Journalism of Courage
In its seventh year of production,Sakav,the annual magazine by the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF),continues to highlight the major issues that are faced by people along the Konkan coastline
It has been named as one of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots and yet when the question of its sustainable development arises,there are few answers forthcoming. The Konkan belt,home to some of the most important forest lands along the North Western Ghats,has problems but few solutions. A primary reason for that is,most people are unaware of the importance of the area. It is one of the few places that has a lot of forest land available to sustain the bio-diversity of the area. Plus,the surrounding the villages totally depend on this kind of forest produce for their daily livelihood, says Jayant Sarnaik,deputy director,Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF).
The magazine,an annual affair,deals with the problems that plague the region. Sarnaik says,When we began in 2004,we touched upon briefly on all the problems in this area. Since then,we have been concentrating on certain issues on an annual basis. Most importantly,we,as city dwellers,do not do all the writing for the magazines,but we ask people from these regions to write about the problems that they experience first hand. Such an important biologically diverse location needs to be given a platform to express itself through the words of the common people who stay there.
The area is still underdeveloped,and given its ecological sensitivity,finding a way to develop it is a tough ask. Some of the major issues that have been highlighted over the last seven years include,the industrial sector in Konkan,coastal and maritime development,water management,and in the latest issue,they have touched upon the issue of mining in the Konkan region. AERF members have been working with locals in these villages to encourage awareness about it.
Progress for any people or community is important but it cannot come at the cost of the natural resources that the regions offer. The importance of the Konkan belt can only be understood if one visits the area and sees the huge patches of primary forests, he says.
Sarnaik mentions that even though the magazine doesn’t reach out to a lot of people,their efforts are on so that more and more people understand the importance of the work that is being done. The point is,what are the future generations going to have if we do not bother about important places like these? If we do not ensure that development and preservation of the bio-diversity is done seamlessly? These are serious issues that need to be highlighted. And that is what we will continue to do, says Sarnaik.
