The lack of a two-pronged approach - a long-term sustainable plan to protect our threatened natural heritage and to educate Gen Next about its conservation - spells bad news for our fragile city
A couple of weeks ago, as part of the Guide section's marquee series, Lunchbox, seasoned eco warrior Bittu Sahgal and protegee Dia Mirza bonded over lunch and all things green at a city restaurant. One of the most startling facts that grabbed our attention was uttered by Sahgal during that engaging chat. According to him, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park alone has more butterflies that those found in all of the United Kingdom! It was a jaw-dropping piece of information, hardly known, and not flaunted as one of the USPs of this green paradise within our city.
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Our first thought was about the protection of these winged beauties. Is such a policy in place to ensure their numbers are safe? Are our textbooks showcasing this beautiful treasure in our backyard?
How many thickly populated cities on this planet can boast of having a national park - a biodiversity haven - within their municipal boundaries? Mumbai happens to be one of the few, and possibly one of the most threatened as well. Along with the mangroves, the other natural custodians of the island city, both remain two of our main green lungs.
The August 29 deluge was another reminder of our fragile ecosystem, of natural heritage under serious threat, and the lack of measures to be implemented lest these last bastions crumble, and with it, a city built largely on reclaimed land.
Throughout that conversation, Sahgal reiterated the need to take the message of conservation forward, to parents and schools in particular. After 40 years of championing a cause that was considered a peripheral one until now, he was enthused that celebrities like Mirza were taking the baton forward, as a representative of the next generation.
That's where the catch lies. Do we have a plan where school-going children are exposed and educated about conservation of our city from an early age? Is the state education board taking an interest in creating a system to highlight the need for a green environment? At a basic level, how many schools can boast of a tree cover within their campuses? At the other extreme, cities like London are racing ahead after alarmist data revealed increasing pollution levels.
Only recently, its Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a £1m Greener City community fund that is part of a wider £9m funding to help schools along with boroughs and local groups improve their local environments. It's a terrific start - to create a public awareness system in their backyards that will finally extend to the larger community, and city. Khan has vowed to work towards making London the world's first national park city by 2050 as he went on to spell out an exhaustive plan with long term sustainable solutions.
When our junket-fed babus visit global cities as part of their 'study' tours, one wonders if any such realisation impacts their thick-skinned selves. Forget about accountability, the urge to protect our home city's green cover is nowhere on the horizon. Not once have we heard of an eco-friendly idea being propositioned and actually executed after borrowing from a successful wold city model. With a 360-degree movement sorely lacking in this city, it's left to green champions like Bittu Sahgal, Dia Mirza, and countless other groups who silently go about their task to protect our last surviving green tracts.
each time we look at frames of the swollen Mithi River or our beachfronts resembling garbage dumps, we wake up, announce interim solutions and sleep over the much-needed action plan. We have until next monsoon, after all.
mid-day's Features editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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