Bachelor of Journalism & Mass Communication, Communication Principles, Environmental Journalism

1. Environmental journalism in India
Environmental journalism in India began in the 1920s, but that valuable phase
is forgotten. What is remembered and lauded is the environmental journalism
of the '80s, when academics, NGOs and social scientists took on the cause. But
this was the period during which the debate on the environment actually
receded from the mainstream into technical and esoteric journals
When we speak of environmental journalism in India, we have to see it against
the backdrop ofthe environmental movement as a whole. The environmental
movement in India has gone through two phases. The first phase starts around
1920 and continues till the 1940s. This is the forgotten, or undocumented, phase
and foregrounds the ideas and opinions of a variety of thinkers, mostly
nationalist. There were a number of environmental thinkers and writers all
through that period. Some were Gandhians, like
the great Tamil economist JC Kumarappa. Some like Radhakamal Mukherjee
were social scientists. Mukherjee pioneered an interdisciplinary brand of
knowledge, which he
termed social ecology and which sought to bring together the Natural Sciences
and the Social Sciences. Some were dissident colonial scientists. There was, for
example, Albert Howard, who was in the Indian Agricultural Service, and is now
revered in the West as a prophet of organic agriculture. He developed a method
of composting known as the
Indore method, which is used by organic farmers in the West. But in India he is
forgotten.
What we really see in this period is a debate between the ecologically
responsible and the modernisers. The former wanted co-existence with
nature while the latter felt that the concern for the environment was a
deviation from the task of building an economically robust, industrially
advanced India.
Beginning in 1947, we have what we could call "the age of innocence". The
Gandhians are defeated. The modernisers win the debate. Environmental
considerations flee to the margins. They will re-emerge much later in the
1970s -- not in the form of intellectual critiques as in the first phase, but in
the form of people's movements and struggles like the Chipko Andolan, the
fisherfolks' struggle in Kerala, the forest movement in Jharkhand and
Madhya Pradesh, the anti- dam movement in the Narmada valley, the Koel
Karo and the Tehri projects and so on.

2. Against the backdrop of this broad historical canvas, let us look at the
specific history of environmental journalism in India. Where are its
origins? Here are some glimpses. In 1920, the Tatas were building a dam
on one of the rivers in the Western Ghats, near Lonavla. It was going to
displace some 15 to 20 villages. There was a satyagraha against it led by
a brave socialist from Pune known as Senapati Bapat. This satyagraha
was reported right through its course in both The Times of India and the
Bombay Chronicle. These were articles that took into account the wider
argument meditating on issues like electricity for Bombay versus land for
peasants, rights of displacement, large technology versus small
technology, etc.
In 1937, Congress governments came to power in the local legislature
bodies of the provinces. There was limited autonomous rule by Indians.
A man by the name of SG Warty writes in the Bombay Chronicle on a
number of environment-related matters. He argues: "Now we have our
own government. We must undo the colonial forest policy. W e must make
forest management more responsible to the peasants of this country."
Warty's work is thus one of several isolated instances of early
environmental journalism in India.
Then there was M Krishnan, who wrote a fortnightly column for The
Statesman from 1952 to
1996. I consider him India's greatest naturalist. He has a deep knowledge
of India's biodiversity and he could write in a precise, evocative style
wonderful descriptions of nature all around us -- a lizard on a wall, a
sparrow being taught to fly, which he observed from his window. He also
wrote polemical pieces. Such as on the need to preserve indigenous
breeds of cattle. He made original observations of conservation at work, as
in Madras, where peasants protectedthe trees where the herons came to
roost (they found the droppings useful as fertiliser). As early as the 1960s
we find him writing on the vital significance of Neem. His range, depth and
the fact that he went on fortnight after fortnight highlighting the wonders of
India's natural wealth is truly admirable. His work needs to be re-
discovered. I am currently working on a compilation of Krishnan's writing
which is due for publication soon. Krishnan, then, is a pioneering
environmental journalist, and his work is all the more valuable for its
advocacy of environmental concerns in the Nehruvian era which was
hostile to such issues.

3. By the time we come to the early '70s we find that various struggles by
grassroots people to protect the natural resources around them begin to
take shape in hundreds of places all over India. Soon we see journalists
(not scientists or scholars or academics, mind you) stepping into the
picture and reporting and documenting these movements. The Chipko
movement, for example, gets wide coverage in the local Hindi newspapers
in Garhwal, thanks to journalists like Kunwar Prasun and Shekhar Pathak.
Bharat Dogra, who also wrote in English, is another important journalist of
the time. In English there were people like Darryl D'Monte, Usha Rai and
Anil Agarwal. Between them, these journalists created a body of fine
writing on environmental issues, and this included not just reportage and
documentation but also analysis and larger, theoretical reflection. This
period (roughly 1975-1985) was a very vibrant one for environmental
journalism in India. These journalists successfully challenged the
conventional notion entertained by the votaries of large-scale
development, who held with Indira Gandhi that "poverty was the greatest
polluter". They showed that when environmental resources were recklessly
mishandled, the poor were the direct sufferers.
In the next phase social scientists, academics, NGOs and even
government bodies took up the cause of the environment and the
professionalisation of environmental writing begins with this. However, this
came at a cost, as the discussion of matters of vital public interest (forests,
energy, urbanisation) moved away from the newspapers and other public
spheres and into esoteric, technical publications.
Starting with 1991, the fourth phase gets underway. This is when we
witness a backlash from the proponents of the unbridled liberalisation of
the Indian economy. Those who advocate environmental causes are
branded as the people who want to keep India backward, who keep it from
becoming another Singapore. Significant initiatives in social forestry, soil
management, resource management, alternative energy, etc, undertaken
by voluntary organisations throughout the country begin to go largely
unreported. This is by and large where we are today.
One last point: The fundamental truth that responsible management of our
natural endowments is in fact more important in a poor and heavily
populated country than it is in the West is something that neither the right
nor the orthodox left in India has ever understood.

4. Code Of Ethics For Environmental Journalists
The following Code of Ethics was ratified at the 6thWorld
Congress of
Environmental Journalists held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on
October 19 - 23,
1998.
1. The right to a clean environment and sustainable
development is fundamental and is closely connected to the
right to life and good health and well being. The environmental
journalist should inform the public about the threats to the
environment - whether it is at the global, regional, national or
local level.
2. Often the media is the only source of information on the
environment. The journalist's duty is to heighten the
awareness of the public on environmental issues. The
journalist should strive to report a plurality of views on the
environment.
3. By informing the public, the journalist plays a vital role in
enabling people to resort to action in protecting their
environment. The journalist's duty is not only in alerting people
about their endangered environment at the outset, but also in
following up such threats and keeping them posted about
developments. Journalists should also attempt to write on
possible solutions to environmental problems.
4. The journalists should not be influenced on these issues by
vested interests - whether they are commercial, political, and
government or non-governmental. The journalist ought to keep
a distance from such interests and not ally with them. As a
rule journalists should report all sides in any environmental
controversy.
5. The journalist should as far as possible cite sources of
information and avoid alarmist or speculative reportage and
tendentious comment. He or she should crosscheck the
authenticity of a source, whether commercial, official or non-
governmental.

5. 6. The environmental journalist should foster equity in access
to such information and help organizations and individuals to
gain it. Electronic retrieval of data can provide a useful and
egalitarian tool in this regard.
7. The journalist should respect the right of privacy of
individuals who have been affected by environmental
catastrophes, natural disasters and the like.
8. The environmental journalist should not hesitate to correct
information that he or she previously believed was correct, or
to tilt the balance of public opinion by analysis in the light of
subsequent developments.
The original draft for this code of ethics was prepared by a
committee of three senior International Federation of
Environmental Journalist (IFEJ) members.
Strategies for Reporting on Environment
Environmental journalists often go wrong when they highlight
flagship species to emphasis the need for protection of biological
habitats.
The people may just refuse to go by when you argue that the lion
tailed monkey ought to be protected in preference to a power
project.
This happened in the case of the campaign against Silent Valley
hydroelectric project in Kerala (India) that focused too much on the
monkeys. Yet Silent Valley was saved owing to multi-faced
campaigns launched by Non-Governmental Organisations and The
Hindu, India's National Newspaper. However, politicians still raise
the debate whether monkeys or human beings were important. They
manage with these kinds of argument becausethe public are not fully
aware of the biological wealth of Silent Valley and how that wealth
relates to them and the future generations. (Silent Valley is now a
World Heritage site).

6. A few years ago, a newspaper report on the proposed
Vamanapuram Irrigation Project in Thiruvananthapuram spokeof
the harm the project would cause to the Nilgiri tahr (ibex) on the
Ponmudi Mountains. Such reports can even be counter-productive
not only because it projected a flagship species but also because
the argument was far fetched.
The Kallar Valley, and the river on which the dam of the
Vamanapuram Project was to be built, is lying at an elevation of less
than 300 metres whereas the ibex lived at an elevation of about 900
metres. There was little chance of the tahr being directly affected by
the project. Moreover, ibex
has almost ceased to be an endangered species on account of
conservation measures undertaken in the past. The population at
Ponmudi was not that critical. All that one could say was that some
forests would be lost on the lower elevation and this would have
some effect on their habitat at the top of the mountains.
Loss of forests and its distant effects, unfortunately, are not
arguments that would be fully appreciated by many readers.
However, in the case of the forests of Kallar Valley, there was a
something more to say. The Valley was one of the few remaining
forested low lying valleys in Kerala. The State has more than 30
valleys that lie at an elevation of less than 300 metres above the
mean sea level. Almost all of them were forested over a century ago.
But, people have cleared them for farming. The import would
still be obvious only to a trained scientist unless the reporter adds
a few scientific facts in plain language. Different types of plants
grow at different elevations. Plants found at low elevation would
not grow at higher elevations, say, the Ponmudi mountains.
Relate the issue to people
The reporter has to add something more that would relate the issue to daily
lives of people. One fact is that many of our medicinal plants grow
at this elevation and many medicinal herbs are now found only in
the forests. Well, our ancestors were conscious ofthese things when
they colonised the valleys. So, they preserved some areas as sacred
groves and gave a religious aura to it so that none would destroy
them. Even in those groves,

7. sacred trees like Koovalam, which has medicinal value, have become rare.
Forthe man on the street, the ayurvedic medicines would be
important, but not necessarily for the policy maker. Here,
economics may be an area they would understand better than
environment. Kerala had invested over Rs. 1000 crores on major
irrigation projects during the past forty years. The rate of return has
not been even one per cent. So, why invest on another project? The
project was conceived years ago to irrigate paddy fields. These
fields have since been converted into garden lands...
So, if you are writing about the impact of the proposed hydroelectric
project at Pooyamkutty in Idukki district, the impact on the reed
economy based on the Pooyamkutty forests would be a better
argument than the species diversity of the forests. The locals may be
concerned about the earthquakes and over two dozen dams spotting
the district. The cause of tribals too cannot be ignored anymore. The
fact that the forest that will be submerged by the reservoir is a
corridor for the elephants may concern the environmentalists. But
that may not carry conviction with many others.
Listen to the people first
The mostimportant thing is that the journalist, who wishes to
communicate environmental issues to the people, should hear the
people first. The people of Kallar had been agitating against the
project for long. What were there arguments? Was there something
deeper than the environmental arguments they projected in their
leaflets?
Frequent contacts with the affected people are a must for anyone
covering environmental issues. This also means that the reporter
visits the areas involved including forests before shooting off
conclusions based on known arguments in favour of protecting the
environment. Each case can have something more than that meets
the eye. These days, even vested interests poseas nature lovers.
Some commercial interests cleverly promotethe cause of
environment with hidden objectives. Sometimes this would be to
hide their own sins or to put down competitors. Some
environmental organisations raise a bogey of protest over every
issue just to keep themselves loat.

8. When reporters cannot visit, sincere activists with a sense of
proportion can be sourceto learn about field level developments.
The leaders of mainstream environmental organisations should not
be depended upon for this, as their own information would be
secondary. They are better when you need a few quotes.
Review Questions:
 What role is media playing in spreading awareness for environment?
 What are the basic strategies involved in reporting environmental issues
References-
1. De Fleur, Melvin and Dennis, Everette; Understanding Mass Communication;
(1988); 3rd edition; Houghton Mifflin Co.
2. Narula, Uma; Mass Communication theory and practice; (1994); Haranand
3. Andal; Communication theories and model