Ecological Movements

The Core Idea

Ecological movements are not just about saving trees or cleaning rivers. At their heart, they question the very model of development that has dominated the modern period. This model, which prioritises unchecked economic growth, treats nature as a resource to be exploited. It also assumes that everyone benefits equally from development — a claim that ecological movements directly challenge.

The Problem with the Dominant Model of Development

For most of the modern era, the greatest emphasis has been placed on development. Over the decades, serious concerns have arisen about two things:

• The unchecked use of natural resources.
• A model of development that creates new needs, which in turn demands even greater exploitation of already depleted resources.

This model has also been criticised for assuming that all sections of people will be beneficiaries of development. The reality is often the opposite:

• Big dams displace people from their homes and sources of livelihood.
• Industries displace agriculturalists from their homes and livelihoods.
• Industrial pollution adds another layer of harm.

The Chipko Movement: A Case Study

The Chipko Movement in the Himalayan foothills is a classic example of an ecological movement that reveals how many different issues — economic, ecological, and political — are interlinked.

What Happened

According to historian Ramachandra Guha in his book Unquiet Woods, villagers rallied together to save the oak and rhododendron forests near their villages. When government forest contractors came to cut down the trees, 116 villagers, including a large number of women, stepped forward to hug the trees to prevent them from being felled.

The Trigger: The 1970 Floods

The unusually heavy monsoon of 1970 caused a devastating flood in the Alaknanda valley. The damage was immense:

• 100 square kilometres of land inundated
• 6 metal bridges and 10 kilometres of motor roads washed away
• 24 buses and several other vehicles destroyed
• 366 houses collapsed
• 500 acres of standing paddy crops destroyed
• Considerable loss of human and bovine life

This flood marked a turning point. Villagers, who bore the brunt of the damage, began to perceive the link between deforestation, landslides, and floods. Villages most affected by landslides lay directly below forests where felling had taken place.

The Key Incident at Reni Forest

The villagers' cause was taken up by the Dashauli Gram Swaraja Sangh (DGSS), a cooperative organisation based in Chamoli district. Despite early protests, the government went ahead with the yearly auction of forests. One plot scheduled to be assigned was the Reni forest.

Contractors' men travelled to Reni from Joshimath. A small girl spotted the workers with their implements and rushed to Gaura Devi, the head of the village Mahila Mandal (Women's Club). Gaura Devi quickly mobilised other housewives and went to the forest. The women pleaded with the labourers not to start felling. Initially met with abuse and threats, the women refused to budge, and the men were eventually forced to retire.

The Three Interlinked Issues of the Chipko Movement

The Chipko Movement was not just about trees. It raised three interconnected concerns:

1. Economy (Social Inequality): The conflict placed the livelihood needs of poor villagers against the government's desire to generate revenue from selling timber. It was a clash between the economy of subsistence and the economy of profit. The villagers relied on the forest for firewood, fodder, and other daily necessities.

2. Ecology (Ecological Sustainability): Cutting down natural forests was a form of environmental destruction that had resulted in devastating floods and landslides. For the villagers, these 'red' (social/economic justice) and 'green' (environmental) issues were interlinked. Their survival depended on the survival of the forest, but they also valued the forest for its own sake as a form of ecological wealth that benefits all.

3. Political Representation: The movement also expressed the resentment of hill villagers against a distant government headquartered in the plains that seemed indifferent and hostile to their concerns.

Government Initiatives for Environmental Conservation …