A tribute to those leading the change
Environmental depletion has been a matter of concern for many decades now. Climate change, pollution, and ozone layer depletion have been on the rise at an alarming rate due to the reckless exploitation of our resources. To protect Mother Earth from becoming a sweltering, barren land incapable of nurturing life, we need to bring about a change. A change to reverse the damages humankind has inflicted upon the environment. Fortunately, many environmentalists have been working around the clock to make the Earth a better place for all of us. We present to you four such environmentalists and their ideologies.
Wangari Maathai was an environmental and political activist. She was the first-ever African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was bestowed with this honour for her contribution towards sustainable development, democracy and peace. She believed that “You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.”
She put this ideology into practice when she founded the Green Belt Revolution. It was a means to encourage and empower the rural population of Kenya to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood. In exchange for this, a small monetary benefit was given to them. Gradually, many rural people were empowered by this scheme and the movement garnered support. In no time, the movement expanded and started a new educative venture named Community Empowerment and Education seminars (CEE). This aimed at providing civic and environmental education, and encouraging individuals to examine why they lacked agency to change their political, economic, and environmental circumstances.
We hear our leaders talking about afforestation but do they ever actually end up practicing what they preach? Barely. On the other hand, a man from a humble household in Majuli, a small island in Assam, Jadav Payeng, built an entire forest in Assam all by himself. Presenting to you the Forest Man of India. His incredible journey started in 1979 at the tender age of 16 when he was alarmed by the uprooting of trees due to erosion caused by the Brahmaputra River. From that day on, sapling by sapling, he built a forest spreading over 550 Hectares of land. It took him 35 years to build the forest and even now, aged 65, he protects the forest and aims to plant more trees all over the world. He has been honoured with Padma Shri for his immense contribution to the environment.
Mr. Payeng, who himself started working at a young age, believes that children should be educated about the environment early on in their life. He believes Environmental Studies should be made a part of the school curriculum, and not just theoretically. Nurturing trees and plants should also be included in the subject. A feeling of compassion towards the environment should be inculcated in the youth of India. In his TEDx Talk in IIM Manipur, he encourages students to plant trees on every birthday.
Dr. Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned ecological feminist and activist who has campaigned against GMOs, intellectual property rights, and free trade. Time magazine named Dr. Shiva an “environmental hero” in 2003. She is someone who has donned several hats in her life and it does not work well to label her as just an ecologist or activist or author or leader. She is all of these and so much more. She is concrete in her actions, happy to be photographed hugging a tree in solidarity with the Chipko eco-feminists, and calling out transnational corporations that wreck agriculture. For instance, she did not fear challenging the pesticide plant owned by the US corporation Union Carbide who were responsible for the catastrophic Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
Shiva played a major role in the global ecofeminist movement. Ecofeminism revolves around opposing the destructive actions of people towards nature and the practices of oppressing women. According to her 2004 article, ‘Empowering Women’, a more sustainable and productive approach to agriculture can be achieved by reinstating the system of farming in India to make it more focused on engaging women. She advocates against the prevalent "patriarchal logic of exclusion," claiming that a woman-focused system would be a great improvement.
David Ross Brower has widely been considered one of the most dedicated, enthusiastic, and influential leaders the environmental movement has ever known. He played a huge role in the formation of several environmental organizations including the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth (1969), Earth Island Institution (1982), and many more. He was instrumental in the designation of numerous wilderness areas around the country. Right from a young age, he spent his time protecting the wilderness. He fought for the preservation of wild landscapes.
Not only this, but he also contributed to the formation of national parks across the nation, from Alaska to Cape Cod. Always passionate about the prevention of the construction of dams, he continuously worked to protect the Grand Canyon, the Yukon, and Dinosaur National Monument. In 1982 he founded another environmental organization - the Earth Island Institute - whose mission includes working for environmental and social justice. At times, Brower's strict and extreme viewpoints on wilderness protection made the road for him rocky, but he never strayed from his ultimate goal of preservation. In honour of his dedication to wild-lands preservation, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, in 1978, 1979, and 1998. Though often isolating, his commitment never wavered and he remains one of the environmental movement's most respected advocates.
“Empowering the Poor Can Facilitate Environment Protection” - Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai was an environmental and political activist. She was the first-ever African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was bestowed with this honour for her contribution towards sustainable development, democracy and peace. She believed that “You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.”
She put this ideology into practice when she founded the Green Belt Revolution. It was a means to encourage and empower the rural population of Kenya to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood. In exchange for this, a small monetary benefit was given to them. Gradually, many rural people were empowered by this scheme and the movement garnered support. In no time, the movement expanded and started a new educative venture named Community Empowerment and Education seminars (CEE). This aimed at providing civic and environmental education, and encouraging individuals to examine why they lacked agency to change their political, economic, and environmental circumstances.
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| In frame: Wangari Maathai |
“Students Are Important for a Greener Future” - Jadav Payeng
We hear our leaders talking about afforestation but do they ever actually end up practicing what they preach? Barely. On the other hand, a man from a humble household in Majuli, a small island in Assam, Jadav Payeng, built an entire forest in Assam all by himself. Presenting to you the Forest Man of India. His incredible journey started in 1979 at the tender age of 16 when he was alarmed by the uprooting of trees due to erosion caused by the Brahmaputra River. From that day on, sapling by sapling, he built a forest spreading over 550 Hectares of land. It took him 35 years to build the forest and even now, aged 65, he protects the forest and aims to plant more trees all over the world. He has been honoured with Padma Shri for his immense contribution to the environment.
Mr. Payeng, who himself started working at a young age, believes that children should be educated about the environment early on in their life. He believes Environmental Studies should be made a part of the school curriculum, and not just theoretically. Nurturing trees and plants should also be included in the subject. A feeling of compassion towards the environment should be inculcated in the youth of India. In his TEDx Talk in IIM Manipur, he encourages students to plant trees on every birthday.
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| In frame: Jadav Payeng |
“The Marginalization of Women and the Destruction of Biodiversity go Hand in Hand” – Dr. Vandana Shiva
Dr. Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned ecological feminist and activist who has campaigned against GMOs, intellectual property rights, and free trade. Time magazine named Dr. Shiva an “environmental hero” in 2003. She is someone who has donned several hats in her life and it does not work well to label her as just an ecologist or activist or author or leader. She is all of these and so much more. She is concrete in her actions, happy to be photographed hugging a tree in solidarity with the Chipko eco-feminists, and calling out transnational corporations that wreck agriculture. For instance, she did not fear challenging the pesticide plant owned by the US corporation Union Carbide who were responsible for the catastrophic Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
Shiva played a major role in the global ecofeminist movement. Ecofeminism revolves around opposing the destructive actions of people towards nature and the practices of oppressing women. According to her 2004 article, ‘Empowering Women’, a more sustainable and productive approach to agriculture can be achieved by reinstating the system of farming in India to make it more focused on engaging women. She advocates against the prevalent "patriarchal logic of exclusion," claiming that a woman-focused system would be a great improvement.
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| In frame: Dr. Vandana Shiva |
“The wild places are where we began. When they end, so do we.” - David Brower
Not only this, but he also contributed to the formation of national parks across the nation, from Alaska to Cape Cod. Always passionate about the prevention of the construction of dams, he continuously worked to protect the Grand Canyon, the Yukon, and Dinosaur National Monument. In 1982 he founded another environmental organization - the Earth Island Institute - whose mission includes working for environmental and social justice. At times, Brower's strict and extreme viewpoints on wilderness protection made the road for him rocky, but he never strayed from his ultimate goal of preservation. In honour of his dedication to wild-lands preservation, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, in 1978, 1979, and 1998. Though often isolating, his commitment never wavered and he remains one of the environmental movement's most respected advocates.
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| In frame: David Brower |
These four environmentalists are just some of the many who have been working consistently to restore our planet. Their ideologies and work is indeed inspiring. Just them working alone towards the protection and development of the environment may solve some of the many problems, that too in the short run. However, to build a sustainable future for our Earth, each and every one of us must try to adopt these at our own individual level to bring about a change that can make the planet a safer and better place to live in.
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