Here comes the importance of knowledge - information that can combine all the three together and take it to the doors of all the stakeholders. Governments all over the world are putting their bit in providing such information. The Government of India, through its Ministry of Environment and Forests, has also made its bid in the form of Environmental Information System or ENVIS. It is a decentralised computerised network database system consisting of the focal point located in the Ministry and a chain of network partners, known as ENVIS Centres located in the potential organisations and institutions throughout the country.

The focus is on providing environmental information to decision makers, policy planners, scientists and engineers, research workers, etc. all over the country. According to the Ministry, it is "a decentralised system with a network of distributed subject oriented Centres ensuring integration of national efforts in environmental information collection, collation, storage, retrieval and dissemination to all concerned." In other words, ENVIS is a platform where specialised centres put all the knowledge gathered, which in turn become a part of a larger body of information. This helps in learning from experiences and experiments of different units.

Development Alternatives is a designated ENVIS centre since 1984. Its key responsibility is to collect, organise and disseminate information, globally, on Environmentally Sound and Appropriate Technologies (ESAT). DA-ENVIS is linked to United Nations Environment Programme’s Infoterra (UNEP-Infoterra) which is a global environmental information system that supports flow of information within and between nations.

DA is involved in updating, existing and creating new databases, providing information free of cost with the help of user-friendly technology. The data includes hundreds of books, relevant documents, a vast number of periodicals, maps, atlases etc. To further its services, a library automation software called the Alice for Windows has also been installed.

ESAT is an interesting concept, designed to answer pertinent questions of our day and age. It is formed out of two important terms, environmentally sound technology and appropriate technology. The former serves the goals of development without causing ill-health to the environment. It includes cost-effective methods that improve process efficiency and creates environment friendly products.

The latter gives a human and humane angle to the entire mode of development. By "appropriate" one means proper representation of social and cultural dimension in innovation. The idea here is that unless technology can be adaptable to local cultural and social norms, coupled with its economic viability and technical soundness, it cannot be sustainable. Thus, ESAT not only protects the environment, it also promotes creativity among local people who deal with their immediate environment on a day-to-day basis.

The Environmentally Sound Appropriate Technology primarily demonstrates three characteristics:

The subjectivity involved in the approach leads to one basic premise – technology which might work well in one situation and place might not be appropriate in another situation. Thus, it is a dynamic process. One can only learn from others’ experiences one cannot replicate them.

The approach has many other salient features. It compliments human labour and skills rather than replacing them. It results in decentralisation of production process, and hence, is more cost-effective.

DA has kept the project dynamic, with numerous additions from time to time. The DA-ENVIS website was revamped recently. As new features, it now has dynamic web pages using interactive RDBMS software, content management system which helps in easy organisation of data, site based login, discussion forum/query response /feedback systems, and authentication and validation by subject experts.

The sections on case studies and success stories are interesting and act as incentives to keep a viewer hooked to the site for longer. These inspiring stories are not India-specific, but have an international character. Under the section on success stories there is a story on a Kenyan farmer having grown mangoes despite less rainfall. Another story showcases an effort on producing low-cost filters to remove naturally present arsenic in water in India and Bangladesh. Yet other articles focus on similar experiments, successful ones, being done in Nepal, India and other places.

Case studies draw one’s attention to initiatives worldwide to keep up the spirit of environment friendly sustainable development. A research by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)-Tata Water Policy Programme illustrates how letting the poor manage their ground water helps in retaining water and reduces dependency on the State for the same. A process of democratisation is embedded in this approach. Another study on Africa in pest management by local people shows that even small farmers can make production of vegetables for local, national and international markets highly profitable.

The Centre has also come up with a newsletter with "one theme per quarter" model. It provides information on and discusses topics like alternate technologies, bibliographies, journal articles and relevant events. Apart from the editorial and lead article, which are contributed by subject experts, most of the content is collected from various secondary sources. It is distributed amongst other ENVIS centre. Its "around the world reach" fulfills one of the basic tenets of ENVIS - sharing and spreading information. The newsletters are available online too.

It is an established fact that information sharing is the key to development in the globalised world with fast spreading internet base. Gathering information on any subject is a click away. With new technologies like mobile internet and 3G, which makes internet connectivity even more efficient, this is fast becoming the chief source of engagement with the rest of the world. It has helped in moving one out of the immediate physical space to a virtual space. Connecting to a friend in the other country is as easy and simple as it is to bond with someone next door.

However, we need to recognise that the space on internet has been largely captured by those who serve the interests of the privileged, and not the poor. Globalisation, in the context of information and otherwise, has not meant creating space for building international solidarity of the common people, rather it has largely led to control of information for narrow vested interests. ENVIS is an effort to break that monopoly. It has ensured global dissemination of information which concerns the poverty-ridden sections of the world, mainly those who have been at the receiving end of climate change.

The task of DA in this case is crucial. It is collecting information, and knowledge, from far off places in the world, from people who are not represented in the mainstream politics, and from largely the countries of the Global South. DA is giving platform to these people to speak, interact and learn from each other without any uncalled for intervention. This effort and approach is bound to take the cause of the deprived further. q