World Environment Day

5th

June 2010

Event report - Bangalore

in cooperation with Paycheck India Project @ IIM-A, ITUC, UNI,

and WageIndicator Foundation

Decision for Life team had organized an event with the ‘Eco-Watch’ organization on the occasion of World Environment Day at Mantri Square Mall, India's largest mall at Bangalore. We participated in the day long activity. It is a major day to implement field projects to improve, enrich and enhance environmental quality and protect existing / fast disappearing ecosystems. World Environment Day (WED) falls each year on 5th June. It is a day when people focus on the environment and it is celebrated in over 100 countries. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm conference on the Human environment. People all over the country would carry out various colourful activities such as street rallies, city-wide scientific forums, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree plantings as well as recycling and clean up campaigns. June 5 has always been a day of hectic activity, primarily for environmentalists, heads of governments, policy-makers and a few corporate bodies over the world. Commemorated yearly on 5th June, WED is a means to stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action. About ‘Eco-Watch’ organization Eco-watch was established in 1998 by Suresh Heblikar, a noted filmmaker and environmentalist. Its objective is to spread a message of environmental conservation through relevant, focused yet diverse programs and activities. These outreach activities are aimed at building awareness about various environmental issues and concerns among student communities, organizations, corporate entities and the masses, in a simple yet effective manner. More importantly, Eco Watch campaigns for a simple life style through the development of small towns as growth centres rather than mega cities, mass transport as mode of travel, development of peri-urban centres as buffer zones between cities and villages, decentralization of industrial and economic activities and promotion of cleaner energy. Man is dependent on nature for most of his needs and therefore it is very important for us to protect our environment to maintain ecological balance.

Decisions for Life Campaign on World Environment Da y The day's agenda was to:

1. Give a human face to environmental issues;

2. Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;

3. Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to

changing attitudes towards environmental issues;

4. Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

Eco Watch an environmental action group held a Film Screening on “Rainwater Harvesting”, Decisions for Life team participated in the screening. We participated in the activity, distributed book marks and brochures, which helped us to create widespread awareness of our campaign. The film gives information on rain water harvesting and why rain water harvesting is becoming more and more important, since it is the need of the day to attain self-sufficiency to fulfill the water needs. It also talks about the installation of rain water harvesting systems in any building of residential / non-residential / government / commercial purposes. It also has been made mandatory by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage. Currently Bangalore has a population of nearly 9 million, so the demand of water is already 1.2 trillion litres a day.

At the end of the session we had a screening on ‘Shepherds on the move’ that won the United Nations F.A.O Award-Osiris, at the 19th International Agro Film Festival in Nitra, Slovakia. The topics range from subjects such as Rural Sanitation to the Ecology of the Western Ghats and Water Conservation. These are screened across the country, at international meets and on various television networks. Scientists, ecologists, socio-economists, heads of academic institution and professor of various disciplines are regular contributors. The Karnataka state government has recognized and appreciated some of the films made on environment, which have also been screened regularly on various channels and networks.