Vote for the environment
The parliamentary elections are just
around the corner and activists
throughout the country are keen to
project the environment as an issue
before the electorate.
The first to do so was the
National Alliance of Peoples
Movements, which recently concluded its yatra in Wardha,
Maharashtra. Two more campaigns
have quickly followed suit. The Jan
Vikas Andolan (JV A), a nation-wide
network of people's movements, is
keen to focus on people's rights
over national resources, while residents of Karnataka's Dakshina
Kannada district, have launched a
campaign to place environmental
issues on the agenda of local
political parties.
The JVA is planning to rally support in several states on forest
issues, including the collection of
non-timber forest produce, the
new draft forest bill and the restructuring of the forest department.
Several yatras have already been
held in the adivasi areas of
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala,
while a civil disobedience programme is on in the Nagarhole
forests of Karnataka. Several workshops and meetings are also planned
for the forthcoming months including a JV A meeting in Madras in the
end of March.
Meanwhile, a conglomeration of
groups including farmer's organisations and fisherfolk's protect off
committees, has launched the Save
Dakshina Kannada campaign to
higl1ligl1t its demand for an environment-friendly industrial policy. At
the centre of the movement is the
demand for a study on the carrying
capacity of the environment in the
region, before any new projects are
cleared.
Says Dayanah Kotian, president
of the Dakshina Kannada Fisher-
men's Protection Committee,
"Political parties will have to spell
out their stand on the industrialisation of the district and also their
plan for sustainable development of
the region."
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