Environmental Movements and Conservation Efforts in India

Posted on Jun 18, 2024 in Geography

Environmental and ecological movements are among the important examples of the collective actions of several social groups. Protection and recognition of constitutional and democratic rights, which are not defined by law but form an important part of the day to day living of the subaltern masses like the control over their resources, the right of indigenous people to preserve their culture, protection of environment, and maintenance of ecological balance are significant concerns of these movements as they affect the human life to a great extent. These movements also reflect an enlarged vision of economics and politics. Economic justice sought by these movements does not mean mere distribution of resources but encompass a larger vision like enhancement in the quality of life through recognition of people’s right over their natural resources, their right to live with dignity, and their participation in the decision making. The concerns of human environment received spectacular attention of scholars following the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, Stockholm in 1972. By the 1980s the “green movement” became a worldwide phenomenon encompassing various countries of the world including India. It is signified by several movements of people for the protection of their environmental and ecological rights in India, ‘eco-greens’ or ‘green movement’ in Germany and North America.

Bishnoi Movement

This was begun 400 years ago by a Sage known as Sombaji. In Rajasthan, a large number of trees are still worshiped by devotees. People resisted the cutting of such trees and advocated movement against deforestation.
Year: 1700s
Place: Khejarli, Marwar region, Rajasthan
Leaders: Amrita Devi along with Bishnoi villagers in Khejarli and surrounding villages.
Aim: Saving sacred trees from being cut down by the king’s soldiers for a new palace. Amrita Devi, a female villager could not bear to witness the destruction of both her faith and the village’s sacred trees. She hugged the trees and encouraged others to do the same. Totally 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in this movement. The Bishnoi tree martyrs were influenced by the teachings of Guru Maharaj Jambaji, who founded the Bishnoi faith in 1485 and set forth principles forbidding harm to trees and animals. The king who came to know about these events rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to cease logging operations. Soon afterwards, the maharaja designated the Bishnoi state as a protected area, forbidding harm to trees and animals. This legislation still exists today in the region.

Chipko Movement

The Chipko movement of Uttaranchal is famous for its tree-hugging campaign to resist the tree cutting. It was started by noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna in 1970 to safeguard the rich forest of western Himalaya Range.
Year: 1973
Place: In Chamoli district and later at Tehri-Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.
Leaders: Sundarlal Bahuguna, Gaura Devi, Sudesha Devi, Bachni Devi, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Govind Singh Rawat, Dhoom Singh Negi, Shamsher Singh Bisht, and Ghanasyam Raturi.
Aim: The main objective was to protect the trees on the Himalayan slopes from the axes of contractors of the forest. Mr. Bahuguna enlightened the villagers by conveying the importance of trees in the environment which checks the erosion of soil, cause rains, and provides pure air. The women of Advani village of Tehri-Garhwal tied the sacred thread around trunks of trees and they hugged the trees, hence it was called ‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree movement’. The main demand of the people in these protests was that the benefits of the forests (especially the right to fodder) should go to local people. The Chipko movement gathered momentum in 1978 when the women faced police firings and other tortures. The then state Chief Minister, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna set up a committee to look into the matter, which eventually ruled in favour of the villagers. This became a turning point in the history of eco-development struggles in the region and around the world.

Save Silent Valley Movement

Save Silent Valley was an environmental movement intended to protect Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. It was started through a hydroelectric project.
Year: 1978
Place: Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India.
Leaders: The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), an NGO, and the poet-activist Sughathakumari played an important role in the Silent Valley protests.
Aim: In order to protect the Silent Valley, the moist evergreen forest from being destroyed by a hydroelectric project. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) proposed a hydroelectric dam across the Kunthipuzha River that runs through the Silent Valley. In February 1973, the planning commission approved the project at a cost of about Rs. 25 crores. Many feared that the project would submerge 8.3 sq km of untouched moist evergreen forest. Several NGOs strongly opposed the project and urged the government to abandon it. In January 1981, bowing to unrelenting public pressure, Indira Gandhi declared that Silent Valley will be protected. In June 1983, the center re-examined the issue through a commission chaired by Prof. M.G.K. Menon. In November 1983, the Silent Valley Hydroelectric Project was called off. In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi formally inaugurated the Silent Valley National Park.

Appiko Movement

The Appiko movement was an innovative movement based on the environmental conservation in India. This movement focused on the issues of forest based environmental actions in India.
Year: 1983
Place: Uttara Kannada and Shimoga districts of Karnataka State
Leaders: Appiko’s greatest strengths lie in it being neither driven by a personality nor having been formally institutionalised. However, it does have a facilitator in Pandurang Hegde. He helped launch the movement in 1983.
Aim: Against the felling and commercialisation of natural forest and the ruining of ancient livelihood. It can be said that Appiko movement is the southern version of the Chipko movement. The Appiko Movement was locally known as “Appiko Chaluvali”. The locals embraced the trees which were to be cut by contractors of the forest department. The Appiko movement used various techniques to raise awareness such as foot marches in the interior forest, slide shows, folk dances, street plays, etc. The second area of the movement’s work was to promote afforestation on denuded lands. The movement later focused on the rational use of ecosphere by introducing alternative energy resource to reduce the pressure on forest. The movement became a success. The current status of the project is stopped.

Narmada Bachao Andolan

The Narmada movement begun in the late 1970s. This movement was centred on the issue of human rights and rehabilitation programmes for the dam displaced.
Year: 1985
Place: Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra
Leaders: Medha Patker, Baba Amte, adivasis, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists.
Aim: A social movement against a number of large dams being built across the Narmada River. The movement first started as a protest for not providing proper rehabilitation and resettlement for the people who have been displaced by the construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam. Later on, the movement turned its focus on the preservation of the environment and the eco-systems of the valley. Activists also demanded the height of the dam to be reduced to 88m from the proposed height of 130m. World Bank withdrew from the project. The environmental issue was taken into the court. In October 2000, the Supreme Court gave a judgment approving the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam with a condition that height of the dam could be raised to 90 M. This height is much higher than the 88m which anti-dam activists demanded, but it is definitely lower than the proposed height of 130 M. The project is now largely financed by the state governments and market borrowings. The project is expected to be fully completed by 2025.

The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

The Wildlife Act provides the State Wildlife Advisory Boards provisions to regulate hunting and trade of wild animals, birds, and their products. The State Wildlife Advisory Boards can also establish sanctuaries and national parks and judicially impose penalties for violating the Act. This Act was amended in 1982 to introduce provisions for the capture and transportation of wild animals to scientific institutions and bodies for management of animal populations. In 1991, the parent Act was comprehensively amended to insert special chapters dealing with the protection of specified plants and the regulation of zoos.

  1. It defines the wildlife related terminology.
  2. Appointment of Wildlife Advisory Board, wildlife warden, definition of their powers and duties, etc.
  3. Listing of endangered wildlife species and provisions to prohibit their hunting.
  4. Protection to some endangered plants like Bed dome cycad, Blue Vanda, Ladies slipper orchid, pitcher plant, etc.
  5. Constitution of Central Zoo Authority.
  6. Trade and commerce in some wildlife species with license for sale, possession, transfer, etc.
  7. Ban on the trade or commerce in scheduled animals. It provides for legal powers to officers and punishment to offenders.

Several conservation projects for individual endangered species like lion (1972), tiger (1973), crocodile (1974), and brown antlered deer (1981) were started under this act. This Act is adopted by all Indian states. The term Environment is derived from the French word ‘Environ’ which literally means ‘surrounding’. Anything and everything which surrounds us i.e. all living beings or biotic components (microbes, plants, and animals) and non-living or abiotic components (air, water, sunlight, etc.) present in nature forms the environment. The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 defines the Environment as “environment includes water, air, and land and the interrelationship which exists among and between water, air, and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism, and property”. Interactions between the biotic and abiotic components lead to a functional ecosystem and sustainable life on the planet earth. We get all the basic goods and services (clean air and water, food, fodder, medicines, raw materials for industries, tourism, etc.) from the environment. It is a well-known fact that anthropogenic activities and unsustainable consumption of natural resources by the human race have significantly damaged the environment and mother earth and the degradation is still going on at a fast pace. Therefore, it is our responsibility to protect the environment from getting degraded and polluted. Environmental education is indispensable for creating environmental awareness which ultimately will lead to environmental conservation.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, defines water pollution as ‘the direct or indirect discharge of sewage, industrial effluents, or any liquid, gaseous, or solid substance into water which alters the physical, chemical, or biological properties of water to make it harmful or injurious to public health and the health of animals or of aquatic organisms’. This Act lead to the creation of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). CPCB primarily promotes cleanliness of streams and wells in the different states of India. The other functions of the board are:

  1. To lay down the standards for a stream or well, and in consultation with the State Government concerned to modify or annul those standards.
  2. To plan and cause the executed a nationwide programme for the prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution.
  3. To prepare manuals, codes, or guides related to the treatment and disposal of sewage and trade effluents. Also, collection, compilation, publication of technical and statistical data related to water pollution, and the measures devised for its effective prevention and control.
  4. To advise the central government on any matter concerning the prevention and control of water pollution.
  5. To provide technical assistance and guidance to the SPCBs and coordinate their activities.
  6. To control the abatement of water pollution through investigation and research related to problems related to water pollution.

The functions of State Pollution Control Boards are similar to those of Central Pollution Control Board but they are to be executed at state level, and these are governed by the directions of CPCB. The board advises the state government the location of any industry that might pollute a stream or a well. The board is authorized to take samples from industrial streams, well or trade effluent or sewage, and it lays down the standards for effluents. The board is licensed to take legal samples of trade effluents in accordance with the prescriptions in the act. In the presence of the occupier or his agent, the collected sample is divided into two parts, sealed and signed by both parties. Further, it is sent to some recognized lab for analysis. If the samples cross maximum permissible limits, then consent is refused to the unit. Industries have to apply for consent from the board in a prescribed format, providing all technical details along with a prescribed fee. After application analysis of the effluent is carried out, then consent is provided for a fixed duration. The board suggests efficient methods for utilasation, treatment, and disposal of trade effluents.

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

This Act was passed to prevent deforestation, which results in ecological imbalance and environmental deterioration. It prevents even the State Governments and any other authority dereserve a forest which is already reserved. It prohibits forestland to be used for non-forest purposes, except with the prior approval of the Central Government. The Salient features of Forest Act are:

  1. The state government can use the forests only for forestry purposes. For non-forest purposes like mining or for monoculture of the economically important trees the state government has to take prior approval of central government.
  2. Provisions for conservation of all types of forests and for this purpose there is an advisory committee which recommends funding for it to the central government.
  3. Immediate halt to any illegal forest activity within a forest area.

The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

The Central Government used Article 253 to enact this law and made it applicable throughout India. This Act defines air pollutant as ‘any solid, liquid, or gaseous substance (including noise) present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment’. The CPCB and the SPCBs created under the Water Act 1974 are entrusted with the implementation of the provisions of the Act. The CPCB may:

  1. Counsel the central government on any matter related to the improvement of air quality and prevention, control, or abatement of air pollution.
  2. Plan and cause to execute a nation-wide programme for the prevention, control, or abatement of air pollution.
  3. Provide technical assistance and guidance to the SPCBs and coordinate their activities.
  4. Prepare manuals, codes or guides related to the prevention, control or abatement of air pollution and collect, compile, and publish technical as well as statistical data related to air pollution and the measures devised for its effective prevention, control, or abatement.
  5. Lay down standards for the quality of air.

The Environment (Protection) Act 1986

This act defines environment as ‘water, air and land and the interrelationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro- organism and property’. It defines hazardous substance as ‘any substance or preparation which, by reasons of its chemical or physiochemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism, property or the environment. Fig 3 This Act empowers the Central Government to:

  1. Coordinate actions of the state governments, officers, and other authorities under the Act or any other law which is relatable to the objects of the Act.
  2. Plan and execute a nation-wide programme for the prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution.
  3. Lay down standards for the emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources and setting maximum permissible limits.
  4. Identify areas in which any industry, operations or processes, or class of industries, operations, or processes shall not be carried out.
  5. Prevent accidents mediateding environmental pollution by laying down safeguards and setting procedures for remedial measures after such accidents.