Day 1 India: great Indian breakfast with lots of new foods to explore, orientation and health tips over tea at AIIS center, morning speakers on urban sustainability (the Yamuna River Project, NGO SEEDS initiative as grassroots community building, and the creation of guidelines for responsible business based on UN language), lovely lunch spread of yummy Indian food, afternoon adventure walk to artisan goods/crafts emporium (lots of sights to take in on way including small shops, street vendors, open air markets, a temple and even a few monkeys), keynote on mapping Delhi history and nature, and then an evening reception with even more tasty food and beverages. Phew! Here’s just a few pics.
Notes: We were all pretty exhausted after a day and a half of travel to get to India. Most of us had 12-14 hour days before we got to the Newark airport for our 14 hour plane ride to Delhi. A few "fellows" had arrived the day before in order to visit the Taj Mahal, but suffice it to say, I think we were all still a bit jet-lagged with the 11.5 hour difference in time. Even though our first event was at 10:00 am, I think, it was 45 minutes away and we had to have had breakfast before meeting for the bus at 9:00 am and it was a full day, so by the evening presenters, we were struggling to stay awake. I'll try and post some additional resources on a different page and keep this as a record for the reflection posts I made each night while in India.
Notes from daily notebook:
Notes from 1-4-19
AIIS
Virtual Museum at AIIS that includes temple images, ethnocology, music, and extensive data. Virtual vmis.in
AIIS also expanding service learning opportunities as part of their study abroad offering.
150 birth anniversary of Gandhi
MISC:
Longest and most inclusive constitution. Author was an untouchable
Health Tips
Kantul soothing mouth lozenges
Eat at a place that is dependent on returning customers
Boil water in coffee pots and then let it cool to use for brushing teeth
Piping hot food, hot/warm water (after meal)
Water brands: Kinley and Aquafina, fresh fruit juices
Eat at small restaurants that don’t have large refrigerators because they are more likely to serve and use fresh food because they don’t have access to keep, store and re-serve food.
Restoring Water-based eco-systems Mriganka Saxena
Creating the enabling Framework for Public Sector LED Regeneration
Urban interests have counter goals sometimes to ecosystem
Delhi has 1011 water bodies, high contamination, massive issues with solid waste disposal, sludge deposits (45 percent of Delhi does not have sewage systems) Septage dumping (sludge is contamination, silt is mud)
Marginalized communities that live around contaminated areas (slums)
Project to actively restore and rejuvenate all water bodies and drains in New Delhi for health and rejuvenation of land/inhabitants (slums could turn around and new corridors for growth)
Yanoma River Project to restore and drain water bodies (also created new water bodies “design them as sponges”) ecological parks
Many of the water bodies are in patriarchal rural communities. Women don’t always feel comfortable being in those areas. Some celebrations (like the celebration to the Sun god) requires getting into the water and so they created safer water body areas for them to be able to gather. Chat Ghott ?? Sense of ownership of their community so that helps keep it in the benefit of the collective
Environmental, Economic, and Social all factors in sustainability (3 “prongs”)
Multiple solutions, multiple technologies, multiple geographies for “sustainable management regimes that look at creating a legacy”
In non monsoon season, you know any water coming in is sewage
Low cost waste solutions for containing sludge (prior ideas had high cost implications and high collection issues)
National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct
Post independence (71 years)
Current Document: National Guidelines on the Economic, Social and Environmental Responsibilities of Business (2018)
Ministries (multiple ministries were consulted) Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Most products and services were public sectors
Then private sector started growing, but still licensed so it was capital starved system. 1990-91 was the turning point, because economy crisis so the economy opened up in new ways not seen before. So dramatic change, new choices, new regulations.
Environmental protections relatively new because the legislation protected labor before that.
Post 2008 (released in 2011) National Voluntary guidelines on social, environment and economic responsibilities. 2013 New companies Act (2 percent of profits to spend on giving back)
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (2011)
Business see 3 groups regulator, investor, and consumer
Not what you do with the profits but also how you make our profits (environmental and social impacts)Going beyond usable and purchase but also after sales and recycling
Integrity
Sustainable and safe
Respect and Promote (terms from UN) human rights
Well-being of all employees including values chains
Respect and make efforts to protect and restore environment
Transparent
Promote inclusive growth and equitable development (actively engaged)
Engage and provide value in responsible manner
Reporting is mandatory to the Ministries (down the road... can develop an index based on this) False declarations do have implications with other governing/economic bodies
Nongovernmental Organization-SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society) "protecting the lives and livelihoods of people exposed to disasters"
Works around disasters
132 million affected by disasters in India (number is not coming down)
Climatic extremes and environmental affects are some of the biggest threats to humanity.
Often affects those on the margins
Disaster risk guidelines- global frameworks that are available
“Wisdom of the world” to help protect humanity
Often rules and regulations don’t get emphasized because of pushback, institutionalization, and rapid urbanization.
1/3 people are in an urban area in India
“Resilience” keep spirit of sustainability, adaptability create resilient society can thrive in spite of shocks and challenges
Development Civil Society
How do you bring about change in an unorganized area and move towards change? (At community level)
- Bring about awareness. How are you compromised? (Especially minority and marginalized)? How do you encourage self-motivated behaviors? With so many people how do create cascading effects.
- Framework of action.
- Getting local government involved. Informal local leaders
- Innovation. Recognize and replicate efforts. Addressing where people are at, the fears around inaction.
- Belief in participatory processes. Getting people to make decisions.
- Simplify language used.
- Make distant risks real (?) or relevant to more perceived daily risks (safety) relate risk reduction to everyday disasters in immediate environment
- Recognize real work/change takes much longer than the time it takes to write up plans and paperwork
Citizens relate to risk reduction with everyday disasters in immediate environment
Immediate actions on everyday risks prevents larger problem
Empowered citizens have the power to address risks more effectively
Children and Youth have an important. Role as future leaders in building a sustainable and resilient society
Delhi Urban resilience Project
Medicines, clean water, costs more for those in poverty than those in higher income earners
Celebrate local small actions that are self-motivated.
Work with different stakeholders
Work with youth (especially poor communities) Many are overlooked. Harvest “harness” that energy.
Have youth do “risk mapping” (they often know these well)
Key enablers
Move from I to to we to our
Global action but through local eyes and more local
Community Synergy
Skill building for livelihood, protecting the environment, saving lives
Change 1
Informed active Citizens leveraging resources for better sense of community
Change 2
Youth taking lead in addressing daily stresses
Change 3
Making schools safer which makes urban spaces safer for everyone
Community activism
Ambassadors, Champions, program sustainability too
Delhi Hills, Forests and a River: Mapping History and Nature
Landscape Architecture
Changing role of nature due to culture
1857 first war against the British for Independence
Yamuna River
Agriculture, transportation, irrigation, water, geography for new capitals
Urbanization has resulted in severe stress on environment and population
5 milestones of urban development
Participatory
Socially just
Culturally vibrant
Environmentally sustainable
Economically dynamic
Dynamic and seen as a living entity, do they take into account culture
Accessible, equitable, ecological challenging when socially and economically so diverse—empower the community
No comments:
Post a Comment