What term did the ancient romans use to refer to the ability to develop or discover ideas that result in new insights or new approaches to old problems?

development:   floodplain development often directly impacts wetlands by removing vegetation (increasing bank erosion),   and filling or draining wetlands for building sites.   floodplain development sometimes indirectly impacts riparian wetlands through the installation of artificial stream stabilizing devices like rip-rap and bulk-heads that attempt to stop the natural meandering process which creates new wetlands and replenishes existing ones.    

road building:   most river valleys have roads and/or railroads.   these structures squeeze rivers and streams by narrowing the floodplain.   this destabilizes the river which   has less room to meander and therefore has an excess of energy.   the roads and railroads also affect drainage from uplands onto the floodplains, and many are built on top of areas that once were wetlands.   such roads often create long, low-quality wetlands upslope of the road by interrupting surface and groundwater flows.   these wetlands can attract wildlife dangerously close to roads.   wetland loss caused by roads is mitigated through the restoration of other impacted wetlands although the replacement wetlands are not always of the same type and quality as those lost. see montana department of transportation's off-site wetland mitigation reserves map.

grazing: overgrazing harms wetlands through soil compaction, removal of vegetation, and stream bank destabilization.   wetlands offer some of the best forage for livestock as well as a water source and cover, so livestock tends to spend a disproportionately large time in wetlands.   there are many grazing strategies that discourage cattle from using wetlands. click on rwrp's web site for a discussion of these strategies.

agriculture:   wetlands often have fairly flat areas of rich organic soil that is highly productive agricultural land if drained.   for this reason many wetlands have been drained and converted to agricultural lands.  

mining: historic mining has had a major impact on wetlands of the clark fork basin, particularly along the upper river where mine wastes have been deposited in the floodplain, creating the country’s largest superfund site. view the superfund site.  

the epa also list the following as major human causes of wetland loss:   logging,   runoff, air and water pollution, introducing nonnative species. see examples of nonnative species here.

the following lists specific damaging actions commonly taken in wetlands.

dumping:   dumping fill material buries hydric soils and effectively lowers the water table so hydrophytic (water loving) plants cannot compete with upland plants.  

            dredging:   the removal of material from a wetland or river bed.   dredging of streams lowers the surrounding water table and dries up adjacent wetlands.

            draining:   water is drained from wetlands by cutting ditches into the ground which collect and transport water out of the wetland.   this lowers the water table and dries out the wetland.    

            diverting flow:   water is diverted around wetlands, lowering the water table.  

            devegetation:   vegetation plays an important role in wetland ecology by removing water through evapotranspiration, altering water and soil chemistry, providing habitat for wildlife, and reducing erosion.   removal of vegetation can drastically and sometimes irreversibly alter wetland function.

            damming flow:   many ponds and reservoirs are constructed on wetlands.   a flooded wetland cannot provide the same habitats and functions.  

            development of springs:   pumping large quantities of water from springs lowers nearby groundwater and can result in the loss of wetland vegetation.   compaction of springs by cattle can cause springs to cease to flow.

explanation:

the first lok sabha in 1951 had 22 women mps. the current lok sabha has 66. in the span of 54 years and 16 lok sabha elections it amounts to a three- fold increase in the number of women mps that made their way to the lower house of the parliament. from 5% in 1951, women mps constitute 12.2% of the lok sabha today. the rise in numbers has been steady through the years, both in absolute numbers and percentages. the notable exceptions have been the dip in numbers during the 6th lok sabha in 1977, the 9th lok sabha in 1989 and most recently the 14th lok sabha in 2004. the trends show a marked and steady increase from 1991 onwards to the present lok sabha. the 1991 figures show a jump from 5% in the previous lok sabha to 7% and the steady increase from thereon (except for 2004). it would be interesting to understand the factors for this watershed year and continuous rise and also the fall in numbers during 2004.

s no year number of women mps percentage of women mps

1 1951 22 4.50%

2 1957 22 4.45%

3 1962 31 6.28%

4 1967 29 5.58%

5 1971 28 5.41%

6 1977 19 3.51%

7 1980 28 5.29%

8 1984 43 7.95%

9 1989 29 5.48%

10 1991 39 7.30%

11 1996 40 7.37%

12 1998 43 7.92%

13 1999 49 9.02%

14 2004 45 8.29%

15 2009 59 10.87%

16 2014 66 12.15%

the average representation of women mps( 12.15%) is higher than the national average of women mlas in state assemblies, which stands at a dismal 9%. while the numbers have increased over the years, the percentage of women that make up the lok sabha even today is not a figure to be proud of, especially when the ideal number should be at 33% at least. we still have a long way to go.

percentage of women mps in various lok sabhaswomen contestants in elections to the lok sabha

central to the question of women’s representation in lok sabha is the appetite for women to take the political plunge and jump into the fray along with and against male candidates, getting tickets from their respective parties to contest elections and finally winning the seats that they contest. while popular perception might be that few women are willing to or have taken the political plunge, number of women contestants tells an interesting story. between 1957(the earliest data available) and 2015, the total number of women contestants has increased from 45 to 668. that is a whopping 15 fold increase in the number of women contesting. if we looked at the data for male contestants for the same years, the number has increased from 1474 to 7583, a five- fold increase. the 15 fold increase in women contestants indicates towards the growing appetite for women to enter the political fray and willingness to be part of political decision-making.

number of female contenstants in various lok sabha elections

explanation: