Future Environmental Conservation - Discussions
From left to right - Janina Schan, Manoj Halley, R.Arun and Fraser McIntosh discussing the future of environmental conservation. The Voice of the Youth for a Clean Environment (VOYCE) may be a nascent venture in Coimbatore. But, it already has more than 1,500 college students working towards spreading awareness on environmental conservation in the city.An offshoot of Youth Helping Hands, a network of young people supporting children living in orphanages, the movement has now found firm supporters in Janina Schan, a student of Environmental Sciences from Hannover, Germany, and Fraser McIntosh, a student of Ecology from Kelowna, Canada. In Coimbatore, as part of garnering support for the cause of the environment, they interacted with the members of the movement and have pledged to co-operate with them. “The message of VOYCE is applicable internationally. The effects of global warming and the countless issues it throws up have solutions at the local level,” says Mr.Fraser. “And, the youth here are environmentally and socially conscious,” he adds.
India has greater potential to do more for environmental conservation than the West which is characterised by over consumption, and excessive waste generation. However, from an environmental point of view, the country should not follow the Western style of development. It needs to develop a system which should not repeat the mistakes of the Western World, Mr.Fraser says. The environmental challenges triggered by the industrial revolution all have sustainable green solutions, he observes.
Even as consumption is bound to increase in India, the challenge lies in maintaining sustainability of production, he says. “We are going to take the example of the youth’s commitment to the cause to our own countries. The amount of ambition and passion we have witnessed here is enormous. The work of the volunteers here can be held up as shining examples,” Ms.Janina says. Germany leads the world in carbon emissions. Though people are aware of the need for conservation, it takes a backseat in the pursuit of earning money, she adds. "We will be trying out ways to co-operate with the youth movement here,” she adds.
These volunteers have specifically set up a programme, which will facilitate more youth from Germany and Canada to work with the children living in orphanages here. “The children at orphanages are ambitious, socially conscious and have the desire to do something for the society. All they need is a bit of guidance. Though the care takers do not impart environmental awareness to the children, they absorb the concepts we teach them,” say R.Arun, founder director of YHH and Manoj Halley, another volunteer for YHH from Canada.
