Environmental Wisdom

Abstract

For whom do we celebrate Environment Day? Is it done to protect the environment or nature? Or is it for the survival of the human race? Environment protection is inclusive of programs for the existence of the human race. Would thoughts about mankind’s existence, combined with a broad consciousness of earth stratigraphy, develop and identify it with the universe as “environmental awareness,” to borrow Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s words? Is it possible for the environment to decenter and ignore man? In this light, man and environment appear to be incompatible, or dualities. These kinds of questions linger after each celebration of an environmental day. All need food and modern facilities, and everyone needs a healthy life too. The main goal is to make these facilities available to everyone. This type of facility does not appear to be environmentally compatible. Large-scale production has led to excessive exploitation of the earth, which in turn would affect its reproductive capacity. Natural resources are not the primary focus of development plans. Healthy food and life on traditional lines do not indicate development or modernization. These are not included as indexes of development. At the same time, if gruel is served with noodles, it could be an indication of modernization. 
This does indeed ultimately affect our local culture and methods of production. A raid under the Kerala Fisheries Department was held at Ponanni in June 2022. Hatchlings caught illegally were either sent back to sea or buried. Catching hatchlings is not practiced in the villages. The procreative period of fish and their rearing is considered important. Based on these moral values, people make use of the available resources. Not only natural calamities but also the above-mentioned factors are also taken into consideration by our fishermen before they decide the time and place of their catch. Profit, on the other hand, is the primary motivator today, undermining the conditions valued by our fishermen. Beyond all these considerations, profit remains the sole motive. This kind of change does not belong to fishermen alone; they might have ignored moral values to make both ends meet. When all other categories of people stand for profit, it is meaningless to attach this moral value to the fishermen alone. This value system was lost to people who are not only connected to a system but also to those who are living within it. The Indian farmers derived their strength to fight against the big power centres from their faith in their capacity for production. They are not willing or ready to surrender their productive capacity for trivial benefits. That is the reason they were able to stand against the power centers. This kind of potential is slowly eroding among the local cultures. Traditional fishermen might not be the people who were responsible for the disruption of the sustainability of the system. They might have become responsible for the distraction of the environment-friendly system.
 I happened to witness a dismal picture on the Parappanagadi Sea coast once. Many came to enjoy the beauty of the sea, and there were local vendors too, surrounding the local tourists. Meanwhile, a local boy came and dumped a bucket of waste in the sea. He did it without hesitation and as naturally as possible, or as part of his daily routine, in front of the people who flocked to the coast to enjoy the sea. ‘The sea may erase everything.’ This might have emboldened the boy to do this, or the inhabitants of the coastal area may not have other means to dispose of the waste, or they might have been doing this for a long time. In the context of the development plans for the coastal area, the people who live along the coast and their deplorable conditions might have prompted them to do such unpleasant things. The waste which coastal people dispose of may be comparatively less. But these days, the quantity of waste has increased. Local administration is giving their attention to maintaining the seacoast. But, at the same time, without making the coastal people aware of the importance of maintaining the coastal environment, environmental protection may not be complete. As a result, environmental awareness is the wisdom that everyone should have. It is not the responsibility of the poets or environmental activists to maintain the environment intact; it is the wisdom that each one of us has to realize and acquire.