Droupadi Murmu on ecology: To preserve forests, it’s important to listen to tribal communities

Human beings are forgetting that forests are life givers and have preserved life on Earth. You are responsible for the health of forests. The Anthropocene Age has seen development but it has also seen disasters. We have to understand that we are not the owners of the earth’s resources but the trustees. Only by being nature-centric can we be truly human-centric. Due to the serious challenge of climate change, the SC recently ruled that the right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change is a fundamental right under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

Today, the conservation of the earth’s biodiversity and natural beauty is an urgent task. Human life can be saved from danger through the conservation and promotion of forests and wild animals. Therefore, I consider the responsibility of Indian Forest Service officers to be very important. In your service, officers like P Srinivas, Sanjay Kumar Singh and S Manikandan have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Your service has given many such officers to the country who have done incomparable work for the environment. They should be your role models.

To the experts from Forest Academy present, I would request you to consider making appropriate amendments to the curriculum of the trainees given the emergency of climate change. In many parts of the world, the loss of forest resources has occurred rapidly. The destruction of forests is the destruction of humanity. With the help of science and technology, we can repair the damage at a faster pace. Like the Miyawaki method that is being adopted in many places, artificial intelligence tools can identify areas and area-specific tree species suitable for afforestation. There is a need to assess such options and develop solutions suitable to the geographical conditions of India.

The chariot of development has two wheels — tradition and modernity. Today, society is facing the brunt of many environmental problems. One of the main reasons for this is the exploitation of nature in pursuit of modernity. Traditional knowledge is neglected in this process. The tribal community has made the eternal laws of nature the basis of their life. But the impulse of unbalanced modernity has led to some people considering the tribal community and their knowledge base/approach orthodox. Tribal society has no role in climate change but the burden of its ill-effects rests more so with them than most.

The collective wisdom accumulated by them over centuries can help us move forward on an ecologically sustainable, ethically desirable and socially justifiable path. Therefore, we will have to un-learn many misconceptions and re-learn the ideals of a balanced lifestyle from the tribal community. We must also ensure that tribal communities enjoy equal participation in the development journey.

I would also like to request all of you to spend time with the tribal people. Earn their affection and trust. Learn from the good practices of the society there and also propagate them. Take ownership of your responsibilities and become role models. Work to improve the standards of their education, health, and hygiene. Your work should be such that it inspires the children of that area to join the Forest Services.

The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries led to increased demand for timber and other forest products. Due to this, new rules, regulations and methods of forest use were adopted. To implement these rules and regulations, the Imperial Forest Service, the predecessor service of the Indian Forest Service, was formed. The mandate of that service was not to protect the tribal society and forest wealth. It was to promote the objectives of the British Raj by exploiting India’s forest resources to the maximum.

It is sad that in the 50 years from 1875 to 1925, more than 80,000 tigers, over 1.5 lakh leopards and over 2 lakh wolves were hunted. When I go to museums where animal skins or severed heads adorn the walls, I feel that those exhibits are telling the story of the decline of human civilisation.

I have confidence that all the officers of today’s Indian Forest Service are freed from the colonial outlook. You not only have to conserve and promote India’s natural resources, but you also have to use the knowledge accumulated through tradition in the interest of humanity. You have to protect India’s forest wealth by balancing modernity and tradition and advancing the interests and rights of the people to whom these forests belong. By doing so, you will be able to make a truly eco-friendly and inclusive contribution.

You all have reached here after passing a difficult examination. Your ability is commendable. But you have to remember that your real test will begin now. You will face many professional challenges. Whenever you are in a dilemma, you should make a decision keeping in mind the values of the Constitution and the interests of the people of India.

Edited excerpts from the speech by President Droupadi Murmu at the convocation ceremony of the 2022 batch of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer trainees at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, on April 24

Translated from Hindi by Adya Goyal and Sukhmani Malik