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Photo: K. Ananthan

Raise your voice To save the environment

Shekar Dattari’s film asked the question, “What’s the status of the little kingdom by the coast, Point Calimere?” Thousands of water fowls swarm into this sleepy sanctuary transforming it into a bird watcher’s paradise in winter. Now, their numbers are declining. In A green agony, Geeta Singh captures the unique ecosystem of the single largest mangrove delta in the world, the Sundarbans, and its battle to stay afloat. A large number of ‘Sundari’ trees (that’s why the name Sundarbans) and 30 kinds of mangroves sustain an entire coastal ecosystem. The global climate change and accelerated rise in sea-levels are forcing them to sink.

Did you know that cloud forests are the most threatened ecosystems in the world? But, what is a cloud forest? Alex Wohlgroth’s film Mountains in the mist gave the answer. “Bathing in clouds at a certain elevation of over 1500 to 3000 mts, wind blown clouds penetrate through the canopy… ,” is how ecologist Lawrence S. Hamilton describes a cloud forest.

The film takes you to the breathtakingly beautiful forest in Costa Rica, Central America. It explores the cloud forest canopies and the high level of water flow. It also speaks of the pressure from air pollution, indiscriminate clearing of forests for cultivating flowers, coffee and even drugs, and climate changes that make the ecosystem fragile. Considered a treasure house of bio-diversity, the cloud forests are endemic to a gamut of species. “We have cloud forests in the ranges in the Nilgiris, the Anamalais and in Vellingiri and the surrounding Kunjaaran and Aatu hills,” said K. Kalidasan of Osai.

In the panel discussion that followed, he gave examples of the rich bio-diversity of the virgin forests in the south. “Even today, you see thousands of black bucks roaming freely in Thengumarhada. We should never allow any interruption, even in the form of rail tracks and roads to disturb the peace of such ecosystems.” Is water scarcity or mismanagement the reason for water crisis? he asked. “Even in Cherapunji, the capacity of the forests to store water has come down because of the felling of trees,” he said, adding: “When the Kerala Government wanted to divert water from the river Bhavani, just five people registered their protest. Now, it has gained strength as a strong social movement and the river diversion project in Mukkali has come to a halt,” he said.

Dr. Babu Rajendran, reader in environmental bio-technology of Bharathidasan University, drew the attention to the declining frog population in the Western Ghats and the health hazards of pesticides. “Fat soluble pesticides emanate from the burning wastes in dumpsites, and are found in large quantities in the breast milk of those residing near such areas,” he explained.

Satyajit Ray’s Ganashatru (enemy of the people) was a fitting finale to the event. Dr. Ashok Gupte, a physician in a small town of Chandipore in West Bengal, finds that water borne diseases are on the increase. He fears an epidemic outburst when he discovers that the holy water of Tirupureswar temple, drunk by people with devotion, is full of germs. A fierce confrontation ensues between him and his brother Nisit, chairman of the Municipal Corporation, who makes revenue from the temple. Gupte is declared as a public enemy, but there is ray of hope — a group of youth stand by Dr. Gupte for the cause. And, that marks a new beginning.

As ecological advisor Vandana Shiva puts it in Thirsty Planet: “Leaping into the future in anticipation of ecological vulnerabilities matters.”

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