On this world environment day – Go beyond tokenism

Anoop Varghese Kuriappuram

We live in times of  eco-catastrophes, from Tsunami to global warming, from Uttarakhad floods to earthquakes. Nature has  served us with numerous warnings, to stop our greedy exploitative ways. Now,  It is time for us to act on this warnings. In an era, when people are going behind “go green” concept just to promote their brand value, we need to identify what the real problem is.

As the famous eco-Marxist, Joel Kovel says in his famous book – “Enemy of Nature”, the real enemy of nature is capitalism. In it’s effort to multiply profits, it actually tears down  the environment into pieces. It’s greedy unchecked production increases   atmospheric temperature. At the same time it offers coolers and air conditioners as the solution to the problem. We must understand that unchecked exploitation of nature will make earth another desert and it will hit the working class and the poor the most. That is exactly why working class need to take up environmental struggle upfront.

There are many  streams of reaction to this  phenomenon,  two of them are environmentalism eco-socialism. Environmentalism is actually a hog wash which for example, suggests us to use less paper to save trees, but is silent to the “pulp” industry which consumes more than any body else. The very fundamentalism of this stream is to keep people who are innocent as the accused and make them feel guilty.

Eco socialism is a larger thought process, which mandates people’s control over environmental resources and supports exploitation only based on need. At this moment, eco socialism is the correct alternative against exploitation of environment.

Government also must form laws, which rewards people to choose sustainable way of life. One example is to encourage public transportation by providing big subsidies and should discourage mode of individual transportation. Another example can be banning of plastic bags. When coming to celebration part, “Global warming, tree is the answer” is the famous quote by former kerala forest minister Sri Binoy Viswom. Evidently, one of the things we can do is to plant a tree. Planting a tree does not end with planting day, it needs water, fertilisers and it should be guarded against  stray animals and human activity. When the tree grows, the emotional bond of human with tree also grows. The joy, that can be derived from this activity is unparallel. There are many things such as taking rain-pits, doing rainwater harvesting ,solar energy usage ..etc which can help as a token to environment .

But let us understand that we need alternative policies not tokenism, to address this larger issue of environmental problem.

Are We Human Shields ?

Capitalists and Communal forces has for now, succeeded in keeping working class as the human shield in their attack against environment - Why GadGill Report should be backed by working class

Anoop Varghese Kuriappuram

It is canards and lies raining about western ghats conservation efforts. while kasturirangan report which has taken an approach of exclusion, instead of participation does not deserve a second look, Gadgill report should be backed due to it’s participatory approach and scientific basis on which data is collected and synthesised. In this article effort is made to address the people’s participation part on which maximum rumours are spread. Many communal and political forces have rallied belligerently against Gadgill report. There were incidents of government office attacks and rioting. Working class movement, which should stand by the scientific  report, is seen as rallying behind communal lead forces for mere 30 cents of vote. LDF who is the principle opposition front seem to in the shackles of  quarrying and resort/construction mafia. There is a situation where no body speaks about facts and everybody whips up emotions. It is commendable that Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishtah(KSSP) is supporting Gadgill report and is doing campaign in meagre means of it’s own.Below are the canards floating around.

1.    People will be evicted
2.    Proposals are anti farmer.
3.    People will not have a control on Zonation
4.    Conservation excludes people
5.    No Development will take place.

There is no mention of evicting people anywhere in the report. Infact there are pro guidelines to close down polluting industries and not permitting quarries etc.It is also nature and farmer friendly by disallowing pesticides and chemical fertilisers in a time bound manner. It is evident from experience of north indian farmers that repeated use of chemical fertilizers will be destructive for agriculture. Report infact promotes use of sustainable practices in agriculture and asks government to reward the same.

Below is the excerpt from Gadgill report which captures in a nut shell the guidelines for zonation. Zonation is required to be notified by ministry which people have the ultimate control.

“On the basis of careful and extensive compilation of information, and wide-ranging field visits, consultations and analysis, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) has designated the entire Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) and, assigned three levels of Ecological Sensitivity to different regions of it. These are termed as Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1), Ecologically Sensitive Zone 2 (ESZ2) and Ecologically Sensitive Zone 3 (ESZ3).”

Thus it is false to spread that this committee has decided on final list and it is beyond people’s audit or intervention. Many of the conservation efforts  in india fail miserabley due to two reasons , one is capitalist greed and another is lack convinced people. Conservation should not scuttle livelihood and thus should include people in its approach. When people become a central piece in conservation puzzle, we can be assured that things will happen properly. An earlier success in Attappady (AHADS) is a case in point.

Below are the excerpts from GadGill report, which mandates to take a pro people route in conservation.

“It is now widely accepted that development plans should not be cast in a rigid framework, but ought to be tailored to prevalent locality and time-specific conditions with full participation of local communities, a process that has been termed adaptive co-management. What should be ‘go’ and what should be ‘no go’ development options ought then to be decided on a case-by-case basis, in tune with the specific environmental and socio-economic context, and aspirations of the local communities. Such a system of adaptive co-management would marry conservation to development, and not treat them as separate, incompatible objectives.”

Another  lie that is being spread  is that development will not take place, if this report is implemented. It is totally wrong. People can decide their development needs as shown in below excerpt (by participation in gram sabha’s)

“As per the recommendations of the Panel, the Western Ghats has been zoned into (1) Regions of highest sensitivity or Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1), (2) Regions of high sensitivity or ESZ2, and the (3) Regions of moderate sensitivity or ESZ3. In these zones, the Panel recommends that development activity needs to be decided through a participatory process involving the gram sabhas.”

By Above short narrations, it is totally evident that Gad Gill Report is democratic and pro worker and farmer. Working class must realise that an environment degradation will affect them maximum as they are without means of wealth production and cushions against any environmental disaster. There may be a view that short term employment in resorts or quarries will not be available, but it is for greater good of the future called green environment friendly life. Capitalists and Communal forces has for now succeeded in keeping working class as the human shield in their attack against environment. But let us understand this historical mistake and correct them  as we have done in “Save Silent Valley” campaign when Com. EMS was at helm of affairs.

Man and Environment – A Working Class Perspective.

Anoop Varghese Kuriappuram

I am writing this when there is increasing bonhomie about western ghats  and  Kasthuri Rangan/ Madhav Gadgil Report. Kasthuri Rangan report as every one understands is a mere technical report and it compromises the scientific base in which Madhav Gadgil report is built. It is not within the scope of this document to compare these. Discussion point that we raise here is what the working class approach should be towards nature.

Industrial revolution and free market theory always aims at exploiting natural resources to extract profits and it does not have adequate care towards replenishing the same. Barren lands which is left after mineral explorations are just one example of what consumerism will lead to. Species started vanishing from planet, biodiversity taking a hit and man’s quality of living is coming down in terms of basic livelihood parameters such as water, air and food. Increasingly, water is becoming polluted with portable drinking water sources getting scarce. Air’s quality is worsening with industrial and vehicular pollution hitting a new high. Ozone layer is getting depleted in rapid pace with CFC’s  emissions unbridled. Temperature of earth is getting warmer as rightly pointed out by IPCC of United Nations. Food is getting contaminated by pesticides, chemical fertilisers and unhealthy processing practices.

Interestingly some corporates are thriving  in the business of capitalising on this decline of quality of life.

·       For Polluted water,  corporates offer purifiers, mega desalinisers and water   supply schemes.

·         For Increase Temperature, they offer air conditioners and air coolers

·         For Contaminated food, offer is organic food

·         For Medical Ailments, offer is 5 star treatment

·         For Huge waste generated, it has proposal of big processing plants and incirators.

Workers organisations, industrial bodies and governments tend to bring the angle of economic parameters such as  gross domestic product and employment into these critical issues. Arguments are being put forward such as for employment , exploiting the nature is Marxist view .In this, trade unions are sadly taking a view which is protective of capitalist enterprise and  is working  some time as apostles for them.

Let us come back and examine this critical issue from a Marxist perspective.

Employment by itself is not a right or a must  in a classless society. Employment should be directed towards welfare of society and replenishment of the natural resources. The historical perspective which we should ingrain is “natural resources are finite”. Then comes the word called sustainability. When a corporate speaks about sustainable theme, it will be always directed at maintaining it’s bottom line by a set of activities. Working class should be seeking “Sustainable Employment” than “Destructive Employment” from its higher class consciousness.

Now what approach should working class take in this?

Points to be kept in mind while examining this holistically are the livelihood of human beings and the famous idiom that “without wall there can be no wall painting”. Technological and scientific advances should be evaluated exhaustively before putting them into use. Market forces tend to go ahead with new advances and government system is doing a catch up later. Working class in return of the employment received ,tend to be protective of the environment destructing attitude of capitalists. It is a historically wrong perspective and contrary to the commitment working class should be showing to the society.

Working class holistically should drive struggle and correct environmental issues that it’s operating concern is producing. There should be a pledge from working class that “Boycott employers who does not adhere to environmental standards”. A “Zero Emission Industrial Enterprise” should be the slogan, we should be supporting. This is the short term solution.

It is not enough to do the above, but we need to push for an alternate economy. An economy which is driven by plan and not by demand-supply theory.  We should understand that supply of natural resources are limited. We should recognise  that reckless market mechanism  is producing waste and causing environmental impacts and is making life in Planet Earth Miserable.

Government should be in control of all natural resources and services and private ownership should be limited. Production required in the economy should be forecast by the government and suitable mechanism should strive to produce the same. For Industrial goods and services also same should apply.

An Imaginative working class government for example

1) will construct an extensive railway network, where people can carry their private cars across countries than a 6 lane highway where people need to drive, put fuel and make pollution to reach destination. 

2) Housing will be recognised as a right and not as an investment, government shall provide space or flats for each of citizen rather than allowing builders/land mafia to take advantage of working class.

Imaginative measures which will increase quality of life should be the agenda of the government than any figures such as GDP. Individual freedom should not be curtailed but options should be provided to achieve the same with minimum ecological impact.

Right to Housing, Employment, Food, Quality Air and Water should be made fundamental right of each citizen and working class government should be in charge of achieving the same. Jobs should be created to conserve and replenish the natural resources than exploiting the same. All market driven practices which are harmful to nature should be banned (such as pesticides use will be banned). 

A Social audit mechanism will be there to examine and allow use of all technologies or advances before their use.

Ultimate aim will be to topple the capitalist regime, which is driving this anti environment policies and establish a working class governing structure.