GUWAHATI, Oct 15 ? ?The entire ecology of Assam and the rest of the North East remains in a delicate balance, and to maintain that, we have to stop the degradation and destruction of forests. Their depletion has contributed to floods, landslides and erosion. Therefore, afforestation is the need of the hour,? said Sunderlal Bahuguna, one of the father figures of the country?s environment movement.
Talking exclusively to The Assam Tribune today, the elderly activist said, ?For a region like the North East, hope lies in protecting its natural resources, and promoting tree plantation. In fact, the future for the North East lies in the forests.? He reasoned that the destruction of forests in the hills had not only adversely affected local communities, it had also created floods and increased erosion in the plains below.
Underscoring the need to protect and promote forests, he said that trees by their ability to open up vertical space allowed generation of more resources than other human activities like industry that occupied huge horizontal space. ?No less importantly, you can satisfy all your needs from select species of trees, including the essential food, fodder, fuel and fibre. Besides, they also moderate the weather,? he stated.
Recalling the foot march that he undertook from Kashmir to Kohima in 1981-83, he said that it made him realise the importance of the Himalayan range to the ecology and the economy of a large part of India. Unfortunately, all that area has now fallen prey to deforestation, he lamented.
?The British were responsible for introducing a wrong forest policy, in which timber was accorded top priority. Surprisingly, even after independence that policy has continued, and the forests have become economic assets rather than acting as ecological components,? he asserted. Contrasting this with a natural forest, he said that the heterogeneous species found in a natural forest was a far more effective ecological agent.
According to him, the people of the North East should be careful that tree plantation is done in a scientific manner. Monoculture should not be promoted; instead, a combination of trees that are conducive to local soil and moisture conditions should be the norm.
Strongly opposing the moves to construct mega dams in the North East, the senior activist said, ?Be forewarned, in an area prone to seismic activity, dams could only invite disaster.? He further stated that huge dams have been known to cause Reservoir Induced Seismicity (RIS), that could prove fatal to people living near and below a dam site.
The environmentalist, who arrived in the city this afternoon, minced no words in describing the Tehri Dam Project as foolish, and detrimental to a large part of the Himalayas. He said that such mega projects when set up in the North East would only compound the misery of the people. ?Let us not equate development with affluence, for such a belief would take us to our doom,? he stated.
He could also see no rationale behind the proposed inter-basin transfer of water, and felt that it would be responsible for the destruction of the country?s aquatic diversity. ?Human beings should become conscious of their responsibility towards all living beings. Today, it is fish, tomorrow some other animals, but ultimately it is always human beings who suffer if such projects are carried out, he commented.
Decrying the extensive use of chemical fertilisers in modern farming, he described it as a factor in the degradation of fertile agricultural land. ?It has happened because we are treating agriculture like industry, which is wrong. How could you deal with the living soil, and living seeds like lifeless steel and coal? It is time we realised that agriculture should be practised in a manner that is in tune with nature.