On Saturday, November 16, hundreds of people concerned over the global climate crisis and its impact on Kerala will assemble at Vazhachal in Athirappilly panchayat for a climate march. The Climate March-2024, jointly organised by People's Climate Action Keralam and the Chalakkudy River Protection Forum will demand stronger climate action and environmental protection policies from the state government.
November 16 also happens to be the memorial day of Dr Latha Anantha, the founder and moving spirit behind the River Research Centre. A scientist who invested her life for the cause of free flowing rivers, Latha passed away in 2017 after battling cancer for more than a year. The event would also coincide with the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, currently underway at Baku in Azerbaijan.
"Climate marches have emerged as an expression of the youth demanding climate action. In that sense, it is quite significant. In 2019, over a week's period, more than 40 lakh people participated in marches across the globe. It would have continued in the coming years if not for the lockdown and other issues with regard to Covid-19. Unfortunately there was a break and now it's coming back again," said SP Ravi, general convener of the event.
In the past decade, climate rallies that demonstrate public support for urgent climate action have become a tool for activists to create solidarity, connect local environmental groups, and build networks. The Global Climate March held in various cities on the eve of COP21 Paris summit on November 29, 2015, saw the participation of nearly eight lakh people.
In January 2023, Sonam Wangchuk embarked on a 500-kilometre climate march from Leh to Delhi to draw attention to the urgent environmental challenges facing the region'
In Kerala, the first climate march was held in 2015 when people marched the stretch from Vazhachal to Athirappilli. It was organised in the backdrop of the Athirappilli agitation for the protection of Chalakkudy river basin.
"Since 2016, Kerala has been facing extreme climatic events regularly. In 2016, we had drought, followed by flooding in 2018 and 2019, and then a series of huge landslides. We have reached a situation where immediate and substantial climate action is required. It's in this context that we thought of organising the seventh death anniversary of Latha, as a climate march," Ravi said.
To create awareness on the climate crisis and galvanise action, the organisers are planning to develop a campaign across the state for a period of at least 10 years. "We would also be associating with researchers doing people-oriented research and bring them to the public domain and lobby with the government for stronger action," Ravi said.
In 2022, Kerala revised the State Action Plan on Climate Change, which identified actions to safeguard its vulnerable geographies from the effects of global warming and climate change. But climate activists feel that not enough is being done on the ground.
"They have revised the climate action plan but it has not been discussed with the public. They can conduct a series of interactions regarding the state climate action and take inputs from the public, especially from places where disasters happened in the last few years and then revise it accordingly," Ravi said.
There is reluctance to address critical issues, as the government seems to blame everything on the climate crisis but not do anything for mitigation. "Not all disasters happen because of extreme rainfall or extreme climatic events. Land use changes have a major role in these disasters but that is not being addressed," he said.
The ravaging floods of 2018 were caused by multiple reasons, including land use changes in the Western Ghats and paddy reclamation in the midlands. The dams too played a role and there was failure of the disaster management mechanism.
"Massive floods were the cumulative effect of all these, which increased the magnitude of the disaster manyfold. All these need to be addressed. Western Ghats is one of the most critically vulnerable regions," Ravi said.
The temperature rise in the Western Ghats region is said to be more than the midlands and even a small change in temperature or rainfall pattern can significantly affect the biodiversity. "The state is under the protection of the Western Ghats, without it Kerala as we know will not exist. But this critical significance of the Western Ghats is unfortunately not recognised or acknowledged," Ravi said.
The coastal region is witnessing frequent storm surges and tidal floodings at many places. "The entire coastal stretch with high population density has become extremely vulnerable and we don't know when a major disaster will strike."
Climate activists in Kerala want critical importance to be given to regions where more action is required. They also want to ensure that all government projects, right from local self government level, are to be vetted with respect to the climate crisis. "Specific activities for mitigation and resilience building are required, it cannot be vague. And instead of having just the state-level action plan, we may have to split it to the local level. The Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) has been developing climate resilience plans for grama panchayats but I don't know how much of it has percolated on to the ground level," Ravi said.
Participation at the local body and community levels and involvement of the youth are central to this approach. "The monsoon rain monitoring that is now happening in many places needs to be built into the state action plan and considered while taking action. The youth have to be at the forefront of it. These things need to be built into the curriculum. The way it is being taught now is mostly peripheral. A business as usual scenario is no longer possible," he said.
The Climate March will take place in the five kilometre stretch from Vazhachal to Athirappilly on November 16 after the Latha memorial meet at 10.30 am.