Knowledge Management idea awaits Kalam

Former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who has shown an exemplary model of returning to his passionate academic profession on the very day of retiring from the nation's highest post, will soon receive a note on a thoroughly innovative scientific concept. Dr. Kalam's glorious image also owes to his persistent desire to use the science and technology for the benefit of the deprived lots of villages, chiefly the peasants.
The outcome of a dialogue held at the Environmental Sciences Department (ESD) of University of Kerala on Knowledge Management, a groundbreaking idea towards natural resources management, will be forwarded to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The meeting held on 23rd July on the adoptability of the new idea, 'Knowledge Management' (KM) for natural resources management was well attended by eminent academicians, researchers and students of the ESD. The idea envisages finding, selecting, sorting and using of information for solving problems pertaining to natural resources management of different localities.
KM is supposed to usher in a new era of using IT, the so called elite's privilege, for the benefit of the natural resources management through the rural stretches. To Dr. Kalam, who has etched a glorious episode of being the people's President, the idea of KM has every reason to be a matter of delight.
Once launched, KM will be of great use in enhancing the effectiveness of ongoing popular projects including Rural Watershed Management, Integrated Rural Development, and Eco-friendly agricultural system.
Chief architects of this groundbreaking model are Head, ESD, Dr. V. Sobha, Professor of the Indian Institute of Information Technology Kerala (IIITK), Dr. C.S.P. Iyer and Assistant Professor of IIITK, Dr. R. Jaysankar. During the classroom meeting, Director of IIITK, Dr. K.R. Srivatsan gave an overview on the new Knowledge Management.

Aquatic insects are pointers to pollutants

Prof. Dr. John C. Morse talking with the Prof. and Head, Dr. V. Sobha (right) and other faculty members of the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala.

Prof. Dr. John C. Morse, Department of Entomology, Soil and Plant Sciences, Clemson University, South Carolina, U.S.A. recently visited the Department of Environmental Sciences (DES), University of Kerala. For the students, research scholars and teachers, it was an enlightening session to attend his talk on 'Aquatic Insect Research and Teaching in East Asia'.

Aquatic insects including Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Coleoptera etc could be good indicators for environmental pollutants, Dr. John unveiled. An avid study on the distribution and life of these insects would make it easier to identify the presence and estimate the quantities of various pollutants. Chasing these aquatic insects to unveil the calamitous concentrations of pollutants is otherwise called biomonitoring.

The biomonitoring simplifies the entire study of aquatic pollution, whereas the equipment-based interventions are always laborious and complex.
The benefit of insect-based aquatic pollution study are:
1. Number of species and specimens are considerably large
2. Insects tend more to stay in one locality than fish
3. Aquatic insects live for nearly one year – an appropriate period of study

With his pragmatic mantra of seeing pollution through the eyes of aquatic insects, Prof. Dr. John Morse has already toured Russia and East Asian countries including China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea and Thailand. And his session at DES has surely led the audience along the shores of entomological learning that is already as immense as the sea.

- Akhila S. Nair after attending the session at DES.

Photos: Kannan and Dipu Sukumaran

Defence against diseases

It's virtually Defence against diseases and literally action on a war foot. As per a request from the Kerala Government, the central government has deployed its army to assist the ongoing vector control drives and fever surveillance.

As the fever toll soars alarmingly, the military is doing its best service along the rustic stretches that have been bombarded with the Chickun gunya. The very professional and prompt service by the defence doctors has become a big support for the health department of the State that has been panting out of inadequate staff.

Yesterday, the leading paramilitary wing of the country, Central Reserve Police Force personals were doing an admirable cleaning drive. They were virtually rescuing the environs along the main bypass road connecting world renowned tourism spot, Kovalam and the Thiruvananthapuram city. Local residents in turn, very jubilantly offered their share for the jawans. If some houses prepared food for the force, others physically assisted in their work.

Kerala, the only State in India to earn complete literacy is always cursed for its environmental ignorance. Only an outbreak of disease awakens the conscience of the people here to engage in massive cleaning drives. It was only last October-November that Chickun gunya cast a shadow over the shining image of the State, killing several people and turning many others as bedridden due to agonizing joint pain. Last November there was a massive government-led cleaning . But what sustained was perhaps the photographs and videos of political leaders and rulers aiming raised spades over garbage mounts. The spirit didn't. Present decline in Kerala's health sector is speaks in volumes about the catastrophic aftermaths, when our environmental thoughts become ephemeral.

Wherever people have the pastime of keeping environmental vigilance in their actions, waging a war against epidemics should not necessarily incorporate a military intervention. Kerala should also have avoided this, had its citizens showed a sustained eco-friendliness every day, every moment and in every action.

Kerala that has set several admirable models of development. Poor environmental maintenance and consequent hike in morbidilty has become a disgraceful story from the State - an unworthy model that should teach not only Keralites but also others to adopt sustainable care for their environment.
- Prepared by K.P.Sivakumar, based on recent health scenario in Kerala.

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