Mining – India 1
1. Rs 6cr SAIL plan for Chiria mines 1
2. Illegal sand mining: court directive to Chief Secretary 2
3. Displaced families of Posco project harassed for pre poll alliance between BJD-Left 3
4. Steel standards deferred 4
5. Domestic mining cos watch out for more price cuts 5
Mining – International 6
6. Davao folk alarmed by mine pollution 6
7. Mining our resources 7
8. Feds give initial approval to Crow coal plant 8
9. Essar forges ahead with $1.7 billion Iron Range plant 9
10. The way it’s got to be for mining in B.C. 10
11. Africa still in Brazilian mining major Vale’s sights 12
12. ARM coal unit eyes new mine within 5 years 17
13. Limestone County plant, mine draw workers but little development 17
Water Scarcity News 22
14. Water a burning issue in Berhampur 22
15. Water scarcity clouds California farming's future 23
16. Tears for water... 26
17. Water crisis grips J’singhpur 30
18. An Overview of Water Scarcity and Water Market Development 31
19. UNESCO Presents “Water in a Changing World” Report 37
20. My Point of View -Solution for world's water woes 37
Other News – India 39
21. Medical SEZ to come up in city 39
22. ‘State govt ignoring Forest Rights Act in the Dooars’ 40
23. Growing pollution leads to global dimming 41
Mining – India
Rs 6cr SAIL plan for Chiria mines
PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Chiria mines: Good days ahead
Jamshedpur, March 13: Public sector giant Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has drawn up elaborate plans to develop the surrounding villages of Chiria mines and is looking at spending around Rs 6 crore for the programme.
Primarily focusing on sustainable development of the villages, the PSU is working on specifics to provide basic education to children as well as women, develop self-help groups (SHGs) for regular income generation, provide potable water and help create necessary infrastructure.
SAIL has plans to cover 37 villages under this programme initiated under corporate social responsibility activities. The company will also invest a sizeable amount to install more than 100 solar lamps in the villages.
“SAIL has engaged an NGO that has extensive experience in grassroots level interventions. A number of focused interventions have been implemented in the areas of community mobilisation, livelihood promotion, education and health to help enrich the quality of life of the local community at Chiria,” said a SAIL spokesperson.
As a first step, the public sector steel giant has invited suggestions from villagers and village heads, including Mundas and Pradhans, on the kind of projects it would be working on.
Company officials said income generation programmes would be launched with an eye on sustainability. Recently, an initiative was taken to form 14 self-help groups of 140 members and train them in horticulture, fish rearing, goat rearing, dairy and stitching. In the field of education, SAIL company plans Prerna Kendras for adults.
Health would be given top priority and a major part of the resources would be spent on organising health camps, funding major operations and holding counselling sessions on a regular basis to promote community health and well-being.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090314/jsp/jharkhand/story_10667771.jsp
Illegal sand mining: court directive to Chief Secretary
Staff Reporter
‘Officials have not taken any action despite an earlier court order’
BANGALORE: History was made in the Karnataka High Court when it witnessed a DVD presentation detailing illegal sand mining at Hagari in Bellary district. The court was stunned by the brazen manner in which the lessees had violated norms and were mining sand by using excavators and other sophisticated equipment.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran, and Justice K.L. Manjunath, came down on the officials for colluding with the sand mining mafia and directed the Chief Secretary to initiate action against the Director of Mines and Geology and others for not complying with the earlier court orders.
The Bench regretted that the officials had not taken any action despite an earlier court order.
It was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition by Nareswamy and Govinda of Hagari village against use of excavators and other modern equipment to mine sand from the Hagari river-bed. The petitioners said the Government was being given a royalty of Rs. 100 to Rs. 150 per truck load of sand, while the same was being sold in Bangalore at Rs. 14,000 to Rs. 15,000 per truck load.
Report
The Bench asked the State to file a report and adjourned further hearing of the case.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/14/stories/2009031461090400.htm
Displaced families of Posco project harassed for pre poll alliance between BJD-Left
Friday, March 13, 2009
Report by Amarnath Parida , Jagatsinghpur : New alliance between BJD-Left parties after collapse of BJD-BJP has brought strong harassment among the thousands of displaced families in proposed Posco steel project site. Displaced families have strongly criticized the left parties for extending support BJD supremo Naveen Pattnaik to save government after collapse of BJD-BJP alliance.
President of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti Mr Abhya Shaoo who is the leader of CPI had been intensified stir and agitation against12-million tonne Posco steel project with the support of national and state level left parties leaders including the leaders of Jarkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Nationalistic Congress Party (NCP) since three years. Due to his sustained campaign against the project, the police, district officials and Posco company officials could not enter in to proposed Posco site Dhinkia, Gobindpur, Patana. After arrest of Mr Shaoo by Paradip police on last Oct’08, the stronghold of PPSS has been weakened. Meanwhile, Sahu has been languishing in the jail for the last six months because Kujang l police has lodged 32 cases against him..
Displaced families of three panchyats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchyat have strongly critiicised left parties for extending thier support to the government. Left party leaders like CPI general secretary Mr AB.Bardhan, state CPI general secretary Mr Dibakar Nayak, Chatrapur legislator Mr Naryan Reddy and Minster from West Bengal government including JMM & NCP leaders Mr Arun Dey and others have came to Posco site on many occasions and joined with Posco movement by showing their support towards the plight of displaced families of Posco steel project of these panchyats. Being tied with BJD, left party leaders would remain silence about the movement against Posco steel project in which BJD government if it would come in power, would force to utilize its power for establishment of Posco project in Paradip bringing strong harassment among the displaced families.
One 65 years old man Mr Jhari Behera had been suspected on the activities of legislator Mr Reddy for non extending support to PPSS after arrest of Mr Shaoo. Displaced families predicated that left parties would extend their support to intensify stir and agitation for illegal arrest of Mr Shaoo but Mr Reddy did not turn to Posco site and all party protest meeting at Jagatsinghpur for his release. In stead of support, he remained silence and protested the activities of PPSS for intensifying stir for illegal arrest of Mr Shaoo. Their predication has been proved true on today while Mr Reddy and other left parties extend their support to BJD government. – He added.
Locals have alleged that left party leaders joined with Posco movement for their political interest or to highlight their image for coming general elections but not the plights of the displaced families of Posco steel project. Meanwhile, PPSS has conducted its meeting at Dhinkia to plan its strategies to fight against Posco project. PPSS activists have decided not to invite any left party leaders and other arty leaders for Posco movement. Anti Posco leader Mr Chitta Swain has informed that PPSS would not need the cooperation of any political leaders because’ we believe on our strength and planning’. After BJD-Left party alliance, displaced families would concentrate all their energy to intensify the agitation against Posco. “We would continue to oppose Posco,”- Mr Swain added.
Leader of United Action Committee for Posco steel project Mr Nirvya Samntray has informed that the activities of PPSS have been weakened after arrest of Shaoo and alliance between BJD-Left parties so there will be no hindrances for Posco steel project. He said that many anti Posco activists have joined hands with Posco supporters after realizing the strength of PPSS and Left parties in this locality. On the other hand, CPI district unit secretary Mr Sasibhusan Swain has clarified that CPI has made alliance with BJD to save government but no alliance to save industry. He informed that left party’s extended support congress and collapsed with congress while congress goes against anti people activities. He expressed that displaced families have threatened not to give one inch for Posco project as this alliance would not put any impact with Posco movement.
http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=11378
Steel standards deferred
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, March 13: The government has deferred the introduction of mandatory certification for construction steel — TMT bars and structurals — as well as tinplates used to pack food and medicines.
The move could help secondary manufacturers, mostly concentrated in northern India, who had been seeking a relaxation in standards to increase sales.
Compulsory certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards for TMT bars, structural steel and tinplates was to begin from February 13.
Analysts said the standards were necessary to ensure that quality steel reached the construction sector and only first-grade tinplates and not toxic ones were used in food and medical packaging.
S. Saha, an independent structural engineer, said, “These standards were formulated in the aftermath of the Gujarat earthquake to ensure quality structures . Similarly the use of prime tinplates was being encouraged to ensure best safety standards.”
Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindals use prime steel to make TMT bars for construction. But small players in the Punjab and Haryana region use rerolled steel and often scrap steel and structurals.
Tata-controlled Tinplate Company is the biggest manufacturer of tinplates in India and will be the hardest hit by the decision not to make the BIS standards mandatory.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090314/jsp/business/story_10668170.jsp
Domestic mining cos watch out for more price cuts
14 Mar 2009, 0120 hrs IST, Rakhi Mazumdar, ET Bureau
KOLKATA: With days to go for a fresh round of negotiations for annual global price contracts, domestic mining majors like NMDC, Sesa Goa and a host of other iron-ore miners are keeping an eagle eye on the situation. Top buyers, including steel makers from China and Japan, have participated in preliminary talks with global biggies like Vale of Brazil, BHP of Australia and Rio Tinto, demanding price cuts of up to 40%.
Experts suggest long-term prices of iron ore are likely to slide further based on low demand from China. However, even though domestic prices are linked to international rates, Indian mining companies are likely to be less affected by the price slide. Indian iron ore with iron content of 64% and above is considered to be of prime quality.
“A further price slide seems irresistible. We expect international prices to settle at more realistic levels, once serious price negotiations get underway. At the moment, Chinese buyers are testing the waters,” a top industry official told ET. Currently, long-term prices are ruling at around $90 per tonne while spot prices of Indian iron ore is hovering around $73 per tonne.
“Domestic prices are already lower than international levels. We have already reduced prices by 25% in December 2008,” NMDC chairman and managing director Rana Som said. The depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar will also have an impact on domestic price levels, he added.
Global steel prices are benchmarked to prices of hot rolled coils (HRCs). The latter, at $550 per tonne levels, is a slight improvement from $500 level earlier. “We will obviously try to resist price cuts as much as possible,” a top mining industry source said.
Steelmakers are, on the other hand, bracing themselves for a hard bargain in terms of raw material costs. “Gone are the days of 96% price rise for iron ore. We expect coking coal and iron ore to settle at more realistic levels. This will, in turn, benefit consumers of steel,” the source added.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Indl-Goods--Svs/Domestic-mining-cos-watch-out-for-more-price-cuts/articleshow/4262530.cms
Mining – International
Davao folk alarmed by mine pollution
By Frinston Lim
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 19:21:00 03/13/2009
BANAYBANAY, Davao Oriental -- Residents of this farming town have joined hands with environmentalists to raise the alarm over the proliferation of small-scale mining operations in a mountain village near the boundary with Compostela Valley province.
The Save Sumlog River Alliance (Sasura) specifically called on Governor Corazon Malanyaon to put a stop to the mining operations in the sitios [sub-villages] of Anogkot and Tabon in Barangay [village] Marayag, a hinterland village of Lupon town.
Sasura chair Felix Mejos told reporters here Thursday that they are also asking Malanyaon to declare over 44,000 hectares of land near the Sumlog watershed a protected area.
"Mine wastes from tunnels are dumped into the river, making the water level shallow and lacing with…toxic wastes water that irrigates farms in Banaybanay and Lupon," Mejos said.
Earlier, Mejos, who is also head of a farmers' association in the town, led a party of environmentalists, local officials and some journalists on a fact-finding mission to the area.
"We found the area heavily logged and mine wastes making the river silted and turning its water brownish. It was an appalling sight," he said.
Mejos said there were about 50 small-scale mining operators there who have banded together as a cooperative. But there were also "unregistered" miners in the area.
He said concerns about the dangers of mining in the area had been raised as early as last year and the towns of Lupon and Banaybanay passed resolutions asking the provincial government of Davao Oriental to ban mining there.
"Until now we have yet to hear anything from Governor Malanyaon," said Wenceslao Mapa, Panalipdan Davao Oriental chair. "We already forwarded to her our report regarding that concern, and we are waiting."
Local officials also fear continued mining in the area would destroy the Sumlog watershed and cause an environment calamity.
"We need to act together now or else our farmers would no longer be able to grow seven-tonner rice, which Banaybanay is famous for," councilor Liezel Teves said, referring to a variety of rice with yields of up to seven tons per hectare.
Edwin Tagara, a 47-year-old farmer from Barangay Rang-ay here, said his yield fell to 80 sacks per hectare during the last cropping compared to the previous harvest of 120 bags because chemical wastes like cyanide and mercury, which are being dumped into the river from the mining site, have found their way into his farm.
"Our crops are stunted and production is affected," he said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090313-194037/Davao-folk-alarmed-by-mine-pollution
Mining our resources
Friday, March 13, 2009 6:15 PM EDT
Marcellus Shale drilling has begun in Somerset County. Samson Investment Co. is drilling on the Paul Menhorn farm near Berlin.
Geologists and energy companies have known for decades about the gas in the Marcellus Shale, but only recently have figured out a way to extract it. The shale covers an area of 54,000 square miles from New York, across Pennsylvania, Ohio and most of West Virginia. It could contain an estimated 150 trillion cubic feet to nearly 363 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that could be recovered. That is enough to meet the nation’s needs for six or seven years.
The modern-day version of the gold rush is on. The economic potential could be a boon to Pennsylvanians.
The ramifications of drilling must be taken seriously. Each drilling operation requires substantial volumes of water. That waste water must then be disposed of correctly. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has regulatory power to protect the water sources under the Pennsylvania Clean Streams law.
The DEP must make sure the withdrawal of water doesn’t damage or significantly impact streams. The treated water, which becomes salty, has to be disposed of so it doesn’t damage streams or wells.
We must learn from our state’s coal mining history and make sure that damage doesn’t occur to the environment. It could take years for the water supply to recover.
http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2009/03/13/opinion/editorials/editorial347.txt
Feds give initial approval to Crow coal plant
By MATTHEW BROWN , 03.13.09, 04:30 PM EDT
A Crow official says the federal government has given preliminary approval to the American Indian tribe's plan to build one of the first coal-to-liquid fuel plants in the nation.
The $7.4 billion plant would produce an initial 50,000 barrels a day of diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer or other products. The fuel would be produced from coal mined on the Crow's southeastern Montana reservation.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has told the tribe it can move forward with a plant development agreement signed last year with the Australian-American Energy Co., Crow attorney Bill Watt says.
Environmental approvals for the plant are still needed. But Watt said the contract approval signals that the federal government considers the project viable.
"I think it was a significant step that they approved it," he said. "It gives the company (Australian-American) a great deal of assurance to continue putting in funds for coal exploration and developing the project."
A site for the plant is to be chosen by the end of the year. Construction is slated to begin in 2012 and finish by 2016.
The tribe would provide the land, coal and water needed to build and run the plant. Australian-American Energy would put up the financing and develop the project, known as Many Stars CTL.
The plant would initially convert 14 million tons of coal annually to liquid fuels.
Planned future expansions could ultimately boost Many Star's fuel production to 125,000 barrels a day.
That's about 50 million barrels a year - equivalent to roughly 1 percent of the petroleum imported into the United States annually.
Approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs was needed because the agency holds the Crow's land in trust. Under the Indian Minerals Development Act, the agency has legal authority over resources the tribe plans to contribute to the coal-to-liquids plant.
BIA Rocky Mountain Region Deputy Director Darryl LaCount said he could not comment on the agency's approval. The partnership between the Crow and Australian-American Energy is proprietary and exempt from freedom of information laws, he said.
However, future environmental reviews would be public information. LaCount said ground could not be broken for the project on the reservation until those reviews are completed.
Although members of the neighboring Northern Cheyenne Tribe have expressed wariness about the plant's impact on local water resources, no organized opposition has emerged.
Other coal-to-liquid proposals have been criticized for their potential contribution to climate change, including at least two now-abandoned projects in Montana.
Plans for Many Stars CTL call for capturing most of the greenhouse gases it would produce. The gases would be stored in underground aquifers beneath the reservation or sold to oil companies that use carbon dioxide to squeeze more oil from aging fields.
That carbon capture process would put the fuel roughly on par with petroleum in terms of its climate change impact. Greenhouse gases still would be released when the coal-derived fuel was burned.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/03/13/ap6166345.html
Essar forges ahead with $1.7 billion Iron Range plant
Work on the ore-to-steel plant near Nashwauk continues, even as the demand for steel shrinks in response to the recession.
By LIZ FEDOR, Star Tribune
Last update: March 13, 2009 - 10:11 PM
Steel and recessions don't mix, but that's not stopping Essar Steel from continuing to build a $1.7 billion ore-to-steel facility near Nashwauk, Minn.
Phase one of the Minnesota project will be construction of an iron ore plant, whose pellets will be shipped to an Essar facility in Canada and turned into steel.
"We are absolutely on schedule," said Madhu Vuppuluri, Essar Steel Minnesota's chief executive, who was in northern Minnesota this week to look at site preparation work. Today, he'll be keynote speaker at the India Association of Minnesota annual dinner in the Twin Cities. India-based Essar Global is a conglomerate with operations that include steel, oil and gas, telecommunications and power generation.
"This is a massive project, the taconite facility will be $1.1 billion," said Vuppuluri, the New York-based president of Essar Americas, who travels to Minnesota every 10 to 15 days to monitor work at the construction site.
In an interview, Vuppuluri said that considerable site preparation work has been underway near Nashwauk since a September groundbreaking. That work includes clearing trees, conducting a soil analysis, removing water from iron ore pits and grading the land in advance of the plant construction.
Vuppuluri said that Essar acquired about 7,000 acres last fall around the former Butler Taconite operation.
By 2011, he said, the Minnesota facility will be producing taconite pellets, and it will supply pellets to the Essar Steel Algoma facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The Ontario plant has been hurt by the recession. A $146 million profit for the September quarter swung to a $14.2 million loss for the final three months of 2008.
Steel shipments dropped by 33 percent in the October to December period. Vuppuluri said the facility can produce 4 million tons of steel per year, but production has been trimmed in response to the economy.
http://www.startribune.com/business/41241832.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUs
The way it’s got to be for mining in B.C.
March 13, 2009 - By Malcolm McColl
The B.C. First Nations Mining Conference late last year in Prince George, B.C. contained intensive discussion at an open mike from representatives of First Nations across the province. The microphone was open to the First Nation leadership, and the mining industry in attendance listened to input throughout the conference.
"It was within the modern day treaty making process, the recommendations that came forward front and centre, that said you have to deal with each other with respect," said one speaker from the Dease Lake area of Northern B.C..
"What does that really mean?" he asked. "Does that mean offering as little as possible, disrespecting our people by the offers on the table? I think that here we are trying to find solutions about how to get along with industry, and how to be partners, and how to find solutions together. I think that can be most effective if we clearly understand what that word respect means."
He said, "We wouldn’t have to coerce government to change legislation or the regulations about how we conduct business with our people if we lived respecting people and others. If industry regarded that word and its full meaning, and some of them do, I don’t paint the brush broadly, because some come to us and say, ‘We want to work together,’ but the thing is that with the climate here and the unresolved issues we need to spread that message, even to our own people. To me it’s an important word."
Another speaker from the Treaty Eight area (north-east B.C.) said, "We were in the process of negotiating mining agreements with companies in our area, and they told the government that they were talking with us."
He explained, "After that little bit of information was exchanged they stopped talking to us. We’ve got mining happening all over our area, and they opened another mine to start producing coal, and there is not one person from our community working in it."
He noted with some frustration, "They offered $700 for education in our community. Seven hundred dollars doesn’t even cover the cost of busing our kids to school in Chetwynd." A speaker from the Campbell River area, John Henderson, former chief of the Campbell River Indian Band, said, "Up and down the coast, isolated remote communities have felt the impact of the logging industry as well as the over-fishing. They are now left with very little in those communities. So the challenge that we have regards mining a sustainable resource. If the answer is no, it isn’t sustainable, how do we insure that the First Nations and non-First Nation communities are sustainable after the mining resource is gone?"
"You know as First Nations it is very difficult to do business. We get the finger pointed at us and the non-Native community won’t talk to us. We’re going through a lot of that at home right now. If we’re going to be true partners then let’s have First Nations at the table. Let us develop a partnership. Let’s talk about business."
Henderson noted, "We’ve got all kinds of boards and associations across this country where First Nations aren’t even a part of anymore. We need a voice, whatever that may be. If we’re going to be partners with a mining company or an oil and gas company then 50 percent of that organization should be First Nation. There is no question about that. So how do we get there?"
He said, "It’s up to council members to make sure they buy into the process. But if there is nothing on the table and the end of the day what is the point? We can’t just be pawns in the business world there. "The way it comes out, it is prejudice. And that is what the non-Native community is saying to us, ‘You want the door open. You want guaranteed employment. What about us? Where are our jobs?’"
"That’s on the other side of the table. That’s got to stop. There is nothing unions and all those things that are out there."
Henderson concluded, "It’s a long story every time we talk about partnership with non-Native organizations. How do we fix it? Like I said, there should be First Nation involvement in the true sense of the word. Because there is no BS’n about it, that’s the way it's got to be.
http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_combo_template.php?path=20090313miningbc
Africa still in Brazilian mining major Vale’s sights
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By: Keith Campbell
13th March 2009
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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Diversified mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale) has reaffirmed its commitment to its investment programme, despite the global recession.
“What we seek first is to preserve the scope of our investment programme – this is the basic objective,” Vale CFO Fábio Barbosa emphasised at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro late last month.
“We seek to achieve this at the lowest possible cost. We are working to lessen the costs of the investments we intend to make. Less cost, not scope, not scale of investment, not projects. This is our idea, this is our objective. We are seeking to reduce the cost of implementing the same investment programme.”
Few mining companies have ridden the global commodities boom of recent years as well as Vale, which has risen from being the world’s sixth-largest mining company in 2001 to being the second- largest today. And few are as well positioned to not only ride out, but take advantage of, the current global economic storm, which has brought affliction on so many other miners.
In its report on its financial and operational performance for 2008, Vale noted that the global industrial slump which appeared in the last quarter of that year meant that “as providers of raw materials for manufacturing and construction activities, mining companies have been facing unprecedented weak demand conditions”.
Vale believes that the current crisis “has a transformational nature” as it will probably restructure the global financial sector, resulting in consolidation, lower risk tolerance, tighter regulation, and the creation of new institutions.
This transformation of the world’s financial industry will, in turn, cause permanent changes in other sectors, including mining. The near-term consequence is the postponement or cancellation of mining projects by many companies. Even after the financial markets have returned to normal, the company expects “liquidity to be much scarcer than it had been until last year, making cost of capital higher and access to capital more limited”.
Vale, of course, has not been unaffected by the crisis, but affirms that it “has been very proactive” in the face of the deepening recession.
“Production cutbacks involving primarily the shutdown of higher-cost operational units and the implementation of new strategic priorities are the main components of our fast reaction to the global recession. Cost minimisation, operational and financial flexibility and reconciliation of cash preservation with the pursuit of profitable growth options have assumed paramount importance to deal with the current scenario.”
In December, the company cut 1 300 jobs, most of them in Brazil, and last week it announced another 900 dismissals, all in its Canada-based, predominantly nickel- producing, subsidiary Vale Inco.
“The fall in nickel prices and the reduction in the demand for the metal made clear that to continue to operate in the way we have been operating is simply not sustainable,” explained Vale Inco CEO Tito Martins in a communiqué. On the other hand, Vale created some 5 500 new jobs during 2008, and its workforce in Brazil totals about 38 000, while Vale Inco employs around 14 000.
In January, Vale had to announce that its CSV steel joint-venture project with China’s Baosteel had been cancelled and CSV liquidated, owing to the global economic crisis. The company has also tackled administrative costs and is adjusting its corporate structure, as well as taking the opportunity to renegotiate service and supplier contracts.
Nevertheless, “Vale is best positioned to thrive in such an environment”.
“It is important to realise that despite the depth of the recession, it is a cyclical phenomenon. Recovery will follow the contractionary cycle and the long-term outlook for minerals and metals remains very promising.”
The company points out that, while the global downturn is severe, it is not going to derail the long-term economic development of the emerging market economies, nor disrupt the structural changes of recent years that are responsible for the fast growth in demand for metals and minerals.
Speaking last week at the opening of the company’s new $1,35-billion Sohar pelletising plant in Oman, CEO Roger Agnelli highlighted that “everything concerning Vale is long term” and that patience and “financial muscle” were needed to get through the crisis. He also expressed the view that the market will have changed completely in two years.
CASH, CREDIT, COMMODITIES
Vale does indeed have financial muscle. “We had, at the end of December, $12,6-billion in the bank, and we also have available long-term credit lines of about $10-billion, to finance our growth options,” reported Barbosa.
The company has a low-risk debt portfolio. On December 31, 2008, the company’s total debt was $18,245-billion, with an average maturity of 9,28 years and an average cost of 5,8%. This year Vale’s debt amortisation will be $322-million.
“This debt profile and these credit lines permit Vale to really explore growth opportunities, particularly organic growth, keeping in sight our positive view of the industry in the long term,” he stated.
The company is clearly still on the hunt for acquisitions. In January, it bought iron-ore and potash assets off debt-crippled mining major Rio Tinto for $1,6-billion. For $750-million, Vale acquired from Rio the Corumbá iron-ore mine in Brazil, which produced two-million tons of ore last year, and at the end of 2007 had proven and probable reserves of 210- million tons, with a content of 67% iron, as well as mineral resources of 583-million tons, at 62,7% iron content. Little wonder that the Brazilian company described Corumbá as “a world-class asset”.
For another $850-million, Vale also got Rio’s Rio Colorado and Regina potash projects (for the importance of potash, see Mining Weekly January 23, 2009). The Rio Colorado project is in Argentina, straddling the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén, while the Regina project is in the province of Saskatchewan in Canada. Vale already operates a potash mine, Taquari-Vasouras, in the state of Sergipe, in Brazil, and has two other potash projects (one each in Brazil and Argentina) under feasibility study.
Iron-ore now accounts for less than half of Vale’s gross revenues – 46,2% last year – although the ferrous metals category (iron-ore, pellets, manganese ore, and ferroalloys) provided 61,5% of gross revenues. Nonferrous minerals provided 31,9%, coal 1,5%, logistics services (railways, ports and shipping) 4,2%, and ‘others’ (which include energy generation) 0,9%. But in 2007, ferrous metals accounted for only 46,9% of gross revenues, while nonferrous minerals were reponsible for 47,5% – the sharp drop in the proportion of nonferrous minerals is mainly due to the severe fall in the nickel price (42,1% on average) in 2008, as compared with 2007.
In addition to these ferrous metals, Vale produces nickel, cobalt, copper, kaolin, potash, platinum-group metals (PGMs), precious metals, cobalt, bauxite, alumina, aluminium and coal. With its $479-million Bayóvar project in Peru, which is scheduled to come into operation during the second half of next year, the company is moving into the production of phosphates. Bayóvar will have an estimated annual production capacity of 3,9-million tons.
The company set eight production records last year, for nickel, bauxite, alumina, copper, coal, cobalt, PGMs, and precious metals. However, PGMs accounted for only 1% of Vale’s gross revenues, and precious metals for a mere 0,3%. Eight products also achieved record shipment volumes in 2008 – iron-ore (264-million tons), alumina (4,2-million tons), coal (4,1-million tons), copper (320 000 t), nickel (276 000 t), cobalt (3 087 t), precious metals (2,4-million troy ounces), and PGMs (411 000 troy ounces).
Gross revenues for last year were a record $38,5-billion, up 16,3% on 2007, net earnings were also a record, at $13,2-billion, and investments by the company – excluding acquisitions – were again a record, at $10,2-billion. Cash generation, measured by adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was also a record at $19-billion, as was the operational profit, as measured by adjusted earnings before interest and tax, at $15,7-billion.
AFRICA
The company is, in Barbosa’s words, “permanently evaluating nickel, copper, iron-ore” and other projects, while “fertilisers, [potash and phosphates], are a very important area for us”.
And then there is coal. “Coal is part of our strategic focus,” he affirmed. In December, Vale bought the coal and coal logistics assets of Colombian cement, concrete as well as aggregates group Cementos Argos for $300-million. These include the El Hatillo openpit mine, which produced some 1,8-million tons of thermal coal last year, ramping up to full production capacity of 4,5-million tons by 2011, and the Cerro Largo exploration project, both in Colombia. Vale already has coal operations in Australia, a coal joint venture in China, and is exploring for coal (and copper) in Mongolia.
But the company’s biggest coal project to date is in Africa – in Mozambique.
“The coal market is a very important market for us, not only thermal coal, as in the case of the Colombian acquisition, but also metallurgical [coal],” highlighted Barbosa.
“We have one of the big development projects in Africa, namely the Moatize project, which is also of great economic and social importance, because we are, in practice, transforming the socio- economic environment in that region through our involvement, through the development of our project.”
Moatize will have the capacity to produce 40-million tons a year, which will be shipped 600 km by rail to the Port of Beira. With reserves of around 2,5-billion tons, Moatize is expected to have a life of some 25 years.
Vale has a direct presence in five African countries, ranging from small offices to the major Moatize project. Apart from Mozambique these countries are Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique and South Africa. Referring to the DRC, Barbosa made a point of saying that “it mustn’t be forgotten that we have also acquired a small asset there in the Congo, but with great growth potential over the years”.
But a recent acquisition has also given Vale an indirect presence in the DRC and Mozambique, and in Namibia and Zambia as well. In mid-December it was announced that South African mining group African Rainbow Minerals was to acquire the minority shares in its Yukon-domiciled subsidiary, Teal Exploration & Mining (Teal), in Canada, and then sell half of Teal to Vale. The transaction was overwhelmingly approved by Teal shareholders in mid-February and then approved by the Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory. The deal has cost Vale Can$81-million.
As its name indicates, Teal is a minerals exploration and development company. It is active in the DRC, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. It has four main projects, the Konkola North and Mwambashi copper projects in Zambia, the Kalumines (also referred to as the Lupoto) copper/cobalt project in southern DRC, and the Otjikoto gold project in Namibia. It is also evaluating copper and cobalt prospects at Kalumines and on the Zambian Copperbelt, and gold prospects around Otjikoto. Exploration is under way in all four of these Southern African countries.
At Kalumines/Lupoto, constantly reviewed small-scale mining is taking place, and there is a sorting/screening plant, and a copper ore stockpile. This year will see a feasibility study into an operation with a capacity of 40 000 t/y of copper. At Konkola North, the feasibility study, for a 30 000-t/y copper mine, is being revised, and a decision should be taken soon. Regarding Mwambashi, the feasibility study for a 12 000-t/y copper openpit has been completed and a feasibility study for a 15 000-t/y copper underground mine is being done. Teal expects to reach an annual copper production of 65 000 t by 2012. (Vale’s total copper production for 2008 was 320 000 t, a 6,7% increase over the figure for 2007.)
Concerning Otjikoto, resource expansion drilling is being done; so far, there is a gold resource of 1,93-million ounces, including 1,05-million ounces of indicated mineral resources.
Vale’s priorities are indicated in its press release on the deal, which was headed “Vale is to acquire exploration shares in the African Copperbelt” and which stated that the transaction “increased Vale’s strategic growth options in the African copper business”.
The company further stated that “investments in copper are an important part of Vale’s growth strategy”, pointing out that it already operates the Sossego copper mine in Brazil, produces copper in Canada as a by-product of nickel mining, is developing two copper projects (one each in Brazil and Chile), and is exploring for the metal in South America, Africa and Asia.
The company hopes to achieve a global annual copper production capacity of a million tons within the next five to seven years. “This new joint venture expands our copper growth platform and contributes to the diversification of our asset portfolio, increasing our geographic diversification into a region with the greatest mineral exploration potential in the world, the African Copperbelt.”
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/brazil-still-in-brazilian-mining-major-vales-sights-2009-03-13
ARM coal unit eyes new mine within 5 years
Miningweekly reported that African Rainbow Minerals expects to launch another mine in South Africa within 5 years to possibly supply state owned utility Eskom and for export.
Mr Mangisi Gule CEO of ARM’s coal unit said that his firm expects to produce a bankable feasibility study for 7 potential coal mines by the end of April.
He said that "We could see another mine starting production within the next five years, we are chasing the time when Eskom's power stations will come on stream and which we would like to help supply."
Eskom is constructing two new 4 800 MW power stations, due to start production in 2015 and 2016. The utility has said that it may need to build another two by 2020 to meet growing demand.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/03/14/ODYwOTM%3D/ARM_coal_unit_eyes_new_mine_within_5_years.html
Limestone County plant, mine draw workers but little development
Saturday, March 14, 2009
By J.B. Smith
Tribune-Herald staff writer
KOSSE, Texas — Until a few years ago Rachel Lane didn’t know Texas had coal mines. She didn’t expect her environmental studies degree from Baylor University to be a ticket to work in one — or to live in this tiny Limestone County town of 600.
With one convenience store, two cafes and a rusting water tower, it’s the kind of crossroads village young people usually leave in search of city jobs. But thanks to a new lignite mine Luminant is building a few miles away, Lane is bucking that trend. The 2008 Baylor graduate is getting married and settling down here, working as a reclamation specialist. In her off hours, she’s keeping some chickens and meeting folks at community dinners.
“I was looking for a job that wasn’t too far or too close to home,” said Lane, who has lived in Whitney and Waco. “It’s a little different from living in Waco. I still go to Waco to shop, but now it seems like the big city. I love being out here. The people are really sweet.”
(Scott Fagner graphic)
Moving the enormous dragline to the Kosse mine site on March 1 required covering Texas Highway 7 with dirt and "walking" the machine across and into position on its mechanical feet. (Luminant photo)
Rachel Lane, a 2008 Baylor graduate, will be working to reclaim the mine section by section after coal is removed. The land will be returned to forest habitat and pasture. (J.B. Smith photo)
Tessy Crawford, waitress at the Coal Mine Restaurant in Bremond, said Luminant's new coal-power operation has been good for business, but the town has missed out on development. (J.B. Smith photo)
The construction of Luminant’s mine and nearby Oak Grove power plant are changing the direction people commute around here. The mine on Texas Highway 7 is due to open in June and will hire 300 people by the end of 2009, when the first unit of Oak Grove is scheduled to be completed. By the end of 2010, Luminant expects to have Oak Grove completed, employing 170 people at the power plant and 380 at the coal mine, for a total of 550 jobs.
Over the past year, the two projects have generated hundreds of construction jobs, filling restaurants and RV parks in the area and drawing commuters from Bryan-College Station, Waco, Mexia, Rockdale and elsewhere.
Luminant, formerly TXU Power, is spending $3.25 billion to build the mine and power plant, along with a new unit at an existing coal plant in Rockdale.
Once operations are up to full speed at the 15-square-mile Kosse mine, employees will work around the clock, digging into a coal seam with a giant dragline, filling huge dump trucks with coal and shipping 30,000 tons of lignite a day by a special rail line to Oak Grove. The typical annual wage will be in the $50,000 range, Luminant officials said.
Massive job creation
Waco-based economist Ray Perryman estimates that the construction activity at the three sites has generated 4,000 jobs, including jobs from spin-off activity. He said the projects will create 1,389 permanent jobs in the regional economy and create $91 million in personal income.
“It should have a nice economic impact on the area,” he said. “These are very-good-paying jobs. You would expect more people to live in those areas, with more retail and housing development.”
In the small towns of Bremond and Kosse, residents appear to welcome the increased business, sales tax revenue and job opportunities. But some wonder whether their towns are taking full advantage of the greater activity.
Neither town has any new housing, and so far, only a few new businesses have opened. A large new RV park has sprung up in Kosse, next to a site where a developer is planning a combination truck stop/laundromat/meat market. Kosse City Secretary Nora Esminger said the town has grown by about 100 people in the last year or so, but it can’t grow much more unless people start building.
“We would have more if we had more housing available,” she said. “Housing is scarce. As soon as someone moves out, someone else moves in.”
Still, she said the mine should be a boon to the local economy, taking up the slack as oil and gas drilling and other mining activity in the area have begun to decline.
Meanwhile, Bremond, with a population of 863, has banned RV parks and hasn’t seen any new commercial growth.
Businesses doing well
But business is hopping at the Coal Mine Restaurant, so named for other long-established mines in nearby Calvert and Jewett. Waitress Tessy Crawford said the restaurant is getting a lot of business from workers at the Oak Grove power plant, which is a few miles from Bremond.
“The guys who work out there don’t take a lunch break,” she said. “But we get a lot of business in the evening. A lot of our locals work out there. If you’re unemployed here, I think it’s because you don’t want to work. There’s just so many jobs out there.”
Crawford, who was on the city council until a couple of years ago, said she wishes the town would encourage more development.
Calls for more building
“I love it because it’s brought us more people,” she said. “But I wish there were more people here willing to build things. We could have benefited a lot more than we have.”
Bremond Police Chief James Walston seconded that sentiment.
“It seems like every other community is growing except us,” he said. “There’s no economic development in Bremond. It would change if we got people in here interested in doing things. People are comfortable with their way of living. They’re afraid of change.”
To John Green, 54, a longtime Bremond hay baler, the mine is an entrepreneurial opportunity. He and his son, Brandon, 23, have a contract to cut hay at the mine site, and they are in discussions about helping with the reclamation.
“Luminant’s a good company, and I’d like to grow with them,” he said. “On a local level, I see where a lot of people can benefit from something that’s going to be here a long time. It’s an opportunity for our youth to have a job without having to leave for a bigger town. Now they can stay at home.”
Not everyone is happy with Luminant’s plans. Environmentalists, including Public Citizen, the Sierra Club and a local group called Robertson County Our Land Our Lives, fought the permitting of the power plant, saying it would worsen air quality as far as 100 miles away.
Threat to air quality?
Our Land Our Lives founder Paul Rolke, who lives near Bremond, said he’s more familiar with air-quality issues regarding the power plant but also has some concerns about the mine. He said he worries that the digging could disturb water tables in the area.
“There is a likelihood that landowners with shallow wells nearer the mine will see the flow from those levels reduced or lost completely,” he said.
Sid Stroud, Luminant environmental mining manager, said any effect on groundwater would be minor and limited to the edge of the mining area, and the deep, vast Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer will not be affected.
“Our mining operations may appear deep, but these are relatively shallow operations,” he said. “It recovers very quickly after mining.”
The mining area contains a seam of coal about 4 feet thick, lying anywhere from 30 to 120 feet from the surface. For every ton of coal recovered, 10 cubic feet of dirt will be removed, said mine engineering manager Melissa Walker.
The mine will be dug in phases over 30 years, and Luminant will reclaim the land as it goes along, she said.
“Each mine spends millions of dollars just for reclamation,” she said. “We’re going to do our best to put it back the way God created it.”
That’s the job Rachel Lane, the Baylor environmental studies graduate, was hired to do. Reclamation in this case means restoring the land to roughly the same contours, reforesting it and keeping about 17 percent for wildlife habitat. About 80 percent will be used for pastures and other agriculture.
Stroud said Texas Utilities, the predecessor of Luminant, wrote the book on coal mine reclamation in Texas. The company gave grants to Texas universities to study reclamation practices and used that information to develop protocols for restoration. Over time, the company has focused more on habitat restoration and tree diversity.
“It’s come a very long way,” he said. “When we started mining in 1971, there were no surface-mining regulations. There was a stigma associated with surface coal mining, related to what had happened in Appalachia.”
Stroud said one surprising discovery is that when properly done, reclamation efforts can result in more productive land because tight-packed subsoils are broken up.
“There’s a tremendous impact on agricultural productivity,’ ” he said.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/03/14/03142009waccoalmine.html
Water Scarcity News
Water a burning issue in Berhampur
12 Mar 2009, 2218 hrs IST, Hrusikesh Mohanty, TNN
BERHAMPUR: Berhampur, one of the most sought-after constituencies in Orissa, will go to the polls on April 16, a time when summer is at its peak.
Even as Ganjam district saw no trace of rain clouds during the last few months, water scarcity kept mounting in Berhampur, the biggest commercial town in southern Orissa. Observers believe this may become a major issue in the coming elections. Voters feel parties will keep mouthing the same old promises of resolving the crisis but will do nothing to make a difference.
"The issue remains unresolved and the city continues to reel under acute water scarcity, even though votes from Berhampur once elected politicians like former prime minister P V Narsimha Rao to the Lok Sabha and former chief minister Binayak Acharya to the state assembly," claimed a local resident. "Acharya, however, paid the price for failing to keep his promise, when he lost the 1977 assembly elections," he said. Political observers seem to agree when they say that the then chief minister was defeated because he was unable to solve the drinking water problem in the town.
With a population of over 3.5 lakh population, the city requires 45 million litres of water on a daily basis. But at present, it gets only 33 million litres each day, which goes down to 20 to 24 million litres during the peak summer days, sources said. While the Opposition Congress has make an issue out of water crisis in the town for the elections, sitting MLA and ruling BJD leader Ramesh Chandra Chyaupattanik claimed that he had done a lot to ensure constant water supply in the area.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bhubaneswar/Water-a-burning-issue-in-Berhampur/articleshow/4257382.cms
Water scarcity clouds California farming's future
Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:12am EDT
By Mary Milliken
FRESNO, California (Reuters) - California almond farmer Marvin Meyers has moved into banking -- water banking that is.
In the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, the world's most productive agricultural region, Meyers bought land to collect water in wet years and recharge a shallow aquifer. The water authority takes his supply for nearby farmers and gives him credit to irrigate from a canal at his orchard 15 miles away.
It cost Meyers $7 million and lots of headaches, but now he is the envy of farmers facing a third year of drought, drastic water cutbacks and billions of dollars in losses.
Worse may lie ahead, as climate change leads to longer droughts and depletes the mountain snowpack that now provides a steady stream of water until late in the farming year.
Yet, for all his vision, Meyers's "bank of last resort" will run dry if the drought persists for three more years.
"I do all I can, but really it is just Band-Aid farming," said Meyers, who grows 8 million pounds (3.6 million kgs) of almonds for the likes of Hershey's chocolate and German marzipan makers.
His "Band-Aid" shows how fragile the water future is for California's $35 billion farm industry -- source of half of U.S. fruit, vegetables and nuts, 80 percent of the world's almonds and one-third of its canned tomatoes.
If the state cannot learn to farm with less water and build infrastructure to capture more, the economic impact will be dramatic. Farming accounts for only 2 percent of the state economy but its demand for equipment, transport and other services means its demise would be widely felt.
When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought emergency last month, state officials said as many as 95,000 agricultural jobs would go. Total economic losses could reach $3 billion. Up to a third of the 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) normally irrigated with federally supplied water will be left fallow.
No place is worse off than the parched San Joaquin Valley, where crops rely on water that travels hundreds of miles from the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. But farmers up and down the state, from San Diego to Sacramento, are making hard choices.
Some are paring trees back to stumps and keeping the roots alive with minimal water; others are letting older trees die. Row crops, like lettuce and tomatoes, will not be planted without water. And farmers say they are having tough conversations with their children about their inheritance and livelihoods.
"THE MAN-MADE DROUGHT"
"I am third generation and I have a nephew and a son," said San Joaquin almond farmer Mike Wood, 53. "Frankly, I don't believe it will be here when they are ready to go."
Perhaps, this year's shock therapy will bring together warring parties at the water table -- farmers, cities, government, taxpayers and environmentalists -- to plot a future that allows California to maintain its agricultural dominance.
"If you look at California, things happen with crisis and we are in one right now," said Richard Howitt, a resource economist at the University of California, Davis.
Like the late 1970s and early 1990s, farmers have to contend with Mother Nature's drought. But now they also have what they call "the man-made drought" -- restrictions on the amount of water they can pump from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, imposed to protect a fish species, the delta smelt.
The once-mighty water infrastructure is old and insufficient, with new canals and storage facilities years if not decades away from completion. Meanwhile, the state's population may double by 2050, heralding bigger water battles between cities and farms.
With such daunting short-term challenges, few farmers can think about the longer-term impact of climate change. Some models show California's water supply dropping 24 to 30 percent over the century, mostly after 2050. Others expect rain patterns to vary wildly, making farming tougher.
New U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu warned that climate change could melt the Sierra snowpack and wipe out California farms by century's end.
"I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen," Chu told the Los Angeles Times in February. "We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California."
Some wonder whether California's vast agriculture industry should have been allowed to grow in the first place.
The San Joaquin Valley, 60 percent of the state's prime farmland, gets little rain and its groundwater was mostly pumped out by pioneers decades ago. Thanks to massive dams built in the 1930s and the California Aqueduct canal system in the 1960s, the valley exploited its rich soil and Mediterranean climate.
Successful farms also attracted industry, like the tomato processing plants that move 11 million tons a year -- double Italy's output.
But farmers struggle with a widely held perception that they have squandered the state's water, living far beyond California's hydrological means.
The water think-tank, the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, said farming uses 80 percent of the state's water, half in inefficient flood irrigation, while cities get the rest.
"Agriculture can no longer own the water of California without drastically changing their practices or water is not going to be available for people, for cities, for industry," said Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke.
FAREWELL COTTON, HELLO STORAGE
San Joaquin Valley farmers complain that environmentalists ignore their progress in conservation and smart irrigation. In western parts of Fresno County, which leads the nation in farm production, drip and sprinkle irrigation is ubiquitous.
"The Westside farmer is the most refined, high-tech irrigator there is," said Meyers. "We don't waste a drop."
Still, the Pacific Institute says farmers can do better.
"It's ironic because I do a lot of international water work and there's no other place on the planet where, in my opinion, the agricultural sector is so insistent that they can't do better," said Peter Gleick, institute president.
Farmers also point to reductions in water-intensive crops like cotton or rice in favor of vegetables, fruits and nuts that use water more efficiently. Cotton now covers just 200,000 acres compared to 1 million acres in the past.
Farmers and the state government agree infrastructure rather than conservation is the key to their future.
"We have to look at the things we can invest in at the state level that give us more predictability of a water supply that is deliverable, has high quality and protects the environment," said state agriculture secretary, A.G. Kawamura.
Farm interests and the state want a "peripheral canal" built around the delta to deliver water to farms and cities while observing pumping restrictions for fish conservation.
When it comes to increasing water storage, the large, remote dams of the past offer no solution.
However, diverting precipitation toward depleted aquifers, as Meyers is doing on a small scale, can help build water reserves for droughts. Regions which often compete for water are beginning to work together to recharge common supplies.
Amid the doom and gloom, UC Davis' Howitt says he remains "unfashionably slightly optimistic." Salvation could come, he says, by swapping to higher value crops.
"We can downsize in land area and water use, but because we grow crops that wealthier people like to eat, we can actually offset much of this downsizing by expanding the fruits, nuts and vegetables," he said.
(Additional reporting by Nichola Groom and Carey Gillam, editing by Alan Elsner)
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE52C07R20090313?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Tears for water...
By Seye Olumide and Paul Oloko
AN employee of one of the publishing companies in Lagos, Clara Nweme, who resides in Surulere, has always watched in awe every morning she drives through Ebutte Metta, how little children, aged between 7 and eleven, dash through the expressway with buckets in their hands in search of water.
She usually looks in amazement as the hapless children carry buckets filled with water on their heads and maneuver between vehicles on the highway.
She had always wondered why the water scarcity in places such as Ebute Metta, Surulere, Orile Iganmu among others.
While Nweme has expressed shock over the way children search for water every morning when the were supposed to be in school, a resident of Agege, Foluso Oladele, told The Guardian he could not remember when last they got pipe-borne water in the area.
In a similar vein hundreds of thousands of Alimosho area also lamented the absence of pipe borne-water, saying: "We have been relying on borehole water for a very long time".
Although, a mini-water works is located around Shasha, Egbeda, residents of the area cannot recollect specifically the last time they had water from the tap except from boreholes.
The situation is even more worrisome when pregnant women carry water on the heads and dash across Abeokuta Motorway from both sides at Mangoro and Cement areas.
In fact, if Lagosians had been warned that the World Bank-assisted water project of 1991 would not yield the much-expected result in the provision of affordable and drinkable water, majority of them would have rubbished such statement then as mere pessimism.
If they had also been alerted that the establishment of the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) was not going to resolve the water crisis that has remained a perennial problem for a long time, many of them would also have argued otherwise.
But several years after, many places within Lagos are yet to have a taste of pipe- borne water. It is even annoying that in most areas where the extension and mini sites of LSWC are located, water is not available for the people. They do not enjoy regular water supply.
Today, many places within the five divisions of the state cannot boast of pipe-borne water.
In fact, a great number of Lagosians now rely on borehole water. One of the fastest and easiest businesses to embark on in the state today is to sell water.
Last week, during a visit by The Guardian to some parts of the state to find out how Lagosians get water supply, a majority of them jokingly asked if there had ever been pipe- borne water in the state. What they knew and use, is water from the borehole.
Twenty-three-year old, Micheal Mogaha who resides in Obanikoro told The Guardian he could not remember when last he saw people fetching from the public pipe.
According to him, "I have grown to know for the past 15 years, it is borehole water that we use.
Almost every house has borehole. We go long way to fetch water. The few tap that are also available have run dry".
Places that could hardly boast of potable water include Orile Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos Island, Ebute Meta, Ikotun, Iyana-Ipaja and Ipaja. Others are Ikoyi and Victoria Island, Agege, Alagbole, Egbada and others.
For residents of Orile Iganmu, their plea is for the government and authorities of LSWC to speed up the construction of the mini-water plant in order to save them from water-borne diseases.
At present, they were faced with serious water scarcity.
Some scrupulous ones among them had turned the situation to money- making venture by packaging dirty water to sell for the public.
It was an alarming situation during a visit to the area yesterday. The Guardian saw roaming about in search of water. The old and young were carrying different sizes of containers while moving from one place to another in search of drinking water.
Further investigations revealed that some of the residents were scooping water from the canal at Alafia Bus Stop along Orile-Mile Two Road for their domestic use.
Children went from street to street with empty jerry cans in search of water.
One of the residents, Akin Foluso, who was among those scooping water from the canal said: "It is sad that the water scarcity is hitting hard on the people. For now, a bag of 'pure water' is now sold for N120.00 instead of N80.00. This is how we scramble for water at the canal from morning till night."
He noted that the water was not directly from the canal but from a burst pipe that was linked to a borehole in the area.
He, therefore, pleaded with the government to look into the matter before it leads to epidemic.
"At present, the source of our drinking water in Orile Iganmu is not good and the rate at which we are going, if there is no remedy, the consequence might be an epidemic."
Another woman in her 60s, Madam Abigail on Coker Road, lamented that water scarcity in Orile has already wreaked havoc as some people have contracted water-borne diseases.
According to her, "Can you imagine people facing this type of situation in a 21st Century Lagos? For many weeks now, there had been no water in the vicinity. It is sad whenever I wake up each morning and find children that are supposed to be in school roaming the streets in search looking for water.
What is happening around the canal every day is a food for thoughts. To even get pure water bag is difficult".
She cried unto the governor Babatunde Fashola to come to the rescue of residents of Orile Iganmu before situation gets worse.
The woman further suggested that the police authority should move into the area and arrest whosoever sells water in containers.
According to her: "It will be appropriate if security personnel could start arresting those people who sell and buy water in jerry cans. I strongly believe that such water is either from the gutter or canal, since there is no good source in the area."
The situation is not peculiar to Orile Igamnu alone.
Residents of in other parts of the state have also called on the governor to ensure that a concerted water policy is put in place to ensure that before the entire city gets regular water supply.
In Obanikoro, Mogaha told The Guardian that it wouldbe strange for anybody to mention pipe-borne water. He said almost everybody within the area depends on borehole.
Those in Egbeda, Ipaja, Ikotun and many other parts of Alimosho have such similar sad tales on water scarcity. Those houses where there are no borehole, usually buys water from water merchants.
A civil servant who proffered anonymity lamented that he spends not less than N800.00 every week on water.
"Sometimes, it is not the money I spend that matters. But the problem is how to ascertain how hygienic such water since I do not know the source is. My plea to the administration is that they should ensure that all the mini water works in the state function so that there could be water for all at least by 2009".
He added that government should also ensure that all the water pipes that are burst are repaired.
"Some area would have been getting regular supply but due to burst pipes water could not be sufficiently supplied to such places" he said.
However, a businessman in Orile Iganmu while appraising the various achievements of Fashola, lamented that the untold hardships inflinched on people of the area.
According to him, "If an average Lagosians calculate the amount they spend to buy water, fuel their generating sets, because of lack of power supply and many others, it is too enormous."
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/metro/article01/indexn2_html?pdate=130309&ptitle=Tears%20for%20water...
Water crisis grips J’singhpur
Express News Service
First Published : 12 Mar 2009 04:30:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 12 Mar 2009 01:09:50 PM IST
PARADIP: For people of Jagatsinghpur villages, water has now become a daily concern. With the lone pipe water system in a shambles, tube wells defunct and ground water level receding, water problem in many areas of the district has become acute.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of a pipe water supply project at Goda in 2003 to be set up at a cost of Rs 4.58 crore to provide potable water to more than 20 villages of four panchayats - Goda, Gadharishpur, Janakadeipur and Padampur of Ersama block. He had promised completion of the project in one year. But even after six years, the work is far from over.
"The situation has worsened to an extent that women have to walk miles to fetch drinking water," lamented Shanti Dei of Bhajakhia village under Ersama block. Locals said one of the reasons behind water scarcity is that water supply projects are not completely functional due to low voltage and leaks in pipelines.
It is also alleged that while the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Department has mentioned in government records that thousands of tube wells are functional in the area, only 250 to 300 of them are usable.
The rest have gone defunct in the absence of maintenance and repair work. Sources said though the district administration has directed the block authorities to sink more tube wells in villages where the problem is severe, no steps have been taken.
Additional District Magistrate B.V. Ekka said water scarcity is acute in 10 to 15 coastal villages of Ersama and Balikuda areas and the district administration has directed RWSS officials to supply drinking water in these areas through tankers. The officials have also been directed to repair defunct tube wells on a war-footing.
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Water+crisis+grips+J%E2%80%99singhpur&artid=6yqq81iKDYg=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=
An Overview of Water Scarcity and Water Market Development
Water Issues Education Series No. 5
March 13, 2009
Extension Educator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
Introduction
Water scarcity is one of the most complex and pressing issues facing the arid western US. Compared with other economic sectors, irrigated agriculture remains the largest user of freshwater accounting for approximately between 70 and 95 percent of total water withdrawals.
Demand for water is growing and increasingly represents urban interest whose priorities for water use are divided among recreation, protection of wildlife and habitat, and human consumption.
Farmers are named as defendants in a number of lawsuits in the west, including Nevada, where the competition for water is fierce and occasionally volatile.
Water shortages and quality issues are likely to worsen over time. Water crisis management is not the answer, nor is the use of collaborative processes with no definable endpoint. The U.S. Department of Interior in their report titled, Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West (1998) outline several options for addressing anticipated water conflict.
These include more efficient water uses, cut back and/or eliminate existing water uses, develop alternative water resources (cloud seeding and desalinization) and transfer water between existing and new uses through market-based mechanisms such as water banking.
Market-Based Approaches to Manage Water Conflict
The development of water markets increasingly is proposed to satisfy increased water demand and resolve water disputes. In theory, the market place can direct the flow of water from lowest to highest value. Benefits to society from market-based water transfers include the provision of water for recreation and urban consumption plus increased in-stream flow to protect wildlife habitat and ecosystem health.
In an effort to consume less water and consequently provide water in exchange for revenue, farmers may be more likely to invest in more efficient irrigation technology or grow less water intensive crops. In over-allocated systems, market-based transfers could result in additional water supplies to help expand existing farm operations, "make whole" junior appropriators or supply other competitive nonagricultural uses.
A water bank is a typical example of market-based water transfers that features a centralized institution that facilitates negotiated voluntary water transfers for a specified time-period without a permanent change in water rights. In order for a water bank to function, there must be institutional arrangements to legalize short-term transfers, a centralized system to monitor release and delivery of banked water, adequate hydrologic capacity to allow storage and delivery without significant water loss to users and water users who desire and are able to rent water. The centralized aspect of a water bank, in particular, can reduce transactions costs through identifying the suppliers and demanders of short-term water transfers, negotiating price paid for water and facilitating the storage and delivery of water to users at the appropriate time and location.
Individual economic incentives for farmers to participate in water banks involve strategic fallowing of fields. When the anticipated market price for an annual crop is significantly low or when rotation of perennial crops is necessary or timely, a farmer may choose to fallow fields and receive cash revenue for water.
In years when farmers may need to fallow fields, a water bank offers the opportunity to potentially increase or stabilize a farmer's income. This may mean the difference between some farmers remaining in business or selling out.
In western states where water rights typically are already fully or over adjudicated, market-based water transfers can serve as a potential tool to manage scarce water resources. In spite of obvious economic incentives, barriers to the development of water markets are widely documented. Much of the research on barriers focus on third party effects and a perceived threat to water rights as established through Prior Appropriation Doctrine.
Additional potential barriers involve hydrologic limitations and potential negative economic externalities. Potential social barriers involve farmers' reluctance to participate in a solution they may perceive as foisted upon them either through governmental intervention or by special interest groups.
Potential for Third Party Injuries
and Negative Economic Externalities
Legal Considerations
The Prior Appropriation Doctrine, established in the 19th century, provided incentives to develop western territories by developing water resources for mining and agriculture. The concept was based upon a simple premise of beneficial use; the first to prove a beneficial use for water established the perpetual right to use water. Conversely, if appropriated water went unused for a consecutive number of years then the water user would lose that appropriated entitlement. This aspect of western water law still governs water use.
Although prior appropriation protects the integrity of early water allocation, in terms of water bank development, it can lead to economic externalities and third party effects.
One such effect involves continuous nonuse of water. Since prior appropriation stipulates that farmers risk losing their water entitlement if they continually do not use excess water, farmers are not motivated to admit, much less advertise, that they have excess water for sale. A potential third party effect from water banking involves the possible increase in consumptive use of water.
Consumptive use is that portion of diverted water removed from the hydrologic system by irrigation, industrial use, evaporation, transpiration or other manner. The return flow is the difference between the amount of water diverted and consumptive use. The return flow reenters the system and becomes available for use by others, including junior appropriators.
Water banking may motivate increases in water use efficiency, which may decrease water diverted for crop production with the excess being leased. This action may ultimately increase consumptive use and therefore result in less return flow to the system available to junior appropriators.
Similar third party effects are possible also if water that is transferred changes place and purpose of use. Prior appropriation stipulates specifically where and how water is to be used based on point of diversion. If water changes point of diversion, timing or purpose of use as a result of water banking, this could also affect the hydrologic supply for others through a change in return flows.
An irrigation system regulated by Prior Appropriation Doctrine, however, precludes water diversions to be decreased consistently without decreasing the amount of land irrigated and ultimately modifying the water right accordingly.
This aspect of the law has served as a system of checks and balances to assure that water entitlements are allocated to support the historical definition of beneficial use, which is to reclaim desert lands through irrigated agriculture. To avoid third party effects associated with possible increases in consumptive usage, water law would have to be modified to account for improvements in production efficiency that enable farmers to consistently decrease both their diverted amounts and return flow coincidently.
Additionally, changes to Prior Appropriations Doctrine specifically must update and define more clearly "beneficial use," which currently limits how water is to be used, and designated place of use, which legitimizes the withdrawal of water.
To enable water banking to function effectively as an institutional mechanism, Prior Appropriation Doctrine must be modified to protect water rights holders who participate.
Hydrologic Considerations
Hydrologic considerations are simpler in comparison to legal considerations. Sufficient capacity within a river basin is needed to store and deliver water at required times to specified users. Ditch and canal infrastructure must be adequate to deliver water with the least amount of evaporation possible. This may require ditches be concrete-lined and consolidated.
Automated flow measurements and water delivery can also facilitate efficient delivery. A centralized entity, such as an irrigation district, must exist to oversee and arrange transactions, monitor the physical movement of water to users and attend to operations and maintenance details.
Economic Considerations
It is difficult to anticipate precisely the economic impacts of water banking. Leasing water to nonagricultural uses instead of crop production would likely diminish the demand for agricultural labor. It may also negatively impact agriculture related supply businesses. Combined effects may ultimately reduce the tax base of rural communities. In addition, fallow fields may encourage invasive weed infestation. Long-term weed control can become cost- prohibitive, depending upon the weed species.
To avoid fallowed fields, farmers may have to adopt a mix of water conservation measures to enable them to bank water and keep fields under less water intensive cultivation. Farmers can respond to water shortfalls by choosing to produce higher-value crops. Adoption of drip irrigation technology or dry land alternative crop production provides options but require additional investment.
In short, economic incentives to participate in a water bank must balance the potential costs of participation. Obviously, water banks could reduce transactions costs for farmers who currently negotiate lease prices and timing of delivery amongst themselves. This savings should factor into and buffer additional costs farmers bear when implementing a new management strategy or technology to avoid fallowing fields completely.
Social Considerations
Water disputes that arise from an attempt to establish a new institutional arrangement to allocate water are particularly complex. There are a number of diverse interests at the table to outline their demands. Many interests may elect to work behind the scenes through political lobbying which further complicates the dispute.
Multi-generational farm families may feel personally attacked and violated by the onslaught of new competitors and new institutions for water allocation. Emotions escalate quickly and positions harden creating unspoken rules for deciding who is responsible for any losses incurred. Litigation typically exacerbates the conflict, enhancing the conditions to breed fear, suspicion and anger.
It is often under such a scenario that market solutions, such as water banks, are proposed. Unfortunately, the social dynamics at this point are such that water right holders seldom view water banking as a simple, efficient water allocation tool. Instead, the suggestion, and in fact the tool often is considered by farmers to be suspect. The protection of private property rights inclusive of water right entitlements become the focal point of heated debates between farmers and other potential water users.
How farmers are introduced to the concept of water banking may be as critical as the actual design and operation of the bank. Government intervention which mandates the establishment of water banks to reallocate water for the purpose of resolving a dispute is not likely to garner support of farmers to willingly participate. Farmers are more likely to consider water banks and other market-based solutions if they feel they have some control over the choices made that affect them directly.
How Much Are My Water Rights Worth?
Determining price for water rights leased over the short or long term is a thorny issue that will have to be determined on a case by case basis. As water scarcity evokes more water disputes, a number of policy alternatives may be suggested including water taxes, reductions in existing water allocations, incentive programs to discourage acreages planted in water intensive crops, incentives to increase irrigation efficiency and incentives to temporarily fallow irrigated land.
While the concept of voluntarily and temporarily leasing water rights has not been readily accepted in farming areas, the initiative to purchase water rights has gained popularity. In either scenario, farmers and ranchers typically ask about the value of their water rights.
Economists have suggested and tested the premise that a market for water rights exists and is separate from land markets. Tests of this theory have yielded different results, however, and suggest that land and water markets are tied together.
In the arid west, when irrigated land is sold the price represents the value of both the land and the associated water right. Typically this price also suggests something about the productivity of the irrigated land. In fact, studies have indicated that higher water values tend to occur where dry land production is limited due to lack of natural precipitation. In addition, the more productive a unit of water is the higher its value.
As water markets develop to address water scarcity, either in the form of temporary leases or permanent purchases, a fair means of water rights appraisals will be necessary. This should include the valuation of irrigated land in reference to its hydrological characteristics, inclusive of surface water rights (seniority) and flow conditions and groundwater well characteristics (depth and flow).
Conclusions
In sum, in western states where water rights typically are already fully or over adjudicated, market-based water transfers can serve as a potential tool to manage scarce water resources. In spite of obvious economic incentives, barriers to the development of water markets are widely documented.
Much of the research on barriers focus on third party effects and a perceived threat to water rights as established through Prior Appropriation Doctrine. Additional potential barriers involve hydrologic limitations and potential negative economic externalities.
Potential social barriers involve farmers' reluctance to participate in a solution they may perceive as foisted upon them either through governmental intervention or by special interest groups. Still, market based approaches to water scarcity offer potential alternatives to litigation and should be considered carefully.
Research investigating willingness to participate as well various scenarios for the development of centralized institutions to transact short term leases can help stakeholders make more informed decisions at the watershed level.
References
Clifford, P., C. Landry, & A. Larsen-Hayden. 2004. Analysis of Water Banks in the Western States. Washington State University. Available online at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0411011.
Golden, B. 2003. What Are Your Water Rights Worth? Unpublished paper. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.
Huffaker, R., N. Whittlesey, & J.R. Hamilton. 2000. The Role of Prior Appropriation in Allocating Water Resources in the Twenty-first Century. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 16 (2), 265-274.
Singletary, L. & R. Narayanan. 2003. Assessing Farmers' Willingness to Participate in Water Banking: A Case Study. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 9 (3), 127-136.
Singletary, L. Water Banking in the Walker River Basin: Barriers and Opportunities. 2001. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet, FS-01-21. Available online at: http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/FSPubs/FS0121.pdf.
U.S. Department of Interior. 1998. Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West. Available online at: http://www.doi.gov/water2025/water2025-report/page2.html.
Whittlesey, N. & R. Huffaker. 1995. Water Policy Issues for the Twenty-first Century. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 77 (5), 1199-1203.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20090313/MVN01/903130327/1305/BIZ01
UNESCO Presents “Water in a Changing World” Report
12 March 2009: The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has presented the UN World Water Development Report 3, which will be launched at the Fifth World Water Forum, scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16-22 March 2009. The Report, coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), is the result of a cooperative effort by the 26 UN agencies and entities that make up UN-Water.
The UN World Water Development Report is produced every three years by the WWAP, whose secretariat is hosted by UNESCO, and provides a comprehensive assessment of the Earth’s freshwater resources. This last edition titled “Water in a Changing World,” emphasizes the role of water in development and economic growth. The authors underline that water demand has reached record-highs and will increase due to population growth, rising living standards, and increased energy production, including biofuels.
On the effects of climate change on water resources, the report emphasizes the consensus existing among scientists that it will intensify and accelerate the global hydrological cycle, which could lead to increased rates of evaporation and precipitation. Despite remaining uncertainty as to the effects of these changes on water resources, a shortage of water is expected to have repercussions on water quality and the frequency of extreme events such as drought and flooding. The Report further projects that by 2030, 47% of the world population will be living in areas of high water stress, especially in Africa, with 24 to 700 million people expected to be displaced because of water scarcity.
http://www.climate-l.org/2009/03/unesco-presents-water-in-a-changing-world-report-.html
My Point of View -Solution for world's water woes
BY DAVID MOLDEN
18:54:55 - 13 March 2009
Today, one-third of the world's population has to contend with water scarcity, and there are ominous signs that this proportion could quickly increase.
Up to twice as much water will be required to provide enough food to eliminate hunger and feed the additional 2.5 billion people that will soon join our ranks.
The demands will be particularly overwhelming as a wealthier, urbanised population demands a richer diet of more meat, fish, and milk. The water required for a meat-eating diet is twice as much needed for a 2,000-litre-a-day vegetarian diet.
Cities and industries will also demand more water. Ironically, even new endeavours pursued in the cause of environmental preservation, such as producing biofuels, will place even more pressure on dwindling water supplies.
Clearly, we are heading toward a tipping point that could soon bring us to a day of reckoning when we will have literally made one too many trips to the planetary well.
Given the current rate of development, we will not be able to provide water for producers to grow enough food and sustain a healthy environment.
The only solution is to learn how to live with less water by making much better use of what we have. Better water management is good for farmers, good for the environment and good for all of us. We already know many of the ingredients to make this happen.
And the good news is that it does happen.
People are reaching for tools -- new and old -- to produce more food with less water. They are adopting more precise irrigation practices, such as drip and sprinkle irrigation. For example, many farmers in Nepal and India now regularly use low-cost drip irrigation to grow vegetables.
In sub-Saharan Africa, just a little water -- combined with improved crop varieties, fertiliser and soil management -- can go a long way. Farmers can double the yield per hectare they currently harvest, and double the amount of food produced per unit of water.
Over the last two decades in Asia, sales of pumps that allow farmers to more reliably and precisely apply water to their crops, have skyrocketed. Rice farmers in the region are now saving water by a practice known as "wet and dry" irrigation, rather than following the traditional practice of keeping rice fields constantly flooded. Also, many farming communities are getting organised into associations for more effective irrigation management.
But the bad news is that change isn't happening fast enough. For example, there are still far too many ill-maintained and poorly operated irrigation systems across Asia that use two times more water than is really needed. In sub-Saharan Africa, the problem is not water being wasted, but the simple yet devastating issue of access. Despite water being available in nature, many farmers routinely lack enough water to produce food to feed their families.
Another problem lies with public policies that fail to connect the interests of different user groups. For example, farmers may see little self-interest in being more conservative with water if the benefits flow to cities and not to them. Although, broadly speaking, water is a precious commodity, for many users its costs are negligible, so there is no incentive to conserve. Many countries do not invest enough in water to enable poor rural communities to grow more food.
In the US and Australia, annual per capita water storage is more than 4,000 cubic metres. Yet in much of sub-Saharan Africa it is less than 100 cubic metres; poor countries simply cannot afford investments in large hydraulic infrastructure. Nonetheless, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and other research organisations have identified new and more affordable opportunities for low-cost water investment.
For example, resource-poor farmers can afford low-cost drip irrigation kits, whereas conventional irrigation, which costs more than $4,000 per hectare, is well beyond their means.
Unfortunately, while we think we know the answers, reality is more complex. We have dramatically altered natural water systems in the quest for more water control. Unwittingly, we have created salinity problems, dried up rivers and have caused groundwater tables to decline. Institutions that govern water have not adapted to address these issues. Added to this is the fact that we don't fully understand what new water problems will result from climate change.
While we desperately need to know more about water resources, basic data and knowledge are hard to get because of a lack of investment. The industrialised world is quick to point its finger at agricultural producers, blaming them for water woes, but it is our food habits that drive the problem. When 50 percent of food is wasted after it leaves farmers' fields, it leads to an equivalent water waste of 50 percent because wasted food is also wasted water.
Action is urgently required on several fronts: we must continue to encourage the many local actions that are having a positive impact now; we must establish policies that create incentives for farming communities to invest in better water management; and we must invest in the infrastructure and the knowledge systems needed to manage complex water systems for the benefit of all.
Each of us can make a difference if we first consider the water implications of our lifestyles and the "water footprint" we are leaving behind.
==
The author is deputy director of research for the International Water Management Institute
http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=12500
Other News – India
Medical SEZ to come up in city
14 Mar 2009, 0319 hrs IST, TNN
CHENNAI: Special economic zones (SEZs) will no longer be home to industrial units alone. Very soon, hospitals and clinics too will be a part of
SEZs.
Frontier Lifeline & Dr K M Cherian Heart Foundation's Frontier Mediville Medical City project in Elavur, near Gummidipondi, Tamil Nadu, will come up on 367 acres of land at a total investment of Rs 1,500 crore. A national medical science park and a 1,000-bed bio-hospital (which combines clinical medicine with regenerative medicine and basic sciences) will come up on 55 acres, which has been accorded an SEZ recently from the government. The medical science park would be a hub for research and training and would focus on developing treatment methodologies with specific focus on regenerative medicine.
The Frontier Mediville project is expected to be funded through internal accruals and grants from various organisations. "We are also open to private equity funding," said Dr K M Cherian. The medical city will be completed in five years. The animal lab and the research and training centre is expected to be completed by the year-end at a total cost of Rs 150 crore.
Other proposed centres are a general hospital, a medical college and a geriatric centre. The revenues for the bio-hospital would largely be generated through medical tourism. The bio-hospital is expected to provide tertiary care in all sub-specialities of medicine and will also be supported by modern basic sciences such as stem cell technology, tissue engineering and nanatechnology. There will be emphasis on contract research and a wellness centre.
Medical cities are now new to India. Dr Naresh Trehan promoted the concept in Gurgaon, near Delhi. Fortis Healthcare is now contemplating a medicity in Gurgaon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Medical-SEZ-to-come-up-in-city/articleshow/4262412.cms
‘State govt ignoring Forest Rights Act in the Dooars’
SILIGURI, March 13: An independent fact-finding team of teachers, human rights activists and political personalities today came down heavily on the state government for allegedly flouting the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA) in the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri.
The fact-finding team said that the state administration was twisting the FRA when implementing it in the Dooars. They accused the administration of depriving forest-dwellers of their constitutional rights.
“We visited several villages in the Dooars three times from April 2008 and witnessed the FRA provisions being flouted so that the forest department and local panchayats could retain their control over the forest-dwellers,” the fact-finding team's coordinator, Mr Ajit Roy, said this afternoon.
Mr Roy, who teaches Commerce at the North Bengal University, was joined by two retired NBU teachers ~ Mr Ranjit Pal and Mrs Shukla Pal. They were all part of the voluntary 12-member fact-finding team.
Major anomalies were observed by the team. These included the inclusion of forest and administrative staff in gram sabhas or village committees, the civil administration's issuance of deadlines to forest dwellers for submitting land occupancy claims, and the distribution of land titles or pattas bypassing the gram sabhas. “As per the FRA provisions, no government officials should be a part of the gram sabha. It has been declared the supreme authority to record land claims and settle them accordingly,” Mr Roy said.“Besides this, by imposing upon the forest dwellers the administration is insisting on the formation of one gram sabha for a cluster of villages. But the FRA makes it clear that each forest village or basti must have a gram sabha in place,” said Mr Pal.
The team also criticised the state backward classes welfare minister, Mr Jogesh Barman. Their criticism centred on Mr Barman's accusation that the National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) was hampering the FRA's implementation by misleading forest-dwellers in Dooars.
The fact-finding team, which last visited the Dooars forests in December, will soon submit its findings to the DM Jalpaiguri. n SNS
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=246780
Growing pollution leads to global dimming
13 Mar 2009, 1944 hrs IST, REUTERS
WASHINGTON: Visibility on clear days has declined in much of the world since the 1970s thanks to a rise in airborne pollutants, scientists said.
They described a "global dimming" in particular over south and east Asia, South America, Australia and Africa, while visibility remained relatively stable over North America and improved over Europe, the researchers said.
Aerosols, tiny particles or liquid droplets belched into the air by the burning of fossil fuels and other sources, are responsible for the dimming, the researchers said.
"Aerosols are going up over a lot of the world, especially Asia," Robert Dickinson of the University of Texas, one of the researchers, said in a telephone interview.
Dickinson and two University of Maryland researchers tracked measurements of visibility -- the distance someone can see on clear days -- taken from 1973 to 2007 at 3,250 meteorological stations worldwide.
Aerosols like soot, dust and sulfur dioxide particles all harmed visibility, they said in the journal Science.
The researchers used recent satellite data to confirm that the visibility measurements from the meteorological stations were a good indicator of aerosol concentrations in the air.
The aerosols from burning coal, industrial processes and the burning of tropical forests can influence the climate and be a detriment to health, the researchers said.
Other pollutants such as carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases are transparent and do not affect visibility.
The data will help researchers understand long-term changes in air pollution and how these are associated with climate change, said Kaicun Wang of the University of Maryland.
"This study provides basic information for future climate studies," Wang said in a telephone interview.
The scientists blamed increased industrial activity in places like China and India for some of the decreased visibility, while they said air quality regulations in Europe helped improve visibility there since the mid-1980s.
The aerosols can have variable cooling and heating effects on surface temperatures, reflecting light back into space and reducing solar radiation at the Earth's surface or absorbing solar radiation and heating the atmosphere, they added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Earth/Pollution/Growing-pollution-leads-to-global-dimming/articleshow/4261495.cms
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