Chemical Battery Can Recharge Itself With Light

Image: Musthafa Ottakam Thotiyl/IISER Pune

Batteries, by definition, convert chemical energy into electricity. Once you’ve sucked them dry, you have to reverse the process to convert electricity into chemical energy, and for that, you need a source of electricity. It’s not like it’s hard to do this, but it is certainly a minor annoyance that could do with a fix.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, India, have skipped the annoying step by developing a battery that charges directly from light. We’re not talking about a battery with a solar panel on it: it’s a “photo battery” where the anode itself is made of titanium nitride and ambient light.

Under artificial light, this prototype battery has a capacity of 77.8 mAh/g. It’ll quite happily power a small fan or LED light for about 30 seconds, and then if you give it a break for 30 seconds while shining a light on it, it’ll be all charged up and good to go again. Over 100 cycles, the battery retained a bit over 70 percent of its discharge capacity, which at least suggests some potential for longevity and usefulness.

In addition to being charged directly by light, which is pretty awesome, this battery design offers other benefits, including “ 

• a sustainable and economical anode material which will not be consumed as a part of the discharge reactions, and 
• an anode material that is free from loss of active materials, irreversible structural deformations, spontaneous deinsertion reactions, and safety concerns commonly encountered in the state of the art anode materials in [aqueous rechargeable batteries].”

Here we show a surrogate strategy for power production, wherein light is used to actuate a discharge chemistry in the cathode of an aqueous rechargeable battery (ARB). The proposed photo battery consists of a titanium nitride photoanode, promising cathode material iron(III) hexacyanoferrate(II) as the battery active species and Na₂S₂O₈ as the chemical charging agent. The photo battery delivered negligible capacity in the dark and the capacity shot up to 77.8 mAh/g when artificially shined light, confirming that the battery chemistry is light driven. In the ambient light, the device retained 72% of its artificial light discharge capacity with a stable cycling for more than 100 cycles. Further, an unprecedented means for charging the battery rapidly is presented using Na₂S₂O₈ and it revitalized the battery in 30 s without any external bias. This methodology of expending a photoanode extends to a battery that is free from dissolution of active materials, irreversible structural changes, spontaneous deinsertion reactions, and safety concerns commonly encountered in the state of the art anode materials in ARBs. Apart from bringing out a sustainable way for power production, this device opens up avenues for charging the battery in the likely events of electrical input unavailability, while solving the critcial issues of longer charging time and higher charging voltage. Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b02871.

J. Phys. Chem. C, 2015, 119 (25), pp 14010–14016

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b02871

Publication Date (Web): May 27, 2015

Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

According to a press release from the American Chemical Society, “the researchers say their design is a promising first step toward a more sustainable and safer battery technology.” In other words, this is a thing that does cool stuff in a lab right now, but getting your hopes up for a light-powered battery in your cell phone might be premature by a decade or so. For now, the best you’ll be able to do is read the full paper here.

ORIGINAL: IEEE Spectrum
By Evan Ackerman
Posted 24 Jun 2015

India makes history with successful maiden voyage to Mars

Indian space agency's low-cost mission to Mars has successfully entered the red planet's orbit, crowning India as first country to execute such a project in its maiden attempt

India has triumphed in its first interplanetary attempt by successfully putting a satellite into orbit around Mars.

Scientists broke into wild cheers on Wednesday morning as the orbiter's engines completed 24 minutes of burn time and maneuvered into its designated place around the red planet.

The rocket launch (DD)

The success of India's Mars Orbiter Mission, affectionately nicknamed MOM, brings India into an elite club of Martian explorers that includes United States, the European Space Agency and the former Soviet Union.

The success of the Mars Orbiter Mission, lauded for its low price tag of $74 million, will boost India's five-decade-old space programme that newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to expand with better infrastructure and technology.


ORIGINAL: Telegraph

These 7 Countries Are Responsible for Over 60 Percent of Global Warming

And guess how the U.S. rates?
Throughout a century of climate-damaging activity, seven countries have emerged as the worst offenders. According to a new study published in Environmental Research Letters, the U.S., China, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and the UK top the list.

The research, as digested by New Scientist:

Damon Matthews of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and his colleagues calculated national contributions to warming by weighting each type of emission according to the atmospheric lifetime of the temperature change it causes. Using historical data, they included carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and changes in land use – such as deforestation. They also accounted for methane, nitrous oxide and sulphate aerosols. These together account for 0.7 °C of the world’s 0.74 °C warming between 1906 and 2005.

The US is the clear leader, responsible for 0.15 °C, or 22 percent of the 0.7 °C warming. China accounts for 9 percent, Russia for 8 percent, Brazil and India 7 per centeach, and Germany and the UK for 5 percent each.

(Credit: IOP Science)

The above map shows the U.S., Western Europe, Japan and India bloated by their disproportionate contribution to global temperature rise as compared to their size — in this visualization, the blame shouldered by Russia, China and Brazil appears less extreme, while places like Canada, Australia and most of Africa all but disappear.

“It is these very questions of equity and responsibility that currently represent major barriers to progress in international negotiations attempting to set national emissions targets, ” the researchers write, “and yet are critical to resolve as we move forward with climate mitigation efforts.” Of course, as the Onion brilliantly pointed out, 7 billion key individuals are responsible for the global warming crisis — and we’re all equally responsible for working to reduce our contribution to climate change.

ORIGINAL: AlterNet / (Salon.com)
By Lindsay Abrams
January 17, 2014

Lindsay Abrams is an assistant editor at Salon and a former writer and producer for The Atlantic's Health Channel.

India is building Solar Canals to Produce Energy while Slowing Water Loss

ORIGINAL: ArtsElectronic

Add caption

An experimental project in India is combining solar photovoltaic panels with an irrigation system in an attempt to save water while generating electricity. A 1 MW array has been built over nearly half a mile of the Narmada Canal in the state of Gujarat.

The combination will not only produce electricity but also conserve land and water, according to officials of the state government . The project is meant to show an efficient use of land in an agricultural region by putting solar panels over a waterway rather than over fertile ground. It also should reduce evaporation of the canal water by an estimated 237,750 gallons of water each year. The Gujarat State Electricity Corporation developed the project and hired U.S. based SunEdison to build it.

This is not the first time someone has thought of putting solar panels over water to save space and preserve scarce water supplies. It is still relatively uncommon, however. A New York Times story last year outlined several projects – including two at California vineyards – that have installed solar panels over ponds. The story also talked about the idea of covering the California Aqueduct with solar panels, but an official from the state agency overseeing the aqueduct expressed concerns over the stability of solar panels and the ability of repair workers to fix leaks and other problems at the 400-mile canal if they have to contend with massive structures of solar panels and their mounting systems.

Gujarat has seen many solar arrays installed in recent years. The state encourages solar panels by guaranteeing premium prices for the solar electricity, boasts at least 600 MW of solar and 2,580 MW of wind energy generation, which makes it one of the largest renewable energy producing states in the country.

The 1 MW project only covers a small section of the canal, the main waterway of which runs for nearly 285 miles. If all the side channels are included, then the overall length is about 11,806 miles. So there is potentially still plenty of space to put more solar panels over them.

Close on heels of commencing use of wastelands in northern districts and rooftops in towns and cities, Gujarat is set to potentially use the existing 19,000 km-long network of Narmada canals across the State for setting up solar panels to generate power.

The Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, will inaugurate the first of a series of this project, known as Canal Solar Power Project, when he launches a 1 megawatt (mw) pilot project, which is already commissioned, on Narmada branch canal near Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in Mehsana district on Tuesday.

According to Business Line, last week, he inaugurated a 600-MW solar power project spread across 11 districts. This included a 214MW Solar Power Park, the largest such generation centre at a single location in Asia. Also, Azure Power, leading independent power producer in solar sector, announced a 2.5 MW rooftops project in Gandhinagar.

Gujarat, which invests nearly Rs 2,000 crore an year on renewable energy, has attracted investments of Rs 9,000 crore so far on solar energy projects.

The pilot project has been developed on a 750-m stretch of the canal by Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL) with support from Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), which owns and maintains the canal network.

The pilot project will generate 16 lakh units of clean energy per annum and also prevent evaporation of 90 lakh litres of water annually from the canal, an official told Business Line here on Monday. The concept will, therefore, tackle two of the challenges simultaneously by providing energy and water security.

The cost of per megawatt of solar power, in this case, is likely to be much less than the estimated Rs 10-11 crore, as the two banks of the canal will be used to cover the canal by installing solar power panel and the government will not have to spend much on creating basic infrastructure, including land acquisition .

Today, Gujarat has about 458 km of open Main Canal, while the total canal length, including sub-branches, is about 19,000 km at present. When completed, the SSNNL’s canal network will be about 85,000 km long. Assuming a utilisation of only 10 per cent of the existing canal network of 19,000 km, it is estimated that 2,200 MW of solar power generating capacity can be installed by covering the canals with solar panels. This also implies that 11,000 acres of land can be potentially conserved along with about 2,000 crore litres of water saved per annum.

What if learning was possible without degrees? Rahul Hasija at TEDxMasala

ORIGINAL: TEDxMasala

What would happen if we went about pursuing education outside the walls of an institution; what can we learn from just travelling, writing, dancing, meeting new people? Shouldn't we be following our dreams instead of following societal norms? Rahul Hasija, in this engaging talk says "Let's step outside our circles of comfort. Learning can happen simply through living." 

Rahul comes from Indore and is interested in writing, self-expression, travelling and dancing & is currently working with Swaraj University coordinating with mentors and also designing his project on stories.

The Green Vine Snake

ORIGINAL: My Amazing Earth

by Amazing Earth on 

August 2, 2012

The green vine snake is diurnal and mildly venomous. The reptile normally feeds on frogs and lizards using its binocular vision to hunt. They are slow moving, relying on camouflaging as a vine in foliage.

The snake expands its body when disturbed to show a black and white scale marking. Also, they may open their mouth in threat display and point their head in the direction of the perceived threat.

There is a widespread myth in parts of southern India that the species uses its pointed head to blind its human victims.

Indian Man Single-Handedly Plants 1,360 Acre Forest

ORIGINAL: Inhabitat

by Timon Singh, 

04/06/12

Subtropical forest in India photo from Shutterstock

Deforestation and desertification are critical problems in India that have led to barren land, increased soil erosion, decreased agricultural production, and devastated local wildlife. However one Indian man has made a stand – by single-handedly planting and cultivating a 1,360 acre forest that is home to a complex, thriving ecosystem.

Photo by gozef

Jadav “Molai” Payeng started his project 30 years ago when he was still a teenager. Then, in 1979, flood waters washed a large number of snakes ashore on the local sandbar in Jorhat, some 350 km from Guwahati. When the waters receded, Payneg (who was 16 at the time) noticed the reptiles had died due to a lack of forestry.

“The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage. I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me. Nobody was interested,” said Payeng, who is now 47, to The Times of India.

Payeng chose to live on the sandbar, starting a life of isolation as he began work to create a new forest. Planting the seeds by hand, watering the plants in the morning and evening, and pruning them when required, he cultivated a huge natural reserve. After a few years, the sandbar was transformed into a bamboo thicket.

“I then decided to grow proper trees. I collected and planted them. I also transported red ants from my village, and was stung many times. Red ants change the soil’s properties . That was an experience,” Payeng recalled.

Over the years, the reserve has seen a huge variety of flora and fauna blossom on the sandbar, including endangered animals like the one-horned rhino and Royal Bengal tiger. “After 12 years, we’ve seen vultures. Migratory birds, too, have started flocking here. Deer and cattle have attracted predators,” claims Payeng . Unfortunately, locals reportedly killed a rhino which was seen in his forest, something that Payeng clearly disapproves of. ”Nature has made a food chain; why can’t we stick to it? Who would protect these animals if we, as superior beings, start hunting them?”

Amazingly, the Assam state forest department only learnt about Payeng’s forest in 2008 when a herd of some 100 wild elephants strayed into it after marauding through villages nearby. It was then that assistant conservator of forests Gunin Saikia met Payeng for the first time.

“We were surprised to find such a dense forest on the sandbar. Locals, whose homes had been destroyed by the pachyderms, wanted to cut down the forest, but Payeng dared them to kill him instead. He treats the trees and animals like his own children. Seeing this, we, too, decided to pitch in,” says Saikia. “We’re amazed at Payeng. He has been at it for 30 years. Had he been in any other country, he would have been made a hero.”

Via The Times of India

La Conservación de la Diversidad Biológica puede mejorar la salud humana en las ciudades en crecimiento del mundo, esto dice la evaluación de las Naciones Unidas

ORIGINAL: Convenio para la Diversidad Biológica - UN / Stockholm Resilience Centre

Stockholm Resilience Centre researcher Thomas Elmqvist explains the many links between urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Stockholm Resilience Centre

La Integración de los Ecosistemas en la Planificación Urbana Puede Proporcionar Beneficios Económicos Importantes y Reducir el Daño al Medio Ambiente

Hyderabad (India), 15 de octubre 2012 – La urbanización global tendrá consecuencias importantes para la diversidad biológica y los ecosistemas si las tendencias actuales continúan, una cadena de efectos para la salud humana y el desarrollo, según una nueva evaluación del Convenio de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CDB ).

La evaluación, que se basa en las contribuciones de más de 123 científicos de todo el mundo, estados con más del 60 por ciento  del  área  que  se  proyectó  que  estaría  urbanizada  para  2030,  aún  no  se  ha  construido.  Esto  representa  una  gran oportunidad para mejorar en gran medida el uso sostenible mundial mediante la promoción de bajas emisiones de carbono, desarrollo urbano eficiente que puede reducir los efectos adversos sobre la diversidad biológica y mejorar la calidad de vida, dice.

La Perspectiva de las Ciudades y La Diversidad Biológica el primer análisis mundial de cómo los patrones proyectados de expansión del suelo urbano afectará la diversidad biológica y los ecosistemas cruciales.

El área mundial urbana total se triplicará entre 2000 y 2030, la población urbana se duplicará a cerca de 4.9 mil millones en el mismo período. Esta expansión urbana se basa en gran medida en el agua y otros recursos naturales y consumirá primero la tierra agrícola.

"La forma en que nuestras ciudades se diseñan, la manera de vivir en ellas y las decisiones de política de las autoridades locales, definirá, en gran medida, el uso sostenible mundial en el futuro", dijo Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Secretario Ejecutivo del CDB.

"La innovación no radica tanto en el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías de infraestructura y enfoques pero en trabajar con lo que ya tenemos. Los resultados suelen requerir menos recursos económicos y son más sostenibles", añadió el Sr. De Souza Dias.

El informe señala que la expansión urbana se está produciendo rápidamente en las zonas cercanas a los "puntos de conflicto" de la diversidad biológica y las zonas costeras. En el rápido proceso de urbanización, las regiones, tales como los grandes asentamientos y las medianas empresas en el África subsahariana, la India y China, los recursos para poner en práctica la

planificación urbana sostenible son a menudo insuficientes

                           1  Traducido al español como cortesía de la Secretaría                                                                                   

"Más de la mitad de la población mundial ya vive en ciudades. Este número se prevé que aumente, con un 60 por ciento de la población viviendo en zonas urbanas para 2030 ", dijo el Sr. Achim Steiner, Subsecretario General de las Naciones Unidas y Director Ejecutivo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente.

"Este informe hace un fuerte argumento para que los planificadores urbanos y los gestores de los activos basados pongan mayor  atención  a  la  naturaleza  dentro  de  los  límites  de  las  ciudades.  El  desarrollo  urbano  sostenible  apoya  valiosos ecosistemas y presenta una gran oportunidad para mejorar las vidas, los medios de subsistencia, y acelerar la transición hacia una economía verde inclusiva ", agregó el Sr. Steiner.

Las ciudades son cada vez más reconocidas por su papel en el apoyo a las especies vegetales, los animales y los ecosistemas diversos. Por ejemplo, más del 50 por ciento de las especies florales de Bélgica se encuentra en Bruselas, mientras que el 65 por ciento de las especies de aves de Polonia se producen en Varsovia.

Los espacios verdes urbanos realizar importantes servicios a los ecosistemas, como el filtrado de polvo, que absorbe el dióxido de carbono del aire y mejora la calidad del aire. Los datos del Reino Unido indican que un aumento de un 10 por ciento en la cubierta de las copas de los árboles en las ciudades puede resultar en una disminución de 3 a 4 °C en la temperatura ambiente, reduciendo así la energía utilizada por el aire acondicionado.

La  diversidad  biológica  urbana  también  ofrece  beneficios  de  salud  importantes.  Los  estudios  han  demostrado  que  la proximidad a los árboles puede reducir la prevalecía del asma infantil y las alergias. La planificación urbana sostenible, aborda cuestiones de diversidad biológica junto con otras prioridades como la lucha contra la pobreza, el empleo y la vivienda, lo cual puede tener efectos positivos para la salud y el medio ambiente.

"Las ciudades necesitan aprender cómo proteger mejor y mejorar la diversidad biológica, puesto que la diversidad biológica puede existir en las ciudades y es extremadamente crítica para la salud y el bienestar," dijo el profesor  Thomas Elmqvist del Stockholm Resilience Centre, y editor científico del informe.

La Perspectiva de las Ciudades y la Diversidad Biológica destaca una amplia gama de iniciativas exitosas proporcionadas por las ciudades, las autoridades locales y los gobiernos sub-nacionales en los países tanto desarrollados como en desarrollo.

En Bogotá, Colombia, medidas tales como el cierre de las carreteras el fin de semana, ha mejorando el sistema de autobuses de tránsito y la creación de carriles para bicicletas resultó en el aumento de la actividad física entre los residentes, y una reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero.

El informe también proporciona un análisis detallado de las tendencias de urbanización regionales y su impacto sobre la diversidad biológica y los ecosistemas.

Asia:

• La región será el hogar de casi la mitad del incremento mundial en suelo urbano en los próximos 20 años. Los cambios más extensos se producen en la India y China.
• El crecimiento agrupaciones urbanas de la India (como el corredor industrial Mumbai-Delhi) posiblemente transforme regiones enteras, con un impacto significativo sobre el hábitat y la diversidad biológica. 
• La pérdida de tierras agrícolas por la urbanización, junto con una planificación insuficiente de las líneas de suministro de alimentos, supone una limitación grave para la seguridad alimentaria en el futuro para la creciente población de la India.
• Cambios en la dieta de la India debido a la urbanización puede disminuir las presiones sobre los bosques debido a la menor utilización de la leña y el carbón vegetal.
• En China, las zonas urbanas van invadiendo cada vez más las áreas protegidas. 

África:

• África se está urbanizando más rápido que cualquier otro continente, y la mayor parte del crecimiento de la población ocurrirá en ciudades de menos de 1 millón de personas. Estas ciudades tienen a menudo estructuras precarias de gobierno, altos niveles de pobreza y la baja capacidad científica sobre la diversidad biológica.
• Los bajos niveles de empleo permanente en las ciudades pone gran dependencia en la prestación de los servicios de los ecosistemas (por ejemplo, la producción de agua y de alimentos) en áreas, ya sea dentro o cerca de los límites de la ciudad.

América Latina y el Caribe

• El número de ciudades en la región ha crecido seis veces en los últimos 50 años.
• La expansión urbana causada por la vivienda para residentes de bajos ingresos a menudo ocurre en áreas importantes para la diversidad biológica y los servicios del ecosistema, tales como los humedales o las llanuras de inundación. Estas son consideradas erróneamente por los planificadores como de valor marginal.

Europa y América del Norte

• En Europa, el nivel de urbanización actual es del 70-80 por ciento, y el crecimiento urbano en las últimas décadas ha sido en su mayoría en forma de expansión de la tierra en lugar de crecimiento de la población.
• Muchas ciudades de Europa y América del Norte han mostrado tendencias de reducción y/o cambios en los patrones de población en las zonas centrales de las ciudades, junto con la expansión de suburbios y áreas que anteriormente eran urbanas.

La Perspectiva de las Ciudades y la Diversidad Biológica demuestra cómo las áreas urbanas pueden jugar un papel central en el logro de las 20 Metas de la Diversidad Biológica (conocidas como las Metas de Aichi para la Diversidad Biológica), que fueron acordadas en 2010 por las partes en el Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica.

Por ejemplo, la restauración o el "uso ecológico" de los sitios ocupados anteriormente por industrias o las instalaciones industriales abandonadas por las autoridades municipales pueden apoyar los esfuerzos para lograr la Meta 15 de Aichi, en el que se restaura el 15 por ciento de los ecosistemas degradados para 2020.

Las ciudades también pueden ayudar a prevenir la extinción de las especies conocidas (Meta 12 de Aichi) a través de la investigación y la inversión en parques zoológicos, acuarios y museos, muchos de los cuales son administrados por las autoridades municipales.

La Perspectiva de las Ciudades y la Diversidad Biológica fue producida por la Secretaría del CDB, en colaboración con el Centro de Resiliencia de Estocolmo (SRC) y los Gobiernos Locales para el Uso Sostenible (ICLEI). La Secretaría del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica opera bajo el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA).

El informe completo se puede descargar en:   www.cbd.int/subnational/partners-and-initiatives/cbo.

--- y---

Para obtener más información, favor de comunicarse con:

David Ainsworth, Oficial de Información, Secretaría del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica, teléfono +1 514 561 2720 (móvil), Correo electrónico:  David.ainsworth@cbd.int

Sturle Simonsen Hauge, Jefe Adjunto de Comunicaciones, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Teléfono: +46 8 6747428, Correo electrónico: sturle@stockholmresilience.su.se

Bryan Coll, Mesa de Prensa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), Tel. +254 731 666 214, Correo electrónico: bryan.coll@unep.org /  unepnewsdesk@unep.org

Notas para los Editores

Sobre el Convenio de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Diversidad Biológica

Abierto para la firma en la Cumbre de la Tierra en Río de Janeiro en 1992, entró en vigor en diciembre de 1993, el Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica es un tratado internacional para la conservación de la diversidad biológica, el uso sostenible de los componentes de la diversidad biológica  y la participación equitativa de los beneficios derivados de la utilización de los recursos genéticos. Con 193 Partes, el Convenio tiene participación casi universal entre los países. El Convenio trata de abordar todas las amenazas a la biodiversidad y servicios de los ecosistemas, las amenazas del cambio climático, a través de evaluaciones científicas, el desarrollo de instrumentos, incentivos y procesos, la transferencia de tecnologías y buenas prácticas y la participación plena y activa de las partes interesadas pertinentes, incluidas las indígenas y las comunidades locales, los jóvenes, las ONG, las mujeres y la comunidad empresarial. El Protocolo de Cartagena sobre Seguridad de la Biotecnología, un tratado complementario del Convenio, busca proteger la diversidad biológica de los riesgos potenciales que plantean los organismos vivos modificados resultantes de la biotecnología moderna. Hasta la fecha, 164 países y la Comunidad Europea son parte en el Protocolo. La Secretaría del Convenio y su Protocolo de Cartagena se encuentra en Montreal.

Para obtener más información, visite  www.cbd.int

Sobre el Stockholm Resilience Centre

El Stockholm Resilience Centre es un socio de investigación internacional que proporciona conocimientos científicos sobre las interacciones entre los seres humanos y la naturaleza. Parte de la ambición de comprender mejor a la profunda huella que los seres humanos tienen en la naturaleza e ideas sobre cómo hacer frente a los desafíos que resultan del aumento de la capacidad de recuperación socio-ecológica. Una de las áreas estratégicas de investigación es los sistemas urbanos socio-ecológicos, mirando cómo las ciudades pueden integrar mejor los servicios de diversidad biológica y el ecosistema en su planificación y gestión.

El centro también ayuda a facilitar el diálogo con los responsables políticos y los profesionales de todo el mundo, y contribuyen con ideas innovadoras para mejorar la colaboración y el aprendizaje entre las partes interesadas a nivel

local, regional y nacional. Tiene un papel muy respetado como un facilitador para el diálogo en los ámbitos de la gobernanza y el uso sostenible de la diversidad biológica tanto en el contexto rural como urbano.

Sobre los Gobiernos Locales para el Uso Sostenible (ICLEI)

Fundada en 1990, ICLEI - Gobiernos Locales para el Uso Sostenible es la asociación líder mundial de ciudades y gobiernos locales dedicadas al desarrollo sostenible. Este poderoso movimiento de 12 mega-ciudades, 100 súper- ciudades y regiones urbanas, 450 grandes ciudades, así como ciudades pequeñas, medianas empresas y pueblos de 84 países promueve la acción local para el uso sostenible global y ayuda a las ciudades a ser sostenibles, con mayor capacidad de recuperación, con recursos edficiente, diversidad biológica, bajas emisiones de carbono, construyendo una infraestructura inteligente, y desarrollando una economía urbana inclusiva y ecológica. El objetivo final es lograr comunidades saludables y felices.

El Centro Internacional par Ciudades y Diversidad Biológica ICLEI, ubicado en el centro de un punto conflictivo de diversidad biológica en la Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica, ha estado trabajando desde 2006 con los gobiernos locales de todo el mundo en los esfuerzos para mejorar la gestión de la diversidad biológica y compartir sus éxitos y lecciones. Esto ha llevado a una fuerte alianza con la Secretaría del CDB, para fortalecer la defensa de la diversidad biológica en, y por, los niveles de los gobiernos locales y subnacionales en apoyo a la aplicación del Convenio.

Sobre el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA)

Establecido en 1972, el PNUMA es la voz del medio ambiente dentro del sistema de las Naciones Unidas. El PNUMA actúa como catalizador, defensor, educador y facilitador para promover el uso racional y el desarrollo sostenible del medio ambiente global. El PNUMA trabaja con una amplia gama de socios, entre ellos las entidades de las Naciones Unidas, las organizaciones internacionales, los gobiernos nacionales, los organismos no gubernamentales, el sector privado y la sociedad civil.

La labor del PNUMA abarca la evaluación de las tendencias de las condiciones ambientales a nivel mundial, regional y  nacional,  el  desarrollo  de  instrumentos  ambientales  internacionales  y  nacionales,  el  fortalecimiento  de  las instituciones para la gestión racional del medio ambiente, facilitando la transferencia de conocimientos y tecnología para el desarrollo sostenible, y fomentar nuevas alianzas y el modo de pensar dentro de la sociedad civil y el sector privado. Para obtener más información, visite:  www.unep.org

2,300 leopards killed in last decade: Study

ORIGINAL: Deccan Herald

New Delhi, 

October 15, 2012

For the last ten years, at least four leopards were killed every week in India, either by poachers or by people who considered these animals as threats to their livelihood.

Collating and statistically analysing available data, a wildlife organisation has claimed that an estimated number of 2,294 leopards were killed between 2001 and 2010. The estimate has an error margin of 403, which means the figure could vary between 2,700 and 1,800.

“This translated to an estimated killing of at least four leopards per week for illegal trade over the past 10 years,” says the study carried out by Traffic India.

Bulk of the killings took place in Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the North and Karnataka in South. Delhi has turned out to be a major centre for accumulation in trade in leopard body parts and skins.

The findings have come a year after the Union Environment and Forest Ministry brought out a guideline on leopard conservation that outlined several strategies to reduce man-animal conflict and curb on poaching. 

One of the key reasons for conflict is the leopard’s tendency to target small domestic animals as prey because of the shrinking forest cover. But little seems to have taken place on the ground.

“The government’s attention is so focused on tiger, other animals rarely get any notice. 

And all documentation is under-reporting as no crime is recorded 100 per cent,” conservationist Ravi Chellam, a former scientist of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun who now heads Madras Crocodile Bank told Deccan Herald.

Leopard skins dominate the illegal market of leopard body parts. Out of 420 incidents of seizures of leopard body parts by law enforcing authorities in 27 states, seven Union territories and the national capital region of Delhi, as many as 371 incidents involved only skins.

These reported seizures account for at least 1,127 leopards poached and in illegal trade, says the survey.

As many as 209 localities were recorded as being active in leopard trade at some point of time in the last 10 years. 

There has been an overall increasing trend in the number of localities reported as active each year but southern India appears to be growing fastest, pointing to a need for increased law enforcement effort in that region in future. “Poaching of so many leopards are enough of a cause of worry. The incidents of man-animal conflict rises because of habitat destruction. These cats are small and agile, which can live in the proximity of human population,” said Chellam, who is not connected to the Traffic India study.

A Car That Runs On Air: The Future Is Here?

ORIGINAL: DesignTaxi

17 Aug 2012

In an effort to debunk tradition and reduce the use of the world’s oil supply—Indian auto manufacturers Tata Motors has planned to release a car powered by compressed air. 

Called the ‘Tata Airpod’, the tiny car’s engine works by extracting air pressure from its 175-liter tank—and does not contribute to air pollution. 

Using technology developed by MDI, the car’s tank can be refilled through a charging station, or take in air while driving with the help of its electric engine—for a full tank, it takes two minutes to refill. 

The Tata AirPod is able to travel at a top speed of 28 to 43 mph (45 to 70 kmh)—and travels up to 200km on a full tank. 

As of now, the car will only be commercially available in the near future. 

[via The Verge and designboom]

This is not a photo from the 19th century... this is 2012.

ORIGINAL: Blue Text

Tadoba Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra India, a male tiger killed in its prime by organised poaching gangs, stalled by a metal trap, and later killed . its body cut into pieces with head and limbs missing. all to fuel the illegal demand of tiger body parts in China and S-E Asia. the Parliament needs to stop discussing cartoons and IPL, and take strong step against poaching...

shoot-at-sight orders in protected sanctuaries and reserves seems to be the only solution...

kill the heartless bastards...!!

the world is better without them.. and yes, please do not like this photo.

(--SHARE || SHARE || SHARE--)

Each SHARE will increase awareness among all the people over the whole world. 

Thank you!

— with Christopher D. Diola , Devi Wulan and Merriam Julie del Rosario .

Rescuing Olive Ridley Sea Turtles in India

ORIGINAL: Humane Society International/(HSI) India

HSI teams up with the local community to protect sea turtle nests

Located on the eastern coast of India, the state of Orissa is known to host the world’s largest olive ridley sea turtle nesting site. Every year, between the months of December and April, thousands of olive ridleys emerge from the cool, clear waters of the Bay of Bengal for their famed mass nesting, also known asarribada, derived from the Spanish word for arrival.

In India, the rapid pace of development has had serious environmental consequences. Orissa is no exception. Development along and close to the shore of the Bay of Bengal includes several ports, shipbuilding yards, petro-chemical manufacturing hubs and a Special Investment Region (SIR) meant to spur urbanization.

Conservation status

Not surprisingly, data released by the state’s forest and wildlife department reveals a sharp decline in the number of olive ridley turtles in the last decade. In recent times, some historical arribada sites have only recorded intermittent nesting. Shockingly, beach erosion caused some turtles to nest in a fishing village this year—despite all the human activity! Global numbers have declined to a point where the olive ridley turtle is now classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

Happily, direct intervention by our team in India has already helped save the lives of several hundred olive ridley hatchlings this year, and the community teams trained by our wildlife experts could go on to save thousands.

“Close to 75 percent of the turtles’ nests throughout the coasts have been submerged in water due to high tides this year,” said HSI’s Soham Mukherjee. While mass nesting sites received a great deal of attention from conservationists, irregularly used sites were almost entirely ignored.

Working together to help

HSI partnered with a local NGO, Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA), which has been working on olive ridley conservation in the region for several years. Along with members from the local fishing community, we surveyed the stretch of the Pir Jahania beach. The first few days of our survey revealed the various threats faced by the ridley nests. Several had been dug up and feasted upon by feral dogs and pigs. Another obstacle to the survival of the hatchlings was the unseasonal rain that made the sand wet and heavy. By the time the hatchlings had dug their way out of the nests, our team found them exhausted and unable to reach the sea without assistance.

While in other parts of the world, impoverished local communities often poach eggs or trap turtles for their skin, Hindu mythology gives the turtle divine status. Fishermen in the region steer clear of causing deliberate harm to the olive ridley. This offers conservation teams a fantastic opportunity to tap into local communities for volunteers and assistance.

Learning what to do

Three local beaches have been identified as sporadic nesting sites. A team of volunteers trained by our experts will patrol them to protect olive ridley nests from feral dogs. They will continue to assist hatchlings into the ocean and educate other community members and tourists.

“They were amazing. Very, very receptive and eager to learn,” said Mukherjee, who is an expert in humane handling, about the local fishermen who had been recruited to help with conservation. Fishing is officially banned during the nesting season and engaging the public during this period is a sustainable, long-term solution. The men were very eager to help, some even having attempted rescue efforts on their own in the past.

For the first time, the volunteers were trained in proper handling of olive ridley turtles. “Various subtle nuances of conservation efforts, like releasing the hatchling immediately into the ocean to avoid unnecessary handling and ensuring that the volunteer’s flashlight does not unintentionally disorient the turtles, were taught through practical sessions on the beach,” Mukherjee explained. Our team supervised several rescue efforts by the volunteers during and after the formal training sessions.

“It was a moonless night and when you switched off your flashlight, all you could see was an abyss of darkness… and then there was a lone female emerging to lay her eggs. Meanwhile, just a few meters away, a pack of 10 dogs stood waiting. Thankfully, all 105 eggs that that gorgeous female laid that night were rescued,” said Rahul Sehgal, director of HSI/India.

Project timeline

HSI and APOWA’s olive ridley sea turtle conservation project will continue over the next few weeks. Our hope is to have safeguarded at least 5,000 hatchlings by the end of the month.

Elephants push back against India's growing villages

ORIGINAL: TheNational

Gethin Chamberlain

Apr 20, 2012 

A watchtower built to keep lookout for elephants.

The moment the elephant's trunk wrapped itself around Fulmani Urao's waist, she must have known it was all over. She did not even try to struggle. There was no point.

Asman Urao survived an attack in which his mother was killed.

It was about 1.30am when the huge, bad-tempered bull elephant smashed its way into Fulmani's house. Her five-year-old son Asman, asleep in her lap, managed to wriggle free, but there would be no escape for his mother. This was an elephant with murder in mind.

The animal dragged her out of the house, onto the road, and beat her head against the ground until she was dead. Afterwards, just to make sure, he trampled her body. Then he trumpeted and faded back into the night.

An Indian elephant in Chilapata forest in northern Bengal. Photos by Gethin Chamberlain

It is a myth that the ground shakes as elephants approach. The truth is that for Fulmani and hundreds of thousands of others who find themselves in the path of the wild herds, death comes on five-tonne tiptoes.

At least 400 people a year are killed by elephants in India and the conflict between humans and elephants is growing as India's human population expands inexorably, increasing the demand for land and eating into the elephants' territory.

Forests are cut down and converted into agricultural land; corridors along which the animals traditionally move have been farmed, built upon and traversed by railway tracks. At the same time the success of anti-poaching campaigns has seen elephant numbers rise. In north Bengal, where Fulmani lived, the last elephant census in 2010 counted more than 500 animals.

Indian elephants are slightly smaller than their African counterparts, with the largest males standing about 3.5 metres high. They usually weigh between three and five tonnes. There is a perception that the Asian elephant is less aggressive than the African, but that is little consolation for those who do battle with these creatures every night.

In the darkness on the edge of the Chilapata forest a group of men are lighting bundles of jute sticks to use as torches. The harvest is over, but the elephants are still around, hungry for the stored crop. Every night they come and every night the villagers form up in these halla (noise) parties to chase them off.

Ramkishor Kindo and fellow villagers use torches to drive off animals.

The dogs are barking; the herd is on the move. Orange flames leap from the torches, clouds of sparks rising into the night air. A few of the men are carrying sticks; one has a large spear.

A mile away, Jayanta Roy stands in the middle of a paddy field, turning slowly, searching for signs of the herd, the beam of his powerful torch cutting through the dark. He turns again and suddenly there they are, two large males, no more than 40 metres away, staring straight at him. There is a split second to register the shock and then he is running for his life. It is like this every night, the villagers say.

It is two weeks since Nikil Rava heard the elephant tearing up the paddy field. His father Bilu Rava, 60, sits on the step of the house in the village of Mendabari, a long spear cradled in his lap.

Bilu is looking at an X-ray of Nikil's arm, which shows an ugly break, the bone snapped clean through and projecting through the skin. The young man is still in hospital.

X-ray of the broken arm of Nikil Rava, 26, who was trampled by an elephant as he tried to drive it away from fields next to his village in Mendabari, north Bengal. His right arm was snapped in two. The area is the frontline of a growing conflict between elephants and humans which claims the lives of about 400 people a year in India.

"Nikil was trying to scare the elephant away but he stumbled and fell on the ground," he says. "I remember that before trampling him, the elephant sounded a trumpeting noise. My son was screaming, he was saying 'father, I've lost my hand'."

When the rice is being harvested, he and the other landowners from the village build watchtowers in the fields and sit up every night waiting to chase the elephants away. The spear is to prod the animals, not to kill them, he says. Like many Hindus, he regards the animals as sacred.

In the village of Singhijhora, Ganga Adhikari perches on the step of the family home, watching her mother Debi praying in front of their shrine to Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu deity. A wire clothesline runs behind the shrine; it saved her life, says Ganga.

"We were trying to drive the elephant back into the forest. I shouted but then the searchlight stopped working and he started to chase me. He was chasing so fast that I knew I would not reach our house, so I tried to run to a neighbour's."

She darted under the washing line and in doing so saved her life. The elephant halted. "It is something in their heads," says Ganga. "Mentally they have to know what it is in front of them, that it won't hurt them. It didn't know, so it stopped and I had time to get inside. But I was crying for a long time afterwards."

The worst months are October, when the rice is harvested, and March and April, the corn reaping season, when the elephants know they will find the grain stored inside people's homes.

Each night the men take to the watchtowers that dot the landscape. Yet so silent are the animals, that for many watchers the first inkling of the presence of an elephant is when the tower starts to fall.

Ratan Ray, 24, was supposed to be protecting the potato crop, but it had been a quiet night and by 1.30am he and his brother Tapan, 22, had dozed off. "I woke up and found myself on the ground," he says. The elephant had torn one of the tower legs out of the earth.

He looked up to see the elephant pushing against the remains of the tower with its head, while his brother clung on desperately. "There was a bamboo stick next to me and all I could think was to grab it and hit the elephant on the legs," he says. It worked. The elephant lumbered off into the darkness.

But this is not an entirely one-sided conflict. Local records show that in 2010 there were 52 people killed by elephants in the Dooars region (an area of about 9,000 square kilometres in the foothills of the Himalayas), while in the previous five years, 49 elephants were killed by trains, illegal electric fences or by pesticides used in tea plantations.

As the problem intensifies, so too does the search for a solution. In a clearing on the edge of the jungle, the forestry department's great hope is eating a banana.

Shankari is three years old. The little female elephant stands in the shade of a tall tree, a thick chain fastening one of her hind legs to the tree trunk to stop her escaping.

Shankari, a three-year-old wild elephant calf, is used to chase herds away from both villages and crops.

Shankari was born wild in the jungle. Somehow she became separated from the herd and was found by the mahouts, who brought her here to train as a kunki - a captive elephant used to drive off the wild herds.

When a wild herd enters a village area, the mahouts arm themselves with firecrackers and guns, climb up onto their kunkis and head out.

"It is a very difficult situation," says Sunil Kheria, the chief mahout. "I would never go alone into a wild herd. You have to think of yourself and make sure you are properly armed."

But it is working, he says: the wild herds are not coming as often as they once did here. Other states are trying different methods including electric fences, deep trenches and chilli-coated ropes.

In Singhijhora, Nidhi Singh is banking on string. She has persuaded a group of farmers to encircle their fields with the stuff, which is attached to a musical alarm that plays a Hindu religious song. It works, up to a point, but if the elephants are determined enough, they will get through. Something more is needed, she says; people have to be prepared to share the land with the elephants, instead of blocking their traditional routes.

"Our thought process in India is traditionally to coexist," she says. "We can live together but greed has increased with commercialisation. Greed is everywhere, in the minds of farmers, forest officials, tea plantation owners, so that is creating conflict. There has to be a will to change."

Gethin Chamberlain is a photojournalist based in South India.