BiomeEnvironmentalTrust
x = independently organized TED event

Theme: A City and its Used Water

This event occurred on
December 4, 2021
Bangalore, Karnataka
India

In this event, several speakers from different walks of life - residents, entrepreneurs, govt agencies, experts - will talk about different aspects of wastewater. The talks will cover the treatment and reuse of wastewater from the home level to the city level, its effects on human health, the role of women and the effects of our daily practices on wastewater quality.

Biome Environmental Trust
264, 6th Main, 6th Block, BEL Layout, Vidyaranyapura
Bangalore, Karnataka, 560097
India
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Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.

Alka Palrecha

Co-Founder, People in Centre
Alka Palrecha leads the thematic area of ‘Restructuring Human Interventions for Ecological Balance’. She coordinates projects related to natural resource management, water management, watewater use, rainwater harvesting, coastal salinity, and environmental planning.

Asha S

Founder - Secretary, Aarohana Grameena Abhivruddhi Samste
Arohana Grameenabhivruddhi organization was established on 17th December, 2018 in Minijenahalli, Mulabagilu Taluk, Kolar District and is registered under the Karnataka Society Act. It is a woman headed NGO in which all BODs are women, who have vast experience in rural development. Our organization mainly focuses on women empowerment and works towards it vigorously. We even provide basic education to the children of the rural areas and work towards the betterment of their future.

Chanakya Hoysall

Chief Scientist, ASTRA / Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc
Carrying out R,D & D on decentralized energy technologies (biogas plants and peripherals) and energy system integration into rural life from 1980. Early studies had revealed, being energy resource deficient, rural South India will continue to depend on biomass as the primary energy resource - biogas option has a great potential to convert all compostable organics to fuel gas and rich organic manure. Cattle dung based biogas plants have already spread but have finite potential. Thus new processes / technology for other biomass have to be developed. Biomass biogas plants can be built to meet all current and future base-load energy needs in villages. Unless such plants are built, operated and managed by people in rural areas, there is not likely to be major impact on policy. The efforts are largely in R&D on biomass biogas plants, demonstrating their use in various areas, making them more attractive to end-users and finally pushing towards a green bio-energy policy.

Farah Ishtiaq

Senior Scientist, Tata institute for Genetics & Society
Dr Farah Ishtiaq is a Senior Scientist at TIGS, and she uses ecology and population genetics to understand how mosquito ecology and landscape drive the evolution of vector-borne diseases. She is an expert in the epidemiology of avian malaria and its spread in high-altitude malaria-free zones in India.

Jyothi Saundatti

Around 10 years ago, COPOA (Classic Orchards Property Owners Association) was trying to create a self-sustaining comprehensive water management plan for the layout. Ms. Jyothi Saundatti, then a Committee member, worked closely with Biome to help create this self-sustaining model. She has been instrumental in many of the water initiatives taken up by COPOA. Today they are managing their water needs by harvesting rainwater and reusing the treated sewage water. In a competition “My Place of Pride " conducted by BPAC and Rotary Palmsville, COPOA was the winner in the ‘Water Management and Energy Management in a Villa Community’ category.

Kavita Wankhade

Senior Lead – Practice, TNUSSP-IIHS
Kavita Wankhede has a Masters in City Design and Social Sciences from the London School of Economics, U.K. Trained in architecture, urban design and social sciences, Kavita’s work primarily revolves around urban service delivery and the interface between physical infrastructure and socio-economic dynamics. Kavita has worked as a researcher, project manager, educator and has built her expertise through a rich mix of field research, managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders, teaching and training. She has engaged with various state governments in India, multilateral institutions, and with public sector enterprises in the UK. At IIHS, Kavita is Senior Lead – Practice. Currently, she leads the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) that is working to establish two model towns in Tamil Nadu, as well as enabling state-wide scaling up.

Krishna Byre Gowda

Krishna Byre Gowda (born 4 April 1973) is an Indian politician who is currently a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Byatarayanapura Constituency and has served as the Minister of Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and as the Minister for Agriculture in previous governments. Born in Bangalore, Krishna is a graduate of Christ College in Bangalore and the American University in Washington. He was a project associate at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington before earning his M.A. degree. He then worked as an agriculturist at his family-owned farm in Kolar district between 2000 and 2002. In 2003, he worked as a project associate at Development Alternatives, Inc. He has served several times as an M.L.A. of Karnataka state. Krishna has served as the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress between 2007 and 2011, and has also held the office of General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

Lakshmikanth H M

* State Member, Environmental Awareness Committee, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Government of Karnataka * Head of the Institution for Srishti International (Applied Research and Environment), working on various research studies related to EIA, Auditing, Flora and Fauna, etc. * Member, District Environment Appraisal Committee on Mining, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India * Master Trainer ( Solid Waste Management) Bruhath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore * Worked for CEE (Ministry of Environment and Forests) on Solid Waste Management issues in Bangalore * Worked for NCPNR (National Council for Protection of Natural Resources) for protection of natural wealth of the country * Worked for ENVIRONMENT SUPPORT GROUP (NST), conducted research on violations of CRZ in the State of Karnataka, and was associated as a Member (Representative of NST) of the committee constituted by the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka on CRZ violations along the coastal stretch of Karnataka * Worked with EXNORA INTERNATIONAL on Urban Waste management issues in Bangalore * Worked for NYK (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Government of India), in organising many environment-related programmes in the state of Karnataka * Conducted various studies on Flora and Fauna in the state of Karnataka * Conducted a comprehensive study on rejuvenation of Ulsoor & Sankey Tanks, Bangalore, and submitted the recommendations to the Government of Karnataka * Worked for KAGADAKATTE, on creating awareness towards minimising the consumption of paper in a few offices on MG Road, Bangalore * Has authored several articles and publications and has won several awards

Mahalakshmi Jayaram

A graduate in Mathematics from Chennai, Mahalakshmi studied Architecture at IED, Vallabh Vidyanagar in Gujarat. She has an architectural practice in Bangalore that was established in 2009. Her projects include residences, farmhouses, and institutional projects with a focus on traditional architectural design and sustainable practices. She has worked with Ar. Asoka Katakam of Katakam and Associates, Hyderabad and Mr. Benny Kuriakose of Vedika, Chennai. She has also been involved in conservation projects of the Forts of Karnataka under the Bangalore chapter of INTACH in 2002-2003.

Shameer A

Senior Technology Architect
Shameer is a Graduate (B-Tech) in Mechanical Engineering, currently working as a Senior Technology Architect in Unified Communications and Collaboration Domain. His passion towards understanding the working of Electro-Mechanical equipment has driven him closer to the amenities like Sewage Treatment Plant, Water Treatment Plant, etc. Shameer has played an instrumental role in revamping the STP and WTP at SJR Verity, where he lives, and has resolved all issues related to dirty water coming to the apartment's flush tanks. He has also played a vital role in implementing several water and energy conservation measures, optimizing and fully automating the borewell operations which has taken the apartment complex's dependency of freshwater from almost 100% to less than 40%. His strength lies in his ability to come up with innovative solutions and he loves helping other societies as well in implementing water and energy conservation measures to promote a greener and cleaner future for all.

Smitha Kamath

Founder, Pranapoorna Collective
Praanapoorna collective works on community driven model dedicated to provide alternative natural and safe solutions replacing harmful chemicals in everyday living. Our products are handcrafted and made using natural, traditional, indigenous, locally sourced ingredients like citrus peels, soapnut, shikakai and pure grade essential oils. Our products are safe for humans, pets, water and soil on the recommended dilutions. Our products contribute to safe living spaces inviting more life force into our lives. Praanapoorna is dedicated to promote adoption of natural and zero landfill lifestyle by supplying in repurposed containers after proper disinfection.

Susmita Sinha

A sanitation professional with experience and interest in sanitation and water resource management specifically in conceptualizing and developing projects, planning, and implementation as well as knowledge management. Susmita has over 20 years of wide-ranging experience in the wastewater and environmental resource management sector. She is currently working as a freelance consultant in the sanitation sector supporting various organisations. Prior to this, she has been associated with the Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society (CDD) and Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) for 14 years supporting Research and Development, Knowledge Management, and Capacity Building as well as conceptualisation, design of decentralised wastewater treatment systems and faecal sludge management initiatives. Before working with CDD she has been associated with environmental education and environmental management consultancies. She has extensive experience with providing support to organisations/governments in India and other developing countries to develop technology options for faecal sludge management, developing guidelines for managing faecal sludge, and design and implementation of faecal sludge treatment technologies. Additionally, she has been closely associated with knowledge management and capacity building on various aspects of sanitation for stakeholders across the sanitation value chain. Her key expertise is in assessing and developing sustainable sanitation solutions based on local conditions and integrated approaches and sanitation-related capacity development.

Uma Ramakrishnan

Professor, Dept of Ecology and Evolution, NCBS, TIFR
Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan is a professor at the National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bengaluru, India. Her passion for ecology and evolutionary biology led her to complete a bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry and Math. Ramakrishnan obtained her PhD on population genetics from the University of California, San Diego and continued her postdoctoral training at Stanford University. She joined the faculty at NCBS in 2005, where her laboratory uses genetic data to understand how changes in the ecosystem affect biodiversity. Her laboratory has pioneered methods to study the population genetics of tigers by studying their fecal samples. She is also interested in understanding how geography affects the biodiversity in mountain bird communities. For her scientific contribution in the field of conservation biology, she received the Parker/Gentry Award in 2016, and was awarded the Core Fulbright Visiting Fellowship in 2015.

Varsha Shridhar

Co-founder, Molecular Solutions Care Health LLP
➢ Director and Co-founder of Molecular Solutions Care Health, LLP ➢ Innovator of diagnostic tests and devices ➢ 2018 Awardee of the Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India ➢ Industrial partner in a DST funded IMPRINT grant for rapid diagnosis of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in bloodstream infections in ICU patients ➢ Molecular biologist with a focus on point of care diagnostics ➢ Public health researcher passionate about health access . ➢ Crusader for respectful, non-judgemental, empathetic and holistic health care. ➢ Certified NABL Internal Auditor ➢ Certified Assessor for Malcolm Baldrige Healthcare Criteria for Performance Excellence. Trained at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Vikas Brahmavar

Director at Trans Water System Pvt. Ltd - Working in the water industry for the past 12 years - Prior to that he worked in London in software for the investment banking industry - Moved back to India in 2008 to work on water - Currently is working to bring sustainability to Indian cities - Recently Won Award at CNN as Water Warrior of India on MISSION PAANI https://youtu.be/fIHDH4vhr0I - Have been covered in Various news Channels (NDTV, CNN, Udaya news, and Talks) Your story article on Vikas Brahmavar's Work - https://yourstory.com/2019/02/water-recycling-startup-boson-white-water/amp - A core group member of World of Water (WOW) with a mission to save 10000 million lts of water

Vishwanath S

Water conservationist
Vishwanath S is the founder of Rainwater Club (www.rainwaterclub.org), Director of Biome Environmental Solutions (https://www.biome-solutions.com), Trustee of Biome Environmental Trust (http://biometrust.org). He is also an Ex-Secretary General: International Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (www.ircsa.org). A member of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance, he also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Azim Premji University. He has been a columnist at the Hindu since May 2007 (Waterwise - Property Plus - Saturday)

Organizing team

Uma
K

Organizer