Nature Bodies had started as a vibrant eco-group of young people studying in schools of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. They invest their time and soul in what they do best – maintaining the fragile ecological balance and restoring the natural beauty lost to urbanisation and modernisation (in their localities). Nature Bodies has earned a many accolades and much appreciation in India and abroad for their innovative projects which include solving the traffic chaos in their city, cleaning up the lake of water hyacinth using an insect, vermi-composting, starting a medicinal garden in a school, and conducting tree plantation drives among many other things. As a closely bonded group full of enthusiasm, they have been well-mentored by their environmental studies teacher, Mr. Panu Halder. He has been running this group since 1999 against all odds. Under his valuable and creative guidance, several students have been a part of nature bodies and still continue to be.

In June 2010, Nature Bodies decided to scale up their activities in Chhattisgarh using the larger platform of IYCN and joined the network. An IYCN Chhattisgarh Advisory Council has been established with students represented from nearby towns such as Pendra, Raipur, Bhilai, etc. The group began with a massive membership drive and organised a launch event for the IYCN Chhattisgarh Advisory Council on Friday July 30, 2010. The event was attended by over 250 students from different parts of Chhattisgarh as well as teachers. The RJ of radio station 94.3 “My FM” Bilaspur, Mr. Anupam, was the chief guest. His message to the gathering was to organize more environmental activities and for a call unity in efforts.

Since June the team has organised a whole set of activites including most recently, celebrating Friendship Day with the trees. Banners were made by hand and were tied to the trees symbolically saying, “trees are our friends” calling for their care just like they care for us. Moving forward, a state-wide “green transport campaign” has been planned on the eve of independence day (August 15) in which everyone in the state, from ministers and senior government officials to teachers and students, will be using bicycles to commute.

Corruption runs deep as the lush wetland region of Srikakulam was cited as a “wasteland” in a detailed project report (DPR) for the construction of a mega power plant in the area. India is signatory to an international treaty called the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands which seeks to preserve these dwindling habitats rich in biodiversity and extremely important for a host of ecological services that they provide. How does one classify a wetland as a wasteland? This is no simple mistake. The fact that this project has advanced as far as it has, is a tragedy for India. 2,500 inland fishermen are without jobs as a result of bunds being created and wetlands being filled in. They are turning to begging. Is this the future we want?

“There is nothing wrong with being helped to go on living. And that is what this[climate change] issue is all about,” stated a senior official from the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia. I am at a ministerial gathering of 28 nations of the Cartagena Group/Dialogue for Progressive Action convening in the beautiful island of Bandos in the Republic of Maldives. The participants are from Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Samoa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, UK and the European Commission. The Cartagena Group/Dialogue is an informal space, open to all countries that want ambitious and comprehensive outcomes in the UNFCCC, and that are committed, domestically to becoming or remaining low carbon. These are “forward looking” countries, willing to work positively and proactively together within and across regional and UNFCCC groups. The aim of the Group/Dialogue is to openly discuss the reasoning behind each other’s positions and to explore areas where convergence and enhanced joint action could emerge. That is precisely what I see happening.

A representative from an industrialized nation stated clearly, “don’t push us, [to be even more ambitious] or you are not going to like it.” While the words may seem a little jarring, that was not the intent. The purpose was to make clear that negotiators and country representatives sent to UNFCCC talks can only do so much as they are at the mercy of the political winds of the countries they represent and might suffer backlash from voters. It reaffirms that if large industrialized (and rapidly emerging) economies are to take strong action, it requires the majority of the citizens of those countries to have the will. And while we witnessed the lack of political will to pass through climate and energy legislation before the congressional mid-term elections in the United States this week, countries small and large gathered at Cartagena have provided a glimmer of hope, giving a breath of life to the stale atmosphere that lingers within the UNFCCC post Copenhagen. The truth is that the stiff negotiating environment of the UNFCCC rarely allows for a common space for understanding country positions and barriers to creating a comprehensive agreement. This is especially true given such forums are reduced to a debate over choice of words in what is essentially a legal contract. This is the second meeting of the Cartagena Group/Dialogue with regular meetings planned in the future. The arrival of this group is also important as Copenhagen revealed that even large groupings such as the G-77 are beginning to fracture due to the rise of BASIC. The latter’s demands conflict with many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developing Countries (LDCs) who are calling for a 350 ppm or 1.5 degree Celsius warming target. It remains unclear what future groupings could be like within the UNFCCC and there is no formal “Cartagena Group.” The current impasse in the UNFCCC requires new alliances and I suspect with time, a “G-X” will emerge to break the deadlock.

Ethiopia, a nation that is often recalled for chilling images of the devastation from the droughts and famines of the mid-1980s, has announced its commitment at this event to become carbon neutral by 2025. The nation, which can be considered a cradle of humanity’s agricultural experimentation and development had only 5% of its original forest cover remaining in tact by the early 20th century has seen that percentage grow to approximately 30% today. Last year, it planted 7 billion saplings, second only to China. Joining it in this commitment was the small pacific island of Samoa which pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020. The Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda pledged that the tiny Caribbean island nation would slash its emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020. Costa Rica and the Maldives also reaffirmed their commitments to go carbon neutral by 2021 and 2020 respectively. And while no industrialized country has yet made such a commitment, Norway is developing its own carbon neutral plan for the year 2030.

The Cartagena Group/Dialogue will continue to discuss ways to deepen and enhance access to carbon markets for all nations, leverage the finance commitments from Copenhagen, and tackle MRV structuring (the measuring, reporting and verification component of mitigation commitments). All of this is in hopes that Cancun can pave the way for a breakthrough at the Earth Summit in South Africa in 2012. “While expectations for Cancun might not be high, we certainly cannot lower ambition.” The Cartagena Group gathered here in one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change impacts made that clear.

A long awaited and perhaps much needed realignment of national petroleum product prices with the international markets was announced today. The cost of petrol will increase by Rs. 3.75 per litre, kerosene by Rs. 3 a litre, and LPG costs will rise by Rs. 35 per cylinder. While petroleum prices are freed, diesel prices are to rise by Rs. 2 per litre and it remains to be seen when if at all, its prices will also be freed to align with international markets.

This has caused some tension within the UPA government and many are claiming that the “common man” will suffer the most. Watching the news tonight, I could not help but notice that all the people being interviewed on television were residents of urban metro areas (namely Delhi). Most of them seemed to be quite well to do and were filling up their tanks at petrol pumps while being interviewed. While many of them complained of the price hike and took the side of the “common man,” some were in support of the increase, citing that the government is overburdened by the subsidies (the burden it is to be relieved of is approximately Rs. 24,000 crore annually in petroleum product subsidies).

While watching the dialog, I had a bit of deja vu. In 2008, when the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) corridor opened up in Delhi for trial runs, there was a great outcry from this same class of the people, highlighted in the mainstream media. Not enough attention was given to the “common man’s” benefit from a more efficient, extensive, and properly planned public transportation system. In an independent survey conducted by a coalition of civil society groups, it was revealed that many “common” citizens (those who did not own private vehicles but instead rode on buses, walked, or used bicycles) were actually in support of the BRT. It is unfair to say that the middle class will not be impacted and that the price of commodities and services will not rise in the near future due to their reliance on petroleum for transport and processing. Yet, we must find within this decision, the opportunities to free our nation from the hydrocarbon-trap. The government simply cannot keep subsidizing these fuels.

We must look at this subsidy removal in three ways: 1) its potential to spur investment in, and the greater use of public transportation and 2) the potential of private industries to seek renewable energy solutions to meet their needs (thereby increasing investment in the renewable energy sector) and 3) an opportunity rapidly deploy decentralized energy systems for rural areas and the “common man” which is dependent on kerosene for cooking and most importantly, for lighting.

Railways transport and urban mass transit systems are poised to gain from this hike in prices. Should our cities focus on integrated transportation plans with seamless connectivity (i.e., between a metro and a BRT) and comfort, it might allow for the capturing of more commuters who currently use private vehicles. Companies like Infosys in Bangalore have already had a hand in shaping their cities transit plans and seek to gain from the improved productivity of their employees through decreased and hassle free commuting time. It is hoped that this subsidy removal coupled with the steady signals from the central government on climate and energy policy, will help strengthen private investments in the renewable energy sector.

Finally, we arrive to the plight of the “common man” in the form of LPG and kerosene use. With approximately 400 million people in the countryside still living without access to electricity, the monthly ration of 3 to 4 litres of kerosene goes a long way in providing for lighting needs. It has been argued for some time, that the subsidy for kerosene could perhaps be switched for solar lanterns, or solar home lighting systems–thereby switching to a cleaner more sustainable fuel. Why not use this opportunity to strengthen research and development in the solar industry and scale up deployment of solar lighting systems for those villages and hamlets where grid extension will never be feasible? Similarly, research and development of family-type biogas plants stopped in the 1970’s with the last innovation being a modified Chinese technology called the Deenbhandhu model. Is the hike in LPG and kerosene (where it is used for cooking) also not an opportunity to renew our efforts in maximizing the vast bio-energy potential of the country?

There is a lot to be said. Let the debating begin!

April 22, 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. I reflected on the stories of the first earth day initiated by Gaylord Nelson. The atmosphere was much different back then with environmentalists organizing national “teach-ins” in the United States to educate the public and companies about environmental issues. People boycotted companies blaming them and consumerism for much of the harm caused to the planet. Today, earth day has entered the mainstream and is celebrated everywhere including the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. This is a celebration that there is finally a market for environmental goods and services, brought about through a decades long battle waged by environmentally conscious citizens wanting a cleaner planet through responsible consumerism. While we all took one day to celebrate the earth this year as we do every year, I chose not to express my thoughts on April 22nd, 2010. Instead, I’ve chosen days later to make a point: earth day should be every day. Though it serves as an important reminder to us about our planet, earth day as we have come to know it was initiated at a crucial point at the start of the modern environmental movement. Today, we need more than just one day, we need each and every day. We have to embody the spirit of the planet in every decision that we make.

Just two days ago I sat across the table from Donald Worster, considered to be the father of the discipline of environmental history. I could not help but think about the history of mankind’s relationship to the planet. I read with great curiosity about Earth Day and the United States’ struggle to come to terms with its domestic environmental challenges. No, there are no burning Cuyahoga Rivers today, and the legendary smogs of the 1960’s in the United States are a distant memory. And yet while the US can claim to have won many battles domestically, it has failed to address many global problems (the Montreal Protocol being the exception). Many say that history repeats itself. Thousands of miles away, rising economies like India, China and Brazil are struggling to ensure that they do not repeat the same mistakes of the United States in their efforts to “industrialize.” I am not sure that they are succeeding. Maybe we in India are only taking history lessons from the industrial era or industrialized places.

Humans have been known to create healthier environments in some parts of the world. Many indigenous communities in the Amazon and in parts of Africa have been known to increase nutrient contents of soils in the areas they inhabit thereby creating “dark earths.” These nutrient rich areas can have greater diversity of flora and fauna as compared to the surrounding environment. This is an example of environmental infrastructuring: changing the natural environment for the betterment of not only the community but for the ecosystem at large. It could be argued that without the presence of these communities the ecological diversity might be lower and that humans are in a sense functioning like key stone species–vital to the environment.

When was the last time that you could say that we humans are vital to the survival of planet earth? BBC recently had an interview with scientist James Lovelock where he stated that saving the planet is a “lot of nonsense. If it’s going to be saved, it will do so itself, as it always has.” He distinguishes this very clearly from the saving of human civilization on planet earth and the saving of the planet itself. In a recent research project I have learned about the work of a member of the IPCC, Professor Lindzen of MIT, and his hypothesis of an “Iris Effect.” The hypothesis is remarkable in that it suggests that in response to the increased global temperature from climate change, the planet is producing less cirrus clouds (the thin ones high in the atmosphere) that are vital to the flux of the planet’s heat radiation. In a sense the planet is attempting to regulate its own temperature in response to climate change. Tying this into Lovelock’s famous “Gaia hypothesis,” we can see how the planet may be functioning as a living breathing organism. At first I became excited at the thought that we may be out of the climate disaster and that there may be hope after all. But unfortunately, Lindzen does not account for the fact that the increased heat will make glaciers and ice caps melt resulting in rising ocean levels. Yes, perhaps with time the planet may resume some sort of a new balance, but not in my life time. Probably not in the life time of many generations to come.

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland recently serves as a very important reminder to us of the power of nature. Having grounded all flights out of northern Europe, that volcano has disrupted life for millions, yet given us greater pause as to the power of the planet than any one day out of the year possibly could. No. There is nothing wrong with Earth Day. However the challenge that confronts us requires us to celebrate the spirit of the earth every day through all our decisions. The challenge forces us to think about how we might serve as key stone species, vital to the planet’s biodiversity, not vice versa. That is how we make the most of our remaining days on earth. Happy Earth Day: May 1, 2010.

The Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) is a network uniting Indian youth and youth oriented organisations who are concerned about climate change & environment issues. IYCN works to generate awareness about and establish consensus on what role India should play in the global debate of climate change, and how it should address its domestic issues. IYCN has active members in 16 states of the country and has partner networks/ organisations in other states of India. Registered in July 2009, IYCN has approximately 200 coordinators and volunteers with outreach to thousands of youth in colleges, schools, corporations and institutions in India.

Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) is recruiting for 5 positions in the National Steering Committee (SC) of 2010 and has opened up applications for the same.

The National SC will play the role of planning & executing the various programs of IYCN with the state chapters.

At the national level, the SC will jointly take care of multiple responsibilities such as fund raising, partnerships, representation of IYCN at programs, external communications, accounts/administration, etc. In addition, each SC member will coordinate the activities with some pre-assigned state chapters.

The application form can be filled here.

The last day to submit your application is April 23rd 12:00 AM IST.

Each SC position is from April 2010 to March 2011 and the person can be located anywhere in India with access to internet and telephone. The detailed profle requirements are as follows:

National Coordinator should be able to (or) have

1) High levels of commitment to the cause and organisation
2) Coordinate activities in the allocated tasks along with the Coordinators in those states
3) Raise funds, maintain relationships with donors, represent IYCN at internal & external events/ meetings
4) Collectively steer the IYCN network in the direction of work it should take, discuss proposals of programs/ projects and make decisions, and take a call on partnership requests from other organizations/ individual
5) Actively participate in activities in his/her respective city/ district
6) Possess basic knowledge of India – politics, geography, environment issues, finance & accounts procedures, basic internet skills and knowledge about social & online media etc.
7) Documentation and reporting
All positions require 30-40 hours a week. The duration is from April 2010 – March 2011 which includes 3 months probation. Compensation will begin on successful completion of probation.
IYCN is an equal opportunity employer

The selected applicants will be interviewed and the final communication will be given by the 30th of April. The SC will assume office from the 1st of May.
For any specific queries, please write to us at jobs@iycn.in.

It is 6:13 am and in the Bella Conference Center I am listening to the chair of the AOSIS (Association of Small Island States) trying to fight off uncontrollable tears. I am almost certain that the Group of 77 (a behemoth of 130 plus developing country states) is coming to an end. Countries are divided and I am witnessing accusations fly across the plenary. Why has it taken us so long to arrive at this point? We sit here with the “Copenhangen Accord” staring at our faces. It is a document full of hot air and is not what billions of people across the planet had been promised to deliver atmospheric restitution.

Once again the developed nations have managed to gain somewhat of an upper hand in the wake of greater sacrifices of the larger developing countries. That aside, negotiators had feared from day one of the talks that the documents and the process of negotiating would not mature to the point required in order to allow negotiations to move into the high level segment where over 100 Heads of States would come to sign a just climate deal. Their fears were realized. The process has been deeply flawed and the voices of nations regarding lack of transparency, conspiracy to kill off the Kyoto protocol has been true. I often found myself being witness to the injustice within the UNFCCC process (where had I not gone to certain meetings, I would have missed out on joint drafting sessions which I assumed were only scheduled G-77 coordination meetings). Text messages were sent, rooms were changed, information was not available to all.

All of this, in the wake of the greatest climate conference the world has ever seen since the birth of the Convention some 18 years ago. Why did it take us so long? How did we get so bitterly entrenched in this process? I have seen and learned more about the process as a negotiator in the last 2 weeks than I could have my entire life. As a result, I have become deeply disillusioned. Two nights ago, at the launch of the Maldives “Survival Kit” for nations, President Nasheed had all but given up on the process and called on youth to take to the streets and make this the absolute issue in politics. For nations like the Maldives that lie 1.5 meters above sea level at their highest point, this is an issue of their survival.

I would agree. After a bitter impasse, and stalling of the talks due to the flawed process, negotiators had still not made progress on many of the key issues. In the group discussing “enhanced action on mitigation” I found myself transported back in time as if no progress had been made between the developed and rapidly developing countries on any of the points on emissions reductions. On the issue of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions by developing countries, the parties talked in circles and could not arrive at any concrete conclusions. Finally the Heads of States arrived adding further confusion to an already impossible situation. Having lost a day and half due to the boycott of the talks by members of the African Group and other major developing countries didn’t help but probably was the only thing that kept the two track process (the Kyoto protocol) alive. Late last night, the heads of 25 nations were invited as part of a “friends of the chair” group to help broker a deal: United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Maldives, Grenada, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Algeria, Denmark, Germany, Korea, Bangladesh, France, Gabon, and three others. The leaders of this group tried to hammer out a rough document to provide the basis for further negotiations. This was the Copenhagen Accord.

The deal is far from perfect. It is non-binding for starters and has a range of base years from which the many countries putting up targets can choose. If one looks closely, there is probably no way that it meets the 2 degrees guard rail target that we need at the MOST in order to avert a run-away climate disaster (even though it claims to use 2 degrees as the upper limit). It is far from what the islands need, far from what the Least Developed Nations require and still leaves many questions to be resolved. Yet it is the only thing that can salvage the absolute and utter lack of trust and faith that has been built up over the last two years between parties of the United Nations.

Climate poses the biggest question to humanity as to whether or not we are going to be able to save ourselves. That is after all, what we are trying to do here. At this time, what we need is trust, faith, and greater understanding to move forward. I am only 25 years old. I fear bringing children into this world and as I sit here listening to nation after nation make statements in favor of or against supporting the passing of the Copenhagen Accord, I am now as uncertain as ever as to the future of humanity. We have not attained “climate justice” here today. Nor have we secured our future. Outside over 200 protesters mobilized to arrive at the conference center to organize a “Shame Vigil.” Mind you civil society suffered the most fatal defeat during these talks by having been forcibly locked out in the final days. However, with an unprecedented over 45,000 registered delegates to the talks I think we have indeed arrived at a crucial point where the movement is unstoppable and will only continue to grow.

It is 7:00 am on December 19th and I am unsure as to what the outcome will be. I leave you with this:

“In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel.” –Severn Suzuki (age 12), Rio Earth Summit 1992

So what does this Red Saree signify?

The red sari signifies the festivity of marriage and celebrating a bond which will last lifetimes. For India, it was important to drape a red sari to get wedded strategically to US as Dr. Singh said in an interview to The Washington Post, “We are strategic partners”. Just yesterday Dr Manmohan Singh and his wife flew back from Washington DC after having a successful round of bilateral negotiations with Obama. The agenda for the bilateral was mostly around fighting terrrorism and making US put pressure on Pakistan to take strong action on the terrorists attack in Mumbai last year.

But more than just that it was key to defining the new political equations between an existing powerhouse and an emerging superpower. The big issues which were in discussion were :nuclear disarmament ,poverty alleviation,energy security, terrorism and building consensus on the nitty gritty details of the nuclear deal.
These “four or five big global issues” will form the cornerstones of the new India-US strategic partnership in the next few decades, which has been unveiled towards the end of Dr Singh’s state visit to the US, the first such by any world leader during the Obama presidency.

In total 6 Memoranda-of-understandings were signed, 2 memoranda-of-interest as well as several other initiatives and agreements.

A shade of green with the red saree

A green partnership has been signed onto which calls for the following three things:
Launch of a “Green Partnership” to strengthen U.S./India cooperation on clean energy, climate change, and food security. This reflects our two countries’ commitment to taking vigorous action to combat climate change, ensuring mutual energy security, working towards global food security, and building a clean energy economy that will drive investment, job creation, and economic growth throughout the 21st century.

Launch of an Indo-U.S. Clean Energy Research and Deployment Initiative, supported by U.S. and Indian government funding and private sector contributions. This new Initiative will include a Joint Research Center operating in both the United States and India to foster innovation and joint efforts to accelerate deployment of clean energy technologies. The Initiative will facilitate joint research, scientific exchanges, and sharing of proven innovation and deployment policies.

Support for an Indian EPA that will focus on creating a more effective system of environmental governance, regulation and enforcement. Working with the India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide technical support to help establish an Indian National Environmental Protection Authority.

What about the Copenhagen Deal?
In the extended MOU signed , there is the following mention of the Copenhagen outcome.
Prime Minister Singh and President Obama affirmed that the Copenhagen outcome must be comprehensive and cover mitigation, adaptation, finance, and technology. Moreover, it should reflect emission reduction targets for developed countries and nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries. There should be scaled-up finance, technology, and capacity-building support. There should be full transparency as to the implementation of their mitigation commitments and appropriate processes for review. Both leaders resolved to take significant mitigation actions and to stand by these commitments.

From the above statement one infers , India is still sticking to its stance on taking the nationally appropriate mitigation “actions” and the US has not only accepted this as a comprehensive outcome in contradiction to its strong belief to see India and China take “responsibility” beyond NAMA but also reaffirming the big responsibility of putting numbers on the table.

Although the catch is that the US would want full MRV- report on all actions to where the money is being used to mitigate in receiving countries. And India will only accept MRV for the additional finance and technlogy coming through from the developed world.

Could this be a non mover? Or could they still come to a consensus in Copenhagen?
Are India and US “partners in crime” to bring a weak deal in Copenhagen?
We hope not, and if nothing, we can celebrate the acceptance of a Copenhagen Outcome by the two big players.

National Civil Society Coalition for Climate Justice and Equitable Development

This document is prepared from the perspective of safeguarding the interests of the marginalised majority in India

Civil Society Perspective and Position on the vital issue of climate justice

We, representatives of organizations and networks believe that the discourse on Climate Change cannot and must not be delinked from:
The life and livelihoods of rural women and men, especially those who are economically and socially disadvantaged. It is a fact that climate change is impacting and would impact the poor communities first and worst. Amongst poor communities, economically and socially marginalized women bear the greatest brunt of climate change.
The current debate over the development path, that has in more than one ways contributed to the crisis, should now be used as an opportunity to adopt a new development paradigm.

We call upon Government of India to:

Proactively pressurize the industrialized countries, in particular the United States, to immediately take binding targets for substantial reduction of their emissions using the 1990 baseline because there are limits to adaptation for the poor people

Keep their Bali promise, take binding targets and reduce their emissions by at least 40% by 2020 and 90% by 2050 with 1990 as the reference point.

Assist the developing countries by finance and technology in order for them to pursue a low carbon pathway.

Nationally, we call upon the Government of India to:
1. Climate Change is increasingly being recognized as a development issue for many reasons. From a macro perspective it questions the fossil fuel based development model that the world has been pursuing since the industrial revolution. This current development model is threatening the earth’s sustainability and could have irreparable consequences. From a micro perspective the impacts of climate change affects those that are most vulnerable: the marginalized majority of the world.

2. Given that around 70% of India’s population depends on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture for survival, climate change implications are enormous. Climate change will affect the water sector the most. This is also the core of development for rural communities dependent on agriculture and hence the need for focus on water security. Women will be especially vulnerable to the climate phenomenon. The rural communities, especially the women being the victims of climate change, should form the base for understanding the climate change impacts and should provide the perspective to plan a new development paradigm to mitigate and adapt climate change.

3. There is ample evidence to indicate that water resources are increasingly going to be affected by climate change. We are in a country already where safe water availability, even for domestic and livestock needs is in a crisis situation. When resources are scarce, it is the historically marginalized, the dalits, adivasis and the other minorities who face the burden the most. Women, who shoulder the responsibility of meeting domestic water, needs face even more challenges in meeting these needs. Given the basic requirement for safe drinking water and sanitation for health and overall socioeconomic development, this lack of availability amounts to a violation of human rights. This needs to be corrected. (more…)

Conservation Action Trust and Kolwanimata Mitra Mandal join hands to demand for action against climate change and to maintain CO₂ level in the atmosphere at 350ppm.

On the 14^th of Oct 09 in Mumbai city at 4 pm, India, the fishermen community of Sarsole village, Navi Mumbai and Conservation Action Trust will showcase an event symbolizing the necessity to urge world leaders to take bold and immediate steps to address climate change and reduce carbon emission, to move beyond speeches and to initiate action on the ground as a part of the global day of action coordinated by 350.org. The fishermen will create a 350 symbol in the Thane Creek which will mark their protest against individual governments’ selfish negotiations rather than cooperating for a global consensus.

The Conservation Action Trust (www.cat.org.in) is a registered non-profit organization formed to protect the environment, particularly forests and wildlife. The main purpose of the Trust is to educate and enlighten decision makers and the public about the importance of forests and mangrove, wetlands for our survival.

Kolwanimata Mitra Mandal is a registered organization of fishermen at Sarsole which is one of the fishermen villages along the coast of Navi Mumbai. KMM is around four years old. It comprises of 40-50 boys of the village. Their mission is to highlight the issues concerning the lives of the small fishing village to the authorities who have turned a blind eye to their problems.

After decades of denial, humanities have woken up to the possible terminal illness of the planet, being global warming. Now is the time to act, to control the damage before the effects become irreversible. (more…)