CLEAN brings school children directly into the management of the environment they have to grow up in.

Such action initiatives are not new. Nor is children’s participation in awareness campaigns, particularly about local environmental conditions. In India and elsewhere, the numerous experiments that have taken place testify to the attractiveness of such approaches. But most of these campaigns are issue based programmes aimed at raising environmental awareness and mobilising focused action. The impact of such programmes is usually restricted in time and space, and they tend to vanish once the interests of the prime movers moves on.

While such issue based programmes have often been successful in solving specific environmental problems, it is also necessary to establish mechanisms that address the undergoing causes of the problems. It is this that makes CLEAN unique: it encourages children and interested citizens scientifically to study the source and extent of the environmental problems in their community and to do this on a continuing basis, and as part of a nationwide network. By monitoring environmental quality using accurate field testing kits, they bring rigour and credibility to their findings. Once the potential impacts of the problems are understood, innovative environmental management strategies are designed based on 4R concept: Refuse, Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. Community level action programmes are then initiated as an ongoing effort. Central to all this is child power. This programme empowers children to understand their rights and responsibilities to clean environment. It also enables them to learn and understand the complexities of environmental issues. It helps them grow into knowledgeable, rational decision makers of sustainable development. CLEAN thus nurtures an army of students and citizens who in turn help their communities in managing their environment on their own.

CLEAN aims primarily at changing our attitudes and lifestyles, such that we minimise and reduce the resulting impacts on environment. The key element of the whole programme is ‘continuity’. This is the missing link in many of our environmental management efforts.

CLEAN is both a concept and a network. It provides a framework and guidelines but leaves plenty of room for innovation, local adaptation and sense of ownership.

DEAN - the Delhi Environment Action Network – was the first local adoption of the CLEAN programme. CLEAN is now taking shape in various villages, towns, cities and metros throughout India. CLEAN - Bangalore (Karnataka), Jhansi (MP), Shillong (Meghalaya), Goa, Gangtok (Sikkim) are at various stages of initiation.

The DEAN Mela is a culmination of one whole year of organised effort in promoting the concept of CLEAN in Delhi. DEAN Mela was a beginning for community action at various levels: starting with individual to family, neighbourhood and government levels. This issue of the Development Alternatives Newsletter focuses mainly on the highlights of the Mela.

DEAN and CLEAN were conceived, designed and promoted by Development Alternatives. But they no longer belong solely to any one organisation. It was heartening to see that the children have adopted it. The schools have shown their commitment by taking active responsibility to continue the programme. The citizens are pledging themselves to help the programme in various different ways. The local authorities are realising that we can achieve more by pooling our resources and knowledge than by following command and control principles.