| Tamil Nadu Environment Council (TNEC) is one of the projects of CEDA TRUST. TNEC of CEDA TRUST has played an active role in the last one decade to bring the environmental issues both in the People’s Organisations and Govt.’s agenda. Hereafter, it will be mentioned as TNEC on behalf of CEDA TRUST while explaining the various implemented activities. |
| In the year 1993 TNEC was actively involved in organizing district level consultations on the environmental issues TNEC has been very much involved in creating environmental awareness. These consultations helped in forming district level units of TNEC to focus more on the grass root environmental issues. Almost all the Districts in the State were covered by these consultations. After the district level consultations the NGOs, Consumer Organisations and People’s Organisations started involving in taking up the local environmental issues. For the first time in Tanjore, Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur Districts, an awareness Bullock-Cart Yathra was organised and the issue of Shrimp Industries affecting the farmers, landless people and the fisherfolk was highlighted and then the issue was much highlighted by different sections in the coastal belt. |
| In the year 1994 a State level workshop followed by a rally was organised to focus more on a perspective building on the inter-relationship between Development and Environment based on the environmental issues at the grass roots of Tamil Nadu. Dr. Vandana Shiva addressed this historical event in Tamil Nadu and the message reached the people of Tamil Nadu through media. TNEC took part in the International Seminar on Desertification in Brussels, Belgium organised by European Environmental Bureau and Both Ends. A successful International, National, State and District level campaign was undertaken in the year to take action against deforestation that was taking place in the Western Ghats of Thirunelveli District. |
| In the Year 1995 TNEC also participated in the Asian Seminar on Desertification held in Pakistan. This year saw another unique phenomenon in the area of environmental awareness in terms of publishing the first book on “The Status of Tamil Nadu’s Environment” comprising of the grass root environmental issues. The members of TNEC and others those who have been actively associated with TNEC all over Tamil Nadu involved in the data collection. TNEC was also actively involved in the campaign against the East Coast Super Highways Road, which was affecting the environment in terms of huge tree felling and affecting the livelihood resources of the farmers and fisherfolk along with the East Coast Action Committee. It also supported fully a local people’s organisation struggle in the Madurai-Dindigul District border villages against a powerful chemical industry, which released the chemical effluents without treatment and thereby affecting the livelihood resources including drinking water terribly. After a lot of efforts the industry was closed. |
| In the years 1996 and 1997 TNEC organised two State Level Consultations on Desertification one in Madurai and another in Salem to conscientise the Tamil Nadu people on the issue based on the inputs from the Belgium and Pakistan seminars. Desertification in terms of land degradation in Tamil Nadu is becoming serious issue affecting millions of people in the State because of the anti-people and anti-environment development trends in the State. The years 1996 and 1997 were also significant in the formation of Kolli Hills Action Committee to safeguard the tribals and the forest in the Kolli Hills in the District of Namakkal. |
| In the years 1998 and 1999 TNEC focused its attention on the protection of the dying Kodaikanal Lake, which is an International tourism spot. On the initiative of TNEC a local initiative Kodaikanal Lake Protection Council was formed to protect the lake. In the same year Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Green Bench of the Chennai High Court to obtain a stay against the construction over the marshy land a source for water to reach the Kodai Lake. In collaboration with Equations a tourism critique organisation based in Bangalore a seminar was organised in Chennai on Tourism and Environment to highlight how tourism affects the environment and the people in the tourism areas. A State level Consultation on the Tamil Nadu Govt.’s Forest Policy was organised and a list of recommendations were made to make the policy pro-people. A State level Consultation on Torism-Environment-Women was organised to highlight the plight of the women in the tourism areas. |
| In the year 2000 and 2001 TNEC organised Earth Day awareness programmes through out the State to highlight how the Earth is being polluted and the people should become aware of it as the Earth is the only livelihood resource for the people. TNEC also focused its attention on the issues of environmental impact of use and throw plastic things like carry bags, plastic teacups and so on. Temple towns and Tourism spots were points of focus. The campaign was carried out through out Tamil Nadu. Awareness on the issue was created among the Policy makers, Business Community, Academic Institutions, various Govt. Departments, especially Pollution Control Board, People’s Organisations, NGOs and the Civil Society as a whole. TNEC was 90% successful in Kodaikanal in making the entire tourism place free from the use of plastic carry bags etc. A series of actions were undertaken in this regard such as formation of Human Chain, Consultations, Cleaning the Plastic waste, Seminars, Rally and so on. TNEC also played an active role in the formation of the Campaign for the Protection of Water Resources – Tamil Nadu, which has been focusing on sand mining issues in Tamil Nadu. TNEC’s Founder is the State Convener of the Campaign. |
| In the year 2002 TNEC focused its attention on the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It organised a State level People’s Earth Summit to focus on the issues of the grass roots people to be reflected in the WSSD. It came out with “Dindigul Declaration 2002” centering on the people’s issues especially due to globalisation process. It also played a key role in the organizing of the Public Hearing on Sand Mining in Tamil Nadu by the Campaign for the Protection of the Water Resources – Tamil Nadu. TNEC also organised a Consultation in Kodaikanal against the proposed Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a threat to the tribals being displaced. Another event is supporting a student taking out a cycle tour in the coastal belt of Tamil Nadu starting from Chennai and ending at Kanyakumari to study the coastal environmental issues. It also registered its protest in the Public Hearing organised by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu against a PVC plant in the Cuddalore SIPCOT coastal industrial area, which is already highly polluted. |
| In the year 2003, TNEC along with People’s Governance Cell, SAM, TAFSC and Equations Bangalore organised a Seminar in the Asian Social Forum, Hyderabad. The seminar focused on the “Grassroots Governance a Frontier of Resistance with respect to Globalisation”. Around two hundred people participated in the seminar. |
| In the year 2004, TNEC organised a series of 9 Consultations on the Status of Tamil Nadu's environment in different parts of Tamil Nadu. Over 600 participants participated and shared the environmental problems in their respective areas and Districts. |
| In the year 2005, TNEC published the Status of Tamil Nadu's Environment, which is the result of the Consultations organised in the year 2004. The status report received good response from different sections as it covered the status in the hill areas, plains and along the coastal areas. TNEC along with other organisations undertook a special study on the impact of tsunami along the coast of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The study revealed that the various developmental activities, which affected and destroyed the coastal ecology, accelerated the effect of tsunami resulting in the destruction. |
| In the year 2006, TNEC published an "Environmental Activists' Handbook" consisting of the various Global Conventions and Declarations; Legislations, judgments and various other Agencies related to environment in the Indian context. The grass roots activists feel that the book is handy to understand the legal provisions. Workshops were also organised on how to use the Handbook. |
| In the year 2007, TNEC is focussing on the status of rivers in Tamil Nadu. It has organised a series of 8 Consultations to know the status of Rivers in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A special study on the status of the estuaries has been going on since 2006. |
| TNEC has also planned to focus on the issue of Climate Change/Global Warming in the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. In the year 2009, it is planning to organise a State level Yathra focussing on the environmental issues and Climate Change. |
| TNEC is publishing a Tamil Environmental Quarterly namely "Nizhal" and a monthly TNEC News in Tamil Language. |
| Apart from the above major activities, TNEC through its members has always been active in the State of Tamil Nadu at the grass roots in taking up the environmental issues affecting the livelihood resources of the poor people, who are very much vulnerable and voiceless. TNEC has also been providing resource support in terms of environment materials and helping the grass root NGOs to find financial resources for their environmental actions. |
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