How to protect trees from needless felling in Bangalore

The third workshop organised as part of ESG's 'How To' Workshop series

Date: 17 February, 2018
Time: 4.30 pm to 7 pm
Venue: @ ESG Workshop Space, 1575, Ring Road, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore 560070. https://goo.gl/maps/5jrH71vvnC12

How to Save Trees Workshop

 

'How to do it?' workshop

An ESG initiative

 

How to protect trees from needless felling in Bangalore

 

There is wide-spread concern over the recent proposal to once again amend the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (1976). This amendment will render useless the Tree Act, as it delists a wide range of trees from legal protection. Consequently, the damage to the fast depleting urban greenery would be extensive in the following ways:

  • Depleting greenery will accentuate heat-island effect and will lead to increased energy and water consumption to cool buildings.

  • As the species delisted constitute the bulk of trees in the city, their loss could devastate urban wildlife populations and wildlife corridors.

  • The removal of tree lines will deplete canopy cover and hence expose pedestrians, cyclists and other commuting public to harsh sunlight, increased dust and air pollution. Street-vendors will be denied shade and their health could significantly deteriorate and adversely affect their livelihoods

  • The proposed amendment will result in the reckless and massive felling of trees benefitting the timber mafia and vested interests promoting questionable large urban infrastructure projects.

Trees seaming roads, in parks and private and public properties in Bangalore constitute its core living heritage. The proposed amendment could effectively destroy a distinctive value and aesthetic appeal of Bangalore.

 

In this workshop participants will learn:

  • How to employ the Tree Act, environmental and biodiversity conservation laws and judicial directions in protecting trees, tree-lines, and wooded areas.

  • About ways to mobilise collectively against needless felling and engage in citizen science

  • How to re-build greenery in Bangalore and save trees

 

This 3nd “How to do it” workshop is on Saturday, 17th February 2018, from 4.30 pm to 7 pm @ ESG Workshop Space, 1575, Ring Road, Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore 560070. Prior registration needed: email apoorva@esgindia.org with the subject “How to”, or call 080-2671360/61 providing your name, address, and what you do. Suggested contribution: Rs. 250 per person. Donate online at http://esgindia.org/about-us/what-you-can-do.html.

 

The workshop facilitators are:

  • S.G. Neginhal, IFS (Retd.), eminent Forester who greened Bangalore.

  • Sheshadri Ramaswamy is a citizen scientist who has excellent knowledge about trees and biodiversity conservation

  • Dr. M.B. Krishna, is a renowned ornithologist and an expert in treescaping and habitat restoration

  • Leo F. Saldanha, Coordinator of Environment Support Group (ESG), has worked extensively to build law and policy initiatives to protect trees and biodiversity.

  • Dr. Swetha Rao Dhananka is an urban sociologist and has taught and researched on social and environmental justices issues in Bangalore. She is currently consulting with ESG.

 

About the “How to” workshop series:

This series of workshops is about how we can equip ourselves with tactical knowledge and skills that empower us to achieve collective aims for improving the quality of life in Bangalore. These workshops will help us appreciate the nuances of processes that address environmental and public health concerns, social cohesion, socio-economic equity and participatory decision-making, and instruct us how we can engage with them in practice. It is about how an informed and organised public can reclaim the city, which now has been appropriated by elite and divisive imaginations, such as “world class city” and “smart city”.

Narrow and divisive elite imaginations tend to benefit decision-makers and developers who profit from undemocratic ways. In the process, scarce financial and administrative resources are diverted to particular projects and away from the fundamental needs of people. The need of the hour is a focus on social integration, public health, public transport, affordable education and housing, environmental conservation, making neighborhoods safe, which will transform into inclusive, sustainable cities that are viable for all. There is plenty of debate on ways to deal with these challenges, but very little practical information on how to create change effectively through collective learning. Inspired by each other and from diverse geographical contexts, we aim to explore effective and tactical ways to work collectively to improve our city.

 

In this series of “how to do it” workshops, participants from various disciplines, sectors and communities will work with experienced facilitators in closely examining various issues of public interest with a focus of building solutions for change through participatory methods. The idea is to enhance and build civic engagements in meaningful, inclusive and productive ways. The question we all want to answer is “how to do it”