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Contents page
Dec 1-15, 2003
Cover Story
Bhopal is a metaphor for disaster, industrial and human. It has been the object of much speculation and typically endless litigation. A case study in regulatory law, it could serve as wonderful proof in an argument to uphold the precautionary principle. Reams of paper -- research unpublished or not undertaken -- and crores of cash -- money unspent, or non-funding -- facilitate the entry of a new generation of the city's residents into the 21st century, and death by unknown illness
Editor's page
News
The international clinical trial business could come to India in a big way. The most advanced drugs might be available to Indians as soon as the research is finalised. A lot of Indians could get free treatment, also contributing to the development of new drugs. But given the poor state of regulations in India, the same people could also be used like guinea pigs by pharmaceutical companies. All this could result from a change in the Indian regulations for drug trials on humans
The much-hyped sewage treatment plants installed in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, under the Ganga Action Plan are proving to be ineffective. A report released in October states that the irrigation water supplied from these steps to villages located in the area is contaminated with toxic heavy metals. What's more, the pollutants have seeped into the region's groundwater
The period between 1999 and 2003 has seen a sudden spurt in the diversion of forestland for non-forestry purposes. A recent collation of data of the Union ministry of environment and forests spotlights this retrogressive pattern. The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led coalition has also held the reins of power at the centre since October 1999
Make no mistake, US President George W Bush's office has conceded that green laws make sound economic sense. Although the White House reiterated what it states in a report released every year, greater significance is being attached to the review conducted this time because it is the most comprehensive ever. The study concludes that the quantified benefits of environmental regulations exceed the costs of implementing them by a much wider margin than previously believed. Another key revelation is that 60 to 70 per cent of the gains are attributable to a handful of clean air rules
The US senate rejected the country's first climate change bill in the last week of October. On the bright side, the proposed law sank by a 55-43 vote -- the margin of defeat being much narrower than the upper house's 95-0 thumbs down to the Kyoto Protocol through a resolution in 1997. Democrats see a perceptible softening of stance in the latest development
a new report will help people take informed decisions about investing in the automobile sector. It includes details of how efforts to restrict greenhouse gas emissions will affect the profits of 10 leading automobile companies between 2003 and 2015. Toyota is said to be most prepared to face the emerging challenges, whereas Ford faces the maximum risks
On November 4, the un General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of ending the us-imposed embargo against Cuba. The Mexican representative was the first to speak in favor of the anti-blockade resolution. So did Morocco, on behalf of the Group of 77 plus China; and Malaysia, which presides over the Non-Aligned Movement
Pesticide industry targets activist
Over goat's 'drinking habit'
Animal conservation practices should be rethought
Emissions of the shipping sector are extremely high
Pesticides can affect the cells
Air pollutants alone may cause acute asthma attacks
Factsheet
Basic services can work against poverty but are usually elusive, shows the latest World Development Report
Analysis
A multi-billion-dollar transnational corporation has had to blink first in an eyeball-to-eyeball dispute with an obscure panchayat of Kerala. On November 17, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited (HCBPL) -- the Goliath of the piece -- was compelled to appear before the Perumatty Grama Panchayat, which played David. HCBPL, an Indian unit of the US-based soft drinks giant The Coca-Cola Company, was seeking a renewal of the company's licence for its bottling plant at Plachimada in Kerala's Palakkad district. The battlelines had been drawn much before the November 17 meeting in Plachimada. In a shed in front of the main entrance of the Coke plant, local people from the affected villages appeared to have dug in for the long haul
Perumatty panchayat's case is statutorily sound
Will this year's climate change conference be different?
The climate regime needs to get out of the rut it is in
The Kyoto Protocol is part of the 21st century world order: save it
The commitment to curb global warming must resurface
It can only come from the South
Which issues will come to the fore?
An 'anniversary' story changes tack, a tragedy continues unabated
Feature
Water trickles from it. Is it possible the wettest place on earth wants for water? That seems to be the impression, until L L Sorung, a teacher, confirms it is the truth. "We get water anytime between 7 to10 in the morning and 5 to 6 in the evening." But this is the logic of rationing. Water is being apportioned here
By 2080, the world's lakes will experience a temperature change of up to 6.7c caused by greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study by the uk-based Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
In Kenya, where sixty per cent of all agriculturists are small farmers with less than 5 hectares (ha) of land, Peter Saku is an interesting case. A marginal farmer of Kifurusha village in Kenya's Machakos district, he grows 11 different kinds of produce on his meagre 0.5 ha. What makes this an achievement is that he farms in a country where only 15 per cent of the land is arable, rendering extending cultivation extremely difficult. The key to his success? Effective water conservation techniques
Land is central to the tribal identity in the region too easily abbreviated 'northeast'. Jeuti baruah knows this too well. As director of the Law research Centre, Guwahati, she is constantly discovering how friable these identities are in the face of constant change and integration into the 21st century. She is in charge of a huge project: her brief, as per the North East Council -- the nodal Union government body overseeing development in the region -- is nothing less than documenting the customary laws of the region's scheduled tribes, with a special focus on the land-holding system
Opinion
A myth actively perpetuated by traditional politicians and a supportive bureauracy is that panchayat bodies are India's lowest ranked implementing agency for government programmes. Thus their status as an institution of self-government, as designated in the Indian c onstitution, remains a distant dream. This is why, when the Plachimada panchayat in Kerala's Pallakad district rescinded the license of a global soft drink major and the state high court dismissed the company's writ petition challenging this decision, it became an event with huge ramifications
