Enter green giant
THE proposed industrial expansion in India has motivated Greenpeace (GP), the international environmental non- governmental Organisation (NGO), to broadbase its operations in.India. GP Will expand its activities in a phased manner leading to a full-fledged Organisation, Greenpeace India (GPI), in two years. Its first task would be to help carry out an 'informed appraisal' of the planned expansion of industries and greenfield projects by providing information on environmental protection and alternative technologies.
To begin with, Gp has made available environmental data to Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based NGO, to disseminate it in the country. GP is planning to form a network of environmentally- conscious persons before establishing a full- fledged office. Said Bob Edwards, senior campaigner, "Our approach to issues has always been to involve local interest. We do not want to be seen as a foreign agency imposing its opinion on the country. The awareness, the realisation and the support should come from within." In order to create an ecologically-informed society, environmental knowledge has to be provided at all educational levels, added Edwards.