Category Environment

            Forests are vital to our planet in many ways. While forests soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus clean the air, they also shelter many species of animals and birds that will not be able to exist in another ecosystem. In Silent Valley, a rare species of monkey called the Lion-tailed Macaque would have perished if developmental works were not halted in time.

            Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, was declared as the Silent Valley National Park in 1984. ’Save Silent Valley’ was a social movement aimed at the protection of the valley. The movement started in 1973 to save the Silent Valley Reserve Forest from being flooded due to the construction of dams and a hydroelectric project.

            After the announcement of an imminent dam construction, the valley became the focal point of Save Silent Valley, India’s fiercest environmental debate of the decade. Due to Concerns about the endangered Lion-tailed Macaque, the issue was brought to public attention.

            In 1977, the Kerala Forest Research Institute carried out an ecological impact study of the Silent Valley area and proposed that the area be declared a biosphere reserve. After much debate, the Silent Valley National Park was formally inaugurated on 7 September 1985. Nonetheless, there is still controversy surrounding the valley.

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                    The sacrifice of 363 men and women of Rajasthan for conserving trees was an inspiration for thousands of nature-lovers felled. The movement began in 1973 in Uttarakhand (then Uttar Pradesh) and went on to become a rallying point for many future environmental movements all over the world. It created a precedent for starting of nonviolent protest against deforestation in India.

                    The Chipko Andolan is a movement that practized methods of Satyagraha. Both men and women activists from Uttarakhand played vital roles in the movement, including Gaura Devi, Suraksha Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi and Chandi Prasad Bhatt. In 1987, the Chipko movement was awarded the Right Livelihood Award.

                     If Bishnoi incident was a spiritual event in which the villagers sacrificed their lives for their sacred trees, Chipko movement made more people aware of the impending danger they would face, if they did not revere and respect nature.

            You may know of great men who have sacrificed their lives for other people or for some noble causes. However, it would be hard to believe that people have lost their lives protecting trees! In 1731, the bravery of a woman inspired a whole village in Rajasthan to die for their trees and stand against the King’s men who came to cut the trees.

            Probably, the Bishnois are India’s first environmentalists. The famous ‘Chipko Movement’ was inspired by the true story of Amrita Devi Bishnoi, the woman who refused to let the king’s men cut trees in her village. Amrita Devi could not bear to witness the destruction of trees, which were sacred to her. She hugged the trees and encouraged the trees and encouraged others to do the same. Three hundred and sixty-three Bishnoi villagers were killed in the massacre that followed.

            When the king cane to know about these terrible events, he rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to cease logging operations. Soon afterwards, he declared the whole place a protected area, forbidding anyone from felling trees and killing animals. This legislation exists even today in Rajasthan.

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            We know that global warming will melt glaciers primarily and this, in turn, will cause rise in sea levels. This phenomenon has already started taking effect in the Polar Regions and high mountains like the Himalayas, where giant sheets of ice have started melting, and causing floods in the lower areas.

            Keeping these points in mind, the Nepal government held the world’s highest cabinet meeting near the base camp of Mount Everest. The purpose of the meeting was to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. The meeting was held just ahead of the Copenhagen Summit in 2009. The entire cabinet of 21 ministers was transported in a fleet of helicopters to kala Patthar plateau next to Everest’s base camp.

            Some of the region’s greatest rivers, including the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the Brahmaputra receive water from the Himalayan glaciers. A spokesperson for the Nepal government said that the glaciers were melting at a worrying rate, and the historic cabinet meeting was held to highlight this problem. The ministers signed a declaration on climate change during the meeting.

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            Sometimes, individual effort is not enough in the grand project of restoring the status quo in the environment. Nation states play an important role in determining the living habits of people of a particular country. Their policy decisions and legislation can make huge impact on the environment. Certain international bodies are necessary in order to persuade governments to control the production and use of substances that harm nature. UNEP is one such organization.

            The United Nations Environment Programme or UNEP is an agency that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. Maurice Strong founded the organization and he was its first director too.

            UNEP has played a significant role in developing international environmental conservations and promoting environmental science. The headquarters of the agency was established in Nairobi, Kenya, on 5 June 1972.

             The organization has registered several successes, such as the 1987 Montreal Protocol for limiting emissions of gases blamed for thinning the planet’s protective ozone layer and the 2012 Minamata Convention, a treaty aimed at limiting toxic mercury.

          Many organizations like Greenpeace work for conserving nature. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one such organization that vows to stop further human interference that will harm nature.

          WWF is an international non-governmental organisation founded in 1961, working in the field of the wild life preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.

          WWF is the world’s largest conservation organisation with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects.

          The group aims to “stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature”. Their mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity on earth.

            Currently, their work is organized around six areas: food, climate, fresh-water, wildlife, forests, and oceans.

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