Your advertorial ‘Tiracol: From Barren …..to Beautiful’ (not published on Herald) proudly emphasized the fact that you aim for your project to obtain a Platinum LEEDS certification; your advertorial also emphasized that you endeavor to make this golf course a popular destination for tourists coming to Goa, so it is clear that this certification is an attempt to appease your customers and the locals.
Just because LEEDS is an American initiative and multiple ‘green’ projects in Europe and America have a LEED certification, doesn’t make it the best option for the environment, especially the environment in Goa if protecting it is actually one of your goals.
The criterion for a LEEDS certification is based on: 1. Climatic conditions of temperate regions 2. And per capita energy consumption patterns based on energy consumption patterns of developed nations like the US.
Goa is located in the sub-tropics and experiences a hotter and more humid climate that most European and American Nations. Also, the average per capita energy consumption in Goa is much lower than most developed nations which means that you can get the highest “Green Certification” by using technology that is ecologically viable in the temperate regions but resource guzzling in tropical regions. A clear example of this adorns the Mumbai skyline; where buildings with glass facades, that are considered ‘green buildings’ in European countries and in the US, are energy guzzlers and make the city an inferno by the day.
If you were really interested in the well being of the ecology, you should have opted for a GRIHA certification. GRIHA is an acronym for Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment. It is an independent platform (registered as a society) for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to sustainable habitats in the Indian context. It is founded by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. GRIHA is the Indian equivalent of LEEDS and so may not be globally recognized as LEEDS but it keeps the Indian and local ecology and economic conditions in mind while rating a project. A GRIHA rating may not look as jazzy as a LEEDS certification on your brochures but environmentally it is the better option, if you are actually aiming at making your project ecologically viable.
Your advertorial also talked about converting a ‘barren’ land into a green spot; Furthermore it also states that there are some shrubbery and trees growing here. The very fact that there are plants growing here proves that the land is not barren. The foliage may not be green but it is the native flora of the region. By introducing newer species (foreign species – not naturally growing in that area) in order to make the place a ‘green’ spot, you are disturbing the natural ecosystem of that area. If protecting the ecosystem is actually one of your goals then utilizing the native species already growing there should be one of your objectives and not making the place more ‘Green’.
Golf courses are utilized by a miniscule percent of the population, both tourists and natives alike. Your project is not only a waste of precious resources but also total farce. Your idea of a “gre
