Women saving Trees

1. Women saving Trees

2. The Chipko movement Ultimate Tree huggers !!! • tree huggers originated • Chipko = to embrace • Khejarli, Jodhpur district, in 1730 AD, • Amrita Devi & 3 daughters beheaded • 363 Bishnoisslaughtered • Saving Khejari (Prosopis cineraria), also called kandi, khejri, jand

3. The Bishnois • The Bishnois are a community of nature worshippers in the state of Rajasthan, India. • Bishnois are strong lovers of wild animals. • deer and antelope (such as blue bulls, black bucks, chinkaras and chowsinghas) are seen grazing peacefully in their fields despite the fact that the State of Rajasthan where the Bishnois mainly live, faces severe water shortages. • NOW - launched strong protests against the killing of black bucks by Salman Khan, a Bollywood film star and Mansur Ali Khan of Pataudi, a former Indian cricketer.

4. Khejri trees • dry and arid deserts of India, • where annual rainfall is 10-20 inches. • Khejari are found on plains and in ravines, rarely in the hills. • wild temperature extremes, • 104-114 F summer to < 50 F winter

5. Sacred trees • Tree spirit given to each child • Direct material benefits • Nuts, fruit • Tea leaves • Healing medicines (ex. Salicylic acid) • Animal fodder • Mushrooms & edible fungi • Honey, • Wood for fires – cooking, shelter & tools

6. Ecosystem health • Control climate = Shade & moisture • Release oxygen, absorb CO2 • Store water from monsoon rains • Ameliorate effects of monsoons (reduce force hitting surface, • Prevent erosion • Habitat for forest animals

7. Modern Chipko cont • Bimala, Mira and Sarala Benn credited with starting • Women’s crusade • Gandhi followers • Science based • Philosophy of using forest • Empowering women ( • encouraged seeing themselves as powerful goddesses, not beasts of burden • Did most work in community, caring for animals, kids and husbands

8. Modern day Chipko movement 1960’s • Mira Behn , Gandhi follower, scientist, ecologist • Himalaya regions – mudslides dues to deforestation • Scientist studying ecology of region starting in 1940’s wrote paper • There is Something Wrong in the Himalaya’s • Documented effects of deforestation

9. 1970 ‘s • Mandel – village in Himalayas • Extensive logging led to mudslides, erosion • 300 Ash trees sold to tennis racket company • Locals refused permission to cut 12 trees for tools • Chipko leader Hima Devi – • Demonstrations • Lectures • Protests

10. 1970’s • Bashni Devi led women protesters • Loggers met women w/ babies • Singing • Chanting • Reading from Indian Text about sacred trees • Refusing to move • Taking axes from male loggers • Men retreated

11. Chipko Village women

12. Ecosystem & Economics of Himalayas

13. Ecosystem & Economics of Himalayas • The Himalaya Range (Sanskrit: literally, "abode of snow", • Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2. • almost half of the humans and livestock of India live on one-third of the landscape within 500 km of the Himalayan range

14. Himalayas cont • Buddism, Hinduism • Nature worship • Afghanistan, Bhutan, People's Republic of China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. • Major wars, fights over resources and ownership

15. Green Belt movement • one of the biggest in women and environmental history, • Nobel Prize winner WangariMaathai founded this movement on the World Environment Day in June 1977. • The starting ceremony was very simple: a few women planted seven trees in Maathai’s backyard. • By 2005, 30 million trees had been planted • public and private lands. T • environmental restoration along with society’s economic growth. • restoration of Kenya’s rapidly diminishing forests as well as empowering the rural women through environmental preservation, with a special emphasis on planting indigenous trees. [11]

16. Colleen McCrory • British Columbia –Logging was destroying habitat • temperate deciduous forests , old growth forests (similar to Oregon and Washington) • Boreal forests • Most biologically diverse • 70% birds, • 74 % mammals • Married, 3 kids, did not finish high school, left husband when starting crusade for forests • No money, no income, finally got support from world wildlife fund and donations.

17. Colleen McCrory • Brought together 400 individual groups to save forests • Formed Canada’s Future Forest Alliance • Showed smart logging (not clear cut) add 16 million income, 21 million from tourists and over 200 new jobs for out of work loggers • Most wood shipped overseas – asia & US • Wood, but also paper for phone books, & junk mail

18. Colleen McCrory • Working for Canadian Roadless Act • Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2009 – Prohibits timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. • The bill was first introduced in 2003 in the Senate by Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and in the House by Jay Inslee (D-WA). • Responding to the Bush administration’s repeal of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule on May 5, 2005, Representatives Inslee and Sherwood Boehlert (R- NY) n July 28. • The bill has 149 bipartisan co-sponsors so far.

19. Judi Bari • Carpenter, writer, environmentalist • Mother – 2 young kids • Spotted owl controversy, Save the Redwoods • Earth First! Radical, tree spikers • Falsely accused by fbi infiltrator of using violence to save trees. • victum of car bombing – almost permantly disabled her

20. Judi Bari • 97% of California’s trees gone • Media & logging companies spread rumors about earth first • Died of cancer in 1997 – 45 years old • Did raise awareness of old growth forest values

21. Kathryn Fuller • Chief excutive, World Wildlife Fund til 2005 • Scientist, ecologist • Married kids, changed careers due to kids • Started world wide Environmental Education system through WWW. • Now director of Ford democratic values, community and economic development, education, media, arts and culture, and human rights.[

22. References • Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) • Women Pioneers for the Environment (Breton) Chapter 1 Tree huggers