Letters

Wanted: Honest experts

On the whole, I was very impressed by your leader Keep The Debate Within The Country (July 31). While you are right that politicians are much to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs in our water planning, we should not forget the other culprits who, under the garb of techno-economic experts in various government bodies, collaborated with politicians/bureaucrats to subvert the checks and balances system in project clearance. Your call for a display of honesty should be better directed to the latter.

B D DHAWAN, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi ...

Robbers of greenery

Chopping Down The Future by Anumita Roychowdhury (May 31) made excellent reading. She has ably highlighted topics like politics of permit, conflict over forest land and jhum cultivation. The presentation was straight, without any inhibition and, contrary to custom, she did not attempt to shield the tribals.

I happened to stay in an interior part of East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh during the mid-1980s, and my experience tallies quite well with her writings. Corruption related to forest resources is rampant from the village to the senior-official level. Though we were used to seeing politicians poking their noses in every walk of life, in Arunachal, low literacy and poor awareness among people have given them a free run. The handful of tribal elites who take to politics, in collusion with tribal chiefs, are stripping the state of its luxuriant vegetation cover. It is done rather openly, since they tend to consider the forest their personal fiefdoms. Abundance of firearms has encouraged hunting (now it is not for food only) and felling. In the years ahead, Arunachal cannot accuse people of other states of robbing them of their greenery, they themselves are doing such a fine job.

SANTANU SAHA, Department of Botany, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi ...

Superb article

I thought Figuring Out Natural Costs by Robert Wilkinson (June 30) was simply superb. Our congratulations to you and the rest of the team.

BULU IMAM, INTACH, Hazaribagh ...

Basic facts of life

I think these basic facts of life should be taught in kindergarten:

• Trees influence climate. They moderate extreme weather conditions and attract rain.

• Trees maintain the delicate ecological balance of the soil; falling leaves provide humus, the nutrient for soil.

• Trees give food, shelter and protection to all living things. No living being can survive without forests.

• It takes nature 1,000 years to make one inch of top soil.

I asked myself recently: How much am I contributing to ensure that future generations have a planet that is fit to live in? Now, I go out for a while every day with a pair of pliers and pull out as many nails as I can from trees. This doesn't need a degree in environment. In fact, I have just pulled out a "For Tutor" sign nailed to a tree by a supposedly educated teacher.

SHAMSHIR RAI LUTHRA, New Delhi ...

Namesake

A friend, Alistair Smith, who has recently returned from a visit to India, showed me a copy of your magazine. It is an excellent publication, well laid out, superb graphics and with an eye-catching cover. I hope it will prove successful. I was particularly interested because I am editor of a Norfolk-based environmental magazine of the same name.

The objectives of our magazine are similar to yours, with the difference that we are attempting to communicate to a more non-specialist readership. One of our main aims is to make our magazine as accessible as possible, to as wide a readership as possible, by incorporating an element of humour, by ensuring that all technical terms are fully explained in everyday language, and by avoiding the use of "in" jargon. We also aim to make clear the links both between local, national and global environmental issues, and between environmental and economic, political and social issues.

Congratulations again on your excellent magazine.

JOHN ALLAWAY, Norfolk Friends of the Earth, Norwich, England ...

The best till now

I hadn't seen Down To Earth until a few days ago, when I read the post-Rio issue. It is remarkably good -- perhaps the best environment-development magazine I have seen ever. Congratulations to you and all the others who are involved in it.

JON TINKER, President, The Panos Institute, London

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I have seen the first two issues of Down To Earth and find them impressive. I have sent in my personal subscription and look forward to receiving copies regularly.

RAGHAVENDRA GADAGKAR, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore ...

Wide readership

The short note on Honey Bee in your Network column (May 31) has brought us some very interesting contacts in the country and I am sure we will get more. There is no doubt that Down To Earth is reaching a very vast array of people ranging from agricultural scientists to forest department officers and people in the cities. I wish all the success to Down To Earth because the wider you spread your wings the deeper will go our message.

ANIL K GUPTA, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad ...

A correction

A Damning Report, But The Dam Stays in the July 31 issue of Down To Earth inadvertently referred to the Janata Dal MLA from Bhavnagar, Pravinsinhji Jadeja, as Prabhusinhji Jadeja. The error is regretted. ...

Letters Letters