Recent upsurge and activism among youth across the globe responding to
prevailing environmental degradation including climate change has brought their
active role into the forefront. The youth with enormous power and potential to
transform our societies towards a
sustainable, low carbon and climate-resilient future are now shouldering this
responsibility and challenges with multifarious approaches and strategies.
Whether it is one of the poorest global rankings in Environmental
Protection Index (177 out of 180 as per EPI 2018 ) or being fourth highest the global emitter of carbon dioxide and sixth largest GHG emitter or witnessing
12.5 per cent of all deaths due to air pollution, India is grappling with environmental challenges coupled with growing
problems of poverty and population. With
half of its population under the age of 25 , the youth in India has enormous
roles and responsibilities with high expectation of people to counter the
challenges of climate change
A cursory glance of recently emerged waves of activism among the youth
indicates the preponderance of reactive approach to deal with the ongoing
climate change issues are it global warming or increased CO2 emission or loss of
biodiversity, there has been uproar and
protest to control and promulgate drastic policy changes to take concrete, visible and drastic action by policymakers aiming to meet these challenges. We should
also, keep this fact in mind that the success of any such reactive approach depends
largely upon the positive response among
policymakers who are not much responsive to these mainly due to subordinacy of environment to
economic growth and also due to the fact that the environmental conversation
efforts by and large warrant compromising with individual’s comfort and
convenience and any such drastic action not only hamper the much required
economic growth but also invite the wrath of people. Further the environmental
programmes in developing countries including India are targeted mainly towards mitigation
measures like planting trees, adopting energy-efficient technologies for
optimum utilisation, combating pollution, conservation and protection of
natural resources which include forest and wildlife etc. The adaptation as a
strategy to counter climate change-related problems, by and large, does not suit
politically, economically and socially since a sizeable population in
developing countries live below the poverty line for whom the survival is more
important than the concern and care for
environment and this sole reason desist the policymakers from taking drastic
policy decisions and regulations.
With this kind of prevailing state of affairs in the background, the more desirable and long-lasting approach is to adopt proactive strategies which
are more effective and workable in the long run for a country like India where the youth can play an active and contributory role in
awareness building, campaigning, encouraging sustainable lifestyles,
developing and conserving biodiversity, supporting eco-friendly practices in
usage of water, energy etc and facilitating mitigative interventions aimed at controlling and tackling challenges
of climate change.
It the youth of today who is going to bear the brunt the consequences of
climate change predominantly hence their uproar, apprehension and concern is
genuine and warrants immediate
cognizance and action.
There are various ways and means which the youth can adopt for
becoming an active partner in ongoing
programmes of the governments aiming at climate change. Participation of people
including youth has already been identified as one of the proven and tested strategies of
governance and implementation of various programmes for the last few decades.
The list of activities through which youth can engage themselves in
various ongoing programmes of climate change are enormous and many of these
depend upon local conditions requiring
suitable changes for making the strategy workable. However few of the
common activities which can always act as integral components of any such
engagements seeking direct or indirect involvement of youth are summarised as
under.
1.
Involving
people (children, college students,
villagers and other stakeholders ) for making them aware through various
forums.
2.
Motivation
of various stakeholders for
adopting sustainable/eco-friendly
approaches.
3.
Talking about climate change.
4.
Joining
ongoing movements aiming
at climate change.
5.
Campaigns involving various social media platforms.
6.
Practising
the mitigation and adaptation interventions
at a personal level.
7. Lobbying through mass movement/various stakeholders
like children, local citizen, villagers
or through any NGOs for specified
purposes.
8.
Awareness
building, rallies, peaceful
demonstration etc on local issues.
9. Taking
part in action-based activities like tree planting, waste collection and segregation, energy saving
interventions with multiple
stakeholders.
10. Assisting and facilitating local governments and other governmental and
non-governmental institutions in their climate mitigation programmes like tree
planting, soil and water conservation, energy conservation, usage of resources
etc. to make the programme effective and successful.
11. Assisting the governmental and non-governmental institutions in monitoring and evaluation of
programmes.
12. Involving and assisting Local Panchayat Raj
Institutions and Urban Local Bodies. In this regards the recent initiative of the government of Telangana to
accord much-awaited and due priority to the environment in recently amended the P.R.Act
and Municipal Acts is worth mentioning wherein the Sarpanch and Secretary of Panchayats and Chairperson and ward members of Municipalities along with concerned government
officials have been entrusted roles and responsibilities with regards to
planting of trees and their protection, green action plan, the responsibility of
85% survival of plants and also a provision for green fund. This historic policy changes/legal support coupled with institutional and financial support are indicative of a strong political will,
care and concern for the environment by
making both public representative/heads and officials of local institutions and ULBs accountable and
concerned.
13.Palle Pragti (Village Development) and
Pattana Pragati (Town Development) are recently launched programmes of Telangana governments aiming at
comprehensive development of Villages and Towns (Urban Local
Bodies/Municipalities) with more emphasis on cleaning and greening, public
health, sanitation etc with the active participation of people. The youth can
become partners and torch bearers for various
governmental schemes under these programmes by engaging themselves to meet the objectives of climate change strategies
suiting local conditions.
The selection
of activities be it an action-based personal initiative or involving and motivating
various stakeholders for both mitigation and adaptation initiatives, the effectiveness
of any programme involving engagement with youth depend primarily on the suitability
and acceptability of such initiative and also on the response from the related agency
or government organisations hence require much of ice breaking and persuasion
in initial stages to start with any such programme of climate change but with
the high degree of commitment, innovative ideas, being interconnected and with
persuasive skills, the youth can easily overcome these initial impediments.
mcpargaien@gmail.com Twitter : @pargaien
(The views
expressed are personal.)
