FOREWORD                                                                 

Over the past half century, the idea of sustainable development has evolved and rooted itself in the lexicon on international development. It is interesting that in an ancient Indian religious writing over 2500 years ago, it is stated: “All in this manifested world, consisting of moving and non-moving are covered by the lord. Use its resources with restraint; do not grab the property of others, distant and yet to come”.

This is the concept of inter-generational equity respecting the interest of those “distant and yet to come” – that is central to the implementation of sustainable development. Among persons and agencies with genuinely serious concerns, there seems to be broad agreement on the need to protect the environment from pollution and human activities conducive to climate change, to protect fragile ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. The enlightened also agree on the need for better planning of land use, urban growth, water and energy utilization, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, for equitable opportunity in international trade and access to essential resources, and for the affluent to be more generous in support of the less fortunate and poor.

For any development to be sustainable it must be conceived, created and controlled holistically and systematically. Though alleviation of poverty has been a stated development objective for more than 50 years, India continues to be a nation of over 300 million poor people. We need rapid growth that reduces a poverty and creates employment opportunities, access to essential services in health and education, equality in other opportunities and empowerment through social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Natural recourses such as land, water, forest, biodiversity & mineral etc. are limited and their per capita availability is diminishing because of rising population and over-exploitation of common pool resources. Sustainable use of natural resources requires community participation to provide equitable access to all for livelihood security.

Mitigation of climate change is possible by making available clean energy at competitive prices, greening of the land and by reducing emissions of green house gases.

Utthan is creating sensitive awareness to ensure a peaceful and equitable future for all humanity, for environmental stability and conservation of biodiversity. We invite you to join us in this work towards improving people’s lives, environment and sustainability.

Dr. Dina Nath Tewari

President-Utthan

Center for Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation

Utthan: Centre for Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation

"We reap what we saw, and if freedom for us is nothing more than the right to pursue our own self-interest-personal or national-then we can claim no benign vision for our present and future society. Without a benign vision we, like others before us, will most surely perish”.

Barbara Ward

Introduction

            The world has made rewarding progress in the field of sustainable development, but is still facing following challenges: -

• Upto 50% of the global agricultural land and 60% of ecosystem services are affected by some degree of degradation.
• About half of the world’s rivers are seriously depleted and polluted.
• About 800 million people – many of whom are extremely poor – live in and around tropical forests, or woodlots, wherein access to forest produce is critical to their survival. But, deforestation is making this end meet difficult as it is contributing to about 20% of annual global emission, intensifying climate change, land degradation, desertification, biodiversity erosion, wide spread changes in water flows, microclimate variations, increase in pest incidence and a decrease in pollinator populations.
• Air pollution, especially in the cities is becoming increasingly dangerous for health. We have to introduce safe fuel/green fuel for vehicles to cut emission of pollutants.
• There is a wide spread illiteracy in a large segment of population. People are yet to be educated to adopt a way of economic growth and lifestyle that promote the harmonious co-existence of mankind with nature.
• There are large gaps in the availability of health care and in related services, such as maternal and child care, clean drinking water, access to basic sanitation facilities and supply of drugs.

India, a country as a whole is not too far from these facts and has been chronically suffering from the dualities and divide. The dualities and divide are of economies (rich and absolute poverty), societal (religion, caste), cultural (rural, urban, tribal, regional, geo-graphical), political (parties and ideological affiliations), development pathways (rural vs. urban) and so on and so forth. The country’s landscape is changing very fast, especially around the big cities where small villages and towns are transformed into large, self containing satellite towns, including residential colonies and are becoming a part of the extended cities making them the mega ones. However, such transformations on one hand do not extend to the remote and far flung rural areas, on the other hand the wage earning opportunities offered by them encourage a significant amount of male out migration from villages to the cities, compounding the distress on the remaining house holds, especially the aged, the women and the children. The migration is also otherwise taking place for the economic reasons and non- existence of such opportunities in the local settings. Therefore, the cities are expanding at an exponential rate and the rural settings are becoming deserted at the same rate.

            Even barely short distances away from the seats of the so called development lay a vast majority of population engulfed by poverty. Having been in the same situation for generations, they became fatalistic, and are in a constant search of better livelihood opportunities, including the option of migration in its various forms and conditions.

            While urbanization undoubtedly creates economic opportunities, it also puts additional stress on the natural resources and throws them into the spiral of deterioration. Such a trend is putting an unnecessary burden on the civil and municipal amenities and thereby on the demand and quality of natural resources, among others, the land, water, air and biodiversity for now. The worst sufferers of this are in the rural areas. For example, the river water down stream of a township is generally highly polluted in most cases in the country. And yet these very rural areas, which are the food and other domestic need producer and providers for the urban populations, are expected to continue and increase their production from less and poorer quality resources. . This also encourages the skewed development investment decisions in favour of the urban situations in a holistic context and to rural situations in a sporadic context. As a result, both the urbanization and  "ruralization" progress at the same pace, but in opposite direction of development. That is to say that urbanization is engulfing the rural areas and marginalizing them further without any benefit of modernization.

            The exposure to this situation and   the analysis of ground level realities, including the social and cultural fabric of the distressed communities, gave birth to an NGO, Utthan: Centre for Sustainable Development and Poverty Alleviation having the following mission:-

Mission

            "Utthan’s mission is to create opportunities for sustainable economic, social and ecological development by adopting and promoting schemes/programmes that are pro- disadvantaged community and pro- environment."

We believe sustainability is not an option but imperative and therefore;

§      Take a holistic approach of development, incompassing economic, social, education, gender, sanitation and health and environment.

§      Adopt and promote programmes that contribute to economic growth, social development and environmental security.

§      Focus on disadvantaged areas having poorest people who suffer from severely scarce and polluted water, in-sufficient fodder and fuel, land degradation, including desertification, droughts & floods and unclean air.

§      Organize and operate at community level and facilitate the design and implementation of natural resource management, human resource development and empowerment of weaker sections of the society.

§      Develop technology for increasing production, value addition, and employment generation to check distress migration in search of jobs and reducing discontent and frustration in the society.

§      Give preference to poor women and resource-less populations for their economic development and social empowerment.

§      Favour political, economic and social systems that promote peace, human welfare and environmental security.

§      Promote faster and more inclusive growth for bridging divides: including the excluded.

 Utthan tries to fulfill its mission through the following approaches:

·      Enhancing the ecological, economic and social development of disadvantaged communities and their empowerment.

·      Managing and transforming natural resources into assets for economic and environmental sustainability.

·      ‘Greening’ for ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation and mitigation & adaptation of climate change.

·      Aiding human development for adopting ways of economic growth and lifestyle that promote harmonious co-existence of human beings with nature.

·      Research and innovations support for development.

Background

Registered in 1996, Utthan operates in surface soil mined areas around cities, degraded forest lands, dry lands and wastelands. Its projects cover distressed migration areas, backward and inaccessible areas with poor community and communication, areas with deficits in food, nutrition and health support. These include 10 districts in Uttar Pradesh, 2 districts in Chhattisgarh and 4 districts in Madhya Pradesh States.

Partnership

Utthan has developed partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders, including beneficiaries of its programs, the farming community, the agro-tech industry, local governments, NGOs and international research centres. Other partnerships include linkages with selected countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Utthan is fortunate to get cooperation and financial support from INBAR / IDRC, FAO, WHO, ICRAF, Ford Foundation, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare GOI, Ministry of Science & Technology and various other donors from India and abroad. Since 1997 we have been operating on an annual budget of about US $ 0.80 million for the implementation of various “Green Projects”, and communicating the results to all concerned. Our publications are popular and have contributed to the technical knowledge of many people and have encouraged them to work for environmental protection, and social and economic empowerment

Utthan’s main activities are:

·      Demonstrating and promoting agroforestry models in different ecosystems.

·      Promoting herbal medicines.

·      Developing technology for cultivation of Jatropha curcas in degraded lands for biodiesel production.

·      Demonstrating watershed management, rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge for augmenting water availability.

·      Reclaiming degraded land through watershed development.

·      Implementing Joint Forest Management strategies for curbing deforestation.

·      Literacy and adult education programs.

·      Health and Sanitation programs and health fairs.

·      Environmental Fairs.

Key Programs implemented so far:

·             Demonstration and promotion of agroforestry models in different ecosystems to help produce more food and high value forest products, leading to the eradication of poverty and re-accumulation of carbon below ground in the soil.

·              Promotion of herbal medicines: demonstrated sustainable cultivation, harvesting and utilization of 40 medicinal plants. By publishing 30 books shared the knowledge and supplied germplasm to many countries of the world.

·              Development of technology for cultivation of Jatropha curcas in degraded lands and biodiesel production (a green fuel) for income and energy security in rural areas. Published a book "Jatropha & Biodiesel" for sharing knowledge and supplied quality germplasm to Nepal, Bhutan, Srilanka, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan etc.

·              Motivation of farmers for Jatropha plantations over an area of one million ha. and biodiesel production and consumption.

·              Demonstration of watershed management, rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge for augmenting water availability for enhancing land productivity.

·              Reclamation of degraded land through watershed development: Reclaimed 85,000 ha. of surface soil mined area, benefiting 90,000 poor families economically and many families in Allahabad city due to improvement of environment. Produced and globally circulated a video film for popularizing bamboo growing and utilization in such areas to improve the habitat, income and surrounding environment.

·              Implementation of Joint Forest Management: Loss of forest contributes more to global emissions than the transport sector. Implemented a Joint Forest Management for curbing deforestation as a highly cost-effective way to reduce emissions over an area of 62,500 ha. and for ensured livelihood security to 85,000 tribal families through greening in that area.

·              Literacy and adult education programme: about one million people were benefited through this programme.

·              Health and Sanitation: Distributed health card to each individual in 96 villages of Kaurihar block totaling 0.34 million, and arranged for their preventive, curative health, nutrition, sanitation and clean drinking water.

·              With the help of 85 fields level NGOs, organized 15,500 health fairs insuring 100% immunization of all infants against 6 vaccine preventable diseases and polio. In 3 years period, 0.6 million infants have been immunized.

·              Implementation of Information, Education and Communication support (IECS) for community in Ayurveda in 15 Blocks of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states. Nearly 560 traditional practitioners were imparted training and 15 medicinal plants garden were raised in these blocks for ex-situ conversation and production of 40 important medicinal plants species.

·              Vitamin deficiencies were eliminated in 110,000 families through domestic and medicinal plants use since these are rich sources of vitamins.

·              Environmental Fairs: During Kumbh & Ardhkumbh, (two greatest Indian religious conglomerations attended by 120 million people) organized environmental fairs educating the people about environmental problems to adopt a way of livelihood and lifestyle that promote the harmonious co-existence of man with nature.

 In the past 10 years Utthan demonstrated following technologies for sustainable development:-

·      Reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and promoting organic farming technologies for producing superior farm produce and products giving better economic returns.

·      Smallholder agroforestry systems, soil and water conservation, nitrogen fixation and organic matter recycling for increased crop production and yield of various forest produce for consumption and sale.

·       Rehabilitation of degraded lands and bringing them into economic uses through Jatropha curcas plantation; enhancement of soil and water conservation, increasing productivity of the land including the bio-diesel for energy security and medicinal plants for health; both contributing to the eradication of poverty.

·       Application of community based approaches, including the Joint Forest Management on “Care and Share basis” for the regeneration/rehabilitation of degraded forest areas; the degraded forest areas were regenerated and planted; forest resources availability improved the livelihoods and biodiversity, and overall the approach provided opportunities for sustainable land use.

·       Rehabilitation techniques for surface soil mined areas near the cities, which were responsible for dust storms and cyclones. Adoption of watershed approach and Bamboo plantation, which is the fastest growing woody species of the world with more than 1500 uses, has been very useful in stitching and repair of the degraded areas, and is contributing to the sequestration of carbon and eradication of poverty.

·       Collection and cultivation of medicinal plants, which are being natural, non-narcotic, having no side-effect, offer a range of safe, cost effective, preventive and curative therapies to provide “Health for All” in the local communities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh States.

Key achievements:

·                  Converting one million hectares of degraded land into productive biodiesel smallholdings.

·                    Educating one million adults through literacy and adult education programs.

·                    Regenerating and planting 62,500 hectares of degraded forests.

·                    Reclaimed 85,000 hectares of mined areas.

Impact achieved

Utthan has had an impact on a wide range of areas that relate to sustainability. Some key examples include:

·                    Demonstrating agroforestry models that ensure security in food, fodder, fuel, herbal products, bamboo and sustainable productive potential of an area of one million hectares.

·                    Identifying super clones of Jatropha curcas, a plant used to make biodiesel, developed propagation techniques and demonstrated its successful growing on degraded lands, which had no other economic use with community involvement. Now Jatropha cultivation has spread over an area of more than one million hectare in South Asia, primarily in India.

·                    Regenerating and planting 62,500 hectares of degraded forests in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which have helped 85,000 tribal families to secure their livelihoods and income.

·                    Reclaiming 85,000 hectares of surface soil mined areas around cities, directly benefiting 90,000 families by adopting watershed development programme and promoting plantation of Bamboo, Jatropha and medicinal plants. This resulted in a decline in the frequency of dust storms.

·                    Demonstrating watershed management, rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge in 20 community blocks.

·                    Collecting superior clones of 40 important medicinal plants, developing their propagation and cultivation techniques and harvesting, processing, packaging and marketing herbal products. Utthan also prepared a national task force report on Medicinal Plants and published 30 books on important species for sharing the knowledge.

·                 Immunizing 0.6 million infants and children against 6 vaccine preventable diseases and polio and providing full health coverage to 0.34 million people in 96 villages of Kaurihar block of Allahabad.

·                 Helping people become literate and economically productive through adult education programs.

Publications

       Utthan in its efforts to disseminate the knowledge and the technologies regularly produces publications for the use of the masses. The publications are in the form of books, monographs, reports and bulletins and are provided free of cost. A set of Utthan publications is given below.

 IMPORTANT BOOKS PRODUCED BY UTTHAN