Wake up Mangalore... or be damned! - Book launch

Royston Fernandes, author of “Shall We Save the Earth” unveiled his second book on climate change - adaptation and mitigation. The book is written exclusively for the people of Mangalore with a global perspective. Royston speaks of the struggles that ordinary Mangaloreans would endure due to climate change in the next few years.

 

The book was released by Ms. Vidya Dinkar an eminent environmentalist and social activist who reminded the gathering about the irony of the situation wherein on one end of Mangalore a book that speaks of conservation and preservation is unveiled at the other end the government representatives are inaugurating a petrochemical project that would gradually turn Mangalore into a petrochemical export hub. This would not only destroy the surrounding ecology but also leave the thriving ‘Mogaveera’ community of Mangalore who are predominantly fishermen, into a perilous situation.

Mr. Eric Ozario – social and cultural activist from Mangalore was also present at the event as a patron. He remembered Nelson Mandela and quoted Malcom Muggeridge saying “Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream” to encourage and inspire Royston on his journey which he described as a “way of the cross.”

The book was unveiled in an unusual manner. The guests were treated to a sight of a jar (buyao/bharani) on the podium. The event’s compere Mr. Eric Ozario explained that the jar was a symbol of preservation as it is quite common for Mangaloreans to prepare for the rainy season with jars filled with pickle stashed away in the attic. He said since the book speaks about preservation this is perhaps the most fitting welcome it deserves. Ms. Vidya Dinkar then unveiled the book and presented it to the audience.

The book has been published by Notionpress Chennai and is available for sale online at Flipkart, Bookadda, Amazon and on the publisher website. All proceeds from the book would be used to fund activities aimed at educating the common man about climate change.

Written by – J.Marian.D’Souza

Tree Credits - an idea that can save the world!

In my previous article, I put forth before you ‘Scenario 2030’ – a target date for us to adhere to. We discussed how food shortages would plague our land and decided to act immediately on this.  In another one of my article ‘What if you were paid money for every tree you plant?’ – I introduced a new concept of paying royalties to individuals who would plant and nurture trees. This was more on the lines of our obligation to save mother earth.

A lot of interested earthizens came back to me after reading these articles. A few explained their inability to find adequate land around their apartment complexes to plant a tree. A few more praised the novel idea of encouraging plantations through the payment of royalties. In this article, I will combine both these concepts into one single idea – ‘Tree Credits’.

Climate change has reached an inflection point today. It cannot be reversed, but can be reduced. The primary reason for global warming (which is causing climate change) is greenhouse gas emissions mainly from electricity generation, industries and automobile emissions. The main carbon sink to reduce the percentage of carbon di oxide (the main greenhouse gas) are the forests of the earth. Unfortunately this strategic tree cover is decreasing by the day.

The basic idea and the driving force behind ‘Tree Credits’ is to create more food, employment and simultaneously increase the green cover of the earth. This idea was conceptualized in 2009 by Ferdinand Swart, a Dutch designer and environmentalist. His intention was to extend a smaller more practical version of carbon credits to every Earthizen. Ferdinand even initiated a pilot project in India in the year 2011 in association with PSA, an NGO based out of Trichi.

Tree Credits is a unique idea that gives every Earthizen a chance to give back to nature – may be through direct planting of trees or may be through funding the project. It offers us all a great opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint and help resuscitate our ailing mother earth. Before going into the specific details of this idea, let me first brief present before you the advantages of this concept.

• ·         Increase local food production – by practicing agroforestry.
• ·         Increase local source of fodder.
• ·         Improve soil fertility -decrease reliability on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
• ·         Create employment opportunities – particularly amongst rural women.
• ·         Create an additional source of income in the form of royalties.
• ·        Create a good investment which can be used as a guarantee against micro-finance loans.
• ·         Increase density of green cover and thus avail the associated benefits.

The ultimate goal of Tree Credits is to double the tree cover and exponentially increase food production throughout the world (taking 2015 as the base year for estimation) by 2050.

My next article would detail the implementation plan of the tree credit idea. But, before we go ahead and do that – I would like to assess your support for the same. If you would in the near future come forward to participate (through monetary support or volunteering) please do leave a comment below.

The next big idea to change the world is here!

Scenario 2030 - investing in a safe future.

The year 2030 – let’s call it the target year.

The target – to adequately adapt to a changing climate and a changing landscape.

Why 2030?

By then the world’s sea levels are expected to rise by about 1.37 meters. Today around 100 million people around the world live within 1 meter of the sea levels. This is number will only increase in the next couple of years.

The rising seas will pose a variety of problems both at the micro as well as the macro level.  Resettlement of the displaced population, ensuring and maintaining adequate security, law and order, disaster control etc. would challenge every government on the face of the earth. But the one problem that would most likely suffocate these governments into giving up is food security. You can read more about this in my book ‘Wake up Mangalore… or be damned!’

I was raised in a small coastal city surrounded by lush green paddy fields and coconut plantations. But today, I can hardly see this greenery.  This is the case in most countries – wherein the lucrative real estate rates are persuading farmers into selling their fertile agricultural land. The advent of technology however has kept the demand and supply gap more or less within controllable limits. But with an unpredictable weather looming large, soil patterns constantly changing and water availability fast decreasing – keeping this gap small is a challenge.

But we need not panic, as we have plenty of solutions at hand. The only thing that needs to change is our proactiveness in implementing them.

One such solution is agroforestry.

Agroforestry can be defined as the integration of crops and livestock systems with trees. If implemented scientifically it has the potential to allow the farmer to increase the efficiency of land use, boost yields and also help in increasing the ever decreasing carbon sink.

For a farmer – agroforestry has tremendous benefits. On farm trees (the right kind) help replenish nutrient deficient soil. This eliminates the necessity to use chemical fertilizers. These trees may also bear fruit that can be used locally and sold – adding to the farmer’s revenue. These trees may also provide fodder for the livestock reducing fodder costs. In total it is a win-win situation for a farmer.

Sadly, I have no agricultural land except for a small back yard. What much can I do?

Don’t get disheartened and give up! There is a lot we can do!

To begin with, plant a few indigenous fruit trees in your yard. Consider this as an investment you are making for your children. You could also invest in agroforestry schemes and contribute to NGOs undertaking such missions. Remember the biggest challenge our children will face is finding adequate quantity of nutritious food. And we have a golden opportunity here. Let’s not let this one pass!

Let’s begin today….

The Fifth Assesment report of the IPCC is here

What if you get paid for every tree you plant?

At a time when global warming seems irreversible; at a time when an ever changing climate threatens the well-being of the most intelligent species on this planet; at a time when we increasingly notice the callous attitude of our leaders towards this issue (as in Warsaw) and at a time when the future looks grim and options few – we are confronted with a question: “What can we do?”

Plant a tree!

In India year after year we celebrate a unique festival called Vanamahotsava. Famously acclaimed as the festival of life – the intent behind it is to encourage natural conservation amongst the next generation. Schools all over the country celebrate this by planting saplings, donating saplings to students, holding awareness campaigns and drives, taking up causes etc. Indeed a remarkable imitative in its inception. Similar festivals and events are organized by various charities and NGOs around the world. TV channels, newspapers and websites cover these events; foundations and governments award prizes in recognition to the leaders and a lot of public support rallies behind them. A novel cause indeed.

Statistics indicate that the tree cover on this earth is exponentially decreasing. A simple conclusion from the previous statement – the rate of tree felling is much higher compared to the rate of replanting. Every country has legislation regarding felling of trees and afforestation. Most of these are sadly not implemented. Lack of interest? Lack of motivation? Lack of fear? After all they are trees – why should I care? Even if I give a damn, what do I get in return?

The rate of deforestation is only going to move up the vertical spiral in the years to come. Can it be stopped? I guess not. But can we undo the damage? Of course we can!

The Vanamahotsava, NGO and foundations planting trees, the afforestation programs on a small scale are all wonderful initiatives that unfortunately aren't enough.  So here’s the plan – we take this movement to a whole new level. We take it to every village, town and city on the face of this earth. But wait a minute – what will motivate people to sign up, especially in villages (most of which are ridden with poverty and illiteracy)?

What if I say – we will pay you royalty for every sapling you plant right from day one?

To be continued…………

Western Ghats - our ticket to paradise

The Western Ghats is home to one of the most diverse biological treasures in India.  This 1600 kilometre long abode, spanning an area of 60,000 km² and sandwiched between the Tapti River (on the border of Gujrath and Maharastra) and Kanyakumari (in Tamil Nadu) is the home to perhaps the maximum number of unique organisms that can be found at one location in the entire universe!

Here a small list to give you a fair idea of what this number is -

• 137 species of Mammals
•  508 species of birds
•  332 species of butterflies
• 290 species of fish
• 203 species of reptiles
• 181 species of amphibians
• 77 species of fresh water molluscs
• 270 species of land snails

And most importantly 375 of these are endangered.

Some facts –

1. The WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) has tagged the Western Ghats bio reserve as critically endangered
2. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has enlisted in its list of World Heritage Sites
3. The WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Center) has categorically stated this region as the most important fresh water biodiversity in the world.
4. It is one of the 34 Global Biodiversity hot-spots
5. It finds itself a place in the list of 8 hottest biodiversity hot-spots of the world

The ever increasing human activity in and around this region poses the following threat to this biodiversity:

• Agricultural activities in the form of coffee cultivation and livestock grazing have resulted in considerable encroachment onto the forest land.
• The numerous proposed mini hydroelectric projects
• The proposed diversion of the Netravati River
• Climate change
• Illegal and Legal mining activities

The Western Ghats are our nearest ticket to paradise! It’s worth saving this ticket for the future. Let us all unanimously oppose any government policy that threatens this paradise and banish any political party that tries to implement such a policy.