| |
A NEW BEGINNING |
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| A rich
harvest |
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IN FOCUS |
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| On the
right track? Groundwater or poison? Punjab, ready for desi solutions Saga of tanks |
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CAMPAIGN |
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| Ways to
destroy Squatters or owners? VIPs strangling Dal Restoring Bis Hazari Lakes in News |
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WATER LITERACY |
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| For
water security The facilitator Let us try this out? Water carnival |
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INITIATIVE |
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| Sabdoo,
surging ahead Pioneering work Reasserting rights Haryana documents Mission possible |
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JAL BIRADARI |
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| Common
sense, makes sense Unflinching faith |
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| NEWS FROM GUJARAT | ||
| Jal
bachao yatra Checking salt ingress Water accounting |
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NEWS FROM CHENNAI |
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| Legally
armed Cultivating temple tanks Syndicate residency’s endeavour Optimising benefits |
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JAL YODHAS |
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| P K
Senapati Surinder Bansal Shree Padree Anil Rana M N Mitra |
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TECHNOLOGY |
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| Fog
collectors Techno tit bits |
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NEWS FROM ABROAD |
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| South Africa: Water apartheid Kenya: Drought busting Japan: Water wizards Turks & Caicos Islands: A unique system Nepal: Spouts return |
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| Vol. 4 | No. 6 |
December 2002-January 2003 |
 |
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Glimpses of books  The Gardens of their Dreams:Desertification and Culture in World History Brian Griffith Zed Books Ltd, UK, 2001, pp 368 This book paints a detailed picture of our ancestors’ experiences in destroying and healing the ecology. Brian Griffith explores the complex socio-cultural aspects of desertification while weaving in fascinating information from different regions. The 15 chapters of this volume revolve around three basic issues viz, 1. how the expanding wastelands have shaped people’s images of nature, women, politics and religion; 2. how waves of refugees from the arid lands, including the historic migrations of Aryans, Huns and Mongols, have influenced local communities in the green border lands from China to Europe; and, 3. how locals have responded to threats of invasion and environ-mental poverty. The connection between violence and domination on the one hand, and environmental degradation and desertification on the other is highlighted. Women’s place in the desert is an interesting chapter. It shows how they fight for the rights as the environment becomes unproductive. The book ends with two stories of hope. The first focuses on nature’s power of self renewal in southwest America. While the other takes us to Kenya, showing traditional farmers as a force that can transform. The book inspires hope. Turning people back towards the path of regaining the lost gardens of their dreams. Griffith stories have a direct implication for our times and the choices we must make for a better future. Worth reading. Explore....www.unesco.org/water/iyfw2 This is a special website recently launched by UNESCO to celebrate the International Year of Freshwater, 2003. It provides a platform for individuals, institutions and countries the world over to share ideas, initiatives and events. A vast array of facts on water use, health, droughts, floods and ecosystems can be easily accessed in French and Spanish as well. Surf it to keep a track of any major happenings in the water world this year. Water talk section allows you to be creatively express water through poems, pictures etc. So, as the site says, ‘Jump in! Get your feet wet! Make a splash!’ Let’s make a difference. Plumbing the Rights This 30 minutes documentary is a part of Changing
Currents, a series exploring water, globally. It is produced by TVE and screened by
BBCWorld as a run up to the Third World Water Forum, 2003. These films are also available
with CSE. |
