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The Rediff Business Special/Frederick Noronha

Greenpeace drops anchor in India, serves notice to industry

The group has decided to set up base in India and urged the industry to focus on "clean production rather than end-of-the-pipe solutions". The group plans an office each in Delhi and Bombay.

"In five years, we'd like all our funds to be generated from our membership base in India itself," said one of the Greenpeace-India campaigners.

Greenpeace, meanwhile, plans to start accepting memberships shortly -- at a fee of Rs 500 or more, voluntarily -- from those who think it is for a good cause. (Interested persons may contact the group via email at greenpeaceindia@vsnl.com.)

Almost thirty years old and with a formidable three-million strong international membership, this high-profile campaign group has 'recruited' five campaigners in India.

Nityanand Jayaraman, Greenpeace Asia toxics campaigner, said that the group has been building up a 'modest campaign presence' for the past four years in India.

Greenpeace's arrival in India, he said, underlines the fact that India is an "ecological heavyweight" wtih capabilities to decide the environmental fate of the globe. "This is so because of its sheer size, the vast variety of problems from various interests, and mindless liberalisation of the economy," Jayaraman said. (The photograph alongside shows Greenpeace vessel, the Rainbow Warrior, meeting fishermen off Madras. Click on the picture for a bigger image. Photographs: Greenpeace)

Among issues on which the group has worked on include ship-breaking -- involving non-decontaminated ships -- at Alang, off the Gujarat coast, one of the world's largest ship-breaking yards. Hazardous wastes is another issue that the group took up cudgels against.

Campaigners informed that Greenpeace has been tracking chlorine-based industries, as also the use of imported hazardous wastes, across the country. The 'green' group has also advocated that toxic waste generation in India, particularly from the chlorine-based industry and heavy metals, be reduced drastically. (The photograph alongside shows samples collected from an effluent outfall to be returned to the plant manager at Gujarat's Vapi, "India's most polluted province". Click on it for a bigger image.)

Bob Edwards, former campaigner for the global group, and Rachel Kellett, a British researcher, recently wrote an exhaustive report on the eco-potentials of the burgeoning plastics sector in India. It was recently released in Bombay and sarcastically titled Life in Plastic: It's Fantastic!

Its high-profile, first-ever 'Asian toxics tour' traversed India between November 1999 and January 2000. This was timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy.

"The point we were making was that to avoid future Bhopals, we need to take care of such potentially calamitous situations. We have identified three toxic hotspots in Ankleshwar, Nandesari and Vapi in Gujarat," said Shailendra Yeshwant, a photo-journalist turned Greenpeace campaigner.

Besides, Kochi-based Hindustan Insecticide Limited, or HIL, was also pin-pointed. According to Greenpeace, HIL is the only known DDT manufacturer in the world.

"If we want to prevent any more Bhopals from occurring, it's time to let citizens know what is happening. It is the government's duty to ensure corporate accountability and punishment for corporate crime," said the campaigners.

In Alang, at the ship-breaking yard, the Greenpeace campaigners tied themselves to the anchor chains of the vessels that had come in to berth. (See the photograph alongside. Click on it for a bigger image.) These "dirty" vessels have not been decontaminated, and contain dangerous substances like asbestos and heavy-metal-based paints. "We don't want to harm 40,000 jobs, but we also want a clean industry," said Jayaraman.

Jayaraman said that Greenpeace was fully aware of the strong conflict between the lobbies representing 'clean environment' and 'jobs'. "But we are prepared for this. In the long run, a 'dirty' industry would cost us dearly: both, the jobs and the environment will be lost," he said.

Greenpeace is concerned over what it sees as the havoc-potential of poly-vinyl chlorides, or PVCs, which are considered among the most-hazardous chemicals in circulation.

The environmental group recently backed citizens in Goa protesting against the setting up of a copper waste recycling plant in their village, Sancoale, pointing to the risks posed by PVCs in production, use and disposal.

Villagers were literally up in arms, when Greenpeace stepped in to support them in an agitation against Meta Strips. One policeman died after being attacked by infuriated villagers, while three villagers were shot-at by the cops.

"Chemicals from the chlorine class are very persistent. They don't disappear over time. They're toxic, poisonous in a variety of ways. They can play havoc for a very long time after their release," said Jayaraman.

"Instead of looking at 'end-of-the-pipe solutions', the industry should focus on clean production," opined Yeshwant. "Greenpeace has 32 offices world-wide, and a strong presence in 40 countries. Our only source of income is its membership. We accept no corporate funds or government money.

"We believe in non-violent direct action. That's our basic driving principle," he said. He added that the organisation is great at "internationalising local issues and localising international issues". "We believe the media is a great tool to spread and generate awareness."

Today, some of Greenpeace's campaigners in India come from a media background. Among them are Shailendra Yeshwant, Hemant Babu and Jayaraman, who also wrote for prestigious business publications like the Far Eastern Economic Review.

"One of our strengths is that all our campaigns are based on solid scientific finding. We identify issues first and then use science to address these issues. This is followed by awareness-building exercises, along with lobbying. We believe in taking action to change a fundamental principle," said Yeshwant.

"In the West, too, community groups are perforce caught up in fire-fighting operations. But we need to look at solutions that emerge from these and address larger systemic problems rather than just single issues," said Jayaraman.

He pointed at Meta Strips as a case in point. "Here, a plant has been set up to import PVC-coated copper waste wires, recycle the same and re-export the metal back to Europe. For us, Meta Strips is more than just a factory causing problems to people in Sancoale. It epitomises large problems of waste-trade and waste-dumping," he said.

"Environmental campaigns in the West have been only partly successful. Problems have been shifted from the First World to the Third World. Greenpeace is not interested in cleaning Hamburg at the cost of Goa. We want to shift from the slogan of NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) to NOPE (not on Planet Earth)!" Jayaraman said.

But, Greenpeace is also here out of a "sense of responsibility". Environmental problems, have, in many cases, been simply exported to Asia and the Third World from the West, he said.

Greenpeace, for long a West-oriented organisation, is now also looking at South-East Asia. In South America, especially along the Amazon zone, Argentina and Mexico, it has a "very strong" presence.

Greenpeace campaigners say that the group's well-oiled structure follows the "progressive and positive" principles of management.

"Compared to General Motors, our annual budget is insignificant. But we can make multinationals change their behaviour. We do this by working efficiently, picking our targets, and trying to maximise the effects. All this calls for careful strategising. More so to avoid piecemeal changes," said Jayaraman.

"All we want is a clean environment. How to go about getting could be a matter of debate. We have come to India with great humility and know there is a lot to learn," Jayaraman added.

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Clean up the toxic legacy in Kerala, Greenpeace tells Grasim

Goans fear metals firm will cause pollution, launch campaign

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