Whose Earth Day is it?

The past few years India has witnessed a trend of increasing fanfare associated with Earth Day celebrations. A wide spectrum of environment related concerns and events swamp our mind spaces with statistics, opinions, messages and pledges. But while public imagination is captured, it is strange that a large section of the public – two-thirds of the Indian populace residing in the villages - remain almost untouched by all the eco-activism and advocacy that builds up around the celebrations.

What makes this situation ironic is that while we, living in the cities, take time out to observe Earth Day once a year, for our brethren living in the villages the daily struggle for existence itself is an act of celebrating the Earth. They are closely tied to the land and the elements; their lives revolve around and are dependent on the changing pattern of seasons. This has bestowed on them an intrinsic eco-consciousness that pervades their lives and cultural perspectives.

The farmer who has seen his crop yield dwindling due to weaker and delayed rains does not need to be told about climate change; it has affected the wellbeing of his family in undeniable ways. The woman who now has to walk the extra couple of miles each day to get water for the family needs no lessons on the falling water table; the havoc wrought by the long daily trek on her health is a telling proof. The impact of changing weather patterns and deteriorating environment have much more immediate relevance in their lives. With fewer technological and financial resources to adapt, they are more vulnerable to climate change.

However, the rural Indian is no longer remaining a mute spectator to the ravages being inflicted by the changing patterns. The inherent awareness of the environment and the invaluable eco-system services that they provide is often translating into action for environment improvement. In almost every corner of the country one comes across inspiring stories of grassroots initiatives for environment protection and adaptation for climate change. While they have taken the first step forward, support is required for building capacity at the household and community level to identify plan and put to practice measures to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

As most of these interventions require a community level scale for achieving desired impacts, local governments have a prominent and indispensable role to play. Capacity building of local governments and civil society networks and provision of greater resources for grassroots planning is crucial. With the demand for eco-friendly technologies surging from the grassroots rather than being imposed by the government, the time is ripe for investing in technological transfer to the rural context and ushering in sustainable development across India’s villages. The nation can no longer afford to ignore the rural context when it seeks to lead the way in a new paradigm of eco-development that views the elements as allies and not adversaries to be controlled.

Earth Day provides an opportunity for communicating the message of sustainable development through grassroots mobilisation in the villages, for that is where most of India lives. Development Alternatives has taken up the challenge of raising awareness of climate change related vulnerabilities and coping strategies in its intervention areas and interpreting Earth Day as a day of grassroots advocacy and action. As civil society organisations across the country come together for such initiatives, the grassroots seem to be the emerging war-front against climate change and the scene of local action. q

Mayukh Hajra
mhajra@devalt.org

Back to Contents