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Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘We have commodified nature & are now paying the price'
Panduranga Hegde, environmentalist and pioneer of the Appiko movement, speaks with TOI about the changing face of activism, political apathy, and why hope lies in the quiet strength of grassroots movements. He is the recipient of the inaugural MP Veerendra Kumar Memorial National Thought Leadership Award Gone are the days when environmental activism unfolded through mass movements in forests, rivers, or hills. But environmentalist and writer Panduranga Hegde—founder of the Appiko movement in the Western Ghats—believes a quieter, more diverse kind of activism is now taking root. While movements like Chipko, Silent Valley, Narmada, and Appiko may no longer repeat themselves in the same form, Hegde says the spirit of resistance hasn't faded. Instead, it's evolving. A new kind of movement is emerging—scattered but growing. Though it may not always be visible, people are making lifestyle shifts, adopting ecological farming, reviving rivers, protecting seeds, and building urban forests. The methods are different, but the intent remains powerful. Hegde's journey began in the 1980s, inspired by Sunderlal Bahuguna's Chipko movement and the legacy of Amrita Devi Bishnoi. Bahuguna's dedication, he says, shaped the path he has followed for over four decades. Through the Appiko movement, Hegde led protests to save trees in Karnataka's Western Ghats, motivating locals to embrace the symbolic act of hugging trees to stop deforestation. He sees immense potential in today's generation. Young people are strong in their convictions, he says, and many are choosing green lifestyles over consumerist ones. Some are quitting corporate jobs to return to the land, while others are working with schoolchildren to instill ecological values early. These small streams of effort, Hegde believes, will eventually merge into a powerful collective force. In 2009, Hegde was instrumental in drafting the Western Ghats Manifesto, urging Lok Sabha candidates to adopt policies protecting the fragile ecosystem. Despite this effort, he remains deeply sceptical of the political class. Across Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, he sees no real ideological difference when it comes to the environment. 'All parties are interested in making money,' he says bluntly. This, he says, is what distinguishes today's leaders from those of the past. Recalling Indira Gandhi's decision to stop the Silent Valley project in the 1980s, he contrasts her environmental sensitivity with that of her grandchildren, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Their activities in Wayanad, he believes, prioritize political gain over ecological responsibility. Among his more recent campaigns is the push to maintain the night traffic ban in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Karnataka has enforced the 10-hour night ban to protect wildlife movement, but Kerala has pushed for it to be lifted. Hegde is baffled by the resistance. 'Why can't we let animals cross the road in their own habitat for just a few hours?' he asks. The issue, for him, is symptomatic of a larger problem—our increasing alienation from nature. To Hegde, true development cannot come at the cost of basic natural resources. 'Any activity that disturbs soil, water, and air is not development,' he says. He is especially critical of ongoing infrastructure projects in the Western Ghats and Himalayan regions, from superhighways to tourism resorts. These, he argues, represent the commodification of nature by the elite and are already yielding disastrous results—landslides, flooding, and worsening climate extremes. This disconnect from nature is reflected in rising human-wildlife conflict, too. Hegde notes that communities living near forests once coexisted peacefully with wildlife. But in densely populated areas, like parts of Kerala where forest encroachment has occurred, tensions have grown. 'We are seeing this in some parts of Karnataka too. But it is more in regions where the population is very high.' By contrast, areas like the Anshi Tiger Reserve near the Goa border still see more harmonious living. Recognition for his work came recently when he was named the inaugural recipient of the MP Veerendra Kumar Memorial National Thought Leadership Award. Chosen by a jury including Jairam Ramesh, Prof. MK Sanu, and Vandana Shiva, the award honours Hegde's lifetime contributions to environmentalism, literature, politics, and human rights. It carries a citation, plaque, and a cash prize of ₹5 lakh, and will be presented on May 28. He also warns of lesser-known consequences of climate change—like the disruption of pollination. Changes in flowering patterns and weather cycles can destabilize ecosystems, leading to species extinction or transformation, with severe implications for agriculture and food security. For environmental protection to be effective, Hegde argues, India needs vigilant, science-backed 'watchdog' forums. The steady dilution of forest and environmental laws by the Centre—and the states—needs to be called out with legal and scientific clarity. Civil society, he believes, must play that role. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Mournes wildfires: Plea for new approach to stop devastating blazes
A group picking up the pieces after wildfires devastated thousands of acres in and around the Mourne mountains is calling for clarity on what can be done to prevent blazes and tackle Heritage Trust estimates a fire in Silent Valley in April spread over 1,500-1,700 group says Stormont should consider banning fires at certain times of year and has questioned whether a helicopter could have been used to fight the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said it would consider banning fires, while the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said a helicopter would not have been appropriate due to a number of operational factors. Andrew Baird from Mourne Heritage Trust said there was "virtually nothing left" on land he assessed close to Ben Crom dam."You've got no habitat for reptiles, insects and small birds. Everything is gone," he fire burned for four days and had to be tackled by physically beating it."There was water all around here and we were just using shovels," he said."We were pushing for a helicopter but apparently it wasn't available."A spokesperson for NIFRS said the service did not have immediate access to firefighting aircraft and had to request them."In this circumstance, the use of a helicopter as a water resource was not requested due to a number of factors including; wind direction and speed, nature and size of the fire front and the impact on operational activity on the ground," the spokesperson said."This was an operational risk based decision and was not based on budget."They said NIFRS worked with a number of other agencies to ensure they used the best approach to fighting the fire. Mr Baird said fires should be banned in mountainous areas when there is an amber or red wildfire warning said it would be open to this but it would require a new law to be passed by Stormont and there was a tight timetable because the assembly did not sit for almost two years from 2022 to 2024."This is however something that could be assessed as part of any future package of wider legislative review," a spokesperson said. What sort of damage was caused to the Mournes? Most of the land where "the deeper, slower burn damage" happened is in the harder to access areas higher Allen from NI Water, which manages Silent Valley reservoir, said it had not been able to access the site to do an ecological survey yet."The habitat up there is a bit of a mosaic. There's areas of deep peat - which is peat that is deeper than 50cm," she said."There's shallow peat, there's Montane heath , just a very rare high altitude habitat. There's heathers, sphagnum mosses - a mixture of all very different species and different habitats."The concern is that the top layer of vegetation has been destroyed which leaves the ground exposed."That's what we don't want to be eroding down into our water here," she it wouldn't pose any risk to drinking water "there's potentially a higher expense in treatment chemicals and electricity" to get it to the same standard. On the Sandbank Road between Hilltown and Rostrevor the fire damaged land is easier to access but not so easy to environmentalist JohnRoss McMahon was here the night a major incident was declared and homes had to be has been back to take a closer look at the damage. "The one word I would say - it's permanent," he said."There's much deeper damage where the fire has got under the peat and has burned under the ground. "You can see the pits where the peat has burned away and the soil has essentially collapsed."He said it was not just a matter of leaving it alone but that something had to be done to bring it back to its natural said funding for peatland restoration projects was planned at various sites across Northern Ireland."A Peatland Strategy is also due to be published soon once Stormont executive approval is obtained to drive a wider and collaborative approach to achieve enhanced and sustained peatland restoration," a spokesperson said. At Silent Valley new approaches are being tried to encourage the land to recover Baird said the heritage trust was piloting a scheme of "hydro seeding"."Basically we're spreading a seed mixture over the surface of the ground which will increase the amount of vegetation cover that will be here over the winter," he that is only to be trialled in one small area - most of it could take up to 10 years to return to "like for like".
