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publisher’s note
April 2016 | CSR Today | 3
ChanneliseCsrIn
RuralHealth
I
ndiaisavastcountrywithaveryvastvarietyof
challenges.AsperCensusof2011,over70%of
ourpopulationresidesin64030villages.The
doctorpatientratiointhecountryis1:1800but
incertainruralareasitgoesuptoover1doctorfor
populationof50,000.
TherearemanyvillagesinIndiawhereaper-
sonhastotravelevenupto50kilometerstomeet
abasicqualifieddoctor.Thereisahugegapinthe
actualrequirementandavailabilityofqualified
doctorsinPHCsandCHCs.
AccordingtoareportbyU.N.around75%
ofthehealthinfrastructureinIndia(including
doctors,specialists&otherresources)isconcen-
tratedinurbanareaswhereonly27%ofIndia’s
populationlives.TheruralpopulationofIndia
isaround716millionpeople(72%)wherethe
propermedicalfacilitiesareabsent.
Accordingly,onecannothelptonotice
aboutMedisurgeTechnologiesPrivate
Limited(TopDoctorsOnline):
• MedisurgeTechnologiesPrivateLimited
(“Medisurge”)isaHealthcare+Technology
companybasedoutofMumbai.
• Medisurge,betterknownas,TopDoctors
Online(TDO)isadigitalplatformaimedat
ConnectingHealthseekerswithDoctorsand
HealthcareServiceProviders.
• TDOisaOne-StopHealthcareDestination
forallusers.
TDOservicesareavailabletoUsersonmul-
tipledigitalplatforms.Belowarethethreepillars
ofTDOofferings:
TDOguidesuserswithchoosingtheright
healthcareserviceproviderslikeTopdoctors,
hospitals,pathlabs,emergencyserviceprovid-
ers,etc.
UniquenessofTDOServices:
TDOfacilitatesaccesstogenuinehealthcare
guidancetouserswithouthavingtomoveout
oftheirhomesorcomfortzones.Everyuseron
TDOinteractswithdoctorseverytimetheyuse
theproduct.TDOdoctorsprovideamanaged
andguidedhealthcarejourneytousers(instead
ofjustdoctorsearchorappointmentbooking
orpathtestbookingslikeothersinoursector).
TDOisfocusedonprovidingend-to-endman-
agedhealthcareservicetousersandbeingtheir
“DigitalFamilyDoctor”.
SalientFeatures:
TDOhascreatedauniquemobileapp,which
servesasacompletehealthcareservicefulfillment
forahealthseeker.TDOprovidesitsuserswith:
1) Accurate,simple-to-understandandrelevant
healthinformation(informof articles,videos
andslideshows)
2) RealtimeaccesstoGeneralPractitionerswho
wouldbeabletosolvequeriesjustattheclick
ofabutton
3) Accesstospecialists/superspecialistdoctors
ofthecountryforonlinesecondopinionand
appointmentbookings
4) Accesstoservicesproviders(forbookings/
appointments/services)like:
-hospitals(OPD/IPD),
-pathlabs/diagnosticscentre’s,
-emergencyserviceproviderslikeambulance
-globalmedicalemergencyassistance
Theservicesofthiscompanyisgaining
groundandwhatisimportantisthatinashort
spanoftime,Medisurgeiscateringtoover6mil-
lionpeople,andithasemergedasthebiggestin
healthorganizationinIndia.
Thelistoftheirin-houseon-callandonlive
chatexpertsboastsofhavingthecountry’stop
50medicalgeniuses–thelikesofDr.Mahindra
WatsaandDr.KiranCoelho–whomayhavea
three-monthqueueforaphysicalconsult,but
arejustaclickawayinthevirtualworld.Theyall
mostlyhavetheirprivatepractices,butdedicateall
oftheirremainingtimetoTDO’sbulkofpatients.
Withtheirin-house24x7doctoronphone
servicecapabilities,TopDoctorsOnlineisin
processtopartnerwithNGOsandcorporates
toextendthisbenefittotheaudiencewhereitis
muchneeded–ruralIndia.
Rajesh Tiwari
Publisher
rt@iccsr.org
There are many
villages in India
where a person
has to travel
even up to 50
kilometers to
meet a basic
qualified doctor.
There is a huge
gap in the actual
requirement and
availability of
qualified doctors
in PHCs and
CHCs. CSR can fill
in this space with
its initiatives

Being Change Agents
The Bharti Foundation works in close coordination with various state governments to enhance
the quality and delivery of education in rural parts of India. This helps bring together best
practices, learning, resources and processes from both worlds and also in making optimum use
of its resources.
April 2016 | vol. 03 | issue 09
CSR - the known &
unknown mumbai
16 A Planet Within Mumbai’s
Concrete Jungle
CASE STUDY
20 From Sun To Socket: The
Philippines Solar Story
CSR BURNING ISSUE
22 27 StepsTo Cut FoodWaste
And Save Billions
24 How Fast Are Sea Levels
Rising? FasterThanYou
Think
CSR 360 DEGREE
25 Aviation Carbon Standard
Won’t Plug Hole In Paris
Agreement
26 The Newest Strategy For
Saving Bees Is Really,
Really Old
29 Climate Change Is Killing
Off India’s Bees
CSR trends
30 Forestry InThe New
Development Era
CSR INTERVIEW
32 Empowering Communities,
Changing Lives
35 Addressing Key Issue Of
WaterThrough Csr
CSR ISSUE
38 Vikrant: A Battle HalfWon
REGULARS
03 Publisher’s note
05 CSR News
08 News You Can Use
10 I, We & Nature
44 Csr Placements
Contents
Printer and Publisher: Rajesh Tiwari
EDITORIAL
Consulting Editor: M Bose
Executive Editor: Dr Adarsh Mishra
INDIAN CENTRE FOR CSR
ADVISORY BOARD
Pankaj Pachauri, Ted McFarland,
Mag. Martin Neureiter, Chandir Gidwani,
Lou Altman, Kingshuk Nag, Toby Webb,
Anil Bajpai, Rajesh Tiwari, Satish Jha, Amit
Chatterjee, Jitendra Bhargava, Namita Vikas,
Dinesh N. Awasthi, Kapil Dev,
Dr. Kamal Kant Dwivedi, Sanjiv Kaura, Suhel Seth
PRODUCTION, CIRCULATION
AND LOGISTICS
Hardik C
HEAD OFFICE
CSR Today
104, Nirman Kendra, Dr.E Moses road
Mahalaxmi Estate, Mumbai -400011
Tel: +91 22 249 03078 / 03082 / 55260
Email: editor@csrtoday.net
Website: www.iccsr.org
REGIONAL OFFICES
NEW DELHI
Regional Director: V Chopra
MUMBAI
Executive Vice President: Dr Adarsh Mishra
Vice President: Chaitali Chatterjee
Circulation: C.R. Tiwari
Printed, Published and Edited by Rajesh Tiwari
on behalf of Indian Centre For Corporate
Social Resposibility, Printed at The Pack-Age,
196-I, Katrak Compound, J.s.s. road, Gaiwadi,
Girgaon, Mumbai - 400 004 and Published
from Indian Centre For Corporate Social
Resposibility, 106/A, Nirman Kendra, Plot No.3,
Dr. E. Morses Road, Mahalaxmi Estate, Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai 400 011.
Editor: Rajesh Tiwari
Disclaimer
The publisher, authors and contributors reserve their rights in
regards to copyright of their work. No part of this work covered by
the copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any
means without the written consent. The publisher, contributors,
editors and related parties are not responsible in any way for the
actions or results taken by any person, organisation or any party on
basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publica-
tion, website or related product. Reasonable care is taken to ensure
that CSR Today articles and other information on the web site are
up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the time of publication,
but no responsibility can be taken by CSR Today for any errors or
omissions contained herein.
12 cover story

CSRNews
Volkswagen India recently
completed six months of
successfully operating its Mobile
Health Clinic. Started in August 2015, the
Mobile Health Clinic was initially planned
for two villages – Kahnewadi tarfe Chakan
and Sangurdi. However, after getting a
positive feedback from the villagers and
after receiving more requests, the service
was also extended to a small community
– Vitthal Nagar, that stands between the
first two villages. Additionally, patients
from two more nearby villages have been
travelling regularly to either of the locations
where the Mobile Health Clinic is placed
through the day.
The Mobile Health Clinic was started
to provide basic medical attention and
medicines free of cost to the residents of
these villages which lack basic medical
facilities and consultation. Through
this Corporate Social responsibility
(CSR) activity, Volkswagen India has
been running a specially modified
vehicle that houses a consultation area,
and necessary medical supplies and
equipment for basic medical care. The
medical team comprising of two doctors
and a compounder has done over 5,500
free medical consultations in the last six
months. Moreover, free medicines worth
Rs 2,00,000 have also been distributed to
the needy patients.
Apart from the regular medical consul-
tation and distribution of medicines, the
medical team has been running awareness
campaigns in the villages to educate the
villagers on healthy lifestyle and reasons
for certain illnesses and their prevention.
A drive to identify the blood group of
children residing in Kanhewadi was also
undertaken through which 119 children
and college-goers got their blood group
identified. The ones whose blood group
tests were conducted through this drive
were given a laminated card with their
name and blood group printed on it as a
recorded document for future reference.
Dr. Prasad Chavan, who has been con-
scientiously supporting this noble cause by
visiting the villages on a daily basis, com-
mented “Most of our patients are elderly
villagers suffering from joint pain. For
them, it was even more difficult to travel
a few kilometres only to get basic medi-
cal facilities. Through our Mobile Health
Clinic, we have been able to help these
elderly villagers by providing them medical
facilities almost at their doorstep.”
Dr. Andreas Lauermann, President and
Managing Director, Volkswagen India
Private Limited, said “Six months ago we
started the Mobile Health Clinic as part of
our CSR activity and the overwhelming
response that we have received in this short
period is very encouraging. We are pleased
that we are able to help the nearby villagers
and through this activity we are able to give
back to the society too.”
VolkswagenIndiaCompletesSixSuccessful
MonthsOfOperating ItsMobileHealthClinic

6 | CSR Today | April 2016
CSR | NEWS
In its latest avatar, Suraksha Sanchetna
Abhiyan (SSA) from Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited
(HPCL) adds a new concept ‘Har Kadam
Suraksha Ki Oar’ with a new theme
focussing on women’s health and gas
conservation. HP Gas has strongly taken
the prevention of health hazards caused
by smoke pollution created by the use
of coal, wood based chulahs used in
many homes as a theme for the activity
this year. As a part of the activation in
Maharashtra, SSA will reach conducted in
districts like Satara, Ratnagiri, Kolhapur,
Solapur, Latur, Yavatmal, Gadchiroli,
Jalgaon and Nashik.
Speaking about the initiative,
Subhankar Biswas, GM, LPG Sales and
Marketing, HPCL said, “This year, the
new approach focuses on women’s health
and gas conservation, along with concen-
trating onsafety issues that women need
to understand and adopt. We decided to
communicate the health hazards of using
fuels like coal, cow dung, wood etc. In ad-
dition to conveying the benefits of using
a LPG cylinder in the kitchen, we are also
conveying and educating people on ways
of the correct and proper use of LPG cyl-
inders such that they don’t put anyone’s
life in jeopardy.”
With the objective of driving the mes-
sage closer home, this year, the team visited
each household to engage and enlighten
the members. Instead of delivering the
message in a serious and sombre manner,
the team chose to conduct their Safety
Walk to the rhythm of the Lezim and
the infectious and rousing beat of Dhols.
Handing out safety cards
and drawing pre-designed
rangolis (shaped like HPCL
logo) outside homes,
indicating the goodness it
is bringing to that home,
was another endearing
effort from the team. The
messages were conveyed to
the audience through the
enactment of 3 simple one
act street plays and prizes
were distributed to those
who answered questions
correctly. All done in an engaging, simple
and fun-filled manner, the activity ended
with a Lucky Draw, Prize Distribution and
people enthusiastically signing pledges to
practice safe gas usage measures to protect
lives and even the environment.
The Suraksha Sanchetna Abhiyan
(SSA) Safety Walk, organized by the
HP Gas, will visit 500 small towns /
villages across various states viz. Bihar,
UP, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha,
Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana and Karnataka and it will once
again reach out to more than 5 million
households this year.
Over the last 3 years of the SSA, the
activity hasreached out to almost 1200
villages and engaged with over 8.5 million
people with their crucial safety messages.
In the first edition, the campaign lever-
aged the village mela format with partici-
pation from women folk. Following the
encouraging response received, HPCL,in
the second edition, addressed the men
of the family too, to ensure they also fol-
lowed safety rules and led the womenfolk
to also learn safe kitchen habits.
HP Gas Suraksha Sanchetna Abhiyan
moves into outreach mode via ‘Har Kadam
Surakshaki Oar’

CSR | NEWS
STAY INFORMED…
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“Idream of a world where all children
will have the freedom to live as
children. And I am confident that
I will see the end of child slavery in my
lifetime”, said Mr Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel
Prize Winner for 2014 and Chairman,
Kailash SatyarthiChildren’s Foundation
while speaking at the CII Western Region
Annual Meeting 2016 and Conference on
‘Enabling Inclusive Growth through Social
Engagement’ held in Mumbai.
Mr Satyarthi said that many children
across the world are being denied the basic
right of a childhood and the right to dream.
Globally around 168 million children are
into jobs, while 200 million adults are job-
less, which is a serious matter and requires
conscious correction measures he said. In
India alone, around 43 lakh children work
as child labour as per government statistics.
Non-government statistics put this figure
much higher at 300 million. Mr Satyarthi
said that these are not mere figures and that
every figure has a face to it.
Children are being exploited, enslaved
and even sold, which may have nega-
tive implications on future generations
said MrSatyarthi. Therefore, the civil
society and the corporate sector have a
vital role to play in changing these harsh
realities. MrSatyarthi coined the term
“compassionate intelligence” and urged
corporates to imbibe the same and make
it the culture as well as the driver for their
business. He urged corporates to come
ahead and support atleast one generation
of underprivileged kids, which will lay
the foundation for an independent and
empowered next generation.
Mr Satyarthi said that the inspiration
to create an institution for safeguard-
ing child rights stemmed from the fact
that there was not one single national or
international institution that existed for
the overall aspect of child welfare. He said
that his organisation works for the rescu-
ing exploited children including victims
of child labour and works towards giving
them a better future. His organisation has
successfully created 400 child-friendly vil-
lages in India, where children are not only
empowered and free from exploitation but
also involved in decision making.
H H Radhanath Swami, Spiritual leader,
Renowned Motivational Speaker and
Author for the international best-seller
“The Journey Home” who was also pres-
ent on the occasion spoke on ‘Conscious
Entrepreneurship: The Key to Business
Success’. He said that currently the world is
struggling with a spiritual crisis as individu-
als are disconnected from their own hearts.
He added that true humanity, wisdom and
happiness lies in compassion, which rests
on the pillars of character and integrity.
HH Radhanath Swami said that corpo-
rates must aim to earn with integrity and
spend with compassion. Active, dynamic
and directed compassion is India’s culture
and corporates must strive to live by these
values. He also advised corporate leaders to
live their values as ultimately employees see
them as role models.
Corporates Must Embrace
“Compassionate Intelligence” To End
Child Slavery: Kailash Satyarthi
Subscribe&save

Kotak Mahindra Bank has
announced the launch of “Kotak
Silk Inspire”, a redit card designed
exclusively for women – homemakers,
salaried and business women. The credit
card can be availed without any income
documents against a fixed deposit, and
will partner her in maximising financial
independence. The card is also bundled
with several benefits such as free PVR
movie tickets, 5% savings on apparel
spends, fuel surcharge waiver, Silk Inspire
Shield for protection against card misuse
and much more.
Shanti Ekambaram, President-
Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra
Bank said, “Today we are seeing a growing
number of successful women profession-
als and entrepreneurs contributing to the
household and national income. Even as
homemakers, the role of women in making
key decisions is gaining prominence. Their
needs are evolving with time and “Kotak
Silk Inspire Platinum Credit Card” meets
their lifestyle requirements with features
and benefits exclusively for them.”
The card has a robust reward points
programme. Customers will get 4 free PVR
tickets or 1,000 reward points on spends of
KotakMahindraBankLaunches“KotakSilk
Inspire”CreditCardForWomen
NewsyouCanUse
Rs. 1,25,000 every 6 months. They can earn
5 reward points for every Rs. 100 purchase
on apparels and 1 reward point for every
Rs.200 purchase on other categories. These
can be redeemed for host of benefits like
movie tickets, air miles and cash, as well
as across 10,000 types of merchandise
and mobile recharge. Further, customers
will also get waiver of 2.5% fuel surcharge
across all petrol pumps in India.
The design of “Kotak Silk Inspire” is a
work of art from Bharti Dayal, an excep-
tional painter from the heartland of Mithila.
Painted to reflect the modern woman the
card is contemporary and yet, innately
Indian. Her work is an amalgamation of the
ancient Madhubani art form and modern
times, without deviating from the core
features of the Mithila tradition.
W
omen Safety has become one of the
most debated topics across Indian towns
and cities. Given the growing crime rate
and certain recent incidents, there has been a de-
mand for stricter safety measures to ensure women
safety at all times.
While the relevant authorities bolster the safety
mechanism, there are certain things that individuals
can do to ensure their own personal safety. And the
use of smartphones and the right apps is among the
most easily accessible solutions of notifying one’s
friends and family in the time of distress.
Here are some of the Windows applications that
one can download on smartphones.
Women Safe Circle: Women safe
circle helps one stay safe and con-
nected with near and dear ones at
the click of a button. This app sends
an alert as a SMS or distress text
message to the configured contact group, seeking
help and indicating the user’s location through the
Global Positioning System (GPS).
FightBack: Fightback is a great
application to ensure woman
safety since it works across a large
range of devices including even
feature phones. It uses GPS, GPRS,
SMS, emails and even Facebook to inform one’s
friends that they need help. It has a‘panic’button
which when pressed gets the portal page to send a
Facebook update showing the distressed individual’s
location on Google Maps. It will also send SOS emer-
gency text messages to the individual’s loved ones.
Safetipin: This app is really handy
when one’s travelling to a new or an
unknown locality. Safetipin allows
the user to know the safety levels of
a place. The app provides the user
with a safety score, comments as well as pictures.
This app proves really helpful when one’s going to a
city/place that he/she no idea about and prepares
one to take the necessary precautions as well.
Eyewatch Police: Eyewatch police app is an easy-
to-use version of the mobile phone app that allows
citizens to seek help in real time.
The app offers smartphone based
surveillance designed to help those,
especially women, in trouble. Once
the app is downloaded and installed
on a smart phone, the user in distress can send an
SOS to the Police control room by pressing the des-
ignated button. The police can also access the video
of the user’s location using his/her phone camera.
Guardian: Another safety app by
Windows is the Guardian app which
also allows users to track their de-
vices remotely. This made-for-India,
app is a highly advanced security
app that ensures security for Women and security
groups simultaneously. It is faster since it combines
tracking by both the parties and provides directions
on your phone to local agencies such as police,
hospitals and more. In addition to this the regular
SMS alerts, Guardian will ensure relevant report-
ing for the app to the maximum extent acting as a
Guardian for Women.
SafetyAppsforWomenOnWindowsStore

ASCI launches +91 77100 12345
for consumers as a first touch
point to WhatsApp details of
objectionable advertisements.
Continuing with the mission to protect
Consumers’ interest, the Advertising
Standard Council of India (ASCI) is
embracing technology to connect with the
consumers and curb misleading advertise-
ments. Consumers can now WhatsApp
the objectionable advertisement to +91
77-100-12345. It is yet another “first”
revolutionary initiative by ASCI, after
a successful launch of a Mobile App
ASCIonline last year, keeping it’s flag flying
high internationally. The number went live
on March 10, 2016 with the ASCI Board of
Governors lodging Suo Moto complaints
using this number.
Benoy Roychowdhury, ASCI
Chairman,said at this event, “We are
happy to launch the WhatsApp number,
close to the World Consumer Rights Day
(15th March). ASCI is truly empower-
ing consumers by making it more acces-
sible. Today almost every person with a
smartphone is using messaging services
such as WhatsApp. Technology makes it
possible for them to flag false, misleading or
offensive ads instantaneously and anytime
anywhere while on the go - be it while
reading newspapers at home, on their way
to office, listening to radio or watching TV
in the evening.”
WhatsAppwillserveasonlythefirst
touchpointforconsumerstoreachASCI
withtheirmainobjectionsandim-
agesoftheobjectionableadvertisement.
Azim Premji University has
announced the third Philosophy
of Education (PoE) Summer
School to be held from June 6 to June 17,
2016. Applications are invited from pre-
service and in-service teacher educators,
curriculum developers and those
interested in these roles. Applicants could
be from state institutions like the SCERT
and DIETs, people teaching or developing
curriculum for B.Ed., M.Ed. and similar
formal programs in other institutions.
The focus of the Third Summer
School organized by the Philosophy
of Education Unit at Azim Premji
University is to develop an understand-
ing of how and why PoE is essential for a
practitioner of education and an explo-
ration of possible ways in which PoE
curriculum could be designed and taught.
The premise of this summer school is
that PoE should not only be considered
as a body of theories, but also a way of
approaching issues and finding reason-
able and sound responses to these issues
and that it is essential for all practitioners
of education, especially teachers. The
summer school will place a practitioner
of education at the center and recog-
nize issues stemming from practice that
demand philosophical treatment, intro-
duce participants to a variety of tools
and methods Philosophy of Education
provides, that encourage reflection and
rigorous philosophical analysis.
“In India, currently there is a need to
re-imagine Philosophy of Education cur-
riculum. The current curriculum while
ConsumersCanNow“SnapAndWhatsApp”
ObjectionableAdvertisementsToAsciWhatsApp
AzimPremjiUniversityannouncesthethird
PhilosophyofEducationSummerSchool
Consumerscansendpicturesofprint
ads,hoardings,packagingorScreenshots
ofwebsites,LinksofYouTubevideosetc.
ASCIteamwouldbescrutinizingthese
complaintsandtakeitfurtheriffoundvalid
aswellashavingcompletedetailssuch
asnameande:mailID.Thecomplainant
wouldreceivestatusupdatesonthecom-
plaintbySMS/ande:mail.TheWhatsApp
numberisnotmeantforcommercialpur-
pose.Thecomplaintprocessingisfreefor
consumers,inlinewiththeASCI’smission
ofpromotingself-regulationofadvertising
contentandprotectingConsumers’interest.
The launch would be followed by
awareness campaigns by means of print
advertisement and radio spots with tagline
of “Spot Bad Ad? Snap and WhatsApp +91
77100 12345 whatsapp”
offering a glimpse of what Philosophy is
all about, turns out to be of little use to
the practitioner. The summer school will
contemplate on this issue and on further
matters like – How should PoE cur-
riculum be structured? How should PoE
be taught? How is PoE related to other
disciplines like Sociology of Education
– that deal with distinct issues equally
important for a reflective practitioner?
and much more”, said Rohit Dhankar,
Director, School of Education, Azim
Premji University.
The programme of the Summer
School will consist of lectures by resident
and invited resource persons, discussions,
group reading sessions and presentations
by participants. The medium of instruc-
tion of this programme will be English.
NEWS | you can use

csr I, We & Nature
Nest-BoxesAnd
Bird-Feeders
Thisissomethingthatcanmakea
differenceandbeagame-changer.
Hangingbird-feedersandnest-boxes
issomethinglittleandeasythatonecando.
Theseareavailableinvarioussizesandshapes
–andsomecanbequiteinnovative.Ifin-
stalled,thesecanattractawidevarietyofbirds
–andthisisgoingtobeyourgreatestservice
inconservingnature.Thisissomethingthat
youcanmakeyourself,installyourself.Butthe
funofmakingoneismoreimportant.Itreally
involveszero-cost.
Nest-Boxes
Birdspeciescanbenefitgreatlyfromnest
boxes.Ofthesmallerspecies,itisnormally
birdsthatnestinholesorcrevicesthatwilluse
nestboxestobreedin.Themostcommon
beingthehousesparrow.
Howeverothersmallerbirdswillhappily
useanopenfrontednestboxtobreedin.
Theseinclude,robin,maynas,magpierobin.
Someof thesearequitecommongarden
birdsandprovidingtheyareplaced correctly,
nestboxescanprovideawonderfulopportu-
nitytowitnessfirsthandthebeautyofnature.
Therearetwomaintypesofnestboxes,
theconventionalnestbox madefromstraight
planksoftimberinaboxshapewithacircular
entranceholeandthenaturalnestboxmade
fromahollowedouttree trunk.Thediffer-
encebeingthatthenaturalnestboxlooksvery
professionalandnaturalalthoughitisharder
tomake.Somebirdslike thehousemartin
andswallownestinanartificialcupshaped
nestfixedundertheeaves.
Nestboxesshouldonlybeplacedwhere
theycannotbeaccessedby predators
especiallycats.Catsseemtohoneinonthe
frequentactivityaroundthenestboxatbreed-
ingtimesespeciallyasthechicksget older
whentheircallsbecomeaudible.Aboxwhich
canbereadilyviewedfromthehousewill
Bird-Feeders
Abirdfeeder, bird feeder, bird table, or tray feeder are devices placed outdoors to supply
bird food to birds (bird feeding). The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds de-
pends upon its placement and the kinds of foods offered, as different species have different
preferences. Most bird feeders supply seeds or bird food, such as millet, sunflower (oil and
striped), safflower, Niger seed, and rapeseed or canola seed to seed-eating birds.
Bird feeders often are used for birdwatching and many people keep webcams trained
on feeders where birds often congregate.
WaterPotsAndBirdBaths
With our experience of many years of handling birds rescue we identified that lots of
birds gets distressed due to heat in summer. They just lose their strength of flying
due to dehydration in hot summer. Water pots for birds can make the difference.
Though there is a campaign to put water pots during summer, the question is why not
during other season? It is an easy thing to do and one must do it. Ensure that the water
is changed every day to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquitoes or threat of con-
tamination of water. The birds will not come in a day or two. So it is necessary for all of us
to place water for birds each and every day till the rainy season arrives. The bowl of water
needs to be washed on daily basis so that the birds get germ free water.
In this way, after watching the water bowls all the day in your balcony, birds will surely
come and drink water. When they come in your balcony, you will be delighted to watch
them drink water and may be feed them as well.
thereforeprovideyoupleasureandthebirds
increasedsafety.
Somebirdslikethehousesparrowscan’t
resistusingnestboxes.Whetherabirdwill
chooseanestboxwillofcoursedepend
onthespecies,thatthesizeandsitingof
theboxiscorrect,thatitisinasafelocation
andthereisanadequatesourceoffoodand
waterinthegarden.
Birdsbecomeverysensitiveduringthe
breedingseasonandyoushouldresistany
curiositytolookintheboxatthechicks,since
disturbancemaycausetheadultbirdstoaban-
donthenest.Thisisagoodreasontobuild
yournestboxsoyoucan’tlookinside.
Afterfledgingthenestboxshouldbe
thoroughlycleanedoutsinceit willbeteem-
ingwithtinyparasites-boilingwaterwill
normallydothe trick. Anotherreasontoput
upanestboxisthatafterbreedingtakesplace,
theyareoftenusedduringthenightasaplace
ofshelterandwarmth.

csr | I, We & Nature
HowToSetUpNestBoxes
Setting up a nesting box in your yard
can provide an essential nesting area
for the members of many species
of birds. It is also a great way to provide
wildlife a place to raise young, one of the
four things you need for your outdoor area
to qualify as a National Wildlife Federation
Certified Wildlife Habitat.
While many species are able to hide
their nests in dense foliage or grassy
meadow areas, many others require holes
for nesting. Some birds, such as woodpeck-
ers, can excavate their own nesting cavities
in dead or decaying trees. Others depend
on the abandoned nesting holes or natural
cavities formed from fallen branches for
places to build nests.
Recently, however, an increase in devel-
opment and removal of damaged and dead
trees has left many cavity-nesting birds with
fewer natural places to raise their young.
In addition, invasive birds, such as the
European starling and the house sparrow,
compete with native bird species for the
use of the remaining cavities.
Adding a nesting box to your habitat will
not only benefit native bird species, it will
also give you an opportunity to monitor
and enjoy birds.
Building or Selecting a
Nesting Box
Although most birds prefer natural cavities
for nesting, with the correct design a nest-
ing box can serve as a good replacement.
There are numerous types of bird nest-
ing boxes available commercially. Each box
contains different features and is targeted at
a particular bird species. But not all nesting
boxes are created equal. There are several
features to consider when purchasing or
building a nesting box.
Check that the box is well constructed
and contains these basic features:
• Constructed of natural untreated wood
(pine, cedar or fir)
• Lumber for walls that is at least ¾ of an
inch thick to provide insulation
• An entrance hole of the appropriate size
to allow desired birds to enter but keep
larger birds out
• An entrance that is the correct distance
from the floor to accommodate the nest
• An extended and sloped roof to keep
the rain out
• A recessed floor and drainage holes to
keep the interior dry
• Rough or grooved interior walls to help
fledglings exit
• Ventilation holes to allow the interior to
remain cool
• A side or top panel that opens to allow
easy access for monitoring and cleaning
• No outside perches, which aid predators
and other harassing birds
It is also important to make sure that
your box incorporates features preferred
by the particular bird species you hope to
attract. These features include the entrance
hole size, the height at which the box is
posted, and the type of habitat surrounding
the box. When purchasing a nesting box,
research the physical requirements of the
species that you hope to attract and make
sure that you are investing in a functional,
rather than ornamental, birdhouse. Check
out the Birdhouse Network of the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology for more specific infor-
mation on species preferences.
Where to Place Your
Nesting Box
The habitat available to you will be the pri-
mary factor determining the type of birds
you can attract for nesting. Here are a few
things to consider:
• Make sure that you place birdhouses in
a location where the target bird species
is likely to reside. Before placing your
box, research habitat, nest height and
direction preferences for the species.
• Avoid putting nesting boxes in areas
where herbicides and pesticides are
used. Not only do these chemicals
decrease insect populations – the
primary food source for most cavity-
nesting birds – but they can also harm
birds directly.
• The box can be mounted on a tree or
a pole. Placing the box on a pole with
a predator baffle to protect the birds is
often more successful. Make sure that
the box is attached securely enough to
withstand severe weather and winds.
• Take into consideration the direction
your box is facing and how much direct
sun it receives. Many birds will reject
boxes that face due west, for example,
because the box may stay too hot.
When to Set Up Your Box
Make sure your nesting box is in place well
before the arrival of breeding season.
• In the southern part of the country,
boxes should be in place no later than
February.
• In the northern regions, boxes can be
placed outside before mid to late March.
This will give birds a better chance of
finding and using your box, and it may
even be used for winter cover if put outside
earlier. Don’t be discouraged if birds don’t
find the box in the first season; sometimes
it can take a few years for the birds to find
the box.
Monitoring and Cleaning
Your Box
Once breeding season begins, monitor
your box for activity. You can enjoy watch-
ing adults quickly dart in and out as they
build their nests or feed hungry nestlings.
If your box is first discovered and used by
invasive bird species consider removing the
nest. Doing this regularly will likely encour-
age the bird to move to another location
and free the box for use by native species.
(Source: https://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/
Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Attracting-
Nesting-Birds.aspx)

cover storycover story
BEINGCHANGE
AGENTSSinceitsinception,BhartiFoundationhaspartneredwitheducationalinstitutionsand
organizationstowardssupportingitscauseofservingtheunderprivilegedsections
ofsociety. TheBhartiSchoolofTelecommunicationTechnology&Management
wassetupthroughajoint initiativeofIndianInstituteofTechnology(IIT)Delhiand
BhartiEnterprises,withavisiontodevelopTelecomLeadersthroughexcellence
ineducationandresearch.Similarly,theBhartiCentreforCommunicationwas
setupincollaborationwithIITBombaytogeneratefundamentalknowledgein
telecommunicationandalliedsystems.TheBhartiInstituteofPublicPolicy(BIPP)was
setupasoneofthefourinstitutesatIndianSchoolofBusiness(ISB)Mohalitopromote
highqualityresearchtoguidepolicyformulationandimplementationinIndia.In
addition,wehavetheManmohanSinghBursaryFundwhichrecognizesandawards
exceptionallytalentedstudentstopursuestudiesattheCambridgeUniversity,UK,says
VijayChadda,CEO,BhartiFoundation,inaninterviewtoCSRToday.
When and why was Bharti Founda-
tion established and how has it
evolved?
BhartiFoundationwasestablishedinthe
year 2000 with a vision “to help underprivi-
leged children and young people of our
country realize their potential”. The Foun-
dation remains steadfast in its commitment
of quality education to children from the
rural pockets of India, with a special focus
on the Girl child. To this end, the Satya
Bharti School Program, the flagship initia-
tive of Bharti Foundation was launched in
2006. This year marks the tenth year of run-
ning the program successfully by delivering
qualityeducation,freeofcosttounderprivi-
leged children through 254 Satya Bharti
Schools, impacting over 40,000 students
acrosssixstatesofIndia.Throughthisinitia-
tive, the Foundation aims to transform chil-
dren into educated, employable and re-
sponsible citizens of the future with a deep
sense of commitment to the community in
which they live.
Theknowledgegainedfromourflagship
initiative, the Satya Bharti School Program,
forms the backbone of our growing num-
ber of education programs. The intent of
these initiatives is to support Government
schools in their journey towards quality
education. While the Satya Bharti Learn-
ing Centres support the mainstreaming of
Out Of School Children into Government
schools through remedial classes; the Qual-
ity Support Program works with the Gov-
ernment school leadership and teachers to
help them realise their aspirations through
need-based interventions.
Continuingthetraditionofcontributing
towards the Nation’s agenda, Bharti Foun-
dation announced ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’
in August 2014. This initiative aims to im-
prove rural sanitation facilities by providing
Individual House Hold Latrines (IHHL)
in the villages of Ludhiana, where no such
amenity exists. In addition, the program en-
tails improvement of sanitation facilities in
Government schools of rural Ludhiana by
cover storycover story

cover | storycover | story
Vijay Chadda
CEO, Bharti Foundation

building separate toilets for girls, where no
such facilities exist.
What is the biggest challenge you
are facing at Bharti Foundation, how
are you combating it?
Our schools are located in the remote
villages of India; the availability of trained
and quality teachers is often a trying task.
Customised training and hand-holding at
the time of induction as well as with on-
going, need-based and subject specific
training modules, our teachers are con-
stantly aligned with the best practices in
pedagogies. Further, comprehensive cur-
riculum management compliant with the
requisites of respective State curricula, in
tandem with providing regular and struc-
tured monitoring and administrative sup-
port helps us overcome the academic relat-
ed challenges. In addition, we remain
conscious of the high corporate gover-
nance standards of the Bharti group and its
belief in process orientation as well as en-
suring operations with complete transpar-
ency and accountability. This is the differ-
entiation that the Satya Bharti School
program brings to quality rural education;
teachers as well as field staff not only re-
ceiveregulartrainingbutarealsosensitised
towards deliverables such as process orien-
tation, audits and reporting to help rural
schoolsfulfilthislevelofcompliance.Chal-
lenges have brought with them a lion’s
share of learning and have helped the
Foundation grow with each experience.
The advent of technology has
been changing the face of education
at an immense rate, how do you keep
abreast with it?
Bharti Foundation was set up with mis-
sion of “…creating and supporting pro-
grams that bring about sustainable changes
through education and use of technology.”
Computer education forms an important
integral of the Satya Bharti School curricu-
lum. To make learning interesting, all Pri-
mary and Elementary Schools have been
equipped with KIDSMART computers, in
partnership with IBM, with Computer Aid-
ed Learning (CAL) programs as well as
software developed by Azim Premji Foun-
dation, IBM and EY (Ernst & Young). All
Senior Secondary Schools are provided
with Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) based interactive class-
rooms; installed by NIIT. All our teachers
are trained in the integration of ICT into
regular classroom teaching.
Recently, in support of the 10 year cel-
ebrations of the Satya Bharti School Pro-
gram, the Airtel IT Team led by Harmeen
Mehta, CIO, Bharti Airtel Limited kicked
off an IT Campaign with the students and
teachers of Satya Bharti Schools. The team
will dedicate 3000 working hours through
weekend IT lessons for students and teach-
ers of Satya Bharti Schools to enhance their
knowledge of IT.
What is the road-map of Bharti
Foundation for the next 3 years?
Bharti Foundation will continue to pro-
videqualityeducationthroughitsSatyaBhar-
tiSchoolProgram.Itwillenhanceitsfocuson
assisting the Government in building state
capacity by covering more Government
schools to improve the overall schooling ex-
perience under its Quality Support Program.
We are in discussion with Punjab, Haryana
and Rajasthan Governments to expand the
Program to more schools. In addition, we are
planning to take the Satya Bharti Learning
CentresProgramtonewstatesandareindis-
cussionwithfewmoreStateGovernmentsto
set up remedial centres for bringing out of
schoolchildrenbacktoschooling.
The various programs being run by
Bharti Foundation are a collaborative effort

of a large and diverse group of partners and
stakeholders who have come together to
achieve the vision and mission of educating
underprivileged children across the coun-
try. While at the ground level, communities
and parents play an integral role in holding
the program together with their consis-
tent support to the schools; at every level,
the Foundation builds relationships and
bridges which help initiatives gain strength
and build long-term sustainability. A key
contributor to the Foundation’s impact on
ground in terms of long-term sustainability
is through multiple partnerships with the
Government. The Foundation works in
close coordination with various state gov-
ernments to enhance the quality and deliv-
ery of education in rural parts of India. This
helpsbringtogetherbestpractices,learning,
resources and processes from both worlds
and also in making optimum use of its re-
sources. With both stakeholder support
and effective Government partnerships, the
Foundation is geared towards greater im-
pact in the field of quality education in rural
India over the coming years.
What are your plans for the higher
education sector in India?
Since its inception, Bharti Foundation
has partnered with educational institu-
tions and organizations towards support-
ingitscauseofservingtheunderprivileged
sections of society. The Bharti School of
Telecommunication Technology & Man-
agement was set up through a joint initia-
tive of Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) Delhi and Bharti Enterprises, with a
vision to develop Telecom Leaders
through excellence in education and re-
search. Similarly, the Bharti Centre for
Communication was set up in collabora-
tion with IIT Bombay to generate funda-
mental knowledge in telecommunication
and allied systems. The Bharti Institute of
Public Policy (BIPP) was set up as one of
the four institutes at Indian School of Busi-
ness (ISB) Mohali to promote high quality
research to guide policy formulation and
implementation in India. In addition, we
have the Manmohan Singh Bursary Fund
which recognizes and awards exceptional-
ly talented students to pursue studies at
the Cambridge University, UK.
Tell us something about the CSR at
Bharti Foundation.
It has been our Chariman, Sunil Bharti
Mittal’s vision to significantly contribute to
the development agenda of the nation and
give back to the society. In the early years,
the Foundation was in a large sense more
about corporate and individual philanthro-
py as opposed to a CSR mandate. With
years of responsible operations and success
in providing quality education in rural In-
dia,theFoundationisregardedasacredible
platform for CSR. So, we have the good for-
tune of being uniquely positioned where
the Foundation also provides a significant
platform where corporate houses and
NGOscometogethertofulfiltheagendaof
high quality education. We make sure that
our students not only excel academically,
but are prepared as ‘Change Agents’ willing
to defeat the oddities prevailing in the soci-
ety.BhartiFoundationabidesbythehighest
norms of corporate governance including
three levels of audits to ensure integrity and
appropriate utilization of funds.
Involvement of private parties in devel-
oping the education scenario is crucial in
today’s context. Corporate engagement at
various levels in the education sector will
provide a thrust to the quality of education
inIndia.Intherecentyears,manyindividual
andcorporatehouseshavetakenupvarious
responsibilities to uplift this sector through
their financial, in-kind, technical and advi-
sory support.
How you look at the growth of
PPP model of education in Indian
context?
The Government of India and the State
Governments have introduced various
schemes and institutional arrangements
for bringing in the private sector at differ-
ent project levels to improve the quality of
education. The combined resources and
skills from both government and private
parties have to some extent begun to ad-
dress the persisting problems being expe-
rienced in schools. Public Private Partner-
ships help infusing fresh energy by
introducing innovation and system effi-
ciency in the existing processes while in-
ducing better educational prospects.
Bharti Foundation, under the Adarsh
School Scheme with the Punjab Govern-
ment has set up five Satya Bharti Adarsh
Senior Secondary Schools which are im-
pacting more than 3,000 students and their
families. The Quality Support Program and
the Satya Bharti Learning Centres are some
of our other programs that operate using
the fundamentals of Bharti Foundation’s
PPP model of education.

CSR the known & unknown mumbai
APlanetWithinMumbai’s
ConcreteJungle
The BNAC has risen from a garbage dump to a forest with hundreds
of big and small trees. It was gradually developed as a full-fledged
nature centre and now has several small wild flora, fauna and
reptiles, an artificial cave-cum-tunnel with rock paintings, life-
size statues of tribals from India, Africa and south America, two
machans (tree-top forest outposts), overnight jungle camping for
students, a butterfly garden, fossils and an ancient cave.
Africa and south America, two machans
(tree-top forest outposts), overnight jungle
camping for students, a butterfly garden,
fossils and an ancient cave.
All this has happened within seven to
eight years and more importantly, it figures
as the official partner of the United Nations
Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020 initia-
tive – which in itself is a rare achievement.
In fact, the cast and crew of Taarak Mehta
Ka Ooltah Chashmah had visited here and
shot couple of episodes - that made it fa-
mous nationally.
“I am attached to it…those who work
here are attached to it. It’s a mission for all
of us,” said Himanshu Prem Joshi, the man
behind the transformation. “A kid who is
exposed to nature young, who is allowed
to feel the nature you…hold a small bird
or nurse an injured animal….he or she can
neverturnintoacriminal.Suchisthepower
of nature,” said Himanshu, adding that the
aim is nature education, nature awareness,
science, adventure, animal care.
“Not only we bring kids closer to the
nature, we also tell them the dos and don’ts
of nature, survival techniques, navigation,
rapelling and so on….BNAC really teaches
nature and adventure,” he said, adding that
N
estled within the concrete
jungle of Mumbai, lies a small
patchofgreenlung–theBha-
van’s Nature & Adventure
Centre (BNAC) – which is leading a love-
nature movement. It’s the green lap of this
Maximum City - and its slowly entering the
tourist map of Mumbai.
The BNAC at Andheri-West, spread
over three-acres – around two-acres green
niche along a one-acre lake, harbours over
250 plant species, 55 to 60 bird species, 45
butterfly species and other living creatures.
It’s about a 20 minute walk from the And-
heri station on the Western Railway subur-
ban network of Mumbai, the commercial
capital of the country. It’s located inside the
sprawling 65-acre Bhavan’s College cam-
pus, a part of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
The BNAC has risen from a garbage
dump to a forest with hundreds of big and
small trees. It was gradually developed as a
full-fledged nature centre and now has sev-
eral small wild flora, fauna and reptiles, an
artificial cave-cum-tunnel with rock paint-
ings, life-size statues of tribals from India,

CSR | the known & unknown mumbai
its open on Saturdays and Sundays and also
during the week, that allow kids in groups
from schools. “There are overnight pro-
grammes as well,” he said.
“As a proud component of the Bhavan’s
family comprising over 300 constituent in-
stitutionsacrossIndiaandabroad,itaimsto
reachouttothemassesthroughitsactivities
Bombay House, the Tata group’s headquar-
ters in the Fort area of Mumbai, is the
first and only heritage building in India to be
awarded the prestigious‘Platinum Rating’by
the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), un-
der their EB (Existing Building) rating system.
Built in 1923, Bombay House was designed
by the British architect George Wittet, who also
designed the Gateway of India, Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly
known as the Prince of Wales Museum) and
the Institute of Science.
Bombay House has been given this rating
for continuously implementing measurable
strategies and solutions in five categories: site
& facility management, water efficiency, energy
efficiency, health & comfort and innovation.
Some of the sustainable practices being
followed by Bombay House are:
• Energy Savings: As compared to the
Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) on
base year in 2010, the energy perfor-
mance in the building has improved by
more than 35%.
• Reduction in water consumption: The
building is equipped with smart retrofits
like waterless urinals, smart metering,
measurement and verification which have
reduced the consumption of municipal
corporation supplied water by 35%.
• Use of renewable energy: In order to
promote the use of renewable energy,
the building has an off-site grid tied solar
photovoltaic (PV) installation of 87.5 kwP,
thereby producing 1,43,718 kwh (electrical
units – estimated) annually.
• Waste Management: Bombay House
follows a stringent segregated waste man-
agement policy leading to best practices in
solid waste management.
• Conservation of resources: A green
policy has been introduced to promote the
conservation of resources. Also, a continu-
ous measurement and verification system
has led to savings in electricity, water and
other resources.
The project was implemented with the
support of occupants of the building, The As-
sociated Building Company Limited (ABCL), a
Tata group company, responsible for the build-
ing, and Ecofirst Services, the sustainability arm
of Tata Consulting Engineers Limited, which
works in the area of building retro commis-
sioning and facilitation.
Bombay House gets green tag
and programs aimed at building a beautiful
India,” adds Himanshu.
Atthecenterofthecampus,isabeautiful
small lake, which enriches the biodiversity
of the campus. It is a habitat for a variety
of flora and fauna. Amidst ones hectic and
busy lifestyle, the peaceful ambience, lush
greenery and the chirping of birds that fills
the air surrounding the lake is commend-
able. Around it is the green piece of land –
which also has a small office of Himanshu,
his staff and battery of volunteers. During
the rainy season, if one happens to pass by
the lake, one can view the delicate lotus
flower growing it all its might.
The various activities here includes
Rope climbing, Rappelling, River Cross-

T
he world-famous Elephanta Island,
known for its cave temples, that makes
it UNESCO World Heritage Site, would
get regular electricity soon.
The Elephanta Island is located around
seven nautical miles off the Gateway of India
in Mumbai and is a popular tourist destina-
tion. Administratively, it comes under the Uran
taluka of Raigad district of Maharashtra.
“The world-renowed tourist destination of
Elephanta Caves Island will soon get regular
electricity with investment of Rs 28 crore in
power infrastructure,”Governor CH Vidyasagar
Rao told the joint session of Maharashtra legis-
lature on the opening day of budget session.
Over the years, the 1,200-odd residents
of Elephanta Caves have been demanding
regular power supply.“The government will lay
an underwater power cable network between
mainland Mumbai and the island,”sources in
the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance government
said. As of now, they are dependent on solar
power and diesel generator sets.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is
likely to lay the foundation stone for the
ambitious project on August 15 - and this is
going to be the a big day for the 300-odd
families living here.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribu-
tion Company (MAHADISCOM) will carry the
work. A consultant has been appointed to
conduct a survey to lay submarine cables
– which would come from near the Jawaha-
rlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Nhava Sheva
located across the Mumbai harbour.
The Elephanta Island or Gharapuri has
three villages - Shetbandar, Morabandar and
Rajbandar. The local population is engaged
in cultivating rice, fishing and boat repairing
besides tourism-related income. The island
is spread over 16 sq kms. orest growth with
clusters of mango, tamarind, and karanj trees
ElephantaIslandTo
GetElectricity
The Elephanta Island or Gharapuri has three villages - Shetbandar, Morabandar and Rajbandar. The
local population is engaged in cultivating rice, fishing and boat repairing besides tourism-related
income. The island is spread over 16 sq kms. orest growth with clusters of mango, tamarind, and
karanj trees cover the hills with scattered palm trees. Rice fields are seen in the valley.
ing, Rope Ladder, Archery, Tribal Trail,
BirdWatching,RifleShooting,Commando
Bridge, Hanging Tyre, Flying Fox, Mini
Tarzan Swing, Horizontal Net, Spider Net
and Cave trail. The place also has overnight
camping options at tents. For kids there is a
JungleGym,monkeybars,aclimbingframe
and a commando net with a vertical spider
net is erected for young children to climb,
hang and experience fun, while removing
fear of falling down. A mini observation
jungle tower made of bamboo and wood
entices all to come on board and discover
how it feels to sit in silence and indulge in
birdwatching.
Besides, it has a collection of aquarium
fish, a display or rocks and minerals, sea

shells, and diorama. “In a space starved,
unplanned chaotic concrete city this is an
oasis,” said Prem.
Now they also hold an annual festival
Prakruti. “It was launched to provide a plat-
form for exchange and interaction between
silent or unheard workers, students and vet-
eransinthefieldofnatureandenvironment
protection. Organisers expect this forum
to display best of the environmentally ben-
eficial lifestyles, technologies and science
projects for betterment of humanity and
our delicate planet,” added Himanshu.
One of the interesting thing here is the
session of animal interaction was a unique
experience for all the kids, here they could
touch and feel the wild animals. Kids are
cover the hills with scattered palm trees. Rice
fields are seen in the valley.
In ancient period, the place is variously
identified as Puri which is mentioned in the
Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II. It seems,
different dynasties held their sway over this
island, namely, the Konkan-Mauryas, Trikutakas,
Chalukyas of Badami, Silaharas, Rashtrakutas,
Kalyani Chalukyas, Yadavas of Deogiri, Muslim
rulers of Ahmedabad and then by the Portu-
guese. The Marathas also had this island under
their control and from them it passed into the
control of the British.
There are seven cave excavations in the
Elephanta group and these are datable from
circa 6th – 7th centuries A.D. Among the cave
excavations, the Cave 1 is the most impressive
which represents the evolved Brahmanical rock-
cut architecture.The cave is also famous for the
exquisite and vibrant sculptures. On plan it almost
resembles the Dumar Lena (Cave 29) of Ellora.
The cave has a main entrance on the north with
two other openings on the east and west respec-
tively and a central hall with six rows of pillared
columns, six in each row except on the western
corner, where a shrine of lingam is provided.
On plan, there are three large square recess-
es divided off by pilasters each of them bearing
a gigantic image of a dvarapala. The panel
on the east has a figure of ardhanarisvara, a
form of Siva with the combined energies of
male and female; and on the west figures of
Siva and Parvati playing chausar is carved.
The central recess holds the most famous and
remarkable sculpture of this period known as
the Mahesa-murti. It is a colossal bust of the
three forms of Siva, the aghora, turbulent and
fearsome; tatpurusha, benign and meditative
and vamadeva, mild pleasing and lovable.
The other notable panels in the main cave are
Andhakasuravada murti; cosmic dance of Nata-
raja; Kalyanasundara murti; Gangadhara murti;
Ravana shaking Kailasa and Siva as Lakulisa. A
panel depicting Saptamatrikas near the eastern
opening is also remarkable.
The cave is also famous for the exquisite
and vibrant sculptures and is maintained by
the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
since 1982. Remote regions, mountains,
forests, tribal areas, deserts and sanctuaries
of Ladakh, Arunachal, Himachal, Sikkim,
Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Lakshadweep,
Andamans, Rajasthan, Kashmir, Kerala,
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maha-
rashtra, are on the itineraries of the excur-
sions organised by Wild Holidays, that he
organsies. “I want to pass on the knowl-
edge that I have gained over the years.....it
is important that inculcate love for nature
among the students,” he added.
Armed with awareness about its activi-
ties, BNAC plans to expand by including
many more activities and exhibits to make
thisauniqueon-campusnaturecentreofits
kind in the country, Himanshu said.
thrilled with the softness of rabbits and
guinea pigs. There are parakeets as well.
As a matter of fact, Himanshu has been
active in the field of Camping, Trekking,
Adventure and Environment Education

CSR case study
FromSunToSocket:
ThePhilippines
SolarStory
Thanks to an abundance of sunshine, affordable technology
and investor interest, prospects for the solar energy industry
in the Philippines have never been brighter. Swiss power and
automation giant ABB is one company set on helping the nation
embrace this opportunity.
supplying,testing,andcommissioningofpho-
tovoltaic(PV)powerplantstotalling200MW
forsolardeveloperSolarPhilippines,saidFyfe.
Solar Philippines is one of the country’s
leading solar companies and Southeast Asia’s
largestdeveloperofrooftopsolar.
Led by young Filipino entrepreneur Le-
andro Leviste, an undergraduate student at
Yale University in the United States, the firm
has installed solar plants on rooftops for ma-
jor shopping malls across the country and is
nowventuringintobuildingcommercialsolar
farmsaroundthecountry.
“Solar is becoming increasingly com-
petitive with fossil fuel, enabling it to supply a
growing share of our country’s energy needs,”
noted Leviste. Its latest power plant projects
willbebuiltinthreeprovinces–Batangas,Tar-
lac and Misamis Oriental – and will be ready
foroperationsthisyear.InBatangas,SolarPhil-
ippines hopes to mount more than 150,000
solar panels, covering about 75 hectares of
landitowns.Overthenextthreedecades,this
project would offset about one million tonne
ofcarbondioxideemissions,thesameamount
absorbedbyaboutfivemilliontrees.
“These projects mark a turning point for
solar in the Philippines, and we are proud to
partner with ABB, whose advanced technol-
T
he global solar industry is boom-
ing: A new report in January this
year by clean energy consulting
firm Mercom Capital noted that
totalprivatesectorinvestmentinthesectorhit
US$25.3billionlastyear,maintainingasimilar
level of investment seen in 2014, when it hit
US$26.5billion.
InAsia,nowhereisthisgrowthstorymore
evident than in the Philippines, where a com-
bination of abundant sunshine, favourable
government policies and private money is fu-
ellingaburgeoningsolarindustry.
The archipelago nation, whose sources of
energy have traditionally been coal and crude
oil,in2011setanambitioustargettogenerate
halfofitselectricity-roughly15,400megwatts
(MW)–fromrenewablesourcesby2030,up
from5,400MWtoday.
The government initially expected only
285MWwouldcomefromthesolarsectorby
2030, but the dramatic surge in interest in re-
cent years from private developers prompted
the government to raise its target in 2014 to
500MW–agoalthathasbeenmetlastyear.
Industry groups like the Philippine Solar
PowerAlliancearecurrentlylobbyingthegov-
ernment to further raise its solar capacity am-
bitions to as much as 2000 MW starting this
yearasmoreenergydeveloperslooktosetup
plantsandsupplypowertothegrid.
If realised, this could mean that in a few
years, solar power could account for about 12
per cent of the country’s total power generat-
ing capacity, which stood at 15,633 MW in
December2014.
One company that is hoping to tap into
the Phillippines solar growth story is power
and automation giant ABB, which has been
involved in the country’s power sector since
1968. ABB managing director John Fyfe told
Eco-Business in a recent interview that the
firmviewssolarenergyasanimmenseoppor-
tunitytoplugthegapsinthecountry’senergy
demand, while helping it fulfill its national
commitment to reduce carbon emissions
fromfossilfuels.
AttheUnitedNationsclimatetalksinParis
in December, nearly 200 nations adopted a
historic agreement to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in energy, transport, waste and for-
estry, among others to limit the rise in global
temperatures under 2 degrees. The Philip-
pines has committed to reduce 70 per cent of
itsemissionsby2030.
In 2011, ABB made its first foray into the
country’ssolarsectorandby2015,ithadwon
what it calls its “breakthrough order” for the

CSR | case study
ply this through local grids, and this power is
moreexpensivethanthepowersuppliedfrom
thenationalgrid.
ReneFajilagutan,presidentoftheAssocia-
tionofIsolatedElectricCooperatives(AIEC),
saidatanenergyforuminOctoberthatthisis
why there is huge potential for renewables to
bedeployedintheselocations.
HesaidtheAIECisincreasinglylookingat
renewable energy as a replacement for diesel
fuel,asitcanbringdownthecostofpowerfor
thesecommunitieswhilealsoreducingpollu-
tionandcarbonemissions.
SomeislandsinthePhilippineswheresolar
is becoming popular include tourism regions
such as Negros and Palawan. Fyfe suggested
that the next logical step would be to connect
thesesolarnetworkstoeachother.
Forinstance,henotedthatmostrenewable
energyplantsintheLuzonandVisayasregions
operate independently from one another. “It
wouldbeidealifinthefuture,asystemcanbe
developed wherein a network of renewable
energy plants can be created to address the
lack of electricity in remote areas, including
theMindanaoregion,whererollingblackouts
havecometobeexpected,”headded.
Fyfe said that these island grids can also
benefit from existing solutions such as mi-
crogrids, which offer a more efficient way to
managerenewableenergygeneration.
Cloudy policies
Despite the massive potential for solar en-
ergy, however, the industry still faces tough
ogy and expertise have been critical in turn-
ing these projects into a reality,” said Leviste
inastatement.
From sun to socket
ABB’s solar business has been expanding
worldwide on the back of a strategy to pro-
vide various products and services “from the
sun to the socket”. It doubled its solar inverter
capacity - the technology that converts the
electric current from PVs to the grid - in India
to 2 gigawatts (GW), and also secured solar
orders in Japan, Honduras, Costa Rica and in
theUnitedArabEmirateslastyear.
As ABB has been supplying solar power
solutionssincetheearly1990s,itcanleverage
itsexpertiseinpowerelectronics,smartgrids,
distributed control systems, and many other
parts of the energy chain, Fyfe explained.
It helps that ABB also has deep knowledge
about grid codes and utility practices in
thePhilippines.
“A solar power plant’s efficiency in feeding
energy into the grid relies mainly on the con-
centration of solar power it receives….With a
comprehensivesolarsolutionsportfolio,ABB
carrieseverythingneededtoensurepowerin-
stallations of all sizes are efficient, reliable, and
well-managedaspossible–allwhilemaximis-
ingreturnoninvestment,”headded.
The engineering giant provides a wide
range of solar inverters, low-voltage products,
energystorageandtrackingsystemstoenable
both residential and commercial solar plant
owners to optimise energy consumption and
complyfullywithlocalgrids.
It also offers a plant-level automation plat-
form which maximises revenues for power
producers by optimising performance, effi-
ciency,andup-timeofPVplants.
“We are a one-stop shop, whether com-
panies require specific products, or wish to
source the entire electrical balance of plant
(EBoP)forasolarproject,”notedFyfe.
Sunny outlook for small
islands
An archipelago of 7,107 islands, the Philip-
pineshasmanyruralcommunitiesthatarestill
not connected to the grid. Electric coopera-
tives in many such island provinces typically
generate electricity using fossil fuels and sup-
regulatory challenges ahead. Fyfe pointed
out that glitches remain in the government’s
existing policy framework on renewable en-
ergy, outlined in the country’s 2008 Renew-
able Energy Act, which discourages some
potentialdevelopers.
Some industry observers note that there
is absence of clear directives on who will be
responsible for developing or implementing
solutions that will stabilise the power trans-
mission grids once more solar installations
comeonline.
Fyfe added: “We have observed that there
is no existing system as of yet on how power
from solar plants, or other renewable energy
sources, can be seamlessly integrated into the
grid.”Inresponsetotheseconcerns,thecoun-
try’sDepartmentofEnergysaidinDecember
it has set up a working committee, including
industrystakeholders,toaddressthisissueand
studythegridreliabilityconcernsofscalingre-
newableenergy.
Fyfealsonotedthatthelackofanattractive
feed-in-tariff (FIT) rate is a concern for solar
developers. Initially, the solar FIT rate was set
at Php9.68 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for proj-
ects approved under the 50 MW- targets in
2012anditwasguaranteedfor20years.
Now, solar producers will be paid a lower
rate of Php8.69 per kWh for new projects
whichwereapprovedin2014.Becauseofthis
development, solar developers with pend-
ing installation applications are pushing to
extend the FIT rate scheme to include up to
2,000MW of projects to ensure them better
returnsontheirinvestments.
Some investors have gone further to urge
thegovernmenttorestructurethemarketand
setannualtargetsforthesolarsector.
Despitetheseobstacles,developerslikeLe-
viste are optimistic about solar’s future in the
country and has called on landowners to take
up the challenge and convert unproductive
landsintosolarfarms.
“What we have done to the rooftops
of malls and factories, we shall do for solar
farms,andwewelcomeallwillingpartnersto
joinusinfinallyturningthisvisionintoareal-
ity,”saidLeviste.
(Source:http://www.eco-business.com/news/
from-sun-to-socket-the-philippines-solar-story/)
It would be ideal
if in the future, a system
can be developed wherein a
network of renewable energy
plants can be created to
address the lack of electricity
in remote areas.
–John Fyfe, managing director,
ABB Philippines

CSR burning issue
27StepsToCut
FoodWasteAnd
SaveBillions
Of the 27 achievable steps identified, the ones with the most economic
value are all about prevention. by barbara grady
In dollars, these steps could unleash
$100 billion in economic activity from
reinvesting money saved and from invest-
ing in infrastructure. They could create
15,000 jobs.
Prevention
Just as Smokey Bear and your mother said,
prevention is key.
Ofthe27achievablestepsiden-
tified, the ones with the most eco-
nomic value are all about preven-
tion. The top three steps with the
most economic value are:
Standardizing date labeling on
food across manufacturers and
retailers to elimate waste through
confusing “sell by” dates.
Educating consumers through
large-scale consumer campaigns
to help people become aware how
much food they waste and ways
they can reduce it and save money.
Packaging adjustments, or making pack-
age sizes match typical comsumption pat-
terns so consumers don’t throw away por-
tions of what is packaged.
ReFED named other packaging levels
steps that could prevent food waste, includ-
I
t doesn’t have to be this way – that US
consumers and businesses toss in the
trash some 52 million tons of food a
year, squandering $218 billion spent
on growing, processing, transporting and
then disposing that food.
The Rethink Food Waste through Eco-
nomics and Data (ReFED) consortium
who studied the problem for a year
said Wednesday there are 27 pretty
easystepsthat,ifscalednationwide,
wouldcutfoodwasteby20percent
or 13 million tons in a decade.
The steps, carried out, would
put $5.6 billion back in consum-
ers’ pockets each year and $1.6 bil-
lion back in the coffers of restau-
rants and food service companies
while saving business in general
$2 billion.
Moreover, they’d eliminate 18
million tons of methane emis-
sions and save 1.6 trillion gallons
of freshwater. And, as a huge future benefit,
they’d get the world in better position to
feedthe9billionpeopleexpectedtoinhabit
the planet by 2050.
Food waste is such a major problem that
nearly 40 percent is lost between farm and
fork,theU.S.DepartmentofAgriculturees-
timated.TheUSDAissuedacalltobusiness
and consumers alike last fall to reduce food
waste in this nation by 50 percent by 2030.
ReFED, releasing its “Roadmap to
Reduce Food Waste by 20 percent” on
Wednesday, said the task would take some
investment, $18 billion actually.
But the payback would be much bigger.
“Reducing food waste would have a
game-changingimpactonnaturalresources
depletion and degradation, food insecurity,
national security and climate change,” the
ReFED Report stated.
Accepting misshaped produce into the retail food chain is one way to
reduce food waste.

CSR | burning issue
ing changing packaging mate-
rial to types that prolong product
freshness, accepting so-called
“ugly” fruit and vegetables into the
wholesale and retail supply chain.
How food is served also could
prevent food waste. Getting rid of
trays at dining halls and cafeterias
would discourage customers from
choosing more than they can eat.
At the operational supply
chain level, the ReFED report
recommends that manufacturers
and retailers use cold chain man-
agement during shipping, track-
ing and analytics tools during
processingandtransportaswellas
inventory management to move
food through the sales channel
based on age.
Food recovery
Food donations to hunger relief agencies
could double with a little improvement
in the logistics and transportation around
food recovery programs, the ReFED re-
port stated. It figures meals donated could
reach 1.8 million.A key driver to expand-
ing food recovery programs would be
tax incentives that reward businesses for
donating excess food. Another would be
investment in the logistics of timely trans-
Recycling to compost
and energy
By volume, recycling would do most
to reduce food waste.
Recycling food scraps into com-
posting or into energy through
anaerobic digestion could divert
9.5 million tons of waste from going
to landfills over the decade, the re-
port stated.
The report stated the nation has
woefully underinvested in recycling
and $3 billion is needed for building
centralized composting and anaero-
bic digestion facitlities.
The obstacles at the moment to
recycling are that disposal to landfill
costs are too low, making alternatives
noteconomicallycompellingenough
to drive investment.The research was
conductedbyMissionPointPartners,
Deloitte Consulting, Resource Recycling
Systems and the Closed Loop Fund with
help from Sodexo, the Natural Resources
Defense Council and other businesses,
foundationsandgovernmentagencies.
Barbara Grady is the Senior
Writer of GreenBiz Group.
(Source: https://www.greenbiz.
com/article/27-steps-cut-
food-waste-and-save-billions)
Source:ARoadmaptoReduceU.S.FoodWasteby20percent
Source:ARoadmaptoReduceU.S.FoodWasteby20percent
portation so that donated food gets to its
destination without spoling.
There’s room for innovation in food re-
covery, ReFED said. If someone devised
good software for managing the logistics
and delivery of food to hunger relief agen-
cies, then such donations would grow and
the software developer would make money.
ReFED estimated that 1.1 million tons of
wastecouldbedivertedthroughbetterfood
donation programs.

CSR burning issue
HowFastAreSea
LevelsRising?Faster
ThanYouThink
According to reports published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences and Climate Central, instances of “nuisance”
flooding dramatically have increased in recent decades at locations on
all three U.S. coasts. In Annapolis, Maryland for instance, the number of
floodingdaysoccurringfrom2005to 2014increased 10-fold compared
to those occurring from 1955 to 1964. by christina deconcini
mate change mitigation to prevent the worst
impactsofsealevelrisefromcomingtopass.
Unfortunately, there’s a political discon-
nectbetweenthebipartisanactionhappening
in local communities and the partisan divide
at the national level. Candidates running for
presidentaren’tgivingthisissuetheconsider-
ationitdeserves.
Recently, a bipartisan group of 17 mayors
from Florida, including the mayor of Miami,
sent a letter to the presidential candidates
from their state asking them to present a plan
toaddresssealevelrise.Themayorsurgedthe
candidates to consider local impacts ahead of
political ideology and “address the upcoming
crisis(sealevel)presentsourcommunities.”
In March, both political parties will hold
presidential debates in Florida, ground zero
for sea level rise in the United States. As the
release of these two new studies underscore,
it’s imperative that all candidates are pressed
to present a clear plan for defending Ameri-
ca’s coastlines from sea level rise and prevent
the problem from threatening more homes,
businesses, schools and communities in the
comingdecades.
(Source:https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-
fast-are-sea-levels-rising-faster-you-think)
T
he release of two new reports has
put the dangers of sea level rise
resulting largely from climate
changeonthefrontpageofmajor
mediaoutletsallovertheUnitedStates.
Theresearchfindsthatsealevelsincreased
at a faster rate last century than any other in
nearly 3,000 years, putting coastal communi-
ties and infrastructure in harm’s way. While
this is old news to the local elected officials
on the front lines of sea level rise and coastal
flooding, the research is hoped to inspire
much-neededactionatthefederallevel.
AccordingtoreportspublishedinthePro-
ceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences
and Climate Central, instances of “nuisance”
floodingdramaticallyhaveincreasedinrecent
decadesatlocationsonallthreeU.S.coasts.In
Annapolis, Maryland for instance, the num-
ber of flooding days occurring from 2005 to
2014 increased 10-fold compared to those
occurringfrom1955to1964.Vitally,thefind-
ings also indicate that human-caused climate
changeisdrivingtheriseincoastalflooding.
Increased global temperatures caused
by anthropogenic greenhouse gases are ex-
tremelylikelytohaveplayedatleastsomerole
in more than four out of five flooding days
fromKeyWesttoFernandina,Florida,andthe
study indicates that at the locations analyzed,
morethan3,500flooddayssince1950would
nothaveoccurredwithouthumaninfluence.
The new findings mirror what local of-
ficials from coastal communities across the
United States already have been experienc-
ing for years. In fact, in October, WRI helped
bring together more than 40 local elected of-
ficials from 18 coastal states for the largestr
bipartisan conference of elected officials on
sea level rise. Republicans and Democrats
alike shared stories of their communities’ be-
ingbatteredbyunprecedentedandincreasing
coastal flooding. According to the new re-
search,thisproblemisonlygoingtogetworse
as the world continues to warm. We need
strong action now to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in order to lessen the potentially
catastrophic impacts of climate change on
coastalcommunities.Weknowthataddition-
al resources are also needed for coastal com-
munities to increase their resiliency efforts as
theyfacerisingseas.
At the local level, leaders from Norfolk,
Virginia,toMiami,Florida,toLaJolla,Califor-
nia, are already taking action to mitigate and
adapt,butit’ssomethingthattheycan’thandle
alone.Policymakersatthenationallevelneed
to prioritize flood resiliency and ramp up cli-

CSR | 360 degree
AviationCarbon
StandardWon’tPlugHole
InParisAgreement
Opponents of aviation and shipping’s inclusion in the Paris text
argued it was unnecessary as the International Civil Aviation
Organisation and the International Maritime Organization already
were working on their own climate policies. by james murray
with a higher stringency than that now set
for such aircraft by ICAO,” T&E noted.
“The standard could have accelerated the
closure of production lines of the older ver-
sions of these types (A320s, A330s, Boeing
737CEOs) but ICAO added a built-in es-
cape to keep these old and 15 to 20 percent
less fuel-efficient aircraft in production up
until 2028.”
Thirdly, the standard alone is highly un-
likely to deliver on the industry’s stated goal
of delivering an average of 1.5 percent a year
up to 2020, stabilising CO2 emissions by
2020, and halving CO2 emissions by 2050
comparedwitha2005baseline.
There are some bright green spots in
the aviation industry – jet biofuel trials are
making progress, fuel efficiency does keep
improving year-on-year as airlines respond
to cost pressures, companies such as easyJet
arepioneeringcleantechnologiesinabidto
slashemissionsfurther.Butasastudynoted
last year, the industry is 12 years behind on
its 2020 goal and there is little hope of the
gap being closed.
(Source: http://www.greenbiz.com/article/
aviation-carbon-standard-wont-plug-hole-
paris-agreement)
L
ast year’s Paris Agreement was so
much more ambitious than ex-
pected that the vast majority of
green businesses and campaigners
united in hailing its historic significance. But
the near universal praise for the deal did not
meanitwaswithoutflaws–farfromit.
This week the U.N. attempted to address
oneofthoseflawswiththeInternationalCiv-
il Aviation Organization (ICAO) announce-
ment that its Committee on Aviation Envi-
ronmental Protection (CAEP) has backed
plans for a mandatory carbon standard for
newaircrafttobephasedinfrom2020.
One of the biggest weaknesses of the
Paris Agreement was the axing of a refer-
ence to the need to tackle emissions from
aviation and shipping. The EU had wanted
aspecificcommitmenttodealwiththetwin
industries’ fast-expanding carbon footprint,
but according to sources the reference was
killed early in the negotiating process by
the same “usual suspects” who tried to kill
the EU’s extension of its emissions trading
scheme to aviation – in other words, the
U.S., China and several Gulf states.
Opponents of aviation and shipping’s
inclusion in the Paris text argued it was
unnecessary as the ICAO and the Interna-
tional Maritime Organization already were
working on their own climate policies. The
ICAO’s announcement suggests they may
have had a point.
The aviation industry was quick to her-
ald today’s news as an important step in the
right direction – one that will be followed
later this year by a major meeting on how
to introduce a market-based mechanism to
tackle aviation emissions.
However, it remains far too early to tell if
the promised carbon standard really marks a
turning point in the ICAO’s thus far under-
powered approach to climate issues. There
are plenty of justifiable reasons for green
groups to remain concerned about aviation’s
fast-expandingclimateimpact.
Firstly,thestandardstillhastobeadopted.
Secondly, as the respected nonprofit Trans-
port and Environment (T&E) group noted
today the proposed standard is pretty weak.
By phasing it in between 2020 and 2028,
policymakers have kept the door open for
some relatively inefficient aircraft to remain
inproductionforwelloveradecade.
“Variants of in-production aircraft (Air-
bus Neo and Boeing MAX) now coming
on the market will dominate deliveries
for the next generation and easily comply

CSR 360 degree
TheNewestStrategy
ForSavingBeesIsReally,
ReallyOld
Opponents of aviation and shipping’s inclusion in the Paris text
argued it was unnecessary as the International Civil Aviation
Organisation and the International Maritime Organization already
were working on their own climate policies. by christina selby
for free,” said Pradeep Mehta, research and
program manager for Earthwatch Institute
in India. Not only that, but the introduction
of nonnative honeybees can bring with it
disease and competition for nectar sources,
reducing some populations of native bees
even further and robbing ecosystems of im-
portant biodiversity.
Now, however, scientists are enlisting
nature to turn that around in this remote
corner of the world. The Himalayan Eco-
systems Research Project – a collabora-
tion among scientists, Nashala villagers
and international volunteers brought in by
Earthwatch – is studying pollination in this
area and applying what’s learned at the farm
level. Last year, the group began restoring
traditionalpollinatorserviceswithtrainings
and stocking new hives with native Asian
honeybees, as well as introducing modified
practices, such as using an extractor to har-
vest honey rather than crushing hives, that
boost the bees’ ability to thrive under their
modern circumstances.
To feed the Asian honeybees through-
out the growing season, Nashala village
farmers have started to diversify their
farms again. Garlic, onion, cauliflower and
wildflower varieties that pollinators have
I
n northwestern India, the Himalaya
Mountains rise sharply out of pine
and cedar forests. The foothills of
the Kullu Valley are blanketed with
apple trees beginning to bloom. It’s a cool
spring morning, and Lihat Ram, a farmer
in Nashala village, shows me a small open-
ing in a log hive propped against his house.
Stout black-and-yellow native honeybees –
Apis cerana – fly in and out.
For centuries beehives have been part
of the architecture of mountain homes
here, built into the thick outside walls.
Traditionally, wild colonies of bees found
the hive themselves, or farmers brought a
log with a hive in it from the surrounding
forest so the inhabitants could set up shop
in the village and produce honey for their
human caretakers.
But in recent years those wild colonies
have become increasingly rare in this valley,
where 90 percent of farmers are small land-
holders. Modern agriculture has replaced
natural forests and the diverse crops of
subsistence farms almost exclusively with a
single apple variety: royal delicious, favored
at the market. Producing this high-demand
fruithasimprovedeconomicconditionsfor
farmers in the Kullu Valley. But it also has
contributed to an untenable environment
for pollinators. Similar to other situations
around the world, a mix of monocrop-
ping, climate change, diseases, changes in
land practices, pesticide use, deforestation,
loss of habitat and an exploding human
population that’s taxing the valley’s natu-
ral resources has caused native honeybee
populations to decline. With the decline,
orchard harvests have dropped by as much
as 50 percent.
To close the pollination gap, farmers
who could afford it started to hire beekeep-
ers from the neighboring warmer state of
Punjabi to bring managed hives of Euro-
pean honeybees – Apis mellifera – to the
valley during the apple bloom season. “The
problem with this is that poor farmers are
now paying for an ecosystem service that
the native honeybee previously provided

CSR | 360 degree
shown a preference for in field research
now grow under the apple trees – after
the trees bloom. The distributed flowering
strategy keeps the bees focused on pol-
linating apples during their short bloom
season while still providing a variety of
nectar sources that help keep them going
during the rest of the growing season.
Revival underway
Worldwide, cultivation of – and collabora-
tion with – native bees through traditional
beekeeping is fast becoming collateral dam-
age of modernization. Industrial agriculture
employs only a handful of pollinator spe-
cies to sustain it, mostly uber-efficient hon-
eybees and bumblebees that are toted from
one farm to the next to provide pollination
when and where needed.
Moving nonnative managed colonies
has proven risky, though: Nonnative spe-
cies can spread disease to native ones, re-
ducing native bee populations. This in turn
can make the entire pollination system less
resilient.AsKarenWright,anative-beesci-
entistattheUniversityofNewMexico,put
it,“NonnativehoneybeesarelikeWalmart;
native bees are like mom-and-pop stores.
When you want that one specialty item, if
you can’t get it at Walmart, you are out of
luck when the mom-and-pop stores go out
of business.”
Now, though, a revival is underway –
an awakening to the value of native-bee-
nurturing subsistence practices around the
world. As in the Kullu Valley, farmers are
starting to recognize local pollinators as
valuable partners in their enterprises and
once again actively cultivate bees. By restor-
ing beekeeping, farmers increase the num-
bers of local bees available not only to polli-
natetheircropsbutalsotoreclaimtheirrole
as an integral part of surrounding habitats.
“Reviving these practices will help in polli-
nator conservation and also help in sustain-
ing agriculture in the region,” said Mehta.
Stingless in Mexico
Residents of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mex-
ico have reared stingless bees for a thou-
sand years, according to cultural records.
Traditionally, Mayan beekeepers collected
the bees, which they call xunan kab (royal
lady), from the forest by cutting down trees
and bringing the hive home in a portion of
the trunk. The small amount of honey pro-
duced, 0.3 to 0.5 gallons per year, was used
for medicinal purposes, and the queens had
a role in ceremonial practices.
Mayan elders used to pass on their bee-
keeping knowledge to an interested relative.
Asmodernityhassweptthroughtheculture,
the practice has gone out of fashion. “Kids
aren’t interested in traditional things,” said
David Roubik of the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute. Since the 1980s, Rou-
bik, along with University of Arizona en-
tomologist Stephen Buchmann and Rogel
Villanueva-Gutiérrez, a research scientist at
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur in Mexico, has
been studying Mayan beekeeping and na-
tive stingless bees of the genusMelipona in
the Zona Maya, a government-designated
region in the Yucatan where Mayans main-
tain a traditional lifestyle. New beekeepers
are mostly interested in making money, and
for that they turn to a commercial bee, a
hybrid of European and African honeybees
that cranks out 100 pounds (40 to 50 kilo-
grams) of honey per colony per year.
What’s being lost is the native bees’ im-
portant role in the local ecosystem. “Sting-
less bees preferentially visit and pollinate
the canopy of native forest trees, unlike the
introduced honeybees – Apis mellifera –
that tend to pollinate introduced weedy
plants at ground level,” said Buchmann.
“These bees are vitally important to con-
serving native trees and other plants in the
Zona Maya.”
On the eastern side of the Yucatan Pen-
insula, where large swaths of native forests
arestillintact,scientistsinterestedinrestor-
ing that function are working with Mayan

CSR | 360 degree
farmers to revive traditional beekeeping.
The researchers’ long-term studies of bee
populations and surveys of beekeepers in
remote Mayan villages showed that the
practice is no longer being passed down
through families. To help preserve a tradi-
tion they saw as essential to preventing lo-
cal extinction of these stingless bees, Buch-
mann, Roubik, Villanueva-Gutiérrez and
other colleagues from the University of
Yucatan started annual workshops to train
a new generation of beekeepers.
“We train and work with Mayan tech-
nicians to give courses and workshops on
how to manage and protect the Melipona
bee. We supply colonies to people that are
just starting and build bee houses, called
meliponaries, which have all the character-
istics of the traditional Mayan meliponar-
ies,” said Villanueva-Gutiérrez. Buchmann,
Roubik and Villanueva-Gutiérrez also have
published a stingless beekeeping guide
(PDF) in Spanish and Mayan and a video
on Mayan beekeeping. The hope is that
skilled beekeepers will increase the number
of colonies by dividing them.
Traditionally,mentendedthebeesinMa-
yanvillages,butwomen’sbeekeepingcollec-
tives have sprung up from these new efforts.
The bee’s docile nature makes it an appeal-
ing addition to a backyard family farm. The
honey’s renowned medicinal value and
appealing packaging helps it to fetch more
money per liter on the market than honey
from commercial bees. For some mothers,
it’senoughtopayfortheirchild’seducation.
The workshops help beekeepers rec-
ognize that honey is only part of the
benefit. “We make people aware of the
importance of bees for the conservation
of the forest, and also the importance of
the forest for the existence of bees,” said
Villanueva-Gutiérrez.
In this way, stingless bees are helping
sustain Mayan beekeepers with the sale
of honey, and the Mayan beekeepers are
helping sustain not only stingless bees
but also the ecological integrity of the Yu-
catán Peninsula.
Beneficial belligerence
In Tanzania, traditional practices have fo-
cused on harvesting wild honey rather than
keepingmanagedhives,saidNoahMpunga,
a zoologist with the Wildlife Conservation
Society. Farmers search the forest for hives,
then ignite bunches of grass to smoke the
aggressive African honeybees out of their
hives before they harvest the honey. Some-
times fires drip onto the ground and set for-
ests ablaze, destroying habitat and the hives.
A new Elephants and Bees Project,
brainchild of biologist Lucy King, aims to
support smallholder farmers with income
from honey sales and reduce human-ele-
phant conflicts by putting the belligerent
nature of African honeybees to good use.
Using traditional log hives or modern
top-bar hives, which allow farmers to har-
vest honey without damaging the colony,
the project helps set up beehive fences
around smallholder farms. Migrating el-
ephants eyeing fresh, green vegetation on
smallfarmsrunintowiresconnectinghives,
mobilizing the bees. Just the sound of the
bees buzzing puts the elephants on the run.
Smallholder farmers benefit not only
from the protection from elephants af-
forded their crops, but also from the added
pollinationservicesthebeesprovideaswell
as from harvesting the abundant honey. Lo-
cal biodiversity benefits, too: The program
encourages beekeepers to create and pro-
tect foraging sources for the native bees by
plantingwildflowersamongtheircropsand
conserving nearby native forests.
Research shows that proactive conser-
vation strategies such as this can maintain
thefavorableconditionsandpopulationsof
nativebeesthroughoutAfrica,andtheprac-
tice is spreading to other locations where
elephants are a problem.
Keeping it local
Back in India, I follow Lihat Ram through
the narrow paths of Nashala village. A few
wall and log hives buzz with active Asian
honeybeecolonies.Wepasswomenincol-
orful clothing planting vegetable crops in
their yards. Out in the orchards, wildflow-
ers are beginning to bloom under the ap-
ple trees. Honeybees, native solitary bees,
flies and butterflies flit about pollinating
apple blossoms.
Whether it’s tasting a new apple variety
from the Kullu Valley, using Royal Lady
honey as skin lotion in the Zona Maya,
watching African elephants make a beeline
for the hills or something else somewhere
else, native pollinators have much to offer
humans and local ecosystems alike. Includ-
ing traditional beekeeping practices in bee
conservation efforts may be exactly what
we need to keep our agriculture systems,
forests and farmers thriving.
Christina Selby is a Free-
lance science and environ-
mental writer
(Source: https://www.green-
biz.com/article/newest-
strategy-saving-bees-really-
really-old)
Nonnative honeybees are like
Walmart; native bees are like mom-
and-pop stores.When you want
that one specialty item, if you can’t
get it atWalmart, you are out of luck
when the mom-and-pop stores go out
of business

CSR | 360 degree
ClimateChangeIs
KillingOffIndia’sBees
A warming climate and the loss of natural areas to meet the
demands of tourism are driving Indian bee colonies to the brink,
imperilling an essential food source.
tourism is also causing forest land to be lost
and become covered in concrete. Nilgiris
is a major tourist hub, receiving 2.5 million
tourists every year. To cater for them, hun-
dreds of legal and illegal structures have
been built there, affecting land use patterns
in the mountains.
Dr S Manivanan, a senior scientist at the
Central Soil and Water Conservation Re-
search & Training Institute, a government
body, says the government should stop ap-
provingconstructiononsteepslopes.
Water shortages
“It is visible that climate change has affected
agricultureandthefoodchaininNilgiris,”he
says.“Theyieldofvegetablesandfruitsisvery
low because of inadequate moisture content
in the soil. Changes such as heavy rainfall
in unseasonable months and severe water
shortagesatregularintervalsindicateclimate
change.” To add to the other problems, huge
numbers of bees are also falling victim to the
temptationsofplasticcups.Arecentresearch
papersaysdregsleftbehindinthedisposable
cupsattracthoneybeesonalargescale.
(Source: http://www.eco-business.com/news/
climate-change-is-killing-off-indias-bees/)
A
lethal combination of climate
change and human interfer-
ence is helping to wipe out
coloniesofthegianthoneybees
on which many plants and trees in India
depend for their survival. The precise cause
of colony collapse disorder (CCD) is not
known, but researchers say that the loss of
the bees will become disastrous for the
whole ecosystem if it is not tackled.
The giant rock bee (Apis dorsata) is in
sharpdeclineinoneofitsstrongholdsinthe
Nilgiris mountain range in southern India.
TheNilgiriBiosphereReserve,thefirstinIn-
dia,hasalwaysbeenknownforitsgiantbees,
whichformhoneycombsonclifftopsandin
tree canopies. The bees, which grow up to
2cm in length, are migratory and frequently
move to a new site to take advantage of bet-
terforaging.Inplaceswherefloweringplants
were abundant, there were often more than
a dozen large bees’ nests, almost touching
eachother,insomeofthelargertrees.
Rainfall patterns
Separatecoloniesofthousandsofbeeslived
in harmony, producing large quantities of
honey from the vast array of plants. But a
change in rainfall patterns is now causing
droughts that are wiping out some tree and
flower species. This, combined with the
tourism that is prompting development in
once natural areas, has led to a collapse in
the numbers of bees, which scientists say
help to pollinate 18% of 86 tree species and
22% of the shrubs in Nilgiris.
Local tribesmen depend on the bees for
much of their nourishment, and 60-year-old
MadhanBomman,oftheKattunaickentribe,
is one of those campaigning to save the bees
fromtheeffectsofCCD.
He says: “My community is completely
dependent on honey bees. Teenage boys in
our community will be trained in climbing
trees and fetching honey from as young
as 15 years. Fetching honey has been our
occupation for several decades. Honey is
also an important food in our menu for
our family festivals.” Bomman recalls how
numerous the bees once were. “During my
teens, our men would stick with one huge
tree and draw honey for an entire week,”
he says.. “Honey from one tree would be
enough for 50 families.
“Now our sons have to climb 10 trees to
get a few litres of honey. We find only very
few tall trees in the forests, and several vari-
eties of flowers have disappeared.” He says

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