Article 14: How Individual Change Transforms into Collective Action
by
Hamsa Ganapathi
Policy Fellow, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
So, you’ve reduced your water use, started composting, minimized food waste, and measured your carbon footprint. You’re doing everything you can to cause as little harm to the Earth as possible. But can we get society to do the same?
This month’s article is a review of Planetary Health, a field we have previously explored in Prithvi Sevasanga. Planetary Health seeks to qualify how human impacts on the Earth affect the planet itself and all people as well.
In our session last year, we discussed that the “Great Acceleration” starting in the mid-1900s drastically increased the impact of human growth on the Earth, causing a rate of change much faster than any other period in recorded history.
As an example, let’s look at the case study of the Chilaw Lagoon in Sri Lanka. The lagoon is home to almost every mangrove species found in Sri Lanka, where terrestrial and marine ecosystems meet to create a highly diverse, multifaceted environment. Coastal areas, where many mangroves can be found, not only support huge population centers in Sri Lanka, but also house the country’s major fishing and aquaculture industries. However, after struggles like Sri Lanka’s Civil War, economic development needs and other interests threatened mangrove destruction, without adequate consideration for the critical environmental and health benefits that mangroves provide. Destruction of mangroves not only affects the long-term health of coastal ecosystems, but directly affects the food security of those communities who thrive on mangrove fishing ecosystems for food and income. Additionally, mangroves can mitigate the impacts of natural disasters like tsunamis, and their destruction removes a vital natural barrier to extreme weather event impacts. Further, the introduction of industrial shrimp farming threatened the long-term viability of the mangroves.
Individuals who lived in the mangrove ecosystems for their whole lives individually took notice of the deteriorating mangroves around them and did their best to conserve mangroves and act responsibly in their relationship to nature. But it was the activism of a few key organizations that has most successfully advanced the cause of mangrove preservation in Sri Lanka. First, a few local Sri Lankan individuals, including those taking care of the Chilaw Lagoon, formed the organization Sudeesa, which was dedicated to mangrove preservation. They later partnered with Seacology, a non-profit organization in Berkeley, California, that focused on awarding grants for island communities preserving culture and environment. Not only did this partnership expand conservation throughout the entire country of Sri Lanka, but it also provided economic opportunities to coastal communities through microloan business programs that offered conservation support. The actions of a few individuals had begun having nationwide impact.
The most significant success of this story though is that through their work across Sri Lanka, both Sudeesa and Seacology were able to meet with and talk to the national government of Sri Lanka. These conversations resulted in an agreement to protect all of Sri Lanka’s mangroves, making Sri Lanka’s government the first in the world to do so. Today, this historic agreement has put Sri Lanka at the forefront of mangrove preservation leadership worldwide. In 2020, Sri Lanka’s cabinet officially approved mangrove restoration policy, which added new protections to this vital ecosystem. By translating ecological awareness into community support, and then transforming that system in national activism, a small group of individuals have created a new future for mangroves in Sri Lanka and around the world.
What are you passionate about doing for the Earth? Can you find some friends who share your passion? What can you do collectively to make bigger change happen? This February, join us in Prithvi Seva Sanga to learn more about translating environmental awareness into societal change.
Action to Implement
Post your reflections & observations in the comments section below ⬇️
🌱 February 2023: Research a local environmental group and attend their upcoming meeting
Past Months Action to Implement
🌱 January 2023: 🌍 Create your personal practices for the 6 fundamental virtues
🌱 December 2022: ✅Do the following:
- Simplify one closet or one drawer in your home every week. Remove items that have not been used in the last 1 year.
- Dispose of unneeded items in a responsible way.
🌱 November 2022: ✅Make a list of the gifts you usually give during the holidays.
🌱 October 2022: This month, add 1 or 2 regional plants from the Xerces Pollinator Conservation website to your landscape!
🌱 September 2022: This month, review the Green Building list & commit to 1 simple and 1 challenging item to implement in your community/center.
🌱 August 2022: This month, read the Prthvi Seva Guide & commit to at least one practice to make your center/community more sustainable.
🌱 July 2022: This month, take a closer look at your travel impacts:
🔢 Estimate the carbon emissions of your mode of travel, lodging, food, and purchases
🙋🏻♀️ Commit to making one change to reduce your carbon footprint
🌱 June 2022: This month, take a closer look and identify your food waste as:
🍌 food prep scraps
🍽️ plate waste (unfinished food)
🤦🏻♀️spoiled or unwanted foo
🌱 May 2022: Implement the following actions.
- Reduce food Packaging.
- Learn about local and seasonal foods.
- Support a local grower & shop at Farmer’s Markets.
🌱 April 2022: Sahasra Vrksha Sankalpa – As a CommUnity, bring your heart and hands to the ground to plant 1000 trees together. Track and share here.
🌱 March 2022: Contribute to the health of our planet and the health of beings by doing the following:
Each day take inventory of what goes in the trash.
Identify the most common item.
Find an alternative that eliminates this waste.
🌱 February 2022: Implement the following and encourage others to follow:
- Unplug chargers when not in use
- Use the ‘Energy Saver’ mode on phones & laptops
- Use cold water for laundry & line dry
🌱 January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it
