Report of the Inauguration of the Jalapaadom (Lessons on water) Program

ATREE in its effort to address the threats being faced by wetlands has initiated a Community Environmental Resource Centre (CERC) at Alappuzha, Kerala to involve local communities and institutions for wetland management. Jalapaadom is a unique environmental education programmes designed by the CERC for the students in the age group of 10-20 belonging to the schools in the Vembanad region.

The programme aims to motivate students to appreciate the values of wetlands so that they become advocates for wetland conservation and its wise use. Youngsters will be involved in the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) activities, to address wetland degradation issues and to help restore the Vembanad Socio Ecological System.

The inaugural function of this program was held on 4th October 2007, at the YMCA Hall Alappuzha.

Inaugurating the function Shri. K.C Venugopal, Member of Legislative Assembly expressed his concern over the issues of Vembanad and appreciated ATREE for its timely intervention.


Shri. K.C Venugopal, Member of Legislative Assembly

Municipal Chairman Shri. P.P. Chitharanjan reiterated the significance of Vembanad and assured all possible supports to fulfill the efforts initiated by ATREE. The official logo of “Jalapaadom” was released by him.

Shri. K.V Dayal, well known environmentalist motivated students to be committed to protect their environment and take sincere efforts to safeguard the lake from further destruction. He distributed the “Water Quality testing kit” to some schools and colleges.



Shri K.V. Dayal distributing the water quality testing kits to students

Mr. Jojo T.D, Jalapaadom Program Officer briefed the audience about the objectives and structure of Jalapaadom. Dr. Ravi Chellam, Director of ATREE in his presidential address wished all the best for the program.



Dr. Ravi Chellam, Director of ATREE lighting the lamp

Dr. Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, Principal investigator of Wetland Conservation Project, expressed ATREE’s views and commitments and requested all concerned people to join hands with this venture.


Dr Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan addressing the gathering

Teachers and students from schools and colleges included in Jalapaadom program were present to enrich the occasion. Many nature lovers, activists, officials and media were present to grace the occasion.



Dr Latha Bhasker, Programme Officer, Wetland Conservation Project delivers the vote of thanks

There was good media coverage in print-audio-visual-media about this programme. ATREE’s intervention to save Vemband through the young generation is given wide publicity by all media. M.M. News channel did cover the programme giving an interview of the programme officer. All India Radio covered the function giving a 20 minute exclusive broadcast. All Newspapers reported the function along with photographs.

A documentary on Kuttanad and a small cultural program by the students of St. Josephs College, Alappuzha added colour to the program.

Media coverage of the event

Successful Ban on Use of Plastic in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

Between 15th July to 15th August 2007, ATREE along with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Singampatti Samasthanam organized a successful campaign to ban the use of plastic in KMTR. Here's the report.

Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the Agasthyamalai range is endowed with rare plants and animals. The reserve is also known for several religious and tourist places that attract large number of people from places far and near throughout the year and especially so during certain festivals. One of them is the Arulmigu Sorimuthu Iyanar temple which is visited by lakhs of people during the Aadi amavasai festival which falls on the new moon day of the Tamil month of Aadi.

The festival and its background
Locally known as the Sorimuthaiyan Kovil, the temple’s history can be traced back to the Pandian Kingdom of Singampatti. Iyanar and Mahalingam (a self-emanated Sivalinga) are among the numerous deities worshipped in the temple. On the day of the festival, mass-cooking and offering of pongal takes place.

During this festival, the Raja of Singampatti (who is also the hereditary trustee if the temple) holds his customary durbar for two consecutive days. Dance and martial arts performed by descendants of traditional dancers and walking on the fire by devotees are also an integral part of this ritual.

The issue
Earlier, few people used to visit the temple but now, due to availability of public and private transportation and better roads, the number of pilgrims has raised manifold. Since people visit the temple from far off places, they camp in the forest for 2 – 5 days. Besides fuel wood collection, threat of forest fire, water pollution and outbreak of diseases due to extreme unhygienic conditions, the major concern has been littering of garbage, especially that of plastics in the forest. Plastics not only clog the soil, but can also be fatal to animals that consume them. Lack of awareness and a complete absence of a garbage collection and disposal mechanism have been the contributing factors.

In 2006, ATREE, along with the Forest Department, launched an anti-plastic campaign during the festival and a clean up campaign by placing garbage bins. Though the effort was small, it helped us in planning a fitting campaign of a greater magnitude in 2007 to tackle the problem.
This year, we first worked towards getting a ban imposed on plastic covers and cups within the sanctuary. Later, a major awareness campaign on the hazards of plastic and the ban order was launched with the help of the Forest Department and the Temple Samsthanam. During the festival, a string of activities were planned to ensure a successful implementation of the ban.

Getting a ban imposed would not be possible without local support. For this purpose, letters of support were obtained from the Raja, the Panchayat members and Panchayat union, the Lions Club, the Rotary Club, pensioners’ association and farmers’ union of surrounding villages. This was submitted to the District Collector of Tirunelveli requesting for a ban. The Field Director of KMTR followed this up and eventually the collector issued a notice to prevent plastic in the sanctuary. The press and news channels were effectively used to highlight this. In total, 6 local dailies, 3 satellite channels, 3 local network channels reported the issue and the ban order.

Awareness was targeted at different levels using various media. Arumugal Trust - a local NGO, helped us in highlighting the hazards of plastic through a string of street plays and cultural programmes in target villages around Alayakulum. These were repeatedly telecast during prime hours in local TV channels. Prior to the festival, students from Tilak Vidalaya School, Kallidaikurichi; Thithapathi Higher Secondary School, Ambasamudram and St. Mary’s High School, V. K. Puram took out processions holding placards and wearing animal masks made by ATREE’s Green Brigade (an eco-club for school students also known as Pasmai Padai).
An awareness procession by school students wearing masks

Interviews in TV and radio channels were another important way of spreading awareness. Dr. R. Ganesan, was interviewed during the prime hour in Suryan FM – the most popular local FM channel. Dr. Soubadra Devy, Dr. R. Ganesan and Dr. T.Ganesh were interviewed by satellite channels where they spoke about the plastic menace and requested people to minimize use of plastic in the sanctuary. The ATREE team also gave lectures in schools and colleges on the importance of making the sanctuary plastic-free. To highlight the ban, we also arranged for a press meeting with the Panchayat leaders, the Rajah and the Field Director of KMTR.

Implementation
Bins were placed in various places to avoid littering. Over 3 days, about 500 volunteers from various colleges helped us in collecting plastic covers from the pilgrims and replacing them with cloth/ paper bags and in collecting and replacing plastic cups with paper cups from shops. The volunteers also took out an awareness procession around the temple. Efforts were made to ensure that the ban is implemented successfully during the festival.

A vehicle census was carried out on all 3 days at the entrance to get an estimate of the number of people and the number of vehicles that enter the sanctuary. Water samples were collected from the Tambraparni River before and after the festival to test for BOD and E coli levels. To assess the prevailing belief system that prompts people to visit the temple every year in spite of the hardships involved, a social survey was conducted. The social survey also looked at the awareness levels among people which will help in planning the next campaign better.
After the festival, a clean up of the place was organized. NSS students from Theerthapathi Higher Secondary School along with the ATREE and Forest Department staff picked up plastic covers and paper strewn all over the place.

Reported to The Eco-Informatics Centre by Jahnavi Pai and M. Mathivanan

Recommendations for next year's Campaign

Here's a List of Recommendations made by ATREE's KMTR Team to ensure that next year the event will be even more effective

1. Better co-ordination between of the Forest Department and the Police and Municipality and ATREE in implementing the ban

2. Volunteers to be selected more rigorously

3. Advertising about the ban in local newspapers

4. Stop distribution of bit notices inside the reserve which adds to the garbage.

5. Urge people to throw plastic and organic waste in separate bins. A fine should be imposed on the offenders.

6. It should be made mandatory for shopkeepers to keep bins. The Forest Department or the Temple Trust could facilitate this by bringing the bins to the site and renting them out to the shopkeepers.

7. Shop keepers should not be allowed to use, sell or give away plastic bags and plastic cups. They should also arrange for bins outside their shops. License should be issued only on this condition. Offenders should be fined or their license should be cancelled depending on the extent of violation.

8. There should be more firewood depots. This year, firewood was sold only at a single depot and was not enough to meet the demand. People also found the fire wood at the depot expensive. This led to collection of firewood from the forest.

9. The police should be involved in enforcing the ban. For this, better communication and co-ordination required. This year the Police were unaware of the order.

10. Mandatory fine should be imposed at the check post for carrying plastic and liquor. Though the police checked for liquor bottles this year, they not treat carrying of plastic as a violation of law.

11. The temple authorities should provide permanent dust bins and undertake proper waste disposal.

12. There should be a regulation on the number of days people can camp within the sanctuary.

13. Screening of movies and songs on a large screen should not be allowed.

14. A working committee with executive members from ATREE, Forest Department and the Temple Samsthanam should be formed which should work towards implementing the ban well in advance.

15. Support for Volunteers especially for women/girls in terms of a clean mess, water and toilet facilities should be provided.

16. More attention should be given to Banathirtham and other temples where garbage is beginning to accumulate. It is better to curtail it at this early stage.

Attention! Animal Welfare NGOs!

Here's an issue that needs immediate action!

In the recently concluded temple festival at KMTR, goats were killed. Animal sacrifice in temples is an issue that animal welfare NGOs need to take up on priority basis and launch a campaign to stop the practice immediately.

Here are the names of the team members who made the KMTR campaign a big success

Dr. M. Soubadra Devy
Dr. T. Ganesh
Dr. R. Ganesan
Adithya Bhaskaran
Ganesan.V
Jahnavi Pai
Johnson
Joseph Antony
Kottai Muthu.R
Mathivanan.M
Merlin Gnana Jeeva
Paramesh
Peramuthu
Rajkamal Goswami
Savitha Swamy
Tamil AzhaganGreen Brigade, ATREE



Here's a big thank you from ATREE's KMTR Team

To the following corporates, commercial establishments, organizations, educational institutions, and individuals without whom the campaign would not have been possible.

CONTRIBUTORS
Lions Club, Ambasamudram
M.K.V.K Tiles, Pavoorchatram
Pensioners Association, Ambasamudram
RMZ Constructions, Bangalore
Rotary Club, Ambasamudram
Rotary Club, Tirunelveli
Sabeena Auto Agency, Vickiramasingapuram
Selvarani Jawli Stores, Alankulam
Singampatti Samasthanam
Sivagami Gold Station, Tirunelveli
Subburaju Cotton Mills, Tirunelveli
Tamil Nadu Forest Department – Eco Development wing
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Papanasam
TREE Trust Kallidaikurchi

INDIVIDUALS
Mr. Esakki Saravanan, President, Rotary Club, Ambasamudram
Sri Sankarasubramanian, Correspondent, Tilak Vidyalaya Hr. Sec. School, Kallidaikurichi
Mr. Sivasailam, Headmaster, Theerthapathi Hr. Sec. School, Ambasamudram
Mr. Sundaramahalingam, NSS Coordinator, Theerthapathi Hr. Sec. School, Ambasamudram

VOLUNTEERS
Ambai Arts College, Ambasamudram
Green Brigade, ATREE, Singampatti
Sri. Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi
St. Mary’s Hr. Sec. School, Vickiramasingapuram
Ms. P. Muthukumari, South Papankulam
Theerthapathi Hr. Sec. School, Ambasamudram
Thiruvalluvar College, Papanasam
Tilak Vidyalaya Hr. Sec. School, Kallidaikurichi
Ms. Veera Raghavan, Kallidaikurichi
Mr. Yohann , Paris, France

MEDIA SUPPORT
Arumbugal Trust, Tirunelveli
Daily Thanthi
Dinakaran
Dinamalar
Dinamani
Jeniffer T.V., Alangulam
Nellai T.V., Vickiramasingapuram
Suryan F.M., Tirunelveli
Thendral T.V., Vickiramasingapuram
Win TV, Tirunelveli

SPECIAL THANKS TO
Sri. T. N. S. Murugadas Tirthapathi, Raja of Singampatti
Mr. A. Ramkumar, Field Director, KMTR
District Superintendent of Police, Ambasmudram
Mr. S. Armugam, Manager, Gold Station, Tirunelveli
Ms. Kritika Ganesh, RJ, Suryan FM
Mr. Saleem, Kallidaikurichi
Mr. Sridhar, Manager, HPCL Tirunelveli
Mr. Gokul Srinivasan, Tirunelveli