Mumbai: Mumbai resident Afroz Shah, who has been instrumental in spearheading a citizens’ movement to clean up Versova beach, has been honoured with the ‘Champions of the Earth’ award, the highest environmental honour awarded by the United Nations.
Mr. Shah, 33, who came up with the initiative along with his 84-year-old neighbour Harbansh Mathur (who has since expired), received the award at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Cancun, Mexico, on December 2. The award is given to outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment, a U.N. official said.
Mr. Shah is a practising lawyer with the Bombay High Court and an active environmentalist who has been involved in protecting the city’s beaches and mangroves. He told The Hindu that his achievement should serve as a reminder to stakeholders to take greater responsibility to keep beaches clean. “Our beaches cannot be any one person’s or institution’s responsibility. It is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders — citizens, government, corporates and the media — to take up the cause of our environment, increase awareness and find a solution to the problem,” he said over phone from Mexico.
Started by a handful of local volunteers, the Versova Resident Volunteers (VRV) grew to become a group of 150 to 200 volunteers, who helped clean up the beach daily. They were supported and sponsored by celebrities, politicians and several government and private institutions. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has provided them with labour and machinery. The volunteers have cleared 4,000 tonnes of waste across the 2.5-km stretch of the beach so far, officials said.
Erik Solheim, head of United Nations Environment Programme, which inspected the activist’s work, said, “Mr. Shah’s efforts, and the hundreds of volunteers he’s inspired, is a wonderful example of citizen action and reminds the rest of the world that even the most ambitious, global agreements are only as good as the individual action and determination that brings them to life.”
Actor Naresh Suri, a resident of Versova who has been involved in Mr. Shah’s campaign since the very beginning, says the award was an honour for Versova residents who have put in months in these efforts. “It will be an inspiration to many individuals and groups across the world who are involved in similar tasks,” Mr. Suri said.
Mr. Shah plans to expand his group’s operations to prevent rubbish from washing down the local creek and onto the beach. He also wants to clean up the coastline’s litter-choked mangrove forests, which act as a vital natural defence against storm surges, and to inspire groups across India and the world to launch their own clean-up movements.
He said he has been approached by many leaders and organisations across the world to help them replicate his model.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
