Some years back in a series of highly inspiring actions, Himalayan villagers in many parts of what is now present day Uttarakhand prevented the axing of forest trees. In several places, as in the forests of Advani and Salet in Tehri Garhwal district, they hugged trees to protect them while being surrounded by those who had come to cut trees, risking serious injury to themselves. Women played a particularly important role in most of these protests. In addition there were other supporting actions against felling of forests like protest marches and protests against auction of forests (such as the one in Narendranagar which led to several villagers including women being jailed for several days).

All these actions were non-violent and the most important role in these protests was that of various Gandhian/ Sarvodaya social activists. Most of these actions took place in the 1970s and the early 1980s. They had a happy ending as the Government of India agreed to ban commercial felling of trees over a vast Himalayan area for several years.

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These struggles gained widespread recognition as the Chipko (hug the trees) movement and their impact could be seen in many places, most of all in the famous Appiko movement of Karnataka, but also in many other parts of the country and abroad. The success of the Chipko movement was of course based on the inspiring mobilization of villagers and social activists, but another important component was the encouraging response at the higher levels of the government in terms of understanding the importance of saving Himalayan forests and taking action in accordance with this understanding.

Although local officials took some repressive actions against villagers, such as arresting villagers including women at Narendranagar and sending a big police force to the forest of Advani where women had collected for hugging trees, soon the Union government made up for this by agreeing to the main demands of the movement. A revival of this Chipko spirit is needed now to save thousands of endangered trees located in a highly sensitive, in ecological terms, place very close to the origin of the Ganga river in the Garhwal Himalayas.

People here are very keen to protect these endangered trees, reminding one of the spirit of Chipko days, but at the same time one hopes that the government will also respond to the justified demand. Probably the most ecologically sensitive area in India, also known for its great cultural and spiritual heritage, is the Uttarkashi-Gangotri area near the origin of the Ganga in the Himalayas. This is also close to the Gaumukh glacier. It is of the highest importance to protect trees and other precious vegetation and herbs of this area. Today as thousands of trees are threatened by excessive highway widening in this eco-sensitive zone and local people are raising the demand for saving these trees, government authorities too must respond by doing all they can. Solutions are available.

The highway authorities must agree to work in cooperation with local people who have much more detailed knowledge of local conditions and so can suggest alternatives which can protect trees. The Raksha Sutra (Threads of Protection) movement, which traces its legacy to the Chipko movement, and other groups, have in fact suggested an alternative in the form of a new road which will cause minimal loss of trees while at the same time improving the connectivity of several remote villages.

This new road can take some of the traffic burden and hence the need for excessive widening of the highway, which is threatening thousands of trees, can be avoided. On the other hand if the government goes ahead, leading to the felling of a very large number of trees, then the environmental harm will be huge. The promise of planting these threatened trees elsewhere is least likely to be realized as natural forests cannot be re-created in this way. While it is being said that about 6,000 odd trees (mostly deodar trees) have been marked for felling, past experience has shown that when a big tree is felled several nearby smaller trees, plants, herbs etc. are also uprooted and ruined. So the actual loss of trees and related vegetation from the planned felling is likely to be much higher.

All possibilities to avoid this ecocide should be explored in close cooperation with local villagers particularly women, panchayats (local elected village councils) and social and environmental organisations. In a region which has witnessed highly destructive floods and landslides leading to the loss of many human lives in recent years, as well as other large-scale harm, people are understandably worried regarding the impact of the felling of so many trees and the destruction of vegetation. In addition there is also the impact of tree-felling and related environmental harm on glaciers, as well as in downstream areas, as the excess as well as scarcity of water in different seasons in the densely populated plains below is also influenced by what happens in the ecologically crucial catchment areas of the Ganga and its various tributaries.

The authorities can act wisely even at this late stage to work out alternative arrangements in cooperation with local people in such a way that massive environmental harm is avoided and the base of sustainable livelihoods is protected instead of being harmed. In addition there is increasing concern regarding the adverse impacts of dumping of construction waste in rivers. This should also be strictly avoided. If cooperation of people and government can lead to the avoidance of an eco-disaster so close to the origin of the Ganga and Gaumukh glacier, this will be a great achievement. This is a cause which deserves wide support.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children and A Day in 2071.)