Standing up for children

I first met Kailash Satyarthi in 2005, when, while studying for a postgraduate degree in economics, I was planning to undertake a study of children working in gemstones polishing in Jaipur. I had contacted the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) for an internship to make my research project in Jaipur possible. Kailashji greeted me with an affectionate smile and we started discussing my research ideas.

I wanted to compare home- and factory-based child labour in gemstones polishing and study what determined the choice of where children work. Not convinced by the relevance or perhaps viability of my project, he suggested I focus on the ways in which employers recruit and treat children, and the problems children face. I pushed back, making a case for studying market failures that cause child labour. He agreed that that was important but added that child labour was not only an economic problem but a social ill, even a crime against god, because children, he said, “are a form of god”. Who could disagree? He suggested I focus on generating recommendations that the BBA could act on. I asked him about its approach, even suggesting that its focus on raid-and-rescue missions seemed to constitute only a partial response. He smiled again and patiently explained that raid-and-rescue was the first step and that the BBA coordinated closely with the district administration to reunite abducted children with their families. The BBA also runs care homes for rescued children and drives media campaigns to highlight the problem.

He then confirmed my internship and asked his staff in Delhi and Jaipur to help with my work.

I read up on child labour. Kaushik Basu and P.H. Van’s famous paper on multiple equilibria was instructive, invoking action to move from a bad equilibrium marked by low adult wages and high child labour to a good equilibrium with high adult wages and low child labour. Child labour is not a manifestation of low parental concern, but of poverty. The economics of child labour is critical. Ignoring it can lead to idealistic but flawed responses. I recall reading of an instance when a ban, in the West, on carpets made by children in Nepal led many of the girls working in the industry to enter prostitution. Prashant Bharadwaj and his collaborators show that the ban on child labour in India actually reduced children’s wages, causing longer work hours and reduced school enrolment. In my own recent research on child labour in the garments factories of Tiruppur, a group of working children coolly recounted how they hid behind bales of cloth when labour inspectors visited.

The existence of child labour also, of course, marks a deep social failure. In India, in particular, the social consciousness against child labour is weakWhile the labelling of child labour-free products, such as the BBA’s Rugmark initiative, have resonated in the West, the absence of any such mechanism for products in India is stark. Retailers don’t always know whether the carpets, pottery or firecrackers they sell are free of child labour. Perhaps few consumers care enough for labelling or certification to be viable. Observed reductions in the employment of children in homes or shops are perhaps driven by expanding education and its rising returns, not matched by any compunction many of us feel in employing children. Even as we must recognise poverty as giving rise to the need for children to work, a progressive social consensus cannot dismiss child trafficking, hazardous child labour or child illiteracy as teething trouble during the transition from bad to good equilibria. This I recognised most clearly in my interactions with BBA volunteers and staff, each driven by idealism to change the prevailing social consciousness. Kailashji’s struggles and his grit and commitment in the face of threats formed the heady folklore that sustained the spirit of the BBA office. Occasionally there was talk of the Nobel Peace Prize, but my impression was that no one in the office thought it a real or near-possibility then. In Jaipur, I found most working children based at home, often combining schooling with some gemstones polishing. The failings of the schools in my field sites were evident — from teacher absenteeism and poor teaching quality to the stigma attached to repeating a class, at every step there was compelling reason to encourage dropping out. Faced with only a bleak chance that their children would complete enough school to secure a livelihood, many parents fell back on the family-based and skill-imparting trade for the occupational security of gem-polishing. In such a setting, distinct from carpet factories or brick kilns, the BBA and its partners focused on bridge schooling and delaying children’s entry into the workforce rather than raid-and-rescue. Towards the end of my internship, Kailashji asked how my research was progressing and what I had learned. I told him that the poor quality of schooling was a bigger problem than children working. He stared at me and said, “Write that in your report”. I sent the BBA a version of my dissertation, which was immediately acknowledged and, I believe, kept in their records. I feel fortunate to have known Kailashji and the BBA long before the Nobel Peace Prize. His relative inconspicuousness in Indian public life thus far is yet another facet of the social failure he and his team have been working to overcome. In this moment of recognition, there may also lie an opening for remedy. -

Good cities are safe cities

Unprecedented disasters are, ironically, becoming frequent phenomena. The Mumbai floods of 2005, Barmer floods of 2006, Leh floods of 2010 and Uttarakhand floods of 2013 are some of the “never-before” kind of events in recent years. Many of them also had a significant urban impact. Then, the Jammu and Kashmir floods occurred, and people woke up to friends and family stuck on their rooftops in Srinagar. Cities will be hit increasingly harder in the times to come. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has identified floods as the singlemost widespread disaster risk to urban settlements globally. The poor undoubtedly will be the hardest hit, as always.

Rivers have attracted settlements since ancient times. What is new is the aggressiveness of these settlements. What used to be riverfront development earlier has now degenerated into “river-bed development”. Rivers, more so the monsoon-fed ones, have two distinct channels — one where the water flows during “normal” times, and the other that it spreads into during peak flow in the rainy season. In most riverfront cities, urban development has gradually crept into this second channel, belabouring under a perceived protection of embankments or the ignorant comfort of the fact that a big flood hasn’t happened in the last few years. Such lands are being encroached upon by squatters or sold to unsuspecting buyers by unscrupulous developers.

Besides river beds, urban lakes, wetlands and drainage channels are being encroached upon in similar fashion. Humayun Rashid and Gowhar Naseem of the Jammu and Kashmir State Remote Sensing Centre presented facts to this effect at the World Lake Conference in 2007 in Jaipur, where they used satellite imagery to trace the physical growth of Srinagar between 1911 and 2004. The statistics and maps show a phenomenal increase of built-up space from a mere 3 per cent to 15 per cent of the city area. Of this additional 12 per cent land that the growing city gobbled up, 10 per cent came from low-lying wetlands and marshes while 2 per cent came from open water surfaces, meaning lakes and water channels. The study concluded that over 9,100 hectares of open water surface and wetlands have been totally lost to other land uses during the period. That equals 18,000 football fields. In the process, more than 50 per cent of the lakes and wetlands of Srinagar have been lost. No wonder then that nature decided to reclaim them, at least for some time.

Let not the urban growth story fool us into believing that newly developed city areas will necessarily lead to a good, safe life. Whether heritage town, slum new urban development, if there is a city in a flood plain or on reclaimed low lying land, water will always find its way in one day. Climate change may make sure that that day comes sooner than later. High population densities, concrete surfaces and poorly maintained drainage, sanitation and solid waste infrastructure make urban areas more prone to floods as the water is not able to drain quickly. Srinagar, where parts of the city remained inundated for three weeks, is the latest reminder of this water-trap phenomenon. Much of this developmental mess takes place because our cities are growing untamed. Of over 6,000 cities in India, only about 2,000 have proper master plans, while the bulk, mostly small and medium towns, is growing with lax or no regulations. By the time plans are put in place, much of the area would already have been poorly developed and the damage irreversible. Considering that 25,000 people are added to Indian cities each day, time is running out.

A handful of developed cities are attracting suburban dwellers with their modern apartments, expressways and malls. Let not these embellishments lead one to ignore the underlying risk in these cities. You don’t have to go far from the national capital to see a prime example of a ticking time-bomb. Noida came up as a suburb in violation of the National Capital Region concept that had originally advocated against congesting the periphery of Delhi. The location was too attractive for the home state to let go of the opportunities it offered due to its proximity to Delhi. Successive changes during and after the initial urban planning processes have ensured that high-density and high-worth development has taken place in what used to be the Yamuna’s playground. Jamal Ansari, former director of the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and a lead planner for Noida’s master plan, rues that political and popular pressure distorts urban plans and increases disaster risks exponentially. He underscores the fact that the embankments that protect Delhi and Noida from the Yamuna are not infallible.

While it is easy to blame bad urban development and governance for the state of affairs, it needs to be acknowledged that good citizenry is as much a requirement for safe and sustainable cities as good governments. International good practices of liveable and healthy cities are backed with grassroot action plans, citizens’ engagement and participatory planning and action. To understand our cities better and to play a positive role in their future, it is important to understand the origins of urban planning. Clarence Perry, a pioneer of city planning, had established the neighbourhood as a basic unit for a city. He defined the neighbourhood as that space wherein a child could walk to the local elementary school within 10 minutes, without having to cross a major road. This translated into neighbourhoods of one-fourth of a mile radius, with the elementary school and conveniences at the centre, houses linked with connecting greens and no major roads crisscrossing them. EbenezerBritish urban planner, put forth the idea of garden cities. Our very own Bhubaneswar was planned on similar green principles by German Otto Königsberger, with wide roads and many gardens and parks, remnants of which are visible even today behind the humdrum of the new-age congestion. Good cities, through fundamental principles and friendly planning, were safe cities. “Smart cities” must bring them back. -

Lockheed makes breakthrough in nuclear fusion

The first 100 MW reactors small enough to fit in the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade

Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

Tom McGuire, who heads the project, said he and a small team had been working on fusion energy at Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works for about four years, but were now going public to find potential partners in industry and government for their work.

Initial work demonstrated the feasibility of building a 100-megawatt reactor measuring seven feet by 10 feet, which could fit on the back of a large truck, and is about 10 times smaller than current reactors, Mr. McGuire told reporters.

In a statement, the company, the Pentagon's largest supplier, said it would build and test a compact fusion reactor in less than a year, and build a prototype in five years.

In recent years, Lockheed has gotten increasingly involved in a variety of alternate energy projects, including several ocean energy projects, as it looks to offset a decline in U.S. and European military spending. Lockheed’s work on fusion energy could help in developing new power sources amid increasing global conflicts over energy, and as projections show there will be a 40 to 50 per cent increase in energy use over the next generation, Mr. McGuire said.

If it proves feasible, Lockheed's work would mark a key breakthrough in a field that scientists have long eyed as promising, but which has not yet yielded viable power systems. The effort seeks to harness the energy released during nuclear fusion, when atoms combine into more stable forms.

“We can make a big difference on the energy front,” Mr. McGuire said, noting Lockheed’s 60 years of research on nuclear fusion as a potential energy source that is safer and more efficient than current reactors based on nuclear fission.

Lockheed sees the project as part of a comprehensive approach to solving global energy and climate change problems. Compact nuclear fusion would produce far less waste than coal-powered plants since it would use deuterium-tritium fuel, which can generate nearly 10 million times more energy than the same amount of fossil fuels, the company said.

Ultra-dense deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, is found in the earth’s oceans, and tritium is made from natural lithium deposits. It said future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive waste completely.

Mr. McGuire said the company had several patents pending for the work and was looking for partners in academia, industry and among government laboratories to advance the work. Lockheed said it had shown it could complete a design, build and test it in as little as a year, which should produce an operational reactor in 10 years, Mr. McGuire said. A small reactor could power a U.S. Navy warship, and eliminate the need for other fuel sources that pose logistical challenges.

U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers run on nuclear power, but they have large fission reactors on board that have to be replaced on a regular cycle.

“What makes our project really interesting and feasible is that timeline as a potential solution,” Mr. McGuire said.

Lockheed shares fell 0.6 per cent to $175.02 amid a broad market selloff.

Vultures may be rescued by their genetic diversity

A DNA analysis of 153 vultures caught from the wild for captive breeding centres of Bombay Natural History Society revealed that a large proportion was unrelated and that possibility of inbreeding was low.

India’s notoriously diminished vulture population, now just 3 per cent of its size from two decades ago, may in fact have a fighting chance of revival, says a new research paper. What vultures have lost in numbers, they make up for in genetic diversity — a key criterion for successful breeding — finds a study of three critically endangered Asian vultures: Oriental White-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) and Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris).

A DNA analysis of 153 vultures caught from the wild for captive breeding centres of Bombay Natural History Society revealed that a large proportion was unrelated and that possibility of inbreeding was low. The results were published in the journal Animal Conservation.

The genetic data from these captive populations indicate that there is no difference in levels of their genetic diversity prior to or after their decline, lead author Farah Ishtiaq of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore told this Correspondent.

“It also implies that the remaining wild populations may also maintain such genetic diversity,” she said.

South Asia’s vulture population fell precipitously mainly due to an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac once routinely administered on cattle. Vultures that scavenged on cattle carcasses that contained traces of the drug often died from toxicity and kidney failure.

The Oriental White-backed vulture, once considered the most common large bird of prey in the world, declined by 99 per cent between 1990 and 2007. The populations of Long-billed and Slender-billed vultures similarly declined to just 2.5 and 2.3 per cent of their population during the same period.

Currently, an estimated 10,000 Oriental white-backed, 30,000 Long-billed, 1,000 Slender-billed vultures exist in the country.

“'Recent success with breeding of all three species in captivity, decrease in diclofenac incidence in ungulate carcasses and significant slowing of vulture declines in the wild suggest that large-scale re-introductions of Gyps vultures may very soon be possible,” says the paper.

Vultures will perhaps never return to their original populations, but even if they reach 30-40 per cent of their former abundance in, say, three decades, then they will return to their all important ecological role as keystone scavengers, Dr Ishtiaq said.

Behavioural change critical

That high toilet coverage without concomitant utilisation of the facilities at a very high level and washing hands with soap will not bring about a reduction in diarrhoeal episodes and worm infestation, or any improvement in nutrition and growth, has been clearly brought out in a study undertaken in rural Odisha. The study involved about 4,600 households from 50 villages grouped in an intervention arm and about 4,900 households from 50 villages in a control group; there were nearly 25,000 individuals in each group. The coverage of toilets shot up from 9 per cent to 63 per cent among those in the intervention arm within 18 months, compared with an increase from 8 to 12 per cent in the control villages. Eleven of the 50 villages in the intervention arm had toilet coverage of 50 per cent and above; only two villages in the control group had coverage that was this high. Despite usage at the household level in the intervention arm being 84 per cent for women and 79 for men and children, it translated to only about 50 per cent at the community level. As a result, in both the arms the number of children below five years who were affected by diarrhoea was nearly the same. There was no difference in worm infestation rates or any improvement in nutrition or growth rates, either. There was no decrease in faecal contamination of water or any significant drop in contamination of the hands of individuals.

The results of the trial should serve as a painful reminder that emphasis on high toilet coverage without ensuring very high usage will not lead to improvement in health indicators. After all, the only way to reduce the overwhelming load of diarrhoeal and other pathogenic bacteria in the environment and improve health indicators is to refrain from shedding such bacteria in the environment. The timing of the results is perfect. The government recently rolled out its ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission with the aim of ensuring a toilet in every Indian household by the end of 2019; an earlier programme primarily targeted families that were below the poverty line. Building toilets is the necessary but easier part; bringing about behavioural change is the more daunting challenge. This is amply reflected in the study, done in accordance with the government’s earlier programme. The Mission should not remain a mere infrastructure-centred programme but should give equal priority to creating awareness of the benefits of toilet usage through a massive campaign. On paper, the “top priority” of the Mission is to improve toilet usage by bringing about behavioural change. There is also a provision to “monitor usage”. It is important that such ideals get translated into discernible actions and results on the ground.

For a tree on every field boundary

Agroforestry promotes productive cropping environments, prevents deforestation, protects watersheds and enables agricultural land to withstand extreme weather events

Growing trees on farms is a triple-win strategy for combating simultaneously the challenges of increasing food production, mitigating greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change. It is an instrument of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), catapulted to centre-stage by President Obama’s launch of the Global Alliance for CSA at the World Climate Summit on September 23 at New York.

It was fitting, therefore, that “Trees for Life” was the theme of the World Agroforestry Congress held earlier this year in New Delhi. On this occasion the previous United Progressive Alliance government, supported by the National Advisory Council, unveiled the National Agroforestry Policy coinciding aptly with the International Year of Family Farming.

Benefits of tree-based farming

While planting trees on farms is as old as settled cultivation, “agroforestry” is a recently coined term derived from agriculture and forestry. It describes practices developed and employed by farmers over many centuries to cultivate trees on farmland together with crop and animal husbandry. While agroforestry comprises agriculture and forestry in seemingly separate land uses, its essence is of an integrated tree-based farming system. The science and technology, the institutions, and policy sphere of agroforestry is uniquely its own and characterised by a landscape approach.

When strategically applied on a large scale, with appropriate mix of tree species, agroforestry promotes productive and resilient cropping environments, prevents deforestation, protects watersheds and enables agricultural land to withstand extreme weather events, and climate change.

 Tree-based farming systems have significant potential to provide employment to rural and urban populations through production and industrial application 

Tree-based systems contribute robustly to livelihoods by providing both tree products and tree services. The bounties they offer include tree products such as fruit, fodder, fuel, fibre, fertilizer and timber which add to food and nutritional security, and income generation and insurance against crop failure. These products are tangible, have money value and are tradable in the markets. Trees also generate wealth through the services they provide in the form of soil and water conservation, nutrient recycling, carbon storage and biodiversity preservation. These services are intangible, not easy to quantify, and do not lend themselves to monetary valuation. At present there is no payment for eco-services provided by tree-based farming systems.

Agroforestry has significant potential to provide employment to rural and urban populations through production, industrial application and value addition ventures. Current estimates show that about 64 per cent of the country’s timber requirement is met from the trees grown on farms. Agroforestry has the potential for augmenting energy capacity through biomass, biodiesel, biochar and biogas production. It is also recognised that agroforestry is perhaps the only alternative to meeting the target of increasing forest green cover.

Despite all this, agroforestry has not become the movement it should have. For a long time the subject fell between the cracks of “agriculture” and “forestry” with no ownership by either sector. The value and position of agroforestry in the national system remains ambiguous and undervalued. It has been disadvantaged by adverse policies and legal bottlenecks. Its adoption by tenant-farmers is constrained due to insecurity of tenure. The subject lies fragmented in several Ministries with hardly any mechanism for convergence and coordination. Inadequate investment in the sector is also a cause for neglect. Unlike the credit and insurance products available for the crop sector, the provisions for growing trees-on-farms are minimal. Weak marketing infrastructure, absence of price discovery mechanisms and lack of post-harvest processing technologies further compound the situation.

Wood Based Industries (WBI) have played an important role in the promotion of agroforestry and economy in Punjab, Haryana, western U.P and in Uttarakhand. However, over the years, the regulations governing the WBI have become stringent. The procedure for setting up new units is cumbersome.

The way forward

The National Agroforestry Policy has pointed the way forward to foster innovation in tree-based farming systems, among various stakeholders.

For lawmakers this would mean amending unfavourable legislation and simplifying regulations related to forestry and agriculture. Policymakers are to incorporate agroforestry in all policies relating to land use and natural resource management, and encourage government investments in agroforestry-related infrastructure, research and education and in the establishment of sustainable enterprises. Development administrators are to develop an institutional framework to ensure coordination between various elements of agroforestry scattered in existing missions and programmes. Farmers are to demand improved agroforestry science and technology from the public research and extension systems, loan and insurance products from financial institutions, and adopt suitable varieties and agronomic practices. Scientists and researchers are to develop location-specific tree-based technologies that complement the crop and livestock systems for sustainable livelihoods, factor in gender concerns, and incorporate the feedback from local communities.

Extension agents, NGOs and farmer organisations are to demonstrate new technologies, build capacities of farmers and help in linking producers to markets and value chains. The private sector is to invest in agroforestry both as a commercial enterprise as well as through the route of Corporate Social Responsibility. Finally, the media is to communicate the benefits of agroforestry to user communities.

Farmers have encapsulated the essence of agroforestry in a pithy slogan “har medh par pedh”(trees on every field boundary). It is time for others to turn over a new leaf. The challenge now lies in the detail of crafting a road map for the implementation of the National Agroforestry Policy by the new government.

India and Finland signed 19 agreements

HELSINKI: India and Finland on Wednesday signed 19 agreements including one for peaceful use of nuclear energy as well as management of radioactive waste from atomic power plants as President Pranab Mukherjee began his two-day visit to the key Scandinavian country.
The president, who arrived here last night, began his visit to Finland after inspecting a guard of honour which was followed by a one-to-one meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and delegation-level talks.
The agreement for nuclear cooperation was signed by Indian ambassador to Finland Ashok Kumar and director general of Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland Petteri Tiippana in presence of Mukherjee and Niinisto.
The arrangement for cooperation between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland will ensure cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety regulation concerning exchange of information personnel related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and radiation related to nuclear installations, radiation and nuclear safety including radioactive waste management, safety related issues and research.
It will also cover radiation safety, emergency preparedness, and radioactive waste management associated with the operation of nuclear power plants.
Immediately after the signing ceremony, the Finnish president underlined the importance of India in the world order and said his country was keenly observing the 'Make in India' policy announced recently and also that the two sides had agreed for doubling the trade from existing USD 1.5 billion to USD 3 billion in next three years.
While backing India's candidature in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Finnish president said there was an immediate need for expanding the world body's top organ and it should include countries like India.
Talking about the relevance of the UN in present crisis in Syria and West Asia, Finland's president said, "Unfortunately, the UN has not been capable of giving a clear answer to situation in Syria or Ukraine. The Finnish perception is that we consider that veto right in Security Council is one obstacle that makes decision making in the UN very difficult indeed".
"We also see that UNSC should be enlarged by including countries like India," he said.
The two countries signed MoUs in the fields of science and technology, defence and education.
It included an agreement on exemption of visa requirement for holders of diplomatic and official passports which will help to promote bilateral relations by facilitating the travel of diplomatic and official passport holders.
Under Statement of Intent (SoI) between Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), both institutions will explore opportunities for cooperation in the field of defence research and development.
An MoU between Indian Council for Medical Research and Research Council of Norway was also signed aimed at encouraging research in a range of health-related areas of mutual interest, including human vaccines, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
The agreement shall promote direct cooperation within the field being organised through joint calls and funding for research proposals/projects as well as facilitating exchange of scientists and scientific information.
Enlisting the areas in which India and Norway have a rewarding trade partnership including oil exploration and scientific research, Mukherjee said both the sides are keen to expand the scope of their collaborative efforts in earth sciences, bio-technology, clean energy, fishing and health care.
"I am confident that the bilateral agreements that we have signed will lead to further fruitful engagement in the many fields where India and Norway have obvious complementarities," the president said.
"We are grateful for your endorsement of India's rightful claim to Permanent Membership of the United Nations Security Council and for your proactive efforts that helped India achieve Observer status in the Arctic Council," he added.
The President said Norway will soon feature in the list of a few countries whose nationals get Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility in India.
The Indian government had in January 2010 launched VoA scheme to attract more foreign tourists to India. Initially the scheme was introduced for citizens of Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore visiting India for tourism purposes.
The Government later extended this scheme to the citizens of Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar and South Korea.
"We also need to create an ecosystem that shall facilitate exchange of students and faculty between our two countries and also nurture innovation and enterprise through joint courses and degrees," he said.