Feature Article

Africa needs a green revolution. Food yields on the continent are roughly one metric ton of grain per hectare of cultivated land, a figure little changed from 50 years ago and roughly one third of the yields achieved on other continents. In low-income regions elsewhere in the world, the introduction of high-yield seeds, fertilizer and small-scale irrigation boosted food productivity beginning in the mid-1960s and opened the escape route from extreme poverty for huge populations. A similar takeoff in sub-Saharan Africa is both an urgent priority and a real possibility.

The production of clean energy for transportation makes demands on resources that are already scarce. Biofuels can contribute to a solution, but only to a limited extent. (Editorial)

In the southwestern region surrounding Peth, water reuse is an effective solution to the serious drought "The Big Dry". Joe White Maltings Pty Ltd, in Perth, in an effort to meet its water requirements, commissioned the Tenix Alliance to construct a new water recycling plant at the company's facility.

Wastewater reclamation and direct potable reuse have enabled the City of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia to manage its water more efficiently. This case study shows that with an integrated approach including proper policy, legislation, education, technical and financial measures even severe water shortages can be managed.

Depleting groundwater levels and excessive increase in the volume of wastewater is seen as a result of recent industrial developments in urban India. Industrial wastewater recharge and water conservation have now become the need of the hour to overcome water shortages and improve groundwater levels in the country.

Agro-technologies for cultivation of a number of medicinal plants have been developed but large scale cultivation of medicinal plants on farm lands in Uttarakhand is yet to begin. Among other causes for this gap, lack of reasonable correct information on economics of cultivation of medicinal plants is one important cause.

Many protected area managers are encountering difficulties balancing the demands of conservation and visitors. An essential component of sound management planning for these areas is objective data on visitor use impacts and needs. Gir National Park attracgts a large number of visitors, both pilgrims and tourists. What matters is not the large number of visitors, but the type of visitors, the pattern of resource use and the quality of management to achieve compatibility between activities undertaken by the visitors and the protected area objectives.

A silent revolution has taken place in productivity and profitability of plantations through clonal Eucalyptus, with productivity more than double compared to seed route plantations. The clonal plantations under rain-fed conditions are safer investment, while the irrigated clonal plantations under agro-forestry models are more profitable as compared to agricultural crops.

The eco-development programme was initiated in Rajaji National Park to elicit participation of local people in conservation. An analysis of factors influencing the participation of women and men in the eco-development programme in two villages - Ganeshpur and Gungabhogpur, adjoining Rajaji National Park was carried out.

India has growing shortages of timber and wood-based products. Agro-forestry plantations promoted by wood-based industries and raised by a large number of small farmers and imports play a major role in bridging the demand supply gap. Private sector companies like Wimco and ITC have played a major role in promoting technology based high yielding clonal plantations under agro-forestry on commercial scale.