The Commonwealth Human Ecology Council Newsletter – June 2019
This month, air pollution has been on the agenda. According to the Ramphal Institute, air pollution in now one of themost significant causes of premature mortality, causing an estimated 7 million deaths annually. Air pollution is an urgent matter and something we need to address more often.
We are continuing with the interviewing of the people behind the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, to hear about their background and what they believe CHEC should focus on in the future. This month, we had a chat with Michael Mutter, CHEC Governing Board Trustee and Chartered Architect and Town Planner. He has extensive experience in international urban development, including long termon-the-ground experience in Nigeria, India, and most Commonwealth countries.
CHEC’s Bee and Pollinator steering group is in the process of identifying an innovative youth-led pilot project in Uganda that will train young marginalised women on beekeeping, biodiversity of crops, climate action and marketing. We are looking forward totell you more about this in the upcoming newsletters.
As temperatures hot record highs in Indian cities, yet another major city declares the complete lack of fresh water for basic consumption of its citizens. Lack of functional reservoirs has surfaced as a key issue in this discussion.
Anupam Misra’s book ‘aajbhi khare hain talaab’ is more relevant than ever before in reminding our cities to value their waterbodies and those who knew how to build and manage them. It leaves us with a core message that hundreds of years of investment in our ponds is already at risk but not beyond recovery. An inspiring and content rich book for those who seek to understand and address water scarcity in India. Misra’s work has had an impact on many people around the world, among others our Trustee Ripin Kalra, who says that the book by Misra was inspirational to him in working on water resilience.
During July, CHEC will continueits focus on air pollution and the right to clean air. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter if you are interested in getting updated on the latest human ecology related news across the Commonwealth.
