6.10.11

A Decade of Greenpeace in India


Although Greenpeace has been actively campaigning in India since 1995, it was only in 2001 that the international non-governmental environmental organization was formally registered in Chennai, India. Greenpeace has offices in over 40 countries and is run by an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Greenpeace first stretched its wings in India in 1996 with a campaign against toxic waste trade imports, pressuring the Government of India to sign and ratify the Basel Convention and to ban the movement of hazardous toxic waste from developed industrialized nations to developing countries. In 1997, Greenpeace attempted to register itself in India but failed. Recent Greenpeace campaigns, most memorably the organization’s strident and colorful protest against genetically modified BT Brinjal, have gained much visibility and compelled the government to reverse its initial decision. This exclusive slideshow chronicles the significant campaigns carried out by Greenpeace during its eventful decade in India.

 

Blowing hot over nuclear disarmament
A Greenpeace balloon with the slogan ‘Nuclear Disarmament Now!’ floats above the Taj Mahal in a protest against nuclear testing in India in 1997. Greenpeace was denied entry into India following this protest.


 Shutting down toxic shipyards
Next, Greenpeace campaigned against ship-breaking, particularly at Alang in India. Greenpeace efforts to achieve tighter controls on the notorious ship-breaking industry resulted in an international agreement to treat obsolete ships as waste. Treaty commitments by 163 nations can be expected to increase demands for decontamination of ships prior to export to the principal ship-breaking countries of India, Bangladesh.


Sending back Clemenceau
Greenpeace activists display banners demonstrating against the former French aircraft carrier Clemenceau at the Port of Toulon. The banners read 'Asbestos Carrier Stay Out of India'. In 2006, the asbestos-laden warship Clemenceau was bound for India. It was sent back under pressure from a Greenpeace campaign against dumping of toxic waste in developing countries by developed nations. Then French President Jacques Chirac 
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Safe shores for nesting sea turtles
Marine conservation and management approaches in India have often been seen as working at cross-purposes in relation to the customary rights of traditional fishing communities. Greenpeace has been working in Orissa to ensure better enforcement of marine fisheries regulations. Since 2006 there have been slow but steady improvements in Orissa in the form of active marine patrolling to check illegal fishing.


 Parliament picket for a nuclear cause
A Greenpeace activist stands next to a barrel with the message "People before Profit” in front of the Parliament in New Delhi to persuade the government to stop the passage of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010. The Bill was finally passed by both the houses of Parliament during the monsoon session with revisions that enforced complete supplier liability.



Can you get cancer from television screens?
Cathode Ray Tubes, used in computer monitors and television screens, are stored in a workshop in Bangalore. The phosphor coatings of CRTs contain cadmium and zinc, while lead is used in the glass. Dust samples collected from various e-waste workshops by Greenpeace India in 2005 showed high levels of these toxic chemicals to be present in the workshop and storage areas.

 
Energy for evolution
Greenpeace activists float replica wind turbines on the Ganga in Varanasi to highlight the impact of climate change on the riverine system. Activists held banners reading 'Stop Ganga's Extinction, Start the Energy [R]evolution.' Local people also joined the protest.


Lighting up the sky for climate change awareness
In 2009, Greenpeace was pushing for visionary measures to turn around the global trend toward runaway climate change. The plan needed political will to make it happen and the opportunity was at the Copenhagen summit in December 2009. A coalition of Indian and international NGOs, religious leaders and climate-affected communities joined hands at the Lotus Temple in Delhi to release sky lanterns  .


Learn from Japan, no nukes in India 
Greenpeace activists and local people participate in a vigil at the India Gate war memorial in New Delhi. Greenpeace marks the one-month period following Japan's nuclear disaster, and protests against the use of nuclear energy in India.


Take a call, disconnect from diesel
Greenpeace activists block the entrance of the Bharti Airtel group’s headquarters and unfurl banners with the message “Airtel - Switch off Diesel.”


 Mayapuri – a radiation exposé
A team of radiation experts from Greenpeace revisited the Mayapuri scrapyard in Delhi, which made headlines after six people were hospitalized after being exposed to radiation. The authorities had scanned the area and declared it clean but Greenpeace radiation experts Stan Vincent (right) and Jan Vande Putte (left) take radiation measurements in the Delhi scrap market. 


1.       Seeing Bihar’s future in renewable energy
Indian women stand before the Urja Kranti Kendra, a striking, four-storey high, globe-shaped structure that runs on renewable energy in Patna, Bihar. The dome is a live example of a decentralized setup to drive home the message that Bihar, an energy-starved state, could leapfrog to building the energy infrastructure of the future by choosing renewable energy. Only a paradigm shift in energy infrastructure.


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