Regional Network

India

in India, we engage with the EartH DAY Network India TrusT

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The Earth Day Network India Trust launched in 2010 to conduct programs to reach out to varied demographic profiles across the length and breadth of the country—from those at the grassroots to policymakers. Earth Day Network coordinators cover the whole of India, conducting regular programs across the length and breadth of the country in all of the myriad geographic regions.

This has threatened the livelihood of people, species and ecosystems. We are calling on everyday citizens to rise up and come together to engage the public, educate people about the environment, and act to make positive and sustainable changes to protect the earth that we all live on. Earth Day is not a day, but a movement.

The main focus for India’s country-specific campaigns are:

#Trees4Earth

#Trees4Earth aims to inspire citizens of the Earth to plant trees to fight climate change and restore habitats. Over 900 million trees have already been planted in India since 2016, many through the efforts of governments, NGOs, corporates, academic institutions, religious groups and individuals. Earth Day Network visits rural regions to help people understand that the fruit trees they plant will shortly bear fruit to nourish their families and also generate income. In Lalitpur alone, one of India’s most drough-prone areas, Earth Day Network distributed over 100,000 fruit saplings.

Global Climate Literacy Leading to Stewardship

To work towards our pledge to take environmental literacy to 10 million youth by 2026, we conduct several programs. A five-nation EDN youth conclave showcased innovative strategies adopted by them to green their campuses, homes and communities. An eBook Dialogue to Action documents the best practices. Post that, many spin-off events have continued to take place in the participating countries. 

Earth Day Network, together with local partners, organizes roundtable conferences across the country to examine why environmental education is not leading to environmental stewardship. These are held in metropolitan cities, small towns and in rural areas as well. Participants include educationists, teachers, NGO representatives, government officials and students. The first set of findings were presented to the Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development. Our pan India partners include the Scouts and Guides and departments of the National Service Scheme.

Specific Programs:
Morning Assembly: Students across India send in entries of what they do in their school assemblies to focus on environmental issues. This competition reaches about 150,000 students each year.

Earth Murals: Students paint eye-catching messages on the outer walls of their schools. #EarthMurals aim to inspire passers-by to act for the environment.

Earth Reel: A film making competition for students that helps them use the camera’s eye to focus on environmental issues and translate their awareness into short films.

#EndPlasticPollution

While we need to reduce plastic use, managing huge amounts of plastic waste is also a major issue. India generations approximately 5.6 million tons of plastic waste annually. Much of this is not collected, managed, recycled or put to other use.

To build awareness, earthday.org India coordinates with:

  • Religious leaders to have places of worship declared plastic-free zones
  • Municipal corporations to have low-micron plastic bags banned
  • Housing societies to educate them to segregate plastic waste
  • Large shopping centers to request them to #SayNoToPlasticBags
  • Visitors to not litter beaches, lands, rivers and mountains

Earth Day Network runs citizen-led initiatives to #EndPlasticPollution. Working with multiple partners, we supported an All-India Plog Run across 50 cities in India that had 2.8 million people participate. Major cleanups have taken place on beaches in Maharashtra that include Mumbai’s famous Juhu beach. Major hotel chains have come forward to support our campaign to #RefuseTheStraw. Working with religious heads we have succeeded in getting major sites, visited by millions, declare themselves No Plastic Zones. Other particular focus areas for #EndPlasticPollution campaigns are the entire length of the River Ganges, all coastal regions, mountainous area and 2nd Tier cities.

Protecting Endangered Species from Extinction

India is home to over 91,000 species of animals and 45,000 species of plants that flourish in the country’s mountains, forests, seas, rivers, other water-bodies as well as in its deserts. There is a threat to their existence and urgent steps are essential to provide them protection. Primates, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, spiders, coral, trees and plants make up close to 1,000 species from India that are placed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Many of these are endemic to the land, and if not protected, will vanish forever from the face of the earth. Earth Day Network helps build awareness about the need to conserve the country’s species and supports efforts on the ground. Our eBook on the subject documents many of these efforts.

EARTHRISE for Climate Change

Earth Day Network believes that Earth Day is every day, thus programs continue right through the year. These take place in varied geographic regions: deltas, deserts (both cold and hot), mountainous, riverine and coastal areas, plains and valleys as well as islands. The programs are conducted with government agencies, the corporate sector, academic institutions, NGOs, media houses and the general public. Each Earth Day alone, i.e. April 22, events reach millions of people.

OTHER PROJECTS in india

We run two major campaigns that aim to bring about a reduction in fossil fuel use. ‘Healthy Energy’ focuses on rural women. It helps them comprehend the ill effects of using carbon-emitting fuels for cooking and lighting. Healthier alternatives such as solar energy are showcased. We also provide them information on possible funding sources to avail subsidies and soft loans. Our ‘Low Carbon Lifestyle’ program focuses on urban youth. We help them understand ways to lower their carbon footprints. RenewablesForEducation provides platforms for major academic institutions, funding agencies and equipment manufacturers to meet and work out best systems to implement in their institutions. We have a similar program for farmers.

EDN has published five eBooks that narrate innovative strategies adopted by individuals, students and institutions, leading towards a greener India. These showcase over a hundred case studies that focus on ways to save natural resources, build green spaces, adopt cleaner and greener energies, manage waste, increase green cover in urban spaces, protect the species etc. All the eBooks are available for free on the net.

A project to increase the green cover and build skills of the local population in a 110 km long valley that connects Bodh Gaya to Rajgir, in particular in and around areas where Lord Buddha lived approximately 2,500 years ago.

Empowerment of Rural Women Leaders for Climate Action

Of India’s 1.3 billion population, two-thirds live in the rural sector. This vast populace gets governed by the Panchayat Raj (Local Self Government) system. It mandates reservation of a minimum of 33% of the seats for women.

EARTHDAY.ORG-India conducts workshops for the elected women leaders. These aim to help them comprehend emerging environmental terminologies leading to their making educated decisions for their constituencies. The workshops get designed to address more than half of their agenda for governance, as each item relates to environmental issues. For example, greening the commons, clean and renewable energies, water, soil, waste management, and chemical-free farming. Environmental issues hold special significance for the people of the Panchayat Raj system since being at the grassroots, they have greater vulnerability to climate change.

Designed to reach out directly (or wider via the train-the-trainer model) to the 1.3 million women Panchayat leaders in India, our initial workshops were conducted in the State of Madhya Pradesh, with funding from the BBC Media Center in India. The success of these has led to additional workshops in the states of Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. We are now working with a grant from The North American Association for Environmental Education to further extend training to women in additional states that include Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

We continue with workshops as funds become available.

EDN organizes buyer-seller meets where organic and natural products are showcased. Our Go Organic campaign includes melas (fetes), meals cooked using natural and organic ingredients, fashion shows of eco-friendly garments and much more.

Each month EDN commends a person who has successfully implemented green projects and name them an #EDNStar.Many of these are from the grass-root level. They belong to different parts of India, for instance: an auto-rickshaw driver from Mumbai who nourishes roadside plants in the city. In Pampore, our Star works to ensure that nature’s glory is retained, while our Star from Bhopal manages plastic waste, helping farmers build check dams in arid Mandawar village, developing organic manure on the outskirts of Lucknow, bringing the sparrows back to Delhi etc. – each one does tremendous work.

#EDNRisingStars is a similar inititiave for children and youth.

Around 850 million Indian live in villages. Many of them have adopted innovative efforts to go green. Our initiative helps showcase their efforts so that the millions of other villages can consider doing the same.

Launched on World Food Day, October 16, 2019 this campaign aims to help farmers adopt climate-resilient agricultural practices. Our sessions with farmer cooperatives focus on providing information on already existing avenues for funding that will help them go chemical free, switch to solar power to irrigate their fields, manage waste, share best practices widely, adopt ways to conserve precious water, among others.

Earth Day Network – India’s Ebook

Contact the EARTH DAY NETWORK INDIA Office

For all Indian inquiries, contact Earth Day Network India: [email protected]
W+91-9831356476

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