Launch of Environmental Information Portals

26th – 28th March 2002, Central Pollution Control Board / Delhi, India
4th – 5th September 2002, Centre for Urban Research / Auroville, India
5th – 10th September 2002, Central Pollution Control Board / Delhi, India
19th – 27th May 2003, Central Pollution Control Board / Delhi, India

The objective of this InWEnt programme is to strengthen the capacities of institutions in India that are involved in spatial environmental planning. Experts distributed all over India are collaborating in order to improve spatial planning processes, e.g. for the government, local authorities and industry. The lack of a legal framework which takes into account environmental aspects in the spatial planning process is seen as one reason for the severe environmental problems, especially in big cities (see the photo below of air pollution problems in Delhi).

Various experts from environmental reference projects participate in this project, e.g. environmental researchers from Auroville, close to the Gulf of Bengal in Southern India, who do research on the development of “Eco-Cities”.

The Matrimandir: as biggest fully gold-plated building of the world it serves as city center of Auroville which is located at the Gulf of Bengal

The project partner in India, which is the „Central Pollution Control Board“, collaborates with a network of State Pollution Control Boards who monitor environmental quality in their region, especially in areas which are of cultural importance (see the photo below of the Taj Mahal in Agra).

Taj Mahal, mausoleum of the mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The building is affected through air pollution from local industry.

Contracted by InWEnt Hoffmann&Reif conceptualized and implemented a workshop series for setting up environmental information portals for the Central Pollution Control Boards in Delhi/India. Three workshops for decision makers in HRD were organized in 2002 and a workshop series of six days intensive training in 2003:

1. Portal technology and website content management for training institutions
2. Training on online authoring for State Pollution Control Boards and municipalities
3. Advanced training on content mangement for training institutions
4. Rapid implementation of Urban Environmental Information Management Systems

Here are the proud new online authors; March 2002, Delhi.

Sebastian Hoffmann presents an Open Source based “Urban Environmental Information Management System” at the Centre for Urban Research; September 2002, Auroville.

The advanced group of online authors, course managers and software engineers; September 2002, Delhi.

In the recent years environmental spatial planning has already helped to improve quality of life in the big cities. Hoffmann&Reif is providing for a continuous support of this important national programme.