Saturday 20 June 2015



Lenses from Holland at Ecowings India !

We all had a great time with four Dutch young enthusiastic people from Holland during their India Trip. Specially Joost and Bernhard who were together with me for four days while preparing short film for Ecowings and discussed several things about life, education, culture, sustainability, communication and many more subjects. It was a wonderful experience while working on the Ecowings short film in Indore in which many complexities and talents were involved together. I wish each and every single day should be this much productive with full acceleration and ideas. If we walk on the path with clear directions then it becomes much more easier to reach and journey becomes more faster as you imagine.

It was an honor for us as this time Holland's Prime Minister Mr. Mark Rutte recently visited India to meet our Honorable Prime Minister Shree Narendar Modi to build positive and mutual grounds for both the countries. I must share the statement given by Netherland's PM Mark Rutte - "At this moment, we have 180-200 Dutch companies operating in India and over 60 branches of Indian companies in the Netherlands," No doubt, It is his great step is to create a bridge for future developments and growth which may bring prosperity and open new opportunities for both the countries. Keeping the same mindset and vision we are continuously putting our efforts through our mutual collaborations as we already have established with Angela Rooijmans in Holland and intend to broaden our horizons to spread our sustainable ideas and innovations for the benefits of environment and green future.

We have several resources available and we just need to combined them together with greater level of clarity and creativity with further national and international collaborations to open new channels. Right from the childhood, Indians are taught as they have to compete within the community in which they restrict themselves, but from my point of view we should connect ourselves with this planet and seek out greater opportunities to work together where cross culture activities and positive actions can be involved to achieve the set targets, higher purpose and goals which will not only enrich our skills and individual weaker section people but also for strengthen our nation as well. Through this way we could be more responsible for what we are doing here and can create wider platforms for the skilled people.

While interacting with Bernahard V and Joost D many discussion happened and I realized the gaps in our education system needs to be filled with innovative approaches. We wish if we could create a platform in future for Eco Conscious Education.

My sincere Thanks to Angela Rooijmans and the entire team from Holland.

Cheers.

Kapil Sharma
Principal Designer | Founder
Ecowings India

Tuesday 25 March 2014



Health Impacts of Burning Tires in Cement Kilns :

Ten years ago, Holcim applied to burn hazardous wastes at its cement plant near Headwaters State Park north of Three Forks. After years of public outcry, the application was withdrawn. Now Holcim is planning to seek a permit to burn scrap tires. Cement kilns are designed to make cement, not to be efficient waste incinerators. Burning scrap tires in cement kilns releases benzene and heavy metals and produces dioxins. These toxins are associated with a wide range of serious health problems including reproductive impairment, developmental delay and cancer. Burning tires also presents the potential for loss of productivity and reduced marketability of agricultural products in areas impacted by waste burning facilities. Until health studies are done on populations - of plants, wildlife, livestock, humans - impacted by waste burning cement kilns, the process can not be considered safe.

Image source from : http://atlasbear.wordpress.com/

                                          

What makes up a tire?

Tires are composed of natural rubber from rubber trees, synthetic rubber made from petrochemical feedstocks, carbon black, extender oils, steel wire, up to 17 heavy metals, other petrochemicals and chlorine.
  • Synthetic rubber often contains the organic chemicals styrene and butadiene. Styrene, a benzene derivative, is a suspected human carcinogen.
  • Butadiene is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals and is a suspected human carcinogen. Studies show a strong association between leukemia and butadiene.
  • Extender oils contain benzene based compounds which cause cancer in laboratory animals. Crude oil contains heavy metals, including, but not limited to, lead, chromium, cadmium, and mercury.
  • A coal and tire chlorine content comparison showed that tires may contain as much as 2 to 5 times the chlorine level of western coal. The coal averaged a chlorine weight of .04% and tires showed a weight range of .07 to .2 percent. (CIWMBA, pg. 69).


Combustion Issues

Waste incinerators designed for that purpose are required to have afterburners or secondary combustion chambers to achieve the highest possible combustion efficiency. Cement kilns lack secondary chambers to assure complete destruction of wastes. "Upset" events, when a malfunction occurs in the cement making process, that result in uncontrolled emissions and possible large releases of particulate matter, are common.

Inadequate combustion can result in these chemicals being released into the air and lead to the creation of toxic byproducts. Byproducts of the incomplete combustion of benzene based compounds include dioxins, furans, PAH's (polyaromatic hydrocarbons), and PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls), all recognized by health officials as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. Incineration of chlorine and chlorinated compounds creates dioxins. Metals are not destroyed at any temperature, 100% are released into the air or concentrated into the cement product or the waste material of the process.

Dioxins

The term "dioxin" refers to a group of persistent, very toxic chemicals including dioxins, furans and some PCB's. Dioxin is a byproduct of industrial processes using chlorine. Recent EPA data ranks municipal waste incinerators, hazardous waste burning cement kilns, and medical waste incinerators as the leading sources of dioxin.

Dioxin released into the air can travel long distances in the atmosphere before settling onto soil, water and plants. It enters crops via the soil, from particles deposited on leaves, and by absorption of dioxin vapors from the air into the plant. Dioxin doesn't break down readily, but accumulates in the fatty tissues of animals consuming those plants, and concentrates in meat, eggs, and dairy products and consequently in humans. These toxins also biomagnify, which means that as dioxins move up the food chain, their concentrations are repeatedly multiplied. A study of biomagnification of low levels of dioxin from soil and feed into chickens showed levels of dioxins found in eggs and chickens tissues that were 10 to 200 fold greater than the soil concentrations. (Petras)
The EPA's 1994 Draft Reassessment of Dioxin concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to dioxin; even at extremely low levels a wide range of serious health effects are possible, including reproductive impairment, developmental injuries, and increased risk of diabetes.

Heavy Metals

Metals do not break down in the environment so they build steadily increasing concentrations in soil.

Metals taken up from the soil or deposited on plants from the air can contaminate crops. When cadmium levels in soil were increased by 50 parts per million, wheat yields declined 25%, with greater productivity damage as the cadmium levels increased. (Page) Metals bioaccumulate, moving from the environment into tissues of living beings where they build up over time. Low levels of lead can cause mental retardation, learning disabilities and stunted growth in children.

Conclusion

"...promoting burning waste tires in cement kilns cannot be supported by scientific evidence that it is safe to do so. It is likely that an increase in the use of waste tires as fuel will be damaging to the public's health and well being." *


Sources:

CIWMB, California Integrated Waste Management Board, Tires as a Fuel Supplement: Feasibility Study. Sacramento, CA, 1992.
Page, A. et al. "Other Trace Metals" Impact of Heavy Metal Pollution on Plants. Volume 1:Effects of Trace Metals on Plant Function. N.Lepp, ed. London:Applied Science Publishers. 1980.
Petras,M.,et al. "Biotransfer and bioaccumulation of PCDD/PCDFs from soil; controlled exposure studies of chickens." Chemosphere 23:1731-1741. 1991.
*Dr. Seymour I. Schwartz, Professor, Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, in a letter to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, 1/21/1998


Article source from : http://www.notoxicburning.org/health.html 

Friday 14 March 2014

Ecowings footprints in International Green Festival, organized by Karma Konsum, Germany :

Hi Folks !!

The two day Karma Konsum Green Festival was a great hit and Ecowings inspired thousands of people to adopt green living and sustainable life style. During the exhibition Ecowings exhibited its eleven products including, Mac Book Cases, I-pad Cases, Laptop/Messenger Bags, Wallets, Convertible Pouches and many others. Ecowings also informed people about the Upcycling and recycling process and shared the current global climatic changes and the harms of burning tires. At the same people showed a great amount of enthusiasm and inclination towards the Upcycled products and did several interactions to understand the environmental problems. Ecowings also interacted with many other environment passionate people and talked about the possible future sustainable collaborations to make greater difference.

During the exhibition the brand lovers also expressed their emotions and views about the Ecowings and its product range. Ecowings also got influenced from Christoph Harrach, Founder of Karma Konsum and discussed about the global trends and current needs in Europe of sustainable products.

Probably in future Ecowings new product range will be more user oriented and focused to a specific target group to satisfy the global needs and design interventions will be based on more trend forecasting and current scenarios.

Happy green living !!

Ecowings Design Team :)  

Saturday 10 August 2013

Burning tire tube is posing high level risk for environment  and wild life: (case study)  

A boy carries a freshly killed goat through the smoke and haze of burning tires © Ed Kashi/VII Photo.

Introduction : 

Research worldwide indicates that tire burning kilns have a serious detrimental impact on community health and the integrity of the surrounding environment. Kiln emissions have been found to cause cancer and respiratory illness. Environmental degradation ranges from physical alteration to heavy metal,mercury, and chemical contamination. Chemicals from the air and ground water entering the river, can accumulate to toxic quantities in wildlife and degrade the river ecosystem. As the river becomes polluted the entire ecosystem is at risk: human health is compromised, wildlife is threatened and the environment is in peril. 

Impact : 

The study shows that emissions from the burning of tires are a serious threat to human health. Specifically, emissions from burning tires are highly mutagenic (more mutagenic than emissions from the burning of all other bulk materials that researchers have tested). Emissions from burning tires contains significant amounts of the following known human carcinogens: benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and benz[a]pyrene. What follows are quotes from the study:


"Two to three billion scrap tires are in landfills and stockpiles across the United States, and approximately one scrap tire per person is generated every year. Scrap tires represent both a disposal problem and a resource opportunity (e.g., as a fuel and in other applications). Of the many potential negative environmental and health impacts normally associated with scrap tire piles, the present study focuses on (1) examining air emissions related to open tire fires and their potential health impacts, and (2) reporting on emissions data from well designed combustors that have used tires as a fuel.

"Air emissions from open tire fires have been shown to be more toxic (e.g., mutagenic) than those of a combustor, regardless of the fuel. Open tire fire emissions include "criteria" pollutants, such as particulates, carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They also include "non-criteria" hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, furans, hydrogen chloride, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); and metals such as arsenic, cadmium, nickel, zinc, mercury, chromium, and vanadium. Both criteria and HAP emissions from an open tire fire can represent significant acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) health hazards to firefighters and nearby residents. 

Depending on the length and degree of exposure, these health effects could include irritation of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, respiratory effects, central nervous system depression, and cancer. Firefighters and others working near a large tire fire should be equipped with respirators and dermal protection. Unprotected exposure to the visible smoke plume should be avoided.
.
Open tire fire emissions are estimated to be 16 times more mutagenic than residential wood combustion in a fireplace, and 13,000 times more mutagenic than coal-fired utility emissions with good combustion efficiency and add-on controls. reference http://www.elaw.org/node/276


15 Reasons NOT to Burn Tires:


The International Paper Plant at Ticonderoga lacks the basic pollution control device, an electrostatic precipitator, needed to minimize the risk from pollutants released from burning tires. Saving money on fuel by burning tires should not take precedence over public health. Industries have the responsibility to be good corporate neighbors.

Burning tires releases a toxic soup of pollutants. Children are especially at risk. Hundreds of different toxic pollutants are created by burning tires as well as a tremendous number of small particles that settle deep in the lungs.

Breast milk contaminated by the organic pollutants on the particles released from burning tires will be transferred from a nursing mother to her baby.

Children, fetuses, nursing babies, elderly, asthmatics, immune suppressed individuals are all much more vulnerable to the pollutants released burning tires. Small particulates released by burning tires worsen asthma and may contribute to heart disease.

Shouldn’t we intervene to protect children before the toxic damage done? Time after time we have learned too late.

Fine particles have been found to cause excess mortality and hospitalizations for heart disease and cancer by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Environmental Health.

International Paper Ticonderoga’s plant has out-dated pollution control equipment that will not capture the fine particles emitted from burning tires. IP’s own application for a permit to burn tires estimates only 76% of the particles will be captured.

IP’s type of wet scrubber has been found to be inadequate by the EPA for capturing the emissions released from burning tires. The EPA recommends that an electrostatic precipitator be used instead.

International Paper Company has a poor record of disclosing information and compliance with environmental regulations, including dumping toxic sludge and dioxins into Lake Champlain.Find out more about the IP Environmental Record.

10 International Paper Company’s application to the NYDEC for a permit to conduct a test burn of tires at the Ticonderoga plant states that burning tires will increase emissions of toxic metals from the plant including: chromium, arsenic, zinc, barium, cobalt, copper, iron, aluminum, manganese and vanadium.

11 Current air pollution exposure standards are based on healthy adults and do not take infants, nursing mothers, and the elderly into consideration.

12 Not all pollutants released during the tire burn will be monitored. The EPA monitors only a few criteria air pollutants which may not be representative of all pollutants released. Many unknown pollutants with unknown health effects will be released from burning tires.

13 Tires are not designed to be burned as a fuel and contain hazardous ingredients (the rubber in tires contains 25% extender oils derived from benzene, 25% styrene, a derivative of benzene, and 25% 1,3 butadiene. - both benzene and 1,3 butadiene are suspected human carcinogens). Tire-derived fuel (TDF) also contains remnants of wire that is difficult to totally remove when tires are processed for fuel.

14 Fine particulates are significantly more hazardous to human health than larger particulates. Toxins collected on the surface of fine particulates are aspirated by humans and lead to lung disease. The pollution control device on the IP power boiler is insufficient to remove fine particulate matter and heavy metals from flue gases.

15 If tires are burned, the IP plant will release high levels of small particles containing zinc oxide. Inhaling small particles containing zinc produces inflammation in the lungs. Lung damage has been documented in animal studies at levels lower than OSHA and EPA standards. Asthmatics would be at particular risk from zinc exposure. There is also evidence of fetal damage from zinc exposure reference : http://www.lesspollution.org/learn.html


Here are couple of ecowings solutions : 

After going through the extensive research in various dimension, ecowings team has developed several ideas and executed them in a finished product for life style purpose. Ecowings strongly believes, these meaningful innovation can bring positive difference in environment and help to save our planet from environmental disasters. 
We advise to all the people to adopt upcycled products and green living to cast green impact and contribute to save our planet. 

Happy Green Living :) 


I-slim Pouch : Made out of recycled tire tube
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Black buck : Men's wallet made out of recycled tire tube
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Rocklane Bag : Made out of recycled tire tube

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Note : The above data has been collected from different web resources. Ecowings has the rights on the above mentioned products only as these are designed and manufactured by the ecowings design division. We appreciate to provide this meaning full information openly to educate people across the world, if any issue is there then please inform to eocwings with prior notice. 


Friday 28 June 2013

Hey Guys !!

Ecowings glad to share "Insol" up-cycled electrical insulator lamp : A unique product to uplift the green living

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=608539689170000&set=a.560940693929900.1073741825.549160331774603&type=1&theater

Have great day ahead !!

Ecowings team :) 

Sunday 12 May 2013


Udaipur Lakes  : Problems and Options for Eco-remediations for
Conservation

Udaipur- the lake city attracts thousands of tourists from India and abroad. These lakes are indeed perfect water harvesting structures which were designed and constructed by the ex-rulers of mewar state. Earlier to 1970s these lakes were catering the need for irrigation waters. However, drinking water being the first priority, since last over four decades these are used as a source of raw water for drinking water supplies.
 
           
 In general, the Udaipur lake system comprising of lakes Picchola, Swaroop Sagar, rang Sagar, Khmaharia talab and Dudh talai together with Fatehsagar is an integral part of Berach river. Therefore, this lake system is ultimately  connected to the great ganges river basin through Banas, Chambal and Yamuna rivers.
Lake environment then and now :  Till 1970s the lake environment was relatively having meagre pollution because of limited human interferences of various kinds. However, with growing human settlement along the lake shores especially around Pichhola lake system and subsequent discharge of domestic sewage effluents into lake has accelerated the process of nutrient enrichment (Eutrophication) to an alarming level.
            The lakes of Udaipur are known to harbour rich biodiversity which is evident from several research studies. Six major research projects sponsored by Department of Environment(Jaipur & N.Delhi),Indian Council of Agricultural Research, N.Delhi, dept. of science & Technology, Jaipur were conducted on Udaipur lakes. Besides these, more than 30 M.Sc. and Ph.D. thesis have been submitted on various lakes of Udaipur.  a variety of flora and fauna as listed below :

 Biota
Numbers
Phyloplankton
30
Zooplankton
108
Benthos
37
Macrophytes (Aquatic weeds)
17
Fishes
39
Birds
280

Besides such a rich biodiversity stated above, Reptiles and Mammals (Crocodiles,turtles, snakes, otters etc.) were also available abundantly .  Occurrence of such top carnivores earlier in the lake ecosystem is a valid evidence of prestine condition and ecological health of Udaipur lakes.
With growing human interferences of various kinds the environmental scenario in Udaipur lakes has changed mainly because of following factors :
       Deforestation in the catchments & subsequent silting of lakes due to induced soil erosion.
       inflow of nutrients by way of disposal of solid & liquid (domestic sewage) pollutants.(In 1980 about 40 points were identified where sewage channels were discharging sewage into pichhola lake system).
       For checking pollution in lakes an effluent diversion scheme was implemented in Picchola lake system wherein a drainage line was installed along the lake periphery. However, it has some technical problems related to design, establishment and maintenance. This some times results in leakages and overflow of sewage effluents into lake thus stimulating excessive weed infestation and algal growths. Under NLCP yet another sewage scheme has been designed with the prime objective of  pollution control in Udaipur lakes. 
       Encroachment along shores of lake thus reducing the water holding capacity of lakes.
       Increased bathing and washing activities and use of detergents thus adding more amount of phosphorus into lake ecosystem.(Soap which was used traditionally is relatively more eco-friendly as it easily gets biodegraded as against detergent which is more injurious to aquatic life ).
       Increased use of fertilizers & pesticides in agriculture in the catchment of lakes as well as in exposed lake bed during summer months or years of low rainfall also aggravated the nutrient enrichment. This also enhances the process of eutrophication especially due to addition of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
       It is also noticed that many a times lakes are used as a convenient site for dumping of garbage. This degrade water quality and fills up the lake basin at exceedingly high speed. Desilting operations in Udaipur lakes were also made by the citizen groups and under NLCP. Desilting certainly helps in ecorestoration leading to increased biodiversity, water holding capacity and improvement in water quality.
       Due to erratic rainfall the lakes are not receiving surplus water every year from the catchment for overflow. Under such situation, all the nutrients and pollutants added to lake from outside sources(Allochthonous) or generated within the lake(Autochthonous) further aggravates the problem of eutroplication.
       For drinking water supplies water is drawn from the lakes(20 MLD). This reduces the volume of water mass. Besides this, water losses also occur  due to seepage and evaporation. Such reductions in lakes may be about 2 meters  during one hydrological cycle.
       Due to altered water quality scenario and degradation in water quality as a result of organic loading, biodiversity of aquatic flora and fauna has been affected adversely. This causes reduction in capacity of lake ecosystem to cope up with increased organic pollution. Thus, notably some species of fishes have declined drastically due to failure of their breeding in the lake ecosystem. Labeo gonius, Puntins sarana, Tor Khudree are examples of such dwindled fishes in Udaipur lakes.
       Lakes maturation process is accelerated : Because of various kinds of human interferences stated above the process of lake maturation is accelerated. This in general speeds up the nutrient enrichment in lakes which may reduce the life span of lakes. Unless suitable remedial measures at required scale are taken, the lakes of Udaipur are reported to loose their entity as lakes in another 70-90 years as evident from sediment studies.
        During lake maturation process lake passes through various stages of trophy(Nutrient levels). Thus, the life span of any lake is grossly influenced by natural as well as anthropogenic factors. Obviously, anthropogenic factors play a significant role in lake maturation process. Fortunately, there are several ecoremedial measures available for slowing, halting or even reversing the eutrophication in lakes for achieving desired trophic state.
        Lake maturation process

Oligotrophy             Mesotrophy         Eutrophy         Dystrophy        Bog lake

The Characterstic features of the main trophic stages are given below :
            Table : Trophic state index (TSI) as per cartson(1997) :
Trophic state
TSI
Secchi disc
(m)
Total Phosphorus
(µg/l)
Chlorophyll
g/l)
Oligotrophic
0
10
30
64
32
08
0.75
1.50
06
0.04
0.12
0.94
Mesotrophic
40
50
04
02
12
24
2.6
6.4
Eutrophic
60
80
100
1
0.25
0.062
48
219.0
768
20
154
1183

Considering the TSI proposed by Carlson(1997) the lakes of Udaipur fall under eutrophic category whereas it is desirable to maintain these lakes as mesotrophic lakes. This would mean that the present nutrient level especially phosphorus has to be monitored(02-04µg/l) and managed effectively so that algal biomass(phytoplankton) is reduced to make the water more transparent(water clarity of 2-4 meters). This obviates the need for eutrophication reversal by appropriate means. There are several examples where the process of eutrophication has been not only halted but even reversed. The recommended processes of eutrophication reversal are following :
       Dilution : by augmenting inflow of pollution free water the accumulated  nutrients, obnoxious gases can be flushed out. This helps in depollution as well as for restoring the biodiversity. This also helps in improving sanitary condition of bottom sediment and overlying water mass.
       Diversion of effluents : By and large, nitrogen and phosphorus govern the process of biological production in lakes. Thus, if the supply of these nutrients is checked in lakes, this helps in controlling eutrophication. By this way excessive growth of algae and aquatic weeds can be checked.
       Desilting :  In eutropic lakes, the basin is filled with silt and associated nutrients and pathogens. Thus, by removing superficial stratum of silt not only the water holding capacity of lake can be increased but this will also improve the sanitary condition of lake ecosystem. However, it would be appropriate that large scale desilting (wet or dry type)  should be carefully planned on the basis of sediment  core studies.
       Aeration : This is effective method for algal control and oxygen enrichment. As the surface aerators (Fountains) stimulate water loss by evaporation, it is appropriate to use bottom aerators. Aeration also helps in biodegradation of accumulated organic matter. In well oxygenated water release of phosphorus from the sediment is also limited which helps in efficient nutrient management in the lakes.
       Withdrawal of hypolimnetic water :  As most nutrients remain accumulated in the bottom sediment and associated water(Hypolimnetic), it is better to discharge surplus water from bottom instead of surface. This helps in reducing nutrient levels  in lake.
       Periodical weed harvesting : Weeds efficiently absob nutrients from water. Thus, periodical weed removal can  be an effective tool for harvesting excess nutrients from the lake. In many lakes it is regularly practised. However, floating type of weeds such as water hyacinth, Pistia, Alligator weed, Nymphoides, Ipomea, Typha etc. should be removed on priority and used as suitable resource  especially to replace pulp of trees. Submerged  aquatic plants such as Hydrilla, Vallisneria, Najas, Potamogeron, Ceratophyllum etc. commonly found in Udaipur lakes may be maintained in justifiable manner in the littoral zone of lakes as these plants not only absorb nutrients & obnoxious gases from water but provide dissolved oxygen as a product of photosynthesis. Thus, in marginal littoral zone submerged aquatic plants can be regularly cut and harvested by human power or machines. Total removal of submerged aquatic plants from lake by uprooting these may lead to   production of intense algal blooms especially the blue-greens which may degrade the water quality and adveresely affect its potability. Certain herbicides and chemicals can also kill the weeds but these are ueseful only for small fishery waters and as such not recommended for large lakes and drinking water resources.
       Biological control & fisheries management : These are eco friendly methods for controlling algae or aquatic weeds. For bio-control of phytoplankton(algae) a Chinese fish Hypophthalmichtyes molitrix  has been found very effective. Similarly, for the control of higher aquatic submerged plants grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella) is useful as it can consume certain submerged weeds and duck weeds double to its own weight each day. Insect wevils namely Neochaetina bruchi and N.eichhornie have been also reported to control water hyacinth as biocontrol measure but indicated limited success in Udaipur lakes. Moreover, these wevils gradually kills the plant which needs to be removed from the lake before it starts decomposing in the lake.
Quality fish seed of desirable species in adequate number should be introduced and harvested in the lakes regularly for effective nutrient management and ecological balance.  

Scientific fisheries activities and technique of biomanipulation are  considered recent and popular methods for effective nutrient management in lakes. Adoption of such methods in Udaipur lakes may help to convert pollutants into highly priced fish protein and yet improving water quality in lake ecosystem. 

-Photographs and Article by Dr. L. L. Sharma