Some Success Stories
The environment is a complex network of various resources and each one of them has got several governing factors. The environmental crisis of today has alerted everyone. Efforts are going on by various facets of the society for minimizing the environmental damage and restoration of the environmental health.
In addition to the role of the State and the Government, various legal and social initiatives have been taken in every part of the world.India too has conscious citizens and their participation in environmental conservation is unique. Their involvement at individual or community level or in the form of NGOs has brought about visible changes in the state of the environment. Many a times, people have challenged and opposed activities which involved the environmental degradation through legal recourses or by people’s movement. On the other side of the action, several people and communities have been tirelessly working for various alternatives and regenerative works for saving the environment. Thus, the approaches may differ but the goal is the same - conserve the environment.
People’s movements related to construction of dams, Narmada Bachao Aandolan against Sardar Sarovar Project and Chipko movement for controlling deforestation are well known. In addition to these, there have been several grass root level efforts some of which are mentioned below.
(1) Pani Panchayats of Maharashtra are now local arrangement where villagers decide the equitable distribution of irrigation water. They have effectively taken care of water scarcity problem by this local decision making approach.
(2) Similar to the above, Van Panchayats are working in Himalayan Foot hills for conserving the forest resources.
(3) Sukhomajri Village - located near Chandigarh has become a source of inspiration for villagers all over India. This model of development has been replicated in many villages of Haryana, Punjab and Bihar.
The Sukhomajri is an example of sustainable development and tells a tale of community forest management. There were severe ecological problems during 1970s. Its barren land, torrential rain washing away the soil, low grass production, poor quality cattle, low economic profile were the characteristic features before the initiation of the project which brought a remarkable change. The soil scientist P.R. Mishra and people’s efforts of rejuvenating land using cyclical mode of development brought prosperity to the area. The approach involved enhanced production of biomass for meeting the local needs of the villagers including fuel wood, fodder, food grains etc. and selling the surplus in the market.The barren land was transformed to a greenbelt. The increased fodder, available after the regeneration of grass and trees in the watershed, encouraged villagers to keep high yielding buffaloes. The tree density increased from 13 per hectare in 1976 to 1272 per hectare in 1992 whereas the grass increased from 40 kg to 3,000 kg per hectare in the same period. The annual house holds income also showed a considerable increase.
(4) Ralegan Siddhi Village is located in the drought prone area of Maharashtra where even one regular crop was not assured due to low annual rainfall of450 to 650 mm. The economic condition of people was bad and irrigated land availability per family was less than one hectare. In early seventies, Krishra Bhaurao Hazare, a retired driver from Indian Army started the construction of storage ponds, reservoirs and gully plugs with the participation of the local people. This increased the groundwater table which could make possible the plantation of 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 trees in the area. The fallow land was brought under cultivation and total area under fanning also increased. Other efforts for equitable access to resources generated were made. Water conservation was given priority.
These steps have made this village a rich and prosperous village and no villager depends upon the drought relief.
(5) Jhabua - a poor tribal district of Madhya Pradesh was just a moonscape with banen hills in 1985. With Rajiv Gandhi Mission for Watershed Development in 1994, which focuses on soil and water conservation, the grass, trees and water are being seen again. The implementation of Joint Forest Management and Watershed Treatment have been combined to show a way to success. The water availability and fodder availability have increased and the agricultural production has shown an increase of 7%.
Some more areas showing prominent environment conservation efforts with the involvement of the local people are as follows:
• Dichigam National Park - protection of hαngul for which Qasim Wani and Abdur Rahman Mir were honoured by ‘Sanctuary’ Magazine awards in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
• The conservation of snow leopard in Rumbak Village in Ladakh’s Hemis National Park where community based efforts helped villagers and the leopard live in peaceful co-existence.
There are several such examples and the list is long. It is clear that once the importance of environmental conservation is understood and people are made aware of it, there is no force on the Earth, which can stop the sincere efforts.