(IN): Has Indian environmentalism come of age?

[Guest guest]

" ........... the Ministry of Environment and Forests- in the dusty corridors

of its innocuous building in South Delhi some of the most vital decisions

are taken for destruction of this country's vital natural resources.

Environment clearances are handed out like driver's licenses at your local

RTO, on the basis of technical reports that conveniently overlook globally

endangered wildlife species may inhabit the forests. To date - the Ministry

has cleared every single project sent to it for environment and forest

clearance. "

 

Bahar Dutt,

Wildlife Expert and Correspondent, CNN IBN

 

To read the full text log in to Bahar Dutt`s blog:

http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/bahardutt/258/51702/has-indian-environmentalism-com\

e-of-age.html

 

--

United against elephant polo

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Indian environmentalism will not come of age, nor will

American environmentalism, nor any other national flavor and hue or

green, until & unless it forthrightly acknowledges that raising

animals for slaughter contributes as much to air pollution, more to

water pollution, & as much to depletion of other natural resources

as all forms of mechanized transport combined.

 

That includes cars, trucks, aircraft, speed-boats, even

riding lawn mowers, & you don't have to take my word for it, as

even the United Nations has reported the same thing.

 

Bahar Dutt has not even mentioned meat-eating in her

commentary below, & if animal advocates cannot get a word in

edgewise about it even in India, where & when is the news going to

trickle out?

 

 

To read the full text log in to Bahar Dutt`s blog:

http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/bahardutt/258/51702/has-indian-environmentalism-com\

e-of-age.html

 

Has Indian environmentalism come of age?

 

Even the most ardent proponents of industrialism would acknowledge

that we are in the midst of an environment crisis. Rates of species

extinction are 1000 times more than what they were before human

beings dominated the earth. The rate of carbon dioxide released into

the atmosphere is 30 times more than when the Industrial revolution

started. Urban India is slowly waking up to this inconvenient truth.

 

The Outlook-CNN-IBN-CSDS " State of Environment in Indian Cities " is

an attempt to gauge precisely this- assess the level of awareness,

attitudes, perception and concerns of the people about the state of

environment in their country

 

The survey- has thrown up some startling results. Indians consider

environment to be the Number Two problem beating unemployment, law

and order and even corruption. In a similar survey conducted in the

UK the British considered environment as Number Five on their list of

social problems, which the government should tackle. Indians in the

first ever environment poll are clearly feeling the heat.

 

Does this mean Indians are environmentally responsible? Being aware

does not always translate into responsible action more than half -

53%don't segregate their garbage, 43% never switch off their lights.

And they may not always be aware- 45% believe the biggest contributor

to air pollution is industries and not their own private vehicles,

53% believe the main reason for pollution in the rivers is because of

industrial waste - only 18% see a connection between their own sewage

and the state of our rivers. A majority are willing to give up their

cars if a better public transport is in place and would vote for a

politician who promises a clean environment.

 

In the maze of high-rise apartments, glitzy shopping malls and

lifestyle diseases urban India is also waking up to the perils of

life in a rapidly concretizing jungle. Perhaps the biggest lesson

from this survey is that for urban Indians environmental problems are

no longer 'out there' -they are right here in our cities- wetlands

which used to act as carbon sinks in cities are being built on,

rivers like the Yamuna are dead, the once common house sparrows are

now hard to see and gadgets like reverse osmosis, and inhalers are

integral to every household in our cities. Drive just a few

kilometers outside any city and the devastation is visible - a stark

brown landscape and big craters in agricultural fields -soil being

used as bricks for a city's high rise dreams.

 

But Indians are also fighting back. While Indian environmentalism

was associated with rural Indians fighting to stop mass destruction

of trees through the 'chipko movement' of in the 1980s- urban Indians

are catching up- As the environment editor at CNN-IBN I am flooded

with calls daily from a university professor fighting to save trees

from being cut down, an RWA fighting against encroachments of green

spaces by builders or an architect fighting to save the Yamuna. These

are ordinary middle class Indians turned eco-warriors. They may use

gandhian methods of dharnas, and agitations but they have access to

other tools- sms campaigns and mass emails - they know how to work

the government systems and the media to fight their green wars.

 

Sadly one institution which has not kept pace with this movement -

the Ministry of Environment and Forests- in the dusty corridors of

its innocuous building in South Delhi some of the most vital

decisions are taken for destruction of this country's vital natural

resources. Environment clearances are handed out like driver's

licenses at your local RTO, on the basis of technical reports that

conveniently overlook globally endangered wildlife species may

inhabit the forests. To date - the Ministry has cleared every single

project sent to it for environment and forest clearance. In other

developing countries like Kenya or Brazil there is a fear of the

Ministry and its policing institutions. Portfolios like environment

are handed to articulate, savvy and strong politicians. Ask any

person if they can recall even one environment minister of India -

and their memories may fail.

 

Critics of environmentalism have so far brushed aside the movement

is being too 'apocalyptic' or driven by a left agenda. But urban

Indians have given their verdict- the deteriorating environment is a

mainstream social issue. The environment is suddenly everyone's

problem. As a young mother on the CNN-IBN State of the environment

show put it- access to clean air should be declared an essential

commodity. This World environment day perhaps its time to unleash

Indian environmentalism from the shackles of being perceived as a

jhola- clad activist's agenda to an essential service, which urban

Indians want. The period of denial is over.

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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