subsurface fires are not. This occurs when biodegradable waste degrades anaerobically and produces landfill gases. The main component of landfill gas— methane — catches fire when it comes in contact with air. It is often challenging to quantify the actual spread of fire in the subsurface.

Such fires, whether surface or subsurface, contribute to local air pollution. Waste disposal sites thus also contribute to an increased level of local air pollution and often add to the haze during the winter season. This phenomenon, which occurs every winter in Delhi, was also evident in Mumbai a few years ago. The ambient air quality monitoring around the active waste disposal sites has indicated higher levels of particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO) and methane than the prescribed standards. Apart from these pollutants, emission of traces of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from waste disposal sites is also a concern as even its small concentrations are toxic to humans. As per the TERI study, the landfill fires contribute to 0.4% of air pollution in terms of PM2.5 in winter season in Delhi.

The present practice of using fire tenders for dousing waste dumpsite fires not only introduces water into the landfill which later percolates through as leachate, but also washes away good quality soil cover from the top of the slopes thereby exposing the waste.

The practical way to deal with such legacy dumpsites, which are a source of local air pollution and fire accidents, is to stabilise the slopes. We must start recovering the landfill gas and then either flaring or harvesting it to be used as a potential fuel. Once these dumps have been stabilised and most of the landfill gas recovered, the dumps can be opened, and their content mined into compostable, combustibles and inerts. The combustibles can be further processed into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and used as a source of energy, either in industries or cement kilns. This can be done cell by cell on the disposal sites. The emptied cells should be lined and converted into sanitary landfills so that scientific disposal of residues of waste processing can be initiated, in compliance with the waste management rules of 2016.

Suneel Pandey is director, environment & waste management, TERI

Source: Hindustan Times, 14/11/2018

Rules of Conduct

 You are here for a unique and noble purpose, not just to eat, sleep and talk. Remember this always, and don’t stop smiling. To grow and to be strong, we need to follow some rules. They are called yama and niyama. The first is ahimsa, non-violence, for it unites you with entire creation. Practice of yoga, of realising that everything is here and everything is part of you is ahimsa. The next is astheya, not missing what you don’t have. Totally accepting what is and not regretting, is astheya. Then comes brahmacharya, moving beyond small identifications. Brahma means big, moving into bigger things. The fourth is aparigraha, not taking what people have to give you. Aparigraha is not taking anything from anybody, including insults. Then there are five rules for your inner development. The first one is shaucha, cleanliness, keeping yourself clean and wearing clean clothes. More important is to be clean from inside. The next rule is santosha, contentment. Be happy. If you don’t attempt being happy, nothing in this world can make you happy. The third is tapa, forbearance, putting up willingly with something that is uncomfortable. If you were asked to sit continuously for 10 hours, you would never do it. But travelling in an aircraft over long distances, you have no choice but to sit, bound by a belt. Undertake swadhyaya, self-study, observe your mind. When you observe, all the feelings, good or bad, will change. The last rule is ishwara pranidhaana, love of the Divine. Surrender to the Divine when you feel you are totally helpless.

Source: Economic Times, 15/11/2018

IISc, IIT Delhi Gain Ground in Global University Employability Rankings

Only 3 universities count in top 150, which indicates India’s struggling to make a reputational mark with employers: THE’s Baker

A few of India’s top higher education institutions improved their standing for graduate employability this year, but the country has not been able to keep up with the advances made by others in the region. The eighth Times Higher Education (THE) annual Global University Employability Rankings for 2018, released in tandem with a time series analysis, shows that the Indian Institute of Science has improved its global ranking by one position to 28th, while the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi galloped to 53rd position from 145th last year. However, most Indian universities are ceding ground to regional competitors. India has seen some improvement in its representation and institutional positions in the table, going by the time series analysis reflecting graduate employability shifts by country since 2011 when the list was first launched, but not in line with other countries in the region and globally. “India’s performance in the employability ranking has been somewhat inconsistent since the list was first launched in 2011,” said Simon Baker, data editor at THE. “It still only counts three universities in the top 150, suggesting it’s struggling to make the reputational ground with employers that some other Asian nations have achieved.” South Korea has shown the most improvement in Asia for graduate employability since 2011. Hong Kong and Taiwan have also seen good improvement over time. However, mainland China’s rise has been comparatively slow, the data shows. US universities still dominate, but data reveals a sharp drop since 2011. France and the UK also have lost ground, but Germany has shown improvement. The 2018 survey reveals most countries value soft skills, such as collaboration and communication. Harder, practical skills are valued most in China. Firms also see interdisciplinary or problem-based learning as the key area for universities to strengthen: 71% respondents rated it as a very important measure to improve on. As per Baker, there has been a substantial global shift in graduate employability this decade, with a dramatically improved performance within east Asia and parts of Europe. By-and-large, he said, the highest risers are those imparting softer skills increasingly favoured among recruiters, like teamwork, combined with the strongest possible industry experience. The 2018 global listing is topped by Harvard University, which climbed one spot to switch with the California Institute of Technology.

Source: Economic Times, 15/11/2018

Not Burning Bright

India’s national animal has fallen prey to human-tiger conflict

The tiger is in the news, and yet again for the wrong reasons. We have lost two of our national animals to targeted killings in two rich landscapes — Yavatmal (Maharashtra) and Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh). The big cats were victims of human-tiger interface conflict.

India is in a leadership position on the tiger front with almost 70 per cent of the global tiger population. We pioneered tiger conservation with Project Tiger and by conserving 2.4 per cent of our geographical area as tiger reserves. Why, then, do we find ourselves in such conflict situations repeatedly? The answer is not far to seek. Our tiger reserves, national parks and sanctuaries exist only as islets in a vast sea of human, cattle and unsustainable land use. The stakeholders are many in this heterogeneous mosaic, from primary (local people) to secondary (government departments) and tertiary (business groups, semi-urbanscape). Urbanisation and growth agendas alter landscape dynamics, which has a cascading effect on the ecological dynamics of wildlife. This results in ecological dislocation of sorts, wherein endangered wild animals like tigers either cause distress or land themselves in trouble.

Consider the statistics: India’s 3.28 million sq km land area amounts to 2.4 per cent of the planet’s geographical area. But we have almost 17 per cent of the world’s human population and 16 per cent of global livestock. Our per capita forest is just 0.064 ha compared to the global average of 0.64 ha, which partly explains the forest resource dependency of a large number of rural people. India’s 668 protected areas add up to 14 per cent of her forest area and 4.9 per cent of her geographical area. Of these, 50 protected areas are tiger reserves. Against this backdrop, we hold two-thirds of the global tiger population, the largest population of Asiatic elephants and so on. Barring protected areas, our forests are not very rich. And the concessions in our forests have caused overuse and abuse of resources. Loss of forest productivity in terms of forage for wild herbivores has meant that the bulk of our forests cannot sustain medium-sized wild herbivores like deer, megaherbivores like elephants or big cats like tigers.

In fact, successive assessments have revealed that tigers are largely confined to their source areas (core areas of tiger reserves) and their fringes (buffers). The bulk of other forests in most of India’s tiger states have practically lost their habitat value owing to excessive biotic pressure. Consequently, agriculture and cash crops beyond protected areas readily lure wild pigs and other preys, which in turn lure big cats. The inevitable outcome is “conflict of interface” between wildlife and humans, which cause distress to people. And once wild animals earn a pest value, they get trapped in snares or succumb to revenge or avoidance killings, more often than not through a silent method of poisoning using pesticides. This “interface” is further influenced by urbanisation, rail and road transport infrastructure and intensive operations like mining or special economic zones — part of the growth agenda in any developing country.

The truth is, human-wildlife interface is here to stay. While there can be no “co-existence” with tigers or elephants, a “co-occurrence” agenda with a proactive management control is available. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has brought out several Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to deal with various challenges of the human-tiger interface. An incapacitated tiger or leopard has to be captured on priority. A prime animal straying close to human settlements requires active monitoring and translocation to suitable habitat. For example, tigers were shifted from the fringes of Bandhavgarh to Satpura. All this requires 24×7 monitoring using technology, management of corridors, building up the frontline capacity, creating village teams for reporting wild animal presence, and, an intersectoral portfolio at the landscape level akin to the “master plan” envisaged for an eco-sensitive zone.

Human-tiger interface management demands proactive measures. One cannot allow a big cat to get habituated and then brutally eliminate it. It is a tragic end for our national animal, and a complete travesty of the responsibility reposed on foresters and wildlife experts.

The writer is secretary general of the Global Tiger Forum and former chief of NTCA

Source: Indian Express, 14/11/2018

Theory, Culture & Society: Table of Contents

Interrupting the Anthropo-obScene: Immuno-biopolitics and Depoliticizing Ontologies in the Anthropocene Erik Swyngedouw, Henrik Ernstson First Published February 13, 2018; pp. 3–30 Abstract Preview |  |  |

An Alternative Model of Politics? Prospects and Problems of Jane Bennett’s Vital Materialism Thomas Lemke First Published May 17, 2018; pp. 31–54 Abstract Preview |  |  |

Thinking the Commons through Ostrom and Butler: Boundedness and Vulnerability Irina Velicu, Gustavo García-López First Published February 12, 2018; pp. 55–73 Abstract Preview |  |  |

Cognition in High-Frequency Trading: The Costs of Consciousness and the Limits of Automation Armin Beverungen, Ann-Christina Lange First Published February 26, 2018; pp. 75–95 Abstract Preview |  |  |

Notes & Commentary

On the Soul of Technical Objects: Commentary on Simondon’s ‘Technics and Eschatology’ (1972) Yuk Hui First Published March 8, 2018; pp. 97–111 Abstract Preview |  |  |

Interview

An Interview with Frédéric Lebaron on the Genesis and Principles of Bourdieusian Sociology: The Real Is (Still) Relational Andreas Schmitz First Published December 13, 2017; pp. 113–130 Abstract Preview |  |  |

Review Article

Spheres: Towards a Techno-Social Ontology of Place/s Sascha Rashof First Published February 28, 2018; pp. 131–152 Abstract

The danger of fake news is real

While it is inevitable that Indians — and Indian politicians — will continue to tap these technologies, all stakeholders must exercise far more caution and institute more correctives than they have so far

Twitter’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey, is in India, engaging with both political actors and general audiences. In August, the CEO of Whatsapp, Chris Daniels, visited Delhi and engaged with the government. Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has both visited India and hosted Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at his headquarters.

The close engagement of leaders of some of the most revolutionary tools of communication with India is not a surprise. For these platforms, India is a huge market, and one that is only growing. The audiences they fetch here and the various ways in which they can monetise conversations on their platforms is now an indispensable part of their global business plans. For India, too, engaging with these platforms is essential. Take Twitter. It has changed the way political discourse is conducted in the country. Thanks to it, political leaders have found a way to communicate their views, without intermediaries. Social media supporters engage in deeply contested battles to push their narrative on all these platforms. And the mainstream media sometimes ends up playing catch up. But if Twitter operates at a relatively elite level, Whatsapp and Facebook have percolated down to the remotest corners of the country. The spread of cheap smartphones and, more importantly, affordable data has enabled this democratisation of information and communication. Political parties — some more than others — have recognised how this can shape beliefs, values and electoral choices and PM Modi is understood to have told his party that 2019 will be an election fought on Whatsapp.

This is all unchartered territory, however, and the perils of these tools have already become visible. Twitter has been home to hate speech; it is witness to the most vicious trolling and targeting of public figures. On Whatsapp, fake news is a real concern — and the circulation of rumours has led to a spate of killings and lynchings this year. Facebook was used — and misused — in the US elections of 2016 to spread fake news; there is a danger of this happening in India as well. Along with the democratisation, there has been a degeneration of the quality of public discourse. And the platforms have been able to do little to counter hate speech and fake news. All communication technology has had unpredictable consequences in human history. While it is inevitable that Indians — and Indian politicians — will continue to tap these technologies, all stakeholders must exercise far more caution and institute more correctives than they have so far.

Source: Hindustan Times, 13-11-2018

India must become an integral part of the region

India’s role in Asean should be anchored by growing economic ties, a goal that both sides have steadily advanced over the years. Since 2005, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been the nucleus and nexus of our partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Singapore today for the 33rd Asean Summit and Related Summits. His visit caps a year of sustained high-level engagement with the region, which started in January when all 10 Asean leaders came to New Delhi for the Asean-India Commemorative Summit to mark the 25th anniversary of relations. The leaders also attended India’s Republic Day celebrations as chief guests, an unprecedented honour.

In June, Modi became the first Indian prime minister to deliver the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Laying out a vision for the Indo-Pacific, he presented a confident and resolute India ready to take on a greater role in the region.

This week, we look forward to further realising this vision. Modi will attend Asean’s year-end summits and the East Asia Summit (EAS) for the fifth consecutive year, a testament to his personal commitment to India’s Act East policy.

Singapore has long advocated for India to take up its role as an integral part of the region. It is gratifying to see how Asean-India relations have grown over the past 25 years. In 1991, when the Cold War ended and India began its economic liberalisation, we saw an opportunity to deepen ties and build on its historical and cultural links with our region. We pushed for India to become a full Asean dialogue partner in 1995 and join the EAS in 2005.

Since then, Asean-India ties have strengthened. We established the Asean-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA) in 2009, and elevated relations to a Strategic Partnership in 2012. Today, India contributes actively to Asean-led fora such as the EAS, the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus, and Asean Regional Forum. All in all, around 30 platforms for cooperation exist, including seven ministerial dialogues and the annual Leaders Summit.

However, we can, and must, do more. For instance, there are tremendous opportunities in enhancing physical and digital connectivity between India and Asean.Asean is committed to strengthening land, air, and sea linkages with India. These linkages will enhance people-to-people flows, as well as boost business, investment, and tourism. The India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway will connect India’s Northeast to mainland southeast Asia. While one can fly directly between India and several Asean countries, there is still much room to expand air links to support growing business and tourism. There is potential in burgeoning cruise tourism as well.

Beyond physical linkages, digital connectivity is the new frontier in the 4th Industrial Revolution. India has made great progress in innovation, start-ups, and digital inclusion. There are opportunities to apply initiatives such as Aadhaar in our region. E-commerce and FinTech are two other areas of potential collaboration. As an economic hub, Singapore can serve as a springboard to launch these ideas to southeast Asia and beyond.

India’s role in Asean should be anchored by growing economic ties, a goal that both sides have steadily advanced over the years. Since 2005, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) has been the nucleus and nexus of our partnership. This was India’s first comprehensive economic pact with another country and Singapore’s first with a south Asian country. CECA paved the way for the AIFTA in 2009; following which, Asean-India trade expanded 25-fold from US$2.9 billion in 1993 to over US$73 billion in 2017.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the next step in economic integration. Covering 16 countries and over a third of global GDP and trade, RCEP will create an integrated Asian market, including half the world’s population. Over the past few decades, Asia Pacific economies have grown robustly under an open and integrated regional economic architecture.

During Diwali recently, I saw many rangoli decorating homes and offices. Our region is similar — multiple countries, each diverse and bright, interconnected within a pattern that constitutes our regional architecture. As Asean Chair and in the years ahead, Singapore will do its best to invigorate this evolving mosaic of regional cooperation.

Source: Hindustan Times, 13/11/2018