Golda A. Edwin

Evolving and Implementing Energy Recovering Strategy from Food Wastes at Jawahar Navodaya Vidhyalaya (JNV) Fostering Campus Sustainability

A huge quantity of organic food wastes generated in educational campuses goes unutilized and gets disposed of in landfills, despite the tremendous potential to turn the on-campus waste mis-management into a profitable and sustainable venture. The vision of green campus initiative at Jawahar Navodhaya Vidhyalaya (JNV) is to transform itself into a model for a self-sufficient campus. To foster this initiative, we envisaged a system of highly evolved, self-sufficient strategies not only to sustain the needs of the campus but also to reduce costs and generate income through integrated sustainable projects. The project is carried out through a cooperative effort among Pondicherry University researchers and APSCC’s strategic green action plan team for campus sustainability, focused on the campus’s commitment towards sustainability encompassing social equity, environmental management, and economic prosperity in tune with the Principles of Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals. The Campus biogas generation project is one such unique attempt which has prompted the JNV campus community to ponder over the causes of significant socio-environmental problems, and subsequently make an attempt to solve them through collaborative effort using scientific processes. This study involved rigorous field visits with observational study, building prototypes to try out various possible alternatives, hoping to arrive at an optimum solution by comparing different experimental models, field work, research and innovative ideas. The goal of the study is to foster student’s experience and learning along with research and planning for reducing fuel consumption through biogas production from organic waste generated within the campus. It is found that by adopting a 7 m3 Antirotatory-anaerobic Baffled Co-coupled Double-digester (ABCD-hybrid) model of an anaerobic digester, enough biogas is produced to replace approximately 6.2 LPG cylinders/month with the potential reduction in petroleum gas of 10.34 % and saving of around INR 7,864 per month.

Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Domestic Grey Water: An Instrument of the Green Economy to Realize the Millennium Development Goals

In rapidly developing countries like India, wastewater generation has increased manifold due to an increasing population, industrialization and urbanization. This in turn has led to the deterioration of several urban water bodies and aquifers. Transition to a green economy in the water sector requires a paradigm shift from the current practices by adopting innovative technologies that provide environmental as well economic benefits. In this context, constructed wetland systems (CWs) for domestic water treatment and reuse promise to be a cost-effective alternative to conventional systems and can contribute to improved water security. This chapter discusses the potential of CWs to contribute to a green economy, the various costs and benefits associated with it, along with a case study. The case study conducted shows removal efficiency between 65 and 99% for various pollutants, which complies with established reuse standards set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In the process, it helps to save around 47% of the overall water requirement of the household. This chapter concludes that CWs proves to be an effective instrument of a green economy.

Developing Pondicherry University Silver Jubilee Campus as “Solar Campus”

Pondicherry University. located at R.V. Nagar, Kalapet, Pondicherry, is a Central University established in 1985 by the Government of India. This is the fastest growing university in India. It is a collegiate university with a jurisdiction spread over the Union Territories of Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has successfully completed its 25th year of existence. The Silver Jubilee campus of Pondicherry University is a new campus of 110 acres in its 800 acres of campus. This area would soon house 12 buildings and 2,500 students. Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh formally inaugurated the Silver Jubilee Campus of Pondicherry University on 30 June 2012. The Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and the Madanjeet School of Green Energy Technology of the University jointly have taken the initiative to develop the silver jubilee campus as “Solar Campus” which will be the first of its kind in India. The University is receiving financial assistance from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India for preparing a master plan and detailed project reports for this purpose. The objective of preparing a master plan for the “Solar Campus” is to understand and assess the carbon footprint of the campus and prepare an action plan to implement energy efficiency, substitution/conservation measures and implementation of renewable energy projects to achieve a targeted goal of reducing conventional energy consumption and thereby cutting down GHG emission in the campus. This chapter will discusses the detailed master plan for the “Solar Campus” which includes assessment of the carbon footprint from energy consumption, transportation, water use and waste generated in the campus, proposed measures for energy efficiency and energy conservation, renewable energy resource assessment, proposed renewable energy projects and an action plan to achieve the set goal for the “Solar Campus”.

Implementing a Holistic and Student Centered Outreach Programme Towards Integrated Sustainable Development of the Campus—A Case Study of a Residential School from South India

For several decades now, many institutions are doing their best to strive towards a sustainable future through education, research and out reach. According to UNESCO, the goal of education is to make people wiser, more knowledgeable, better informed, ethical, responsible, critical and capable of continuing to learn. Education is also the means to disseminate knowledge and develop skills, in order to not only bring about desired changes in behaviours, values, lifestyles but also to promote public support towards the continuing and fundamental changes that will be required if humanity is to alter its course towards sustainability. To meet ever growing global environmental challenges, every school, colleges and universities must prepare today’s students in all disciplines, and it cannot be implemented/achieved without students’ involvement. This article presents a case of a residential school in the developing part of the world that transforms itself into a model, self sufficient sustainable campus through constant motivation sustained by the result of their positive actions towards the sustainable development of the campus. While the green campus initiatives are more likely to focus solely on ecological issues (downplaying social and economic issues), this initiative revolves around the continually evolving and adaptive sustainability model that depends on the integrated knowledge from all the stakeholders in the school (lowest to the highest echelons) by bringing all of them to work as one single group with a vision on school sustainability. Emphasizing more on this, the Green Campus Initiative (GCI) is successfully evolved and implemented within 100 working days. This pilot scale Green Campus Initiative was evolved, based on the research done at Pondicherry University, and implemented as the student centered outreach programme, encompassing water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus, with an integrated systems approach. The various measures undertaken by the campus are discussed in brief and how they helped transform the campus into a Green Campus. The lessons learnt will be very useful for replication of similar experiments elsewhere in India or in any other developing country.

Climate Change and Sustainable Management of Water Resources

In recent times, several studies have shown that climate change is likely to have a significant impact on the availability of freshwater resources. Freshwater-rich regions across the globe are projected to face water scarcity if current reserves are not managed effectively. Traditionally, the Puducherry region has been well endowed with large freshwater reserves, but demand for water has already increased manifold over the years due to an increase in agriculture, industrialization, urbanization, population and economic development. This has resulted in water scarcity and water quality problems in some regions. At present, the hydrological cycle is being modified at a rapid pace due to the overexploitation of water resources, changes in cropping pattern, land use, groundwater depletion, seawater intrusion, pollution and water pricing models. Apart from these, there have also been observed changes in the increase of average temperature, humidity and coastal erosion. It is recognized that sustainable water resources development and management is an important and urgent issue to be taken up seriously. Therefore, an objective assessment of the availability of water resources in the context of the future water requirements, impacts of climate change and its variability is very crucial for sustainable development. This paper examines in detail the potential for sustainable management of freshwater resources within the constraints of climate change.

Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Grey Water in Campus Premises

With increasing population and urbanization, water and wastewater management has become a top priority for the planners and architects in many parts of the world. Recent studies have confirmed that the poor infrastructure to manage and treat wastewater properly has led to the deterioration of water bodies which in turn leads to freshwater scarcity. Several studies have found that treating greywater is a better alternative than treating blackwater because the former leads to a lesser pollutant load, especially involving pathogenic pollutants, and is increasingly emerging as an integral part of water demand management, providing water for non-potable residential and industrial uses. Among the total wastewater generated in developing countries, 50–80 % is comprised of greywater originating from bathroom, laundry and kitchen sources. With many advanced technological methods available for water treatment, the constructed wetland system appears to be a preferred option because of reduced capital cost, lower energy demand and maintenance required compared to the conventional systems. In this context, this experimental study on a full-scale constructed wetland system was developed jointly by the researchers from Pondicherry University and Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) campus. It was found that greywater treatment and reuse using constructed wetlands offers a cost effective, nature-based, energy efficient alternative to other means of conventional wastewater treatment. It is estimated that the developed system will save 25–30 % of the water requirement for horticultural activities of the school.

The Role of Higher Educational Institutions and Other Training Organizations to Promote Renewable Energy in India

India’s demand for energy is growing with the energy gap between demand and supply of about 12–15 %. As a developing country, India has to play an important role in the development and utilization of renewable energy resources (solar, wind, bio-energy, hydro, etc.) for sustainable development. The country has high potential to harvest the renewable energy because of strategic geographic location. Considering the renewable energy potential, India can play a responsible role to take positive steps towards carbon emission and ensuring for its sustainable future by increase its energy share through renewable energy. Currently, the renewable energy accounts 26 GW (12 %) of the total power generation capacity of 212 GW as in 2013. The renewable energy industry has shown a promising growth over the last couple of years compared to non-renewable energy and it is expected to grow at an even higher rate in the Twelfth Five Year Plan period (2012–2017). The country’s vision in renewable energy development aims to achieve 55 GW by 2022, and by 2050 about 50 % of its total energy through renewable sources. An extensive pool of knowledgeable and skilled manpower competent to design, install and maintain renewable energy systems will be required. The MNRE report published in 2012 on “Human Resource Development Strategies for Indian Renewable Energy Sector”, at a moderate growth of 10 % the wind sector would employ about 75,000 people by the year 2020. Similarly, the report estimated that Solar PV on-grid and off grid sector would employ 1,52,000 and 2,25,000 respectively by the year 2022. The estimated numbers are equally large for the other renewable energy technologies like solar thermal, small hydro, biomass, biogas etc. Shortage of skilled and quality trained manpower is considered to be a major challenge in the growth of renewable energy sector. Higher educational institutions (HEIs) and renewable energy organizations have to play a crucial role in human resource development and capacity building to overcome the challenges, and achieve projected renewable energy target in sustainable manner to reduce India’s energy dependency.

Potentials and Constraints for Adopting Campus Carbon Neutrality Strategies in Indian Higher Educational Institutions

India has one of the largest number of higher education systems in the world next to China and the US. With an increase in demand for higher education in recent years, Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are required to manage more students than they can afford, demanding more energy/other vital resources such as water and predominantly, more fossil fuels, exerting more pressure on the campus ecosystems, contributing more to the emission of green house gases (GHGs). This fact is never duly recognized, neither at the level of the concerned campus nor at state/national policy levels. However, the breadth and depth of climate change issues/problems/concerns have prompted greater international interest/commitment in the need for campus sustainability through Campus Carbon Neutrality (CCN). To become carbon neutral, universities in the developed world are striving to reduce their emissions of GHGs, cut their use of energy, use more renewable energy, and emphasize the importance of sustainable energy sources. Our insights/experiences have indicated several key barriers and major strategies which could be adopted for CCN in India and which are discussed in this chapter.