2. CHIPKO MOVEMENT
Chipko movement is a movement that practiced
the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-violent resistance.
The modern Chipko movement started in the early 1970s in
the GarhwalHimalayas of Uttarakhand, then in Uttar Pradesh with
growing awareness towards rapid deforestation
Launched to protect the Himalayan forests from destruction ,many
struggles were organized to protest against the colonial forest policy
during the early decades of 20th century.
Indian forest act 1927 restricted the access of local communities to
the forest which added problems to their livelyhood .
According to the contractor system many pieces of forest land were
commodified and auctioned to big contractors ,leads to rapid
deforestation.
3. villagers, especially women, started organizing themselves under
several smaller groups under the leadership of Gaura devi, the head
of the village Mahila Mangal Dal, at Reni village.
The women kept an all-night vigil guarding their trees from the
cutters finally the contractors left.
One of Chipko's most salient features was the mass participation of
female villagers.
One of the prominent Chipko leaders, Gandhian Sunderlal Bahuguna,
took a 5,000-kilometre trans-Himalaya foot march in 1981–83,
spreading the Chipko message to a far greater area.
Despite this, both female and male activists did play pivotal roles in
the movement including Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni
Devi, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Sundarlal Bahuguna, Govind Singh Rawat,
Dhoom Singh Negi, Shamsher Singh Bisht and Ghanasyam Raturi, the
Chipko poet, whose songs echo throughout the Himalayas.
Chandi Prasad Bhatt was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in
1982, and Sundarlal Bahuguna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in
2009.
5. Tehri dam is the main dam of the Tehri Hydro Project, a major power
project located near Tehri in the state of Uttarakhand in India.
The Tehri Dam is the highest dam in India, 4th highest in Asia(in all
dam types), 3rd highest in asia (in embankment dam types) and 8th
highest in world.
The dam has been the object of intense protests from environmental
groups and the people of this region.
This project has violated concerns about the environmental
consequences of locating a large dam in the fragile ecosystem of
the Himalayan foothills.
further concerns regarding the dam's geological stability. The Tehri
dam is located in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a
major geologic fault zone.
A protest message against Tehri dam, which was steered by
Sundarlal Bahuguna for years
6. Since 2005, filling of the reservoir has led to the reduced flow of
Bhagirathi water from the normal.
the Bhagirathi is considered part of the sacred Ganges whose
waters are crucial to Hindu beliefs.
TEHRI DAM A PROTEST AGAINST DAM
PROJECT
7. Navdanya is an Indian-based non-governmental organization which
promotes biodiversity conservation, biodiversity, organic farming,
the rights of farmers, and the process of seed saving.
One of navadanya’s founders is Vandana shiva an
environmental activist, physicist, and author.
It has helped set up 54 community seed banks across the country,
trained over 500,000 farmers in seed sovereignty, food
sovereignty and sustainable agriculture over the past two decades,
and helped setup the largest direct marketing, fair trade organic
network in the country.
In the year 2000, Navdanya launched the Jal Swaraj Movement to
protect our water from privatization and commodification and
to promote traditional water harvesting systems and equitable
access to water .
Navdanya pioneered the movement of seed saving, which began in
response to the crisis of agricultural biodiversity
8. Navdanya is committed to reducing cost of agricultural inputs by
supporting seed banks and by supporting farmer re -education and
training in low cost earth friendly,indigenous and ancestral methods
of farming. Low cost organic agriculture allows farmers to feed their
families and avoid indebtedness, poverty and hunger.
NAVADANYA
VANDANA SHIVA
9. Narmada Bachao Andolan is the most powerful mass movement,
started in 1985, against the construction of huge dam on
the Narmada river.
According to Narmada Bachao Andolan, the dams force the
displacement of about a million people and affect many more,
largely poor peasants and tribals. They also cause immense
ecological damage through the inundation of forests, including
prime habitats of rare species.
Narmada Bachao Andolan was initiated by Medha Patkar , Baba Amte
along with other colleagues.
There are more than 200,000 people in the submergence area of
this single dam with the best of agriculture and horticulture and all
community life going on with temples, mosques, trees, schools,
dispensaries, Government buildings etc.
The decade-long struggle in the Narmada valley has resulted in
suspension of the work on the Sardar Sarovar dam project through
the movement as well as the Supreme Court's intervention.
11. Save Silent Valley was a social movement aimed at the protection of
Silent valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of
Kerala.
It was started in 1973 to save the Silent Valley Reserve Forest in
from being flooded by a hydroelectric project.
The valley was declared as Silent Valley National Park in 1985.
The Kuntipuzha is a major river that flows 15 km southwest from
Silent Valley ,a study and survey was conducted in 1958 of the area
about the possibility of a hydroelectric project of 120 MV.
Save silent valley become popular because of concern about the
endangered lion-tailed macaque.
Romulus Whitaker,kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad ,poet activist
Sugathakumari played an important role in the silent valley protest.
A petition of writ was filed before the High Court of Kerala, against
the clear cutting of forests in the Hydroelectric Project area and the
court ordered a stop to the clear cutting.
12. In December1980, the Government of Kerala declared the Silent
Valley area, excluding the Hydroelectric Project area, as a National
Park.
After a careful study of a report, the Hon. Prime Minister of India
decided to abandon the Project.
SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
ROMULUS WHITAKER
SUGATHAKUMARI
13. World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is among my top picks since their
work is aimed at protecting biodiversity on a global scale. The WWF
works with multilateral and bilateral agencies to promote
sustainable development in the world's poorest countries. Its aims
are threefold—to protect natural areas and wild populations, to
minimize pollution, and to promote efficient, sustainable use of
natural resources.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) began in
1889 as an organization that opposed the inhumane use of exotic
feathers in the fashion industry, particularly the use of exotic
plumes to adorn the women's hats that were so much in vogue at
the time. The RSPB's rules were straightforward-to discourage the
mindless destruction of birds, to promote the protection of birds,
and to refrain from wearing feathers of any bird.
14. OCEANA
An organization focused entirely on protecting our world's oceans.
Oceana enables me to do just that. Oceana seeks to preserve the
very core of our planet's health by protecting its oceans. Without
healthy oceans, we can scarcely hope for healthy landscapes. Our
oceans sustain life on dry land through their role in maintaining the
atmosphere we breath, the water we drink, and the food we eat.