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Earth Hour Goes Beyond the Hour

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Earth Hour Goes Beyond the Hour NEWSLETTER IND PANDA 2011 Earth Hour Goes beyond the hour From SG & CEO’s desk Published by: WWF- India, 172-B , Dear Friends, Lodhi Estate, The monsoons are once again upon us, bringing succor from the summer heat and also hope for the New Delhi 110 003, millions who depend on the rains for agriculture in this part of the world. This is also the time for “Van Tel: 011 - 41504797 Mahotsava” the festival of planting saplings that is celebrated with enthusiasm across India. We at WWF India run a campaign to promote tree planting. Our “adopt a tree" programme aims to provide free www.ww? ndia.org saplings to those who wish to plant them and care for them. We endeavor to carry out such activities across India through our branch and field offices and many individuals join hands in taking this programme Editorial Board: forward. Such efforts which encourage individuals to reconnect with the natural world are seen as an important way forward to inculcate respect and care for Mother Nature, which is so central to our cultural Dr. Dipankar Ghose and social ethos. Mita Nangia Goswami Dr. Parikshit Gautam India participated in Earth Hour again, on March 26, 2011, with unparalleled zest and zeal. With each Moulika Arabhi passing year, we observe a higher level of individual and organizational participation across the country. WWF is proud to have initiated this global awareness movement aimed towards providing a window for people to register their concerns on the issue of climate change that looms ahead of us. I would like to Editor: thank all those who participated in the movement and committed to go beyond that one hour by making Shaila Sam considered changes in their daily energy consumption patterns. At WWF, we work towards involving all sections of the society. Campaigns; sensitizing workshops for Assistant Editor: policy makers, media and civil society groups; capacity building support for enforcement agencies, Malika Gupta publications on various cross cutting themes for different interest groups and environment education programs amongst youth and schools and contact through the web including social media sites, are some of the solutions we have initiated to continuously engage with the public. Special inputs: Aarti Khosla Today, as our ecological footprint far exceeds the capacity of our planet, the need of the hour is an attitudinal shift in our lifestyle patterns. This is only feasible when society is educated on the consequences of over exploitation of our natural resources. The Energy Report, the Living Planet report- all speak of the Designed & printed by: urgent need to make such lifestyle changes. Unity Content Services As we continue to reach out to more and more people, we are happy to share small success stories from (www.unitycontentservices.com) across the country- stories of hope, enterprise and commitment which are driving change locally and 9811315644 beyond. Though small steps, each of them is crucial to the journey of conserving India's natural heritage. The current issue of Panda documents some of these stories. The story of the young Pardhi boy in Madhya Pradesh; promoting adoption of sustainable clam fishing practices at Ashtamudi lake in Kerala to protect the lake ecosystem; the success of the Green Hiker campaign and regular engagement with small and medium wooden handicraft industries culminating in an increased interest towards responsible wood trade thus conserving the forests, are instances of some of the changes we are proud to have influenced. The challenges are many but what keeps us going is the goodwill we receive from all our readers and supporters. We continue to work with you steadfast in transforming the way environment is perceived and conserved. Your feedback is important in moulding the future direction of our work, so do keep writing to us. Ravi Singh SG&CEO From the Editor's Desk Dear Readers, As you read through this issue of the Panda we hope you will be able to better understand the issues faced by our team. How we meet this head-on with passion and commitment to the cause! Our next issue on “Forests” will throw light on various factors that play a crucial role in conserving our forests. Contributions are welcome from all our readers on this issue. Please mail the same at [email protected]. Your stories/articles must reach us by August 30th. Happy reading Shaila Sam CONTENTS SPECIAL FOCUS STATE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES Earth Hour – Goes beyond the hour 01 Karnataka 19 Kerala 20 EVENTS Orissa 20 Maharashtra 21 World Wetlands Day at Keoladeo 07 Goa Green Hiker - Encouraging responsible tourism 08 21 Madhya Pradesh Tiger Series – A novel message on tiger conservation 09 22 Andhra Pradesh 22 STRAIGHT FROM THE FIELD Himachal Pradesh 23 The tiger saviour: Story of a Pardhi boy 10 INTERNATIONAL PROJECT UPDATES Energy Report: Safe Energy For All By 2050 24 Mainstreaming climate change in Himalayan states 11 WWF-National Law University, Delhi 13 offer a course in Urban Management SAWEN to monitor wildlife trade 15 Saving the clam clan 16 GFTN-Switch Asia programme- 17 building capacity towards responsible wood trade 1 SPECIAL FOCUS SPECIAL FOCUS Whether it was the Governments and Corporations who worked closely with their stakeholders to educate them on the merits of Earth Hour the campaign, or the innumerable schools and colleges that promoted and observed Earth Hour, or the individuals who ran a full-fledged Goes beyond the hour campaign in their cities - each of them owned the campaign and ensured its success. This year Earth Hour went beyond the hour with millions switching off non-essential lights for an Earth Hour used every possible channel and hour while also committing to more actions for a medium to send the message across the social sustainable lifestyle. spectrum and attained a unique distinction of appealing to people across cultures, socio- Earth Hour 2011 marks the start of a new phase economic backgrounds and diversities. From the for this extraordinary peoples' movement. The President of India to the seven-year-old boy of a all new '60+' logo for Earth Hour 2011 represents rickshaw puller in Bhopal, everyone switched off a commitment to add a positive act for the and offered the greatest testimony to the reach planet everyday and not just for an hour. and the democratic nature of the campaign. Earth Hour is a movement that men, women and children across the nation support with equal enthusiasm and commitment © WWF-India 2 The Rashtrapati Bhawan, the respective official residences of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister all observed Earth Hour as a great show of support and reiteration of India's sincere commitment to the cause of environment conservation. Eminent landmarks in New Delhi – monuments and malls, well known hotel chains, government buildings, the National Stadium, National Gallery of Modern Art, big shopping areas like Connaught Place – came out strongly to go beyond the hour. In Mumbai, popular landmarks such as the Gateway of India, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Bandra Worli Sea Link, headquarters of several public and private sector organizations like Reserve Bank of India, Air India, ICICI, Enthusiastic volunteers participate in the Earth Hour cyclothon HSBC dimmed in support. © WWF-India The city of Bangalore - an Earth Hour stronghold since On the night of 26th March, from candle light vigils to 2009, yet again showcased its genuine support towards musical performances, to even prayers in darkness, Earth Hour by stepping up participation from the hundreds of events and activities were organized across the Government, citizens and Corporations. Lights were turned country as people joined the largest global campaign on off at Brigade Road, ING Vysya stood out in its support by climate change. inaugurating its first solar ATM in an urban space, and over 400 project teams at Infosys pledged their support among at Globally, Earth Hour 2011 witnessed a record breaking least ten other meaningful initiatives from a single city. participation of 134 countries. Recognizable landmarks across the world stood in darkness for the hour which Resident Welfare Associations as big as one thousand include the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye, Big Ben, Empire households – Hiranandani Gardens- the skyscraper State Building, Dubai's Burj al Arab Hotel, Grenada's residential towers in Mumbai suburbs managed to get Alhambra, Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue, participation from all the buildings in the area, so did Athens' Acropolis, India Gate, Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, Rohini - Delhi's, perhaps the country's biggest residential the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the set-up. On the other hand, towns such as Kakinada had over Sydney Opera House. 2000 people on the main street joining the walk in support of Earth Hour and a small school in Sagar Island in the India's third year of Earth Hour witnessed massive Sunderbans had its pupils switching off in support. participation across the country - surprising in its penetration across levels of education, occupation and income. Over 120 Indian cities expressed their solidarity for Over 20 lakh students across India participated in the event WWF's largest initiative to commit to a better lifestyle and in some form or the other - by organizing special Earth Hour consumption. Mega cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and assemblies with eco friendly activities, attending lectures by Bangalore were epicentres with extensive participation WWF staff or by participating in certain events. across the cities and their suburbs. So were tier II, III cities and small towns. Reports from Erode, Latur, Panna, Earth Hour 2011 became the largest voice of citizens across Chindwara, Etawah, Umbergaon, Jorhat, Darlaghat, Mandi, the country to fight climate change. Khammam, Akhnoor, Nowshera, Asansol, Kakinada, Betul, to a tribal village in Satpura-Maikal landscape in Madhya Contributed by Aarti Khosla Pradesh, were diverse, innovative and inspiring stories of the power of each one of us to make a difference.
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