World Environment Day ! Local action, global outlook
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 06, 2011 -

There are certain issues which unfailing bring different Nations together and environment is undoubtedly one of them.

By this we are not saying that the world as a whole has begun to sing in one tune, for very often we have seen national interest coming in the way of a global pact on reducing the factors responsible for global warming and the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, which was adopted on December 11 of the said year and enforced on February 16, 2005, is an apt example, where the United States has not only refused to ratify it but also finally refused to accept it, though it is the largest emitter of gases, also known as Green- house gases namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulphur hexaflouride. Global warming is central to the theme of any talk on environment and this year's World Environment Day, which was hosted by India on the theme, Forest : Nature At Your Service, fittingly had a lot to do with Greenhouse Effect and how the rise in global temperature has affected the environment, which in turn has started posing a serious threat on the very existence of mankind on planet earth.

The tragedy, as human history has witnessed, is however the failure of all Nations to come together under one international pact, which will go a long way in controlling the emission of gases which are harmful to the environment. Thus, environment and its protection come with the extra baggages of politics, economic compulsions, social behaviour of a group of people and value systems of a people concerned.

The refusal of the United States to acknowledge the Kyoto Protocol is an example of national interest coming into conflict with an international pact and it is no wonder that subsequent international conclave such as the Copenhagen Climate Summit of 2009 could not arrive at any far reaching agreements, with key Nations such as the USA, China and India scripting a compromised deal, which added the worry lines to quite a number of world citizens.

Here again, it was national interest, economic compulsions and other compelling factors, that dictated the stand of each Nation. An understanding of environment and hence its protection cannot be understood divorced of the factors, we have just mentioned and the choice is therefore before the comity of Nations and not some extraterrestrial forces.

As a member of the great human society, Manipur too cannot escape the impact of climate change and the widescale observation of World Environment Day not only this year but in the recent past reflects the growing concern of the people with the tell tale signs of environment degradation.

There can be no better slogan than Act Local Think Global, and by this we understand that each and every individual in society have a role in play in protecting the environment as well as in indulging in activities that are today understood as harmful to the environment.

Any talk on environment invariably entails focusing our attention on the ‘conflict between environment and development’ or the price that the world has to pay for development. How far this conflict is avoidable or unavoidable should therefore become the crux of any discussion on environment and the days preceding the World Environment Day and the days after this date, should be taken as the right time to address this question.

Why is it that Governments and its agencies are seen as anti-environment while environmental activists or green activists are viewed as anti-establishment is a question worth pondering over. The answer we think lies in a co-ordinated effort and approach between the policy makers, the scientists, the agriculturists, the big business houses, the manu- facturing industries, down to the micro-level village bodies, such as Panchayats and Municipalities in the urban areas etc.

The role of the law enforcers, such as the Army, the police etc too need to be studied afresh. Academicians, need to put their knowledge into practical use and for this we need the Government and its agencies plus the co-operation of the general public. In short any effort to conserve environment cannot be a uni-dimensional approach and needs the efforts of all.

It is human activities that are primarily responsible for the degradation that we see all over, starting from the large scale deforestation, the use of modern gadgets such as refrigerators, automo- biles, air conditioners as well as the unchecked exploitation of earth's resources such as fuel, coal, iron ore, bauxite, precious stones, etc.

The 21st century is agog with stories of man's misadventure with nature and how attempts to displace something indigenous to a land with an exotic species have proved to be environmentally hazardous.

We need to think why so many animals, fishes and trees and flowers indigenous to the place have started disappearing. This is a direct fall out of a lack of policy, coupled with ignorance and human greed.

Many hills in Manipur have been reduced to nothing much more than barren stretches of land and the people responsible for it are not the marginal farmers, the jhum cultivators, but the big fishes who make a killing out of the flourishing timber trade.

For World Environment Day to have any meaning, the need of the hour is for all to start contributing what they can at their individual level or else, saving the environment will be reduced to nothing much more than a fashion statement. Going Green, will come to mean a statement mouthed by some with a bloated sense of importance with no substance.