Kozhikode: Environmentalist and farmers’ rights activist from Karnataka, Chukki Nanjundaswamy, on Monday launched the International Council for Environmental Protection (ICEP) in Kozhikode.
Speaking on the occasion, she said a novel approach to environmental protection campaigns was the need of the hour. “Capitalists are hijacking everything in the name of development. Hence we need to update our ideologies and ways of articulation,” she observed.
Ms. Nanjundaswamy has been fighting for the rights of farmers, fair price for their products, and the preservation of indigenous farming methods under the wings of her father M.D. Nanjundaswamy. She is the chairperson of ‘Amruthabhoomi’, a farmers’ organisation at Chamarajanagar in Karnataka.
“Farmers are the ones who are most connected to nature. They bear the brunt of climate change the most, like unscheduled rain or even lack of rain,” she said, pointing out that Kerala, which had plenty of water sources, was facing a drought this year. “It is confusing to not just men, but plants too. Hence the untimely blooming of trees,” she explained.
Ms. Nanjundaswamy said the K. Kasturirangan report, if implemented, would take away the rights of farmers and indigenous people in the western ghat region. “If we don’t raise our voice now, the country will be sold out soon,” she said.
ICEP is an organisation of farmers and industrialists who are often dubbed as anti-environmentalists. Council president C. Asokan said it would take up activities like conducting biodiversity survey, preparation of digital data bank, protection of water resources and the setting up of a new ecosystem. The council will also strive to expose fake environmentalists, he added.
Former Forest Conservator N. Shahul Huda presented the draft plan of the council. Municipal Corporation standing committee chairperson for public works T.V. Lalithaprabha inaugurated the office of ICEP, while Bar Association president T.T. Mohankumar launched its website.
