Fuelwood consumption in two tribal villages of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve of the Indian Himalaya and strategies for fuelwood sustainability

Fuelwood is the only important source of energy in the mountainous region of the Garhwal Himalaya, India. Since the commercial source of energy is generally beyond the reach of ordinary people due to their poor socio-economic conditions and due to limited supply and lack of communication facilities for transport of LPG, the villages of the inner region of the Garhwal Himalaya depend on their fuel requirement from the forest. In the present study, two villages of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in Uttarakhand part of the Indian Himalaya i.e. Lata and Dunagiri located at 2,415 and 3,600 m altitudes, respectively, were selected for the study of socio-economic profile and vegetation and for estimation of per capita fuelwood consumption and the degree of disturbance. The study was conducted from 2002–2005. The population of these villages is migratory and belongs to the Bhotiya community, a scheduled tribe consisting of two subgroups known as Tolcha and Marchha. They grow traditional crops as well as cash crops. Important tree species used for fuelwood include Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Cupressus torulosa, Taxus wallichiana, Acer indicum, Quercus dilatata and Viburnum cotinifolium. Maximum density among trees was shown by Pinus wallichiana (169.6 trees ha⁻¹) in village Lata and by Cedrus deodara (89.6 trees ha⁻¹) in village Dunagiri. The average per capita consumption of fuelwood in villages Lata and Dunagiri was 4.03 and 4.77 kg capita⁻¹ day⁻¹. Maximum number of trees (29 and 31% lopping for Lata and Dunagiri, respectively) belonged to disturbance class 1 (1–20% lopping) followed by the disturbance class 2 (20–40% lopping). Due to location of these villages in the buffer zone of the biosphere reserve, the fuelwood consumption may cause an adverse impact on the ecological status of this reserve, which urgently requires employing strategies for the conservation and management of this biosphere in terms of fuelwood sustainability e.g. regulation of livestock stock and grazing, using alternative sources of fuels, plantation of multipurpose trees and adoption of ecotourism.     

Biodegradation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) by a Tropical Marine Bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. NRRL B-30083

Pseudoalteromonas sp. NRRL B-30083 was isolated as the predominant PHBV-degrading organism from a tropical marine environment. In complex medium, the isolate grew well at temperatures between 23°C and 33°C, with an optimal doubling time of about 30 min. NaCl was required at concentrations between 0.2 N and 0.8 N. Optimal pH levels for growth were between pH 6.5 and pH 8.5. Liquid cultures grew modestly on PHBV as a sole carbon source under optimal conditions, although PHBV depolymerase activity was not detected.     

H₂S abatement in a biotrickling filter using iron(III) foam media

Airstreams polluted with H(2)S at inlet loads ranging from 2.4 to 40.9 g H(2)Sm(-3)h(-1) were treated in a biotrickling reactor packed with hematite bearing, open pore foam units, at Empty Bed Residence Times (EBRT) ranging from 20 to 60s over a period of 80 d, with almost complete removal of the pollutant from the startup of the system. The media had been seeded with sludge from a local water works facility, and removal efficiencies in excess of 80% were consistently observed along the operation of the reactor, with an average of 98%. Based on section performance, being a section one third of the bed length, observed elimination capacities (EC) reached up to 88.7 g H(2)Sm(-3)h(-)(1) and 72.0 g H(2)Sm(-3)h(-1) at section EBRT of 10 and 7s, respectively. The observed EC values compared much better than data reported on other packed bed reactors using biological iron oxidization to treat H(2)S airstreams indirectly, and so did it when comparing the EC per unit of specific area in a similar study using polyurethane (PU) foams. Further, and unlike PU packed biofilters, no compaction occurred due to the iron foam rigidity, which translated in much better observed gas phase pressure drop as opposed to other conventional biofilters. Denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis was performed on the biomass collected in the packing after the biofilter service, and it was found that though a multi bacterial colony was seeded in the system via the sludge, the only surviving genus was the iron oxidizing Alicyclobacillus spp.     

Concentrations of uranium in drinking water and cumulative,age-dependent radiation doses in four districts of Uttar Pradesh,India

The present work deals with the determination of uranium concentrations in drinking and ground water samples by laser fluorimetry and calculation of cumulative, age-dependent radiation doses to humans. The concentrations were found to be between 0.20 ± 0.03 and 64.0 ± 3.6 μg L^?1, with an average of 11.1 ± 1.5 μg L^?1, well within the drinking water limit of regulatory bodies. The concentrations of uranium increase with depth of water samples collection. The estimated annual ingestion dose due to the intake of uranium through drinking water for all age groups varied between 0.2 and 137 μSv a^?1, with an average of 17.3 μSv a^?1. The mean annual ingestion dose is 5% of the global average ingestion dose, for infants, marginally higher than for other age group. Most effective dose values were less than 20 μSv a^?1.     

Water pollution — A major crisis in Nepal

Summary The author, a native of Nepal, paints a depressing picture of the levels of water pollution currently suffered in that country. He itemizes a number of recommendations to improve the situation.     

Computer and mobile phone waste in urban India: an analysis from the perspectives of public perception,consumption and disposal behaviour

Sustainable management of Electronic waste (E-waste) is a major challenge for contemporary India, an emerging economy burdened with both the domestic generation and illegal import of E-waste. Considering the ever-increasing complexities of E-waste in Indian cities, this paper aims to evaluate the current trends, opportunities and challenges associated with consumption of electronic items (with respect to computers and mobile phones) and disposal of E-waste in urban India. Bangalore, a city popularly known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, is considered as a case study in order to evaluate public awareness, household consumption and E-waste disposal behaviours. The city profile of Bangalore indicates that it has a rapidly emerging market for electronics and thus, has the potential to act as a ‘model’ for evaluating the issues concerning E-waste in metropolitan India. Questionnaires were distributed originally among 300 households with an effective response rate of 63.3%. The results indicate that the majority of households (59.3%) still retain their obsolete electronics due to lack of knowledge about proper E-waste management. High awareness about E-waste and high willingness to recycle/repair their E-waste (above 80% in both cases) are yet to be translated into responsible disposal/recycling behaviour as 95.8% of households have no knowledge about the presence of any formal recycling centre. Income, education, age and gender dimensions associated with E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness were also evaluated. Although we found no gender differences for most of the parameters, there have been some interesting correlations in age and income-wise segregation of disposal behaviour. We noted that the city of Bangalore still possesses some typical Indian socio-cultural characteristics, such as considering E-waste as ‘valuables’, changing several hands before final disposal, defying ‘brand’ or ‘looks’ consciousness, etc., which could be directed towards responsible E-waste disposal behaviours. We suggest that establishing appropriate and convenient E-waste collection/recycling facilities, ensuring responsible household disposal behaviour, implementing effective laws and legislation, and organizing mass E-waste awareness campaigns would aid in addressing the current E-waste concerns in the city.     

Experimental analysis and parameter optimization on the reduction of NOx from diesel engine using RSM and ANN Model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The major emission sources of NOX are from automobiles, trucks, and various non-road vehicles, power plants, coal fired boilers, cement kilns,...     

Methane emissions from dairy farms: case study from a coastal district in South India

Environment, Development and Sustainability - India has the largest dairy industry in the world and accounts for a significant share of the global emission of livestock methane ( $$\hbox...