Thursday, March 21, 2019
Appiko Movement
The Chipko movement or Appiko Movement, also known as the Chipko Movement of the Western Ghats, was a significant environmental movement in India during the 1980s. It was inspired by the Chipko Movement of the Himalayas, where local communities hugged trees to prevent them from being felled. "Appiko" translates to "embrace" in Kannada, the local language of the region where the movement took place.
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| Appiko Movement |
Appiko means- Appiko is the word of a Kannada language that is synonymous with Chipko. Thus, Appiko also means sticking or lapping.
Background of Appiko Movement:
The Appiko Movement was primarily focused on the conservation of forests in the Western Ghats, a mountain range along the western coast of India. The movement aimed to raise awareness about deforestation, promote sustainable forest management, and safeguard the rights of tribal communities and other forest-dependent people.
Appiko movement in all over India
Appiko movement began in 1983 in the North Kannada area of Karnataka. This movement continued for a total of 38 days.The Appiko Movement was successful in garnering public attention and support for the cause of environmental conservation. It led to increased awareness about the importance of forests and their role in maintaining ecological balance. The movement also influenced policies related to forest conservation and highlighted the need for community participation in environmental decision-making processes.
History of Appiko Movement
The Apikiko movement, launched to raise awareness about the environment and protect the trees, was started in 1983 in the Silkani village of Karnataka. To save trees from cutting, silk and neighboring villages came to the nearby forests by traveling around 5 million and like the Chipko movement, the trees were embraced in this movement.
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And so, the people here demanded a ban on trees cut off by the Forest Department of the state and ban the forest trees of the forests. Appiko movement was also a completely non-violent movement, influenced by Gandhian ideology, people launched the Apiko movement peacefully.
While some officials of the forest department came to cut forest trees near Karnataka, people here stuck to the tree and said that they had to cut them and then cut trees.
After which the forest department officers who had to cut down the trees had to kneel in front of these people and they had to go back without cutting trees. At the same time gradually this movement was expanding. Appiko movement like this - Appiko movement spread awareness of the environment throughout South India.
Let us tell you that the first ecosystem was very strong in South India, but by tapping the slow forests this system came to the verge of being destroyed. If we talk about 1950, more than 81 percent of the geographical area of Kannada district was in the jungle.
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| History of Appiko Movement |
But due to the exploitation of forests for development, the forest area of forests remained only up to 25 percent in 1980, because the government declared this district with a "backward" area, then started the process of "development". At that time, there was a power project for Pulp & paper mill, a plywood factory and power of the main business that you have been told that the construction of a series of dams was started on the rivers under the power project.
On the other hand, these industries have heavily exploited forest resources and due to the dams built on the rivers for the third project, a large area of forests and agriculture has been submerged. Which led to considerable decrease in forest area. The local population, especially the poorest groups, were displaced due to the dams.
Eucalyptus and sagwan trees were planted in the forest instead of mixed species of trees. From which the sources of water dried up. At the same time, this so-called development affected the forest dwellers. From here it started the Appiko movement.
While talking about forests from 1950 to 1984 in Kerala, the situation was that only about 9 per cent of the forest area was left from the 44 per cent forest area. At the moment, the Appiko movement, which started in the 1980s, inspired other places to save the environment in the Appiko movement.
Let me tell you that Pandurang Hegdeji has played a leading role in the Apiko movement. Who, at one time, have been a gold medal in social work from Delhi University. During his studies, he joined the Chipko Movement and then when he met Sunderlal Bahuguna, who played the main role in the Chipko movement.
After that, he changed the direction of his life. He worked for some time in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh and returned to his village. Where they saw that forest wealth is being destroyed, trees are being harvested indiscriminately, organisms are becoming extinct and mining mafia is mining forests.
After which they started the pedestrian around the Black River. During the post visit, they saw that the forests were being harvested, after which they decided to stop the harvesting of trees in association with the villagers. At the same time, about 150 women and men had traveled for the forests near Salakani village. Where the forest department was ordering the trees were being cut.
After which the forest department officials stopped people and they stuck to the trees. Finally, they succeeded in saving the trees. In this way the Apiko movement was spread in other places.
At the same time when this Appiko movement - Appiko movement spread to the tribal population of Benghaon in Karnataka, people of that area saw the bamboo trees from which their livelihood was going on.
It was the only means of employment for the people of the people, such as making mats, making baskets or building houses, they used to live their lives. But due to indiscriminate harvesting of trees, their livelihoods were gradually disappearing.
Therefore, tribal people also raised their voices against cutting trees, and they saved the trees from biting trees, by hugging trees.
Success of The Appiko Movement
The Appiko movement, launched to preserve the environment, created a movement which achieved unprecedented success in a short span of time. Let us tell you that in the year 1990 the Karnataka government accepted the demand to stop the deforestation.
But after this, the Apphiko movement has continued several efforts to preserve the environment. To reduce the need for fuel wood from trees for food or other work, rapidly propagate the source of other energy sources.
This awareness was also spread through the Apiko movement that there should not be any loss of forests when people take forest products of their needs from forests, that too should be taken care of.
Awareness was also spread through this movement to protect forest rights and it was also explained how trees are important in human life, so it was also emphasized to protect the trees under it.
Apart from this, people were also made aware of this movement that save forests is very important to save forest based livelihoods, so people must understand the importance of forest in order to live their life.
The Apiko Movement also made people aware about the fact that there was no shortage of employment for the villagers, as well as good quality products were made from forest based produce in their limited resources.
At the same time, a campaign was launched to protect the bees in the Apiko movement, in which the rural youth were fully linked with the methods of getting pure-honey.
Key Objectives and Tactics:
1. Conservation: The movement aimed to protect the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats by preventing large-scale deforestation, which was primarily driven by commercial logging and development projects.
2. Sustainable Resource Management: Appiko activists advocated for sustainable forestry practices that ensured the long-term health of the forests while meeting the needs of the local communities.
3. Community Participation: The movement emphasized the involvement of local communities, especially tribal populations, in decision-making processes related to forest management. This approach aimed to protect their traditional rights and ensure the sustainable use of forest resources.
4. Peaceful Resistance: Similar to the Chipko Movement, the activists engaged in non-violent, direct actions such as hugging trees and forming human barricades to prevent loggers and developers from entering the forests.
Appiko Movement Legacy:
The Appiko Movement remains an important chapter in the history of environmental activism in India. It served as a catalyst for subsequent environmental movements across the country, inspiring people to stand up for the protection of natural resources and the rights of indigenous communities. The principles of the movement continue to influence environmental policies and conservation efforts in India.