Greening of Formal Education and Raising Public Awareness 71 A biodiversity garden which propagates local endangered plants. Two or three saplings carefully tended in every backyard. A Green Farmers’ Group which is promoting organic farming. Local people working with the Forest Department to apprehend persons indulging in illegal acts. A village in the remote Dimoria Tribal Block Development Area of Assam is witnessing all these activities. Why is this particular village so environmentally active? A major reason seems to be an awareness programme taken up by an NGO in the area a few years back, on the theme of Medicinal Plants, as part of the National Environmental Awareness Campaign (NEAC). NEAC is a programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which was initiated in 1986, with the objective of creating widespread awareness among various target groups. Today, NEAC reaches out to the remotest corners of the country through a network of over 5000 NGOs and institutions. And while the programme aims to increase awareness, over the years, the impacts of the programme on the ground, in terms of actual environmental improvement, are gradually becoming visible. NEAC is arguably one of the largest efforts to create environmental awareness. Organized every year since 1986, a central theme is selected every year for the Campaign, and activities focus on this theme. The themes have ranged from ‘Medicinal plants conservation’, to ‘Keeping our drinking water clean’, to ‘Pesticide free agriculture.’ NEAC is unique in that it is a programme of the Government, implemented entirely by partner NGOs, educational institutions, and other civil society organizations. Even the management of the programme is done in collaboration with NGOs. 28 organizations, mainly NGOs, located in different parts of the country are designated as Regional Resource Agencies (RRAs). One of the criteria for designating an agency as an RRA is its network and outreach in its area of operations. RRAs contact NGOs in their area to inform them about the programme and to help them to develop good proposals. An Empowered Committee is set up for each region, which has representation from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, local NGOs From Awareness to Action Supporting non-formal environmental education 21 The Green Corps The National Green Corps (NGC) initiated by the Government of India just a few years ago, already reaches out to over 50,000 schools across the country. Through school eco-clubs which motivate children to participate in environmental action projects around their schools and in their communities, the NGC is not only showing real change on the ground, but also laying the ethic of environmental responsibility in young people. Nor is the action restricted to schools. Clubs actively reach out to communities and not only educate them, but also involve them in their programmes. A framework structure involving state governments, district authorities, local NGOs and institutions has been set up to facilitate inputs from all stakeholders. The government provides financial support to participating schools to undertake activities, but even more significantly, it provides capacity building in the form of teacher training and resource materials. This ensures that the schools internalize this environmental orientation and make it a part of their ongoing activities.

Towards Sustainability: Stories from India 72 Motivating Young Scientists ‘Young’ scientists across the country wait eagerly for the last week of December. Every year since 1993, between 27 and 31 December, a National Children Science Congress (NCSC) is organized for students in the age group of 10 to 17 years. NCSC is a programme of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication- Network, a registered society supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The origin of the programme can be traced back to competitions in science model making organized by State Council for Education Research and Training along with the National Council for Education Research and Training. The basic objective of this event is to stimulate scientific temper among children. It encourages children to observe and understand their immediate social and physical environment and its problems, and to suggest solutions for these problems. The events begin at the school level. A common focal theme is declared for each year. Based on the theme, projects are prepared by different teams of  4-5 children each in the school. The first evaluation is done at the school level. Selected projects are presented at conventions organized at the district level. This is followed by a state level Congress which is generally organized in November, where projects are chosen for the national event. To conduct this programme a nationwide mobilization of children, teachers, parents and scientists is achieved through involving government as well as non-government agencies. Thousands of schools participate each year in this country-wide event. and experts, and the state government. This committee scrutinizes the proposals and sanctions projects which are found suitable. The comments from the concerned RRA are an important input into the Committee’s decision-making process. The scale and scope of the programme can be gauged from the fact that in 2000-2001, nearly 11,000 proposals were received from NGOs, schools, colleges, women and youth organizations, research institutions, etc., seeking support to organize a variety of awareness activities, ranging from street plays to public meetings, to essay and debate competitions, to screening of videos. The target groups ranged from students and youth to specific professional groups of doctors, lawyers, etc. Not only are the number of agencies applying for participation in the scheme increasing, the spread of these agencies has also increased over the years, ensuring that key environmental messages are reaching out far and wide across the country. Since nothing is mandated centrally in terms of media to be used or specific messages to be given, the participating NGOs have the scope to focus on locally relevant issues and messages, and also to use media which are most effective in their areas. At the same time, all the participating agencies feel part of a national movement and programme, and learn from each other at workshops and meetings organized by the RRAs. Institutions participating in NEAC are not just those whose main line of work is environment. NGOs who are involved in health, education, women’s issues, etc. participate in the Campaign when they find that the theme is relevant to them—for instance, health NGOs may take up water awareness programmes. Having once participated, they usually apply in subsequent years too. Through this, environmental concerns enter the agendas of institutions who did not otherwise focus on them. NEAC is also a way for institutions which are involved in research or technical activities, to reach out and communicate with communities. An evaluation of NEAC was undertaken in 2000, with a view to strengthening the programme. One of the key recommendations, which has now been incorporated into the scheme, is the need for action-orientation. Recognizing that efforts must not stop at awareness, but must facilitate action arising from this awareness, the Campaign now is oriented to support proposals which more clearly show this link and direction. NGOs in India have played a vital role in raising awareness about issues related to environment, and in mobilizing people to take action. NEAC is one of the initiatives of the Government of India which recognizes this and builds upon it. NGO Initiatives

Greening of Formal Education and Raising Public Awareness 73 One of the important signs of a high level of environmental awareness in India is the number of people’s movements which challenge existing socio-political structures and development models. These have not only led to action at the grassroot level, but also helped to shape development policies. Cracker-Free Diwali Campaign Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated widely across India in the month of October or November every year. It symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and is marked by families lighting earthen lamps, decorating their houses, and  bursting fire crackers.   Firecrackers are becoming an increasingly important part of contemporary Diwali. Bursting the loudest crackers for the longest period of time has become a status symbol. It is not just on Diwali day that this takes place — there is a build-up over a week or ten days. During the Diwali month, the pollution level of air is known to rise by about six to ten per cent, and the noise pollution level may go as high as 125 decibels, much beyond what is considered to be normal. In 1997, data collected by the Central Pollution Control Board at the ITO Crossing in Delhi showed that the air, already quite bad, had become an even more noxious cocktail of harmful pollutants. Sulphur dioxide concentration, which was about half the permissible level a day before Diwali, went up to 1.5 times the permissible level. Such increases may lead to several medical problems for people suffering from asthma and heart diseases and may trigger allergic rhinitis, bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Moreover the rise in noise levels could cause permanent or temporary hearing impairment. The Environment Protection Act (1986) forbids the manufacture, sale or use of firecrackers generating noise levels in excess of 125 dB under test conditions. The Supreme Court in 2001 warned against the noise and air pollution hazards of bursting firecrackers. The Court asked competent authorities to strictly enforce the countrywide ban on bursting noise-producing crackers in silence zones. A number of ‘Cracker-free Diwali’ campaigns were organized throughout the country. In Chandigarh, groups of medical practitioners organized an awareness campaign for a cracker-free Diwali. In Delhi, hundreds of school children participated in the campaign and made a significant difference. ‘Clean Students’, a group of students in Delhi spread awareness through rallies, public hearing, street-plays, door-to-door signature campaign, exhibition and competitions. Delhi Government’s Environment Department Eco-clubs project which has a thousand Government and private schools, also took up this campaign. They took to the streets forming human chains and holding cards with messages like “Cracker Thrills, but it can sometimes Kill” or “Cracker free Diwali — Happier Diwali”. Children in schools in several parts of the country took a pledge not to burst crackers, and some not only refrained from bursting crackers, but also forced their parents to fall in line. These efforts are helping reinstate the meaning of Diwali as a festival of lights, and not of noise and smoke.