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 The environmental movements favour the

sustainable management of
natural resources.
 The movements stress the protection of
the environment via changes in public
policy.
 Many movements are centered on ecology,
health and human rights.
 The spatial scope of various environmental
movements ranges from being local to the
almost global.
An environmental movement can be defined as a
social or political movement, for the
conservation of environment or for the
improvement of the state of the environment.
THE MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN
INDIA ARE:-

1. Bishnoi Movement
2. Chipko Movement
3. Jungle Bachao Andholan
4. Appiko Movement
5. Narmada Bachao Andholan
6. Tehri Dam Conflict
Year : 1730
Place : Khejrali, Marwar region, Rajasthan
Leaders : Amrita Devi with villagers
Aim : Save sacred trees from being cut
down by the king’s soldiers
 Amrita Devi, a female villager could not bear to
witness the destruction of both her faith and the
village’s sacred trees.
 She hugged the trees and encouraged others to
do the same.363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in
this movement.
 The Bishnoi tree martyrs were influenced by the
teachings of Guru Maharaj Jambaji, who
founded the Bishnoi faith in 1485 and set forth
principles forbidding harm to trees and animals.
 The king who came to know about these
events rushed to the village and apologized,
ordering the soldiers to cease logging
operations.
 Soon afterwards, the maharajah designated the
Bishnoi state as a protected area. This legislation
still exists today in the regoin.
 Year : 1973
Place : In Chamoli district and later at
Tehri- Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.
Leaders : Sundarlal Bahuguna
Aim : To protect the trees on the
Himalayan slopes from the axes of contractors
of the forest.
 Mr. Bahuguna enlightened the villagers by
conveying the importance of trees in the
environment which checks the erosion of soil,
cause rains and provides pure air.
 The women of Advani village of Tehri-Garhwal
tied the sacred thread around trunks of trees
and they hugged the trees, hence it was called
‘Chipko Movement’ or ‘hug the tree movement’.
 The main demand of the people in these
protests was that the benefits of the forests
should go to local people.
 Then the state Chief Minister, Hemwati
Nandan Bahuguna set up a committee to look
into the matter, which eventually ruled in
favour of the villagers.
 This became a turning point in the history of
eco-development struggles in the region
and around the world.
 Year : 1982
Place : Singhbhum district of Bihar
Leaders : The tribals of Singhbhum
Aim : Against governments decision to
replace the natural sal forest with Teak.
 The tribals of Singhbhum district of Bihar
started the protest when the government
decided to replace the natural sal forest with
the highly-priced teak.
 This move was called by many as “Greed
Game Political Populism”.
 Later this movement spread to Jharkhand
and Orissa.
 Year :1983
Place : Uttara Kannada and Shimoga
districts of Karnataka state.
Leaders : Pandurang Hegde
Aim : Against the felling
commercialization
and of natural forest and the
ruin of ancient livelihood.
o It is the southern version of the Chipko
movement. This was locally known as “Appiko
Chaluvali”.
o The locals embraced the trees which were to be
cut by contractors of the forest department.
o They used variety techniques to raise awareness
such as foot marches, slide shows, folk dances,
street plays etc.
o The second area was to promote
afforestation on denuded lands.
o Later it focussed on the rational use of
ecosphere through introducing alternative
energy resource to reduce pressure on the
forest.
o The movement became a success. The current
status of the project is – stopped.
 Year : 1985
Place : Narmada River flows through the
states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra
Leaders : Medha Patkar, Baba Amte,adivasis
etc.,
Aim : A social movement against a
number of large dams being built across the
Narmada River.
 The movement first started as a protest for not
providing proper rehabilitation and resettlement
for the people who have been displaced by the
construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam.
 Later on, the movement turned its focus on the
preservation of the environment and the
ecosystems of the valley.
 Activists also demanded the height of the
dam to be reduced to 88m from the proposed
height of 130 m.
 In October 2000, the Supreme Court gave a
judgement approving the construction of the
dam with a condition that height could be raised
to 90m.
 The project is expected to be fully
completed by 2025.
 Year : 1990s
Place : Bhagirathi River near Tehri in
Uttrakhand.
Leaders : Sundarlal Bahuguna
Aim : Against the displacement of town
inhabitants and environmental consequence of
the weak ecosystem.
 Tehri dam attracted national attention in the
1980s and the 1990s.
 The major objections include seismic
senstivityof the region, submergence of
forest areas along with Tehri town etc.
 Despite the support from other
prominent leaders like Sundarlal
Bahuguna, the movement has failed to
gather enough popular support at
national as well as international levels.
 Kerala is widely well known as the ‘God’s own
country’ because of its scenic beauty and
biodiversity.
 But the multinational companies have exploited
the natural resources of Kerala after
globalization.
 In Kerala, the nature lovers, environmental
activists, Adivasis or Tribal people, the poor and
the marginalized people launched various
movements against polluting industries,
pesticides, construction of dams etc.,
 They have defended their environment and their
concern is with livelihood, environmental
justice and protection, thereby contributed to
the sustainability of the economy.
THE MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENTS IN
KERALA ARE:-

1. Silent Valley Movement

2. Mullaperiyar Dam Issue
3. Save Chaliyar Movement
4. Movement against Endosulfan
5. Movement against Coco-Cola
 It was a remarkable people’s movement that
saved a pristine evergreen forest in Kerala
from destruction by stopping a hydro-electric
project across the Kunthipuzha River in
Palakkad district.
 In 1970, the KSEB proposed to build a hydro-
electric dam that ran through Silent Valley.
 If the project was materialized, 8.3 square
Km of virgin evergreen forest would have
been destroyed.
 The Silent Valley Samrakshana Samiti and
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad,a voluntary
organization conducted protests against the
decision of the government of Kerala.
 The cry of the people was so loud that the
government was forced to promulgate an
ordinance and later an Act- the Silent Valley
Protected Area Act, in 1979 to protect the
eco-system of Silent Valley.
 Later, the project was completely dropped
by declaring Silent Valley as a National
Park in 1985.
 The people of Kerala agitated for the protection
of Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district which was
constructed in 1895 by John Pennycuick to divert
water to Maras presidency which consisted of
present Tamilnadu state.
 It is constructed over the River Periyar using
rubble and lime surkhi.
 Normally the life span of this type of dam is only
50 years.
 Now after 120 years, the entire structure is
unsafe.
 There was a lease agreement between the
State of Travancore and the Madras
presidency in 1886 to supply water to the
latter for a period of 999 years.
 Tamilnadu has demanded for raising of water
level but the Kerala government refused it
because of its dangerous condition.
 The Periyar National Park, Thekkady is
located around the Periyar Reservoir formed
by the backwaters of this dam.
 It is a highly protected tiger reserve and the
presence of 62 different types of mammals
have been recorded In Periyar area.
 According to the report by KFRI, the
protected area around the dam is a
biodiversity hotspot.
 The people of the Kerala wanted to
protect this dam though the Kerala
government proposed to construct a new
dam to protect the people, this has not
been materialized and the people are under
the shadow of fear.
 Kerala government has to take immediate
steps to find alternative arrangement for the
safe rehabilitation of the people.
 In the case of the Chaliyar River in Kerala,
the exploitation of water by Gracim Rayons
Company was followed by the reactions
and struggles by the local people to
protect the river.
 Rayon grade pulp and fibre plant started
functioning in 1963.
 The company was given freedom to take
maximum water from Chaliyar River for
industrial use and to empty the wastes into
the same river.
 Chaliyar River plays a very significant role in
the lives of the people living on the banks
of it.
 The local people used the water for drinking,
cleaning, bathing, cultivation etc., and also
a means of transportation and agriculture.
 The disposal of waste materials and the
extraction of excess water caused serious
environmental problems such as
resource depletion, pollution of the air,
water and growth in the levels of solid,
toxic, and hazardous wastes.
 As the pollution increased, the local people
could feel the incidence of diseases such as
chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, skin
cancer, cardio-pulmonary afflictions,
chronic asthma, tuberculosis, ulcers,
kidney troubles, vision problems etc.,
 As the pollution problem increased, the
people of the area became more active with
protests and submission of memorandums.
 Ultimately, the Kerala State Pollution Control
Board ordered the closure of the plant and
the polluting factory was closed down in
2001.
 The endosulfan spray issue goes back to 1976
when the first experimental aerial spraying was
carried out on cashew plantations in Kasargod
district, owned by the Plantation Corporation of
Kerala which is the largest plantation company in
the public sector.
 This continued three times every year for 25
years over an area of 12000 acres in 9 villages.
 Endosulfan was sprayed by using helicopters and
small aeroplanes to eradicate tea mosquitoes in
the cashew plantations.
 This dangerous pesticides dissolved in the
drinking water of the people of this area and the
consumption of this water resulted in diseases
such as physical deformities, cancers, birth
disorders and damages to brain and nervous
sytem.
 Congenital anomalies, mental retardation,
cerebra pulsy, epilepsy etc., were visible among
the children.
 More than 50000 persons have been impaired
while more than 3000 live in utter misery with
irrecoverable diseases.
 A study conducted by the Centre for Science and
Environment highlighted the impacts of
endosulfan poisoning and spraying death on the
residents of that area.
 After the study, government scientific
institutions had also confirmed the harmful
effects of the aerial spraying of endosulfan in
Kasargode district.
 After a tremendous public and media
pressure and imtervention of the courts, the
aerial spraying of endosulfan was stopped
in 2001.
 Studies conducted show that even after the
stoppage of the aerial spraying , higher
concentration of the pesticide is present in
the soil, water and human blood resulting
ailments at a high rate.
 The Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt.Ltd
established the Coca-Cola unit in a 40-acre
land at Plachimada in Palakkad district in
1998.
 Palakkad is known as the rice bowl of Kerala
and 80% of the population of Palakkad is
enganged in agriculture.
 15 million litres of ground water was
extracted per day by Coca-Cola free of cost.
 Bottles were washed using chemicals and the
effluents were released without treatment.
 This contaminated the ground water creating
water crisis for the tribal people, dalits and
the farmers.
 The foul smelling dry sedimented slury waste
was sold as fertilizer to the farmers in early
days, but later it was given free.
 When the people began to protest, the waste
materials were dumped on the wayside and
on fields at night.
 The ground water as well as the water from
the open wells have rapidly depleted and the
water turns turbid due to calcium and
magnesium sediment which is unfit for
drinking, bathing, washing, agriculture etc.,
 The struggle against the Coco-Cola by the
anti-Coco-Cola Peoples’ struggle Committee
was launched on 22 April 2002.
 As the struggle progressed, hundreds of
Adivasis and women were arrested.
 Finally the company was closed down in 2006
and in 2011, Kerala cabinet decided to form
a tribunal for securing compensation.
 At national level serious efforts have been
made for the improvement and protection of
environment by incorporating changes the
constitution of India.
 The 42nd ammendment Clause(g) to Article
51A of the Indian constitution made it a
fundamental duty to protect and improve the
natural environment.
 Article 48A states “The State shall
endeavour to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests
and wildlife of the country”.
1. WATER ACTS
2. AIR ACTS
3. ENVIRONMENT
ACTS
 The main objective is to provide prevention
and control of water pollution and
maintaining of wholesomeness and purity of
water.
 The Act vests regulatory authority in State
Pollution Control Boards and empowers to
establish and enforce effluent standards for
factories discharging pollutants into water
bodies.
 The main objective is to improve the quality
of air and to prevent, control and abate air
pollution in the country.
 Under the Air Act, all industries operating
within designated air pollutioncontrol areas
must obtain a consent(permit) from the State
Boards.
 The purpose is to implement the decisions of
the UN Conference on the Human
Environment of 1972, in so far as they relate
to the protection and improvement of the
human environment and the prevention of
hazards to human beings, other living
creatures, plants and property.
 The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972
and Amendment, 1982
 The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980
 Biodiversity Act 2000
 It provides for state wildlife advisory boards,
regulations for hunting wild animals and
birds, establishment of sanctuaries and
national parks, regulations for trade in wild
animals, animal products and trophies, and
judicially imposed penalties for violating the
Act.
 Alarmed at India’s rapid deforestation and
resulting environmental degradation, Centre
Government enacted the Forest Act in
1980.
 Under this Act, prior approval of the Central
Government is required for diversion of
forestlands for non-forest purposes.
 The legislation aims at regulating access to
biological resources so as to ensure equitable
sharing of benefits arising from their use.
 The Act provides for setting up of a National
Biodiversity Authority(NBA), State
Biodiversity Boards (SBB) and Biodiversity
Management Committee (BMC) in local
bodies.
 In the environmental movements, it is
evident that the poor people have defended
the environment in rural areas.
 Environmental movements encompass the
enhancement in the quality of life through
recognition of people’s right over their
natural resources, their right to live with
dignity and their participation in the decision
making.
 Effective legislation is needed in order to
prevent misuse and degradation of the
environment.
 Explain the role and function of any
International Orgnization for Environmental
Protection.
THANK YOU