Partnership for Change a non profit climate change education and sustainable development organization established by West Cork based Environmental Scientist Declan Waugh is delighted to announce sponsorship of a innovative community sustainable development and climate change initiative in India. This is the third sponsorship programme supported by Partnership for Change this year. Given the current financial climate support for development, humanitarian and emergency relief organizations working in developing countries with the poorest of communities is more critical than ever. Declan organized a major climate change conference in Cork last November sponsored by EnviroManagement Services and Bord Gáis. Through this conference Declan was able to bring together some of the worlds leading experts on climate change, international aid, leading business sectors and professional institutions, national politicians and the wider community to address what is the greatest challenge facing humanity, climate change. Partnership for Change organized sponsorship from leading companies for 150 students from twenty secondary schools and eight universities across Ireland to attend the conference.
Over 1.6 billion people in the world lack access to electricity; roughly 25% are in India alone. For these people, life comes to a standstill after dusk. Inadequate lighting is not only an impediment to progress and development opportunities, but also has a direct impact on the health, environment, and safety of millions of people, as they are forced to light their homes with kerosene lamps, dung cakes, firewood, and crop residue after sunset.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with its vision to work for global sustainable development and its commitment towards creating innovative solutions for a better tomorrow, has undertaken an initiative of 'Lighting a Billion Lives’ (LaBL) through the use of solar lighting devices. LaBL is promoting solar lanterns developed by the institute, which provide better illumination and also eliminate the health problems associated with kerosene lanterns. Using them would also mean mitigating the 5.9 million tonnes of CO2 emitted from kerosene lanterns annually. The campaign is reaching across nine countries. Besides India, it’s going to Pakistan, Ethiopia, Malawi, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and aims to bring light into the lives of one billion rural people by replacing the kerosene and paraffin lanterns with solar lighting devices. This will facilitate education of children; provide better illumination and kerosene-smoke-free indoor environment for women to do household chores; and provide opportunities for livelihoods both at the individual level and at village level.
Through this Campaign, local entrepreneur-driven delivery channels are created for distribution and servicing of solar lanterns to rural communities, for whom kerosene is the predominant fuel for lighting—not only in households but also in small enterprises such as shops, local bazaars, tuition and coaching centres, and cottage industries.
The LaBL campaign offers a solution to the problems of the rural people in a sustainable manner created local capacities and network to assemble, sell, and service solar devices and develop entrepreneurial skills. The campaign encourages and supports women solar power entrepreneurs, creating sustainable sales and service networks in villages, which have large unmet demand for solar lighting systems; and empowering women by giving them economic freedom.
Women in the community are taught to assemble various products like LED night lamps, DC mobile chargers, homelighting systems, and solar lanterns. They learnt how to install, operate, and maintain the technology including operating a central solar lantern charging/distribution centre where lanterns are rented. They also learn business skills to enable them to market the products. Apart from the financial independence, a sense of pride arising from the newly acquired skill and confidence is one of the biggest contributions of the project.
According to Dr R K Pachauri, Chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director General of the TERI Institute“LaBL is not merely a campaign. It is a solution, a solution to the utmost need of life, which is light. It provides a solution to the global crisis in the form of a humble solar lantern, which harnesses solar energy and proves to be a clean lighting source to rural communities.”
The Campaign uses solar lanterns that have CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) as well as LEDs (light emitting diodes) for dual purposes. While CFL provides bright illumination for tasks such as studying and cooking; LEDs provide general low-level illumination during the whole night.
The Campaign offers local and global environmental benefits. These communities use kerosene as the lighting option, which is hazardous to the environment and health. Each solar lantern The solar lantern provided by LaBL mitigates these harmful effects by saving about 3–4 litres of kerosene every month per household. This would translate into savings of 40–50 litres of kerosene every year. Each solar lantern in its useful life of 10 years is capable of mitigating 1.5 tonnes of CO2.
In recognition of their inspiring work while supporting sustainable development in the poorest of communities and by providing environmental solutions to tackling climate change Declan Waugh, Chairman of Partnership for Change is delighted to announce sponsorship through the light a billion lives campaign (LaBL) of an entire community renewable energy project, including capacity building, and training of NGO and entrepreneur, and Campaign outreach. Receiving the contribution, Ms. Akanksha Chaurey, Director TERI said, “The massive task of providing light to millions across nine countries cannot be possible without active support from the civil society, governments, corporate and other agencies. We are grateful to Declan and Partnership for Change for channeling the funds raised during the conference towards LaBL. Our endeavour is to help those who have no access to electricity and provide them solar lanterns to improve their economic and social lives”
Partnership for Change is able to offer this financial support and sponsorship as Declan continues to work voluntary for the organization. Any proceeds remaining from the Climate Change conference have been donated by Declan to organizations that inspire change, social justice and responsibility, humanitarian relief & sustainable development in the poorest of communities. The other worthy organizations that obtained significant donations from Partnership for Change include WaterAid and Medicines Sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
While donating the cheque, Declan Waugh, Chairman of PFC said, “It is indeed a pleasure to be supporting such a worthy cause. LaBL campaign is not yet known to many around the globe. Through this donation we are supporting sustainable development by providing innovative solutions to the poorest communities, while also having a direct impact on human health and the environment. Currently, the campaign has reached 45 villages in various states of India and parts of Myanmar and implementation in another 100 villages is in progress. This donation supports their tremendous work.”
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Who sets policy and who do they represent. Let the public voice be heard
I read an interesting article in New Scientist the other morning. It was titled "leave education to the experts", I thought that it resonated with a lot of what I have believed for many years regarding local government.
When we examine what were the various factors that lead to the current financial crisis in Ireland one of the first stages of the disease started with how we managed planning and development.
What we had were in essence elected officials throughout the land that were acting on behalf of developers, zoning large areas of land for development without the slightest thought for sustainable development or its community. It was about greed, profit for the few to build as much houses as possible on the smallest piece of land, building on floodplain's or miles outside of towns or huge estates alongside tiny villages. In West Cork we even had the idea supported by some to build an entire new town in a rural area with no infrastructure on ground that was subject to flooding, at Annaghmore outside Inishannon.
The latter is only recent history, barely a year ago this was what 23 of our elected County Councilors recommended. This brings me back to the article in New Scientist which examined science education and who sets education policies. Certain powerful factions in the US do not want evolutionary science taught in schools, instead they want creationism science taught, one that believes that the earth is only a few thousand years old and evolution does not exist.
In certain parts of the US elected officials were making decisions not based on who they represented but acting on behalf of lobby groups that supported their campaign. What is clearly needed the article suggested is elected officials who have expertise or credentials in the relevant areas that they are working in and can make decisions based on sound professional judgment for the public good.
When we consider again the Annaghmore debacle, we must reflect on who the 23 elected officials who supported the project represented. They didn't represent the County Council, who said that the development was not in the best interest of sustainable development; they didn't listen to the planning professionals within the County Council or the County Manager. They previously supported the Cork Area Strategic Development Plan (CASP) 2001-2020 which was adopted by Cork County Council and Cork City Council, yet they obviously didn’t read it as this proposed development overturned the recommendations and objectives for development in the County till 2020.
One must consider therefore why would so many elected councilors decide to change the strategy for planning and development for Cork, in clear opposition to the public body and planning Authority they represent and the communities in which they live?
Did these same elected officials have the science, land-use, planning, engineering or professional skills necessary to attempt to overturn development plans?
Did they listen to their own communities, like the people in Inishannon, Bandon, Kinsale, Enniskeane, Clonakilty, Dunmanway or any of the other towns in West Cork that would have been impacted negatively by this outrageous proposal?
Who therefore did they represent? Why would public representatives agree to a proposal for a new town on the outskirts of west cork when the region has so many new uninhabited dwellings lying vacant throughout towns and villages in west cork. Why would any public representative representing these towns even consider that such a proposal would be good the for established communities which they represent. Many local businesses which are the backbone of many communities are suffering serious financial difficulties with increased competition from low cost multinationals and the economic downturn. The idea of building a new town approaching West Cork in such a location was not only outrageous but absurd and irresponsible. Those that supported the idea should be brought to task.
In a few weeks time, many of these officials will come knocking on your door, looking for your vote. It is evident that some of these officials represent what is at the core of the crisis we now face in this country. Its time we let people who have the necessary skills and credentials to manage our affairs. We have had enough of officials who support decisions make by lobby groups or powerful wealthy supporters. What we need now are officials who act on behalf of the community with the skills and experience to restore confidence in Local Government.
When we examine what were the various factors that lead to the current financial crisis in Ireland one of the first stages of the disease started with how we managed planning and development.
What we had were in essence elected officials throughout the land that were acting on behalf of developers, zoning large areas of land for development without the slightest thought for sustainable development or its community. It was about greed, profit for the few to build as much houses as possible on the smallest piece of land, building on floodplain's or miles outside of towns or huge estates alongside tiny villages. In West Cork we even had the idea supported by some to build an entire new town in a rural area with no infrastructure on ground that was subject to flooding, at Annaghmore outside Inishannon.
The latter is only recent history, barely a year ago this was what 23 of our elected County Councilors recommended. This brings me back to the article in New Scientist which examined science education and who sets education policies. Certain powerful factions in the US do not want evolutionary science taught in schools, instead they want creationism science taught, one that believes that the earth is only a few thousand years old and evolution does not exist.
In certain parts of the US elected officials were making decisions not based on who they represented but acting on behalf of lobby groups that supported their campaign. What is clearly needed the article suggested is elected officials who have expertise or credentials in the relevant areas that they are working in and can make decisions based on sound professional judgment for the public good.
When we consider again the Annaghmore debacle, we must reflect on who the 23 elected officials who supported the project represented. They didn't represent the County Council, who said that the development was not in the best interest of sustainable development; they didn't listen to the planning professionals within the County Council or the County Manager. They previously supported the Cork Area Strategic Development Plan (CASP) 2001-2020 which was adopted by Cork County Council and Cork City Council, yet they obviously didn’t read it as this proposed development overturned the recommendations and objectives for development in the County till 2020.
One must consider therefore why would so many elected councilors decide to change the strategy for planning and development for Cork, in clear opposition to the public body and planning Authority they represent and the communities in which they live?
Did these same elected officials have the science, land-use, planning, engineering or professional skills necessary to attempt to overturn development plans?
Did they listen to their own communities, like the people in Inishannon, Bandon, Kinsale, Enniskeane, Clonakilty, Dunmanway or any of the other towns in West Cork that would have been impacted negatively by this outrageous proposal?
Who therefore did they represent? Why would public representatives agree to a proposal for a new town on the outskirts of west cork when the region has so many new uninhabited dwellings lying vacant throughout towns and villages in west cork. Why would any public representative representing these towns even consider that such a proposal would be good the for established communities which they represent. Many local businesses which are the backbone of many communities are suffering serious financial difficulties with increased competition from low cost multinationals and the economic downturn. The idea of building a new town approaching West Cork in such a location was not only outrageous but absurd and irresponsible. Those that supported the idea should be brought to task.
In a few weeks time, many of these officials will come knocking on your door, looking for your vote. It is evident that some of these officials represent what is at the core of the crisis we now face in this country. Its time we let people who have the necessary skills and credentials to manage our affairs. We have had enough of officials who support decisions make by lobby groups or powerful wealthy supporters. What we need now are officials who act on behalf of the community with the skills and experience to restore confidence in Local Government.
Sustainable Challenge
Here is my challenge I want you the people of Ireland to generate ideas for achieving 10 key goals for the sustainable development of this country. Focusing on the five key aspects of our environment - land, air, water, energy, and transportation.
I would like to hear your views and help develop a plan together that can become a model for the 21st century. The aim of this proposal is to help ensure a higher quality of life for generations to come and lay the seeds of a low carbon economy by reducing our global warming emissions.
Lets work together to build a better future.
I would like to hear your views and help develop a plan together that can become a model for the 21st century. The aim of this proposal is to help ensure a higher quality of life for generations to come and lay the seeds of a low carbon economy by reducing our global warming emissions.
Lets work together to build a better future.
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