Experimented methods to moderate the impact of climate change in Auroville

Recent natural disasters have highlighted that the rehabilitated landscape and the conscious town planning of Auroville can offer certain protection from the impact of climate change. Auroville and its bioregion have experienced several natural disasters. A tsunami hit the coast in 2004, Hurricane Thane struck in 2012, a flood occurred in 2015, and a severe drought occurred in 2017. Over the last two decades, sea level rise and the disappearance of the coastline have been significant, as well as the intrusion of the seawater into the groundwater. Throughout these events Auroville environment remained noticeably more safe and healthy than its surrounding bioregions. Decades of cooperative projects with the villages in the bioregion have enabled Auroville to quickly act after disasters, avoiding aggravated situations such as outbreaks of epidemics. The achievements of Auroville can be a good example for cities of the Coromandel Coast and around the world

Introduction to the Green Belt of Auroville: A Detailed Description on How its Actual Practices Contribute to the UN SDGs

The South-Indian city of Auroville was founded in 1968 with the ambitious plan to become an utopist city for 50,000 habitants. The once heavily eroded land was transformed to a lush green area thanks to the past decades of landscape restoration work. The city aims to create a new type of human habitat where the residents live in harmony and close relation with nature. As part of its master plan a 2.5 km wide Green Belt is envisioned around the city zone that would contain organic farms and restored forest that provides timber and refilled underground water resources. The Green Belt is not only home to various projects of education and nature conservation but also an ecological system that already proved to locally reduce the severe effects of climate change. The original master plan was designed by Roger Anger a French architect. While most of the development within Auroville is based on this original plan visiting researchers and experts warn that present social and spatial reality shows a very different scene. The nationally and internationally praised city faces serious threats. The growing real estate business, hotel developments, encroachment of lands and a planned highway in the Green Belt of Auroville are endangering the restored ecosystem. Presently there are less than 3,000 Aurovilians, people of 50 countries, who are committed to live in Auroville and work for the city the earth needs . In the same time due to the above mentioned dynamics already more than 25,000 people live within the planned area of Auroville, (over)using its ecological services. The paper will describe the past and present development of Auroville with focus on the Green Belt. Based on the writers\u27 personal experience and knowledge, collected during her years of living and working in Auroville, it will also attempt to describe the future scenarios. The role and significance of the Green Belt will be addressed through assessing its performance on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Hydrogeochemical Features of Some Mineral Waters at the Contact between Harghita Mts. (Eastern Carpathians) and the Transylvanian Basin

AbstractThe study area, located at the contact zone between the Harghita Mountains and the Transylvanian Basin is well known for the abundance and diversity of mineral water springs. These mineral waters are used by the local people for drinking and also as Spas. This paper focuses on the mineral waters of some traditional Spas from this area, Odorheiu Secuiesc (Seiche Spa, Kápolnás Spa or Solymossy Spa), Upper Vârghiş Valley (Selters Spa and Nádasszék Spa) and Chirui Spa. The aim of the present work is to characterize the mineral waters based on the quantification of chemical content and also to establish correlations between the geological structure and the water's chemical composition. The geological setting and tectonics have a large influence on the chemical composition of mineral waters. Two main water types can be described, mineral waters of Na+ – Cl- type, present at Odorheiu Secuiesc, Kápolnás Spa and of HCO3- type with no dominant cation at Chirui Spa. The mineral waters located on a fault at Odorhei Seiche Spa have high CO2 values. Possible mixing zones might be identified between the two types which are present in the Upper Vârghiş Valley where mineral waters of Na+ – HCO3-– Cl- type are present except one source, which is of Na+ – Cl- type. The mixing is reflected not only by the chemical composition, but also by the quantity of dissolved CO2. The present paper deals with all the existing mineral water springs in the area providing information in a high resolution about the local hydromineral system

Auroville’s Disappearing Beaches

On February 28th 1968, the town of Auroville was solemnly funded in India with the aim of searching for solutions to humanity’s most pressing questions. Over the past 50 years the heavily eroded area has undergone exemplary landscape rejuvenation and a small town has been formed with 3000 residents from 54 countries of the world. National governments, international organizations and universities support and observe the development of this experiment. The majority of Auroville’s land is a few km away from the Coromandel Coast, but there are a few shoreline settlements that serve as centers for recreational and beach activities. In recent years the coast has undergone rapid erosion which has washed away beaches and buildings, and despite attempts to minimize this it is an ongoing process. Investigation suggests that the new port development in Pondicherry, a few km south of Auroville, is the main cause of the destruction. As the shores disappeared the groundwater became salinized. The primary sufferers of the change are those in coastal settlements: resorts and fishing villages. The affected coastline extends across the borders of two states: Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, and constructive proposals are often lost in political battles. In my research paper, which is based on interviews and literature analysis, I aim to outline the situation. I describe the attempts that were made to stop the destruction and to initiate cooperation of local stakeholders within the various layers of society, and to target the decision makers at state and national level

Mészöly Miklós kéziratos hagyatékának feldolgozása, sajtó alá rendezése = Registry and processing of the manuscript bequest of Miklós Mészöly

Mészöly Miklós Műhelynaplói címmel megjelent 2007. januárjában a 930 oldalas kötet a Kalligram Kiadónál. (Pozsony) Minthogy kérelmeztem az OTKA vezetésétől azt, hogy az egy évvel korábban teljesített kutatási feladat harmadik évi kutatási támogatása ne vesszen el, hanem átutalható legyen A SOKÉVES KUTATÁS EREDMÉNYÉNEK KIADÁSÁRA a kiadónak, tehát a nyomdai munkálatokra. Mindez elfogadásra talált, ezért hálával tartozom. 2007-ben a Kalligram kiadási költségeire, továbbá egy kiegészítő kiadvány munkálataira (Bovier Hajnalka: NÉVTÁR. Kiegészítő kötet, bibliográfia Mészöly Miklós Műhelynaplóihoz), illetve a megjelent kötettel kapcsolatos könyvbemutatókat bizotsító útiköltségek kerültek kifizetésre (az utóbbiak számomra, a kötet szerkesztője számára). | Since I applied at the OTKA managing board for that the funding of my last year's completed research, the last year of a three year programme, wouldn't be lost and to be processed for PUBLISHING THE RESEARCH RESULTS OF MULTIPLE YEARS to the publisher. All of this was accepted, therefore im greatful to you. In 2007 the publishing expenses of the Kalligram publisher, the work around the complementary issue (Bovier Hajnalka: NÉVTÁR. Complementary issue, bibliography Mészöly Miklós Műhelynaplóihoz), and the occuring expenses due to the exhibitions of the newly published book were covered (to me as the editor)

Sustainable development goals in ecovillages

In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs ) were ratified by 195 countries. To be achieved by 2030, the goals aim to transform our world by leaving no one behind. In 2017 the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) investigated how 30 ecovillages from 5 continents already contributed to the UN SDGs. The results were presented on the 2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Based on the GEN research outcomes, we examined 17 international Ecovillages. We aimed to understand how ecovillages relate to the UN SDG framework. The research was done with Ecovillages Around the World subject students. Before the analysis, students became acquainted with the SDGs’ targets and their implications in different communities. The research methods were web-content analysis and self-assessment from the ecovillages’ representatives, and the results were compared. The research proved that studied ecovillages already contribute to most SDGs; still, most do not know or intend to use the SDG framework. The results indicate a communication gap between the global political community and local ecovillages. Both global and local efforts aim to support sustainable development, but there could be vast differences in the interpretation of sustainability. Therefore, there is a significant need to establish communication channels and platforms to support the partnership between stakeholder groups working for sustainability at different levels

Sustainable Development Goals In Ecovillages

In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs ) were ratified by 195 countries. To be achieved by 2030, the goals aim to transform our world by leaving no one behind. In 2017 the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) investigated how 30 ecovillages from 5 continents already contributed to the UN SDGs. The results were presented on the 2018 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). Based on the GEN research outcomes, we examined 17 international Ecovillages. We aimed to understand how ecovillages relate to the UN SDG framework. The research was done with Ecovillages Around the World subject students. Before the analysis, students became acquainted with the SDGs’ targets and their implications in different communities. The research methods were web-content analysis and self-assessment from the ecovillages’ representatives, and the results were compared. The research proved that studied ecovillages already contribute to most SDGs; still, most do not know or intend to use the SDG framework. The results indicate a communication gap between the global political community and local ecovillages. Both global and local efforts aim to support sustainable development, but there could be vast differences in the interpretation of sustainability. Therefore, there is a significant need to establish communication channels and platforms to support the partnership between stakeholder groups working for sustainability at different levels.&nbsp