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Spotlight on India...
...NGO-Business Partnerships: From mango clean-up to chemical management.
With assistance from US-AEP's
NGO-Business Partnership
program, an Indian nongovernmental organization (NGO) is making
significant contributions to India's environmental health. Among other
results, Peddireddy Thimma Reddy Farm Foundation (PTRFF) has helped bring
about a 95 percent reduction in solid waste from mango processing plants
owned by Suvera Processed Foods Private Limited in India's Chitoor District.
In 1996, PTRFF received a NGO-Business Partnership grant to support these
waste reduction efforts with Suvera. The food processing company operates 27
pulp processing factories in the Chitoor District, each of which was dumping
2,000 tons of waste every harvest season. To reduce Suvera's processing
wastes and convert remaining wastes into other products, PTRFF focused on
clean production training, consultation, and technical analysis. The NGO
began the project with site visits and measurement of resources, including
raw materials, facilities, tools, water, land, human capital, and
waste-streams. Initial training in clean production was given to selected
Suvera workers and managers, and experiments were conducted to reduce and
reclaim waste, as well as to develop by-products.
Next, PTRFF identified opportunities to reduce pollution and extend the
company's season of employment into the off-season by converting mango waste
into new products such as fuel, cocoa-extender, cattle feed, and fertilizer.
In addition, machinery manufacturers were involved in discussions to reduce
huge energy losses in the processing plant. The project has resulted in a
number of benefits to Suvera and the surrounding community, including the
reduction of solid waste by almost 95 percent; new sales for Suvera
resulting from the conversion of wastes into by-products; and increasing
interest in clean technology and environmental management (CTEM) among NGOs
in other parts of India.
In 1997, PTRFF received a second NGO-Business Partnership grant to work
with VBC Ferro Alloys Limited in Hyderabad to introduce environmental
management systems in the heavy industry chemical sector. The initiative is
currently underway and, with a replication strategy and a public awareness
campaign in place, has a strong chance of success. The Federation of Andhra
Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Hyderabad is very supportive of
the project, and local politicians have become enthusiastic about the
possibility of subsequent NGO-Business partnerships. US-AEP's NGO-Business
Partnership program is administered by The Asia Foundation.
...Successful Tech Fund recipient installs energy-efficient lighting in
India.
In May 1997, Global Energy Services (GES), sponsored by the California
Trade and Commerce Agency, was awarded a US-AEP
Environmental Technology
Fund grant. The California company has since used the grant to conduct a
series of successful energy-efficient lighting workshops and demonstrations
throughout India. In fact, the series was so productive that Indian
utilities and government officials requested additional workshops, which are
expected to result in sales of U.S. technology. GES has also installed
energy-efficient lighting in several five-star hotels, as well as at the
National Productivity Council office, to demonstrate the equipment's
potential energy savings. Two incentives have encouraged organizations such
as the Bombay Services Electric Supply (BSES) to work with GES to market
this U.S. technology. First, the government of India has introduced
initiatives that remove barriers to energy-efficient lighting products, and
second, GES offers a performance-contracting strategy that eliminates
up-front costs to the Indian company and guarantees energy and financial
savings. GES plans to begin the next phase of the project in May 1998. The
Environmental Technology Fund is managed by the National Association of
State Development Agencies.
...EPA
plays key role in Indian hazardous waste management exchange.
As reported in the February 2 UPDATE, a group of Indian pollution control
officers and industry representatives recently completed a US-AEP
Environmental Exchange
Program activity focused on hazardous waste management. Subsequent
information has been received that credits the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) with providing substantial contributions to the
exchange. Several divisions of EPA helped identify companies and locations
for the delegation to visit. For example, EPA officials in the Washington,
D.C., area arranged for site visits focusing on chrome sludge, which is
characteristic of facilities in Tamil Nadu (one of the Indian states
targeted to receive technical assistance from the EPA). These individuals
included Carolyn Barley of EPA's International Division, as well as Ellen
Spitalnik and Subijoy Dutta of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency
Response. During the delegation's visit to Chicago, Illinois, Sheri Bianchin
and Lawrence Schmitt of EPA's Region 5 Waste Management Division presented
an overview of the Superfund site in Indiana for which Montgomery Watson has
implemented clean-up activities. In addition, Jayanital Thakkar, a chemist
with EPA's Superfund Management Branch, hosted a visit to the agency's
Central Regional Lab and Mobile Lab. US-AEP's Environmental Exchange Program
is implemented by the Institute of International Education.
Thailand
focuses on recycling to reduce solid waste.
In the "Bangkok Post" week-in-review edition dated January 25-31, the
Thai Pollution Control Department announced plans to reduce community waste
by 10 percent within two years through recycling. Nisakorn Kositrat, chief
of the department's Solid Waste and Hazardous Substance Management Division,
said that recycling is necessary because the cost of waste disposal will
soon soar due to landfill site shortages, among other problems. "Urban
communities nationwide are expected to generate more than 26,000 tons of
waste daily between 1998-2002, and 10 percent of that total is targeted for
recycling," said Ms. Nisakorn.
Welcome to
US-AEP Secretariat's new intern.
Marina Leung, on detail from the Export-Import Bank of the
United States (EXIM), has joined the US-AEP Secretariat for three months.
She has a strong international trade and finance background, having worked
for Prudential Bache Securities, Kaufman Law Firm, and the Foreign Credit
Insurance Association prior to joining EXIM five years ago. In addition,
Marina speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese and has knowledge of the
emerging market and banking sectors. She is currently enrolled at John
Hopkins University and expects to receive her Masters Degree in
International Business in May 1998. Sponsored by the Women's Executive
Leadership Program, Marina chose the internship because of her commitment to
Asia and desire to gain environmental sector experience. She will focus on
the Environmental Center for Livestock Waste Management as well as other
activities. She can be reached at (202) 712-4923. |
