Gopalsamy Poyyamoli

The role of non-governmental organizations in residential solid waste management: A case study of Puducherry, a coastal city of India

Poorly planned and uncontrolled urbanization in India has caused a variety of negative, often irreversible, environmental impacts. The impacts appear to be unavoidable and not easily mitigable due to the mounting public health problems caused by non-segregation of solid wastes at source and their subsequent improper management. Recently in India, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society organizations have increasingly started to get involved in improving waste management services. Municipal solid waste management being a governmental function, the contribution of NGOs in this field has not been well documented. This study highlights the activities and services of Shuddham, an NGO functioning in the town of Puducherry within the Union Territory of Puducherry in South India. The NGO program promoted much needed awareness and education, encouraged source separation, enhanced door-to-door collection, utilized wastes as raw materials and generated more job opportunities. Even though source separation prior to door-to-door collection is a relatively new concept, a significant percentage of residents (39%) in the study area participated fully, while a further 48% participated in the collection service. The average amount of municipal solid waste generated by residential units in the Raj Bhavan ward was 8582 kg/month of which 47% was recovered through active recycling and composting practices. The study describes the features and performance of NGO-mediated solid waste management, and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats of this system to see whether this model can sustainably replace the low-performance conventional solid waste management in practice in the town of Puducherry. The experiences from this case study are expected to provide broad guidelines to better understand the role of NGOs and their contributions towards sustainable waste management practices in urban areas.

Developing an eco-industrial park in Puducherry region, India ‒ a SWOT analysis

Over the past few years, the eco-industrial park (EIP) concept has been emerging as a significant driving force for sustainable industrialisation. Accumulating evidence indicates that the transition of existing industries into eco-industrial networking through industrial ecology (IE) principles would provide an excellent opportunity for facilitating such innovative industrialisation. A SWOT analysis was carried out to identify the potential and constraints for the successful implementation of an eco-industrial park in the ecologically fragile coastal zone of Puducherry. The results indicated significant potential for EIP development with few challenges. The lessons learnt can be used to provide broad guidelines for facilitating EIP development in the Puducherry region and similar scenarios found elsewhere across the world, especially in developing countries.

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”.

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.

Integrated Industrial Water Management as a Tool for Mitigating Climate Change

Observational evidence from all continents and various spheres shows that many natural systems are being affected by anthropogenic climate changes. One of those systems affected by the climate change scenario is the hydrological cycle, which encompasses water availability and water quality, as well as water services. In any industrial plant, the discharge of by-products and waste materials in various forms may pollute receiving waters rendering them unsuitable as a water supply. Excessive nutrients can lead to algal blooms, oxygen deficits, the release of toxic gases and increased pollution load, which in turn contribute either directly or indirectly to the climate change. In return, climate change can also negatively affect the industrial water sector in its own unique way. Adaptation to climate change is, consequently, of urgent importance in today’s world. While end-of-pipe treatment of industrial waste was a popular management approach only 20 years ago, advanced treatment/management concepts such as Industrial Ecology, Clean Development Mechanism, Industrial Symbiosis and Design for Sustainability are more common today. This paper discusses the theoretical background of industrial water management as an important tool in putting water adaptation to climate change into practice. It focuses on the impacts of climate change on sustainable water management, the additional new challenges for water management deriving from climate change, and how the planning should be modified to adapt to climate change from an industrial ecology point of view. Although water management seems to be an operational issue, the choice of appropriate site location, provision of services, facilities design, best operational management practices along with supported institutional structures such as site development, risk mitigation measures, quality control measures, awareness creation, emergency planning and monitoring are needed to ensure sustainable industrial water management for mitigating climate change.