236 ENvVRONMENTAL STUDIES

Preserving resources for future generations

Can we utilise all the resources of the world, leaving nothing for future generations? This ethical
issue must be considered when we use resources unsustainably. If we overuseand misuse resources
and energy from fosil fuels, what will happen to ourfuture generations? Acritical concernisto
preserve species and natural undisturbed ecosystems that arelinked with bioresources, which must
be protected for the use of future generations, Just as our ancestors have leff resources for ts, it is
our duty to leave them behind for our future generations, They have a right to these resources
We only hold the world as trustees for the future generations.

The rights of animals

Can humans, a singlespecies, use and severely exploit the earthis resources,whichwe sharewith
millions of other plant and animal species? The variety of plants and animals thatsharethe earth
with us also have a right to live and share the earth's resources and living space. We have noríghtto
push a species that has taken millions of years to evolve, towards extinction. Not only dowild and
domesticated animals have a right to life, they have the right to a dignified existence. Crueltytoan
animal is no different ethically from cruelty to another human being.
Human beings are just one small cog in the wheel oflife on earth. We frequently do not realise
thatwe haveexploited nature and other species well beyond what weshouldhave used justinably
Every plant and animal has a right tolife as a part of the earthscommunityoflivingthings.Naüre
ifleftto itself has natural prey-predator relationshipsand maintains a balance in each ecosystem
While evolutionhasdevelope a system whereby spectesbecome extinct and new ones evolveto
fill the worlds ecosystems with new plant and animal species, it is human
beings alonethat have
been
responsible for thetherecent rapid decline in the number of species on earth. Moreimportantiy
we
are now reducing population of so many species that in the near future we willin all
probability create a major extinction spasm that willseriously endangerthe existenceofmankind
Thus, endangering the existence of wild plants and animals and bringing them closetothe brink of
only unfair to those species but also to future generations of people.
extinction is not

7.7 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION AND

PUBLIC AWARENESS
It is of utmost importance to create an ethos that will support a sustainable lifestyle in society. This
brings us to the need for environmental
education The Supreme Court has ordered that every
young individual at school and college level should be exposed to a course on the environmentIris
not only to create an awareness of environmental issues, but also to bring about
action. Among the variety of tools that can pro-environmental
bring home the ethical issues of the environment,
nothing is as powerful as real-life experiences. Creating a love for nature brings about
pro-environmental action. Our current educational processes at school and college level arestrong
beingg
reoriented to bring about this change.
Environmental education and education for sustainable
non-formal learning. In 1992 M C Mehta, the famous development include both formal and
environmental lawyer filed a PL in the
Supreme Court that brought out the fact that the Government had done
awareness on environmental issues. The
nothing to create public
Supreme Court addressed the Ministry of HRD and the
Ministry of Environment to initiate urgent measures to correct this.
 237
HUMAN CoMMUNTIES AND THE ExRONMENT
world where many ot us are far removed from nature, mmunication Educationaand
Public
In Awareness.(CEPA)
reness(CEPA) forr
orms a
Communic cked back
strategy
to
appreciate
has come trom nature. We depend
that everything we use
on an intact unpolluted world that is based on
to its s
goodsand services.
andserv No tife is possible without these measures. Nature's that we
resources,

and depend on, can only beoptimised if they are equitablysharedNatu by all of us. fIfthe disparity
the disparity
it y result in anarchy.
can e
great
too
is
cing back an ethie tor nature conservation through educational procet cesses and media
tocusoon environment education and conservation awarer The best way to do so
quires a
ake our young people aware of our dependence on natural resources urces from
the wilderness

expose them to the beauty and wondrous aspects of nature, which forma sharpcontrast
and
the
anity now livesin
sad plight of degraded areas and polluted sites in which most of human
ation
N and developing world. In View of the Supreme Court directive,environmen
hasbeen introduced
in all school textbooks.
The Supreme Court has ordered the LGCto
lement aCore Module Course (nowreferredto.as AbilityEnhancement Compulsory Cou
C)- Environmental studies, 2017] which is the purpose of this textbook for all courses at
dergraduate level.
India perhaps the only countryin the World
is to implement Such an
interdisciplinary compulsory coursefor all collegestudentsatthe UGlevel.
Public awareness is the responsibility ofthe media inusingboth print andelectronicouE
on the environment to the public at large. The messages must include issues related to natura
resourcemanagement and biodiversityconservation, pollution, energy
conservation,pubiChealth
and ethical considerations which can move the world towards asustainable future.
Evironmental sensitivity in our country can only grow through major public awarenes
campaigns.his 1s referred to in environmental terms as Communication Education a
Public Awareness (CEPA) strategies. This has several tools electronic media, press, school
and
college education, adult education, which are all essentially complementary to
each other. Green
movements can grow out of small localinitiatives to
become major playersin advocating methods
to assist the Government. Policy makers will only work towards
for environmental protection

environmental preservation if there is a sufficiently large bank of voters that insist on

protecting
the environment. Orienting the media to report pro-environmental
issues is an important aspect
environmental
several advertising campaigns frequently have messages that are negative to
cities further cause of public
as
the
preservation. Programmessuch as Smartcities and 100 resilient
awareness on urban environmental issues.

Using an environmental calendar of activities celebrated in the

environmental significance, which can be
There are several days of special or village
environmental awareness in your vicinity, city
community and can be used for creating
(Table 7.1).
and treasuring the magnificence of the
wilderness
Appreciating beauty of nature
the
We rarely take the opportunity togaze atascentC
sunset,spend
We often take naturefor granted.
silence of songs of birds and the sound of
the forest, listen to the
time to sit in the incredible watch the magic of a seed germinating
the wind rustling through
the leaves, take the trouble to
observe a tree throngh
and gradually growing
intO a seeatng over several days,
ground
seeds, or retlect on the incredibly large
trom the
it gets new leaves, fiowers, trult and
as
a round of seasons
diferent animals ana
Dirds tnat depend on the seasonal changes
number of links between all the
 lGu.

in theirhabitat It is the beauty of nature, the green of

the forest, the blue of the sea, and the gnld
of the sunrise that has intrinsic value, and that we tend to
ignore. These are not mundane day-to
day events, they are magical aspects of nature's clock that is ticking silently all around us. Tf we
experience these wondrous aspects of nature, our lives will be enriched immeasurably.
 HuMAN COMMUNITES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 239
Once realise that wildernes has a value of its
we
the own, it puts humans in their
custoaans ot nanure rather than as expleiters If one righthil roe
watertait, or Seashore, one visits a wilderness area, a forest, 1akeses
bleak, human-dominated begtns value its beauty, Without the wilderness, the earth
to
in the landscape. The problem is how much of the wilderness can woul erve
presence ot an
ever-growing hunger for land and rescources for its utilitarían value?weOnles5
pree
begin to see the ecological value of the wilderness, an
of our daily lives. And
without wilderness, the earth ethic for its conservation cannot becomepa
art

Ahimsa or non-violence towards life, which will eventually become

its
univeae a with
includes all plants and animals, provides
basic philosophy which early Hindu philosophers and later, Buddha, Mahavira and
Gandhi spoke ol. Mahatma
Buddhist and Jatn
great value of all forms of life. This philosophy is intrinsically woven around non-violence ana
fortheir utility value but are a part of philosophy ascertains that animals are not to be viewed
earths oneness which is linked with our own lives. In Puirey
philosophy, earth itself is
the Indilan
isto be-subjugated and used.respected and venerated. ncontrast, in WesteFn
These are basic differences in thinking processes. thoughtnate
philosophers in the West have now begun to appreciate Several mou
these Eastern patterns of thought a n e
basis for human as
development. This shift froma purely utilitarian or scientific
to one of
harmony with nature,
can however only
exploitation of nature
natures great oneness. occur, if each of us understands and
respe
The conservation ethics and traditional value systems of India
In ancient Indian tradition, people have always valued
Thus, much of nature was venerated mountains, rivers, forests, trees and animals.
and protected. Forests have been associated
forest gods and
goddesses, both in the Hindu religion as well as in tribal cultures.with thenames of
"Tree goddesses
have been associated
with specific plant species Ficus religiosa, the peepal tree, is venerated
not to be cut down (The banyan tree n some regions. Such as and is
by tying a thread around it as a symbol of respect The tulsiplantMaharashtra, is venerated once avear
isgrown in every home. Patches of
forests, now called sacred groves, have been dedicated to local forest gods and goddesses in many
Indiancultures,especially in tribal areas. These traditionally protected forest patches depict the
true nature of
undisturbed vegetation and have a large number of indigenous plant species. Their
exploitation has been controlled through local sentiments.
Certain species of trees in India have been protected as they are
valued for their fruit or flowers.
Inmost farms, the mango tree is protected for its fruit even when wood becomes scarce. The
(Mahua tree Madhuca indica) is protected by tribal people as it provides edible tilowers, oil from
its seeds and is used to make a
potent alcohol. Many plants, shrubs and herbs which were once
availablein the wild in plenty are used in Indian medicines. Theseare nowrapidlyvanishing,Many
species of animals are venerated as being the vahana or vehicle of various gods who are said to
travel through the cosmos on them!
In Indian mythology, theelephantis associated with Ganesha. The elephant-headedGanesha is
alsolinkedtotherat. Vishnu isassociated withtheeagle. Ramaislinked to monkeys. In mythology
Hanuman rendered invaluable help to Rama during his travels to Lanka. The sun god, Surya
rides a chariot drawn byseverallhorses on which he moves throughthesky. Thelionisinked to
Durga and the blackbuck to themoongoddess. The cow is associated withKrishna, thesnake with
Shiva and Vishnu, the swan with Saraswati. VIshnus incarnations have been represented as takine
various animal forms which serially include a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a dwarf and a half-man-half

lion form.
 240 EnVIRONMENTAL STuDIES

The associations with various plants that have been givena religious significance include the
tulsi, which is linked to Lakshmi andKrishna. The tulsi plant is also linked to the worship of ones
OWn ancestors. The peepal tree is said to be the tree under which Buddhaattained
enlightenment
Tt also associated with Vishnu and Krishna.
is Several trees are associated with thegoddess Lakshmi,
including amalaki, mango and tulsi,
Traditionally these species, which were considered important aspects of nature were the basis
of local life-support systems and were integral to a harmonious life. In societies of the past, these
examples were all a part of the ethical values that protected nature. modern science basedon the
As

exploitationof nature spread into India, many of these traditions began to lose theireffectiveness in
conserving nature. Concepts that support nature's integrity must thus becomea part of our modern
educational systems. This constitutes akey solution to bringaboutanewethicofconserving nature
and living sustainable lifestyles.
Whot con l do? LeArnina bu ootion