ADRA India

ENVIRONMENT

ADRA India strongly believes that we are stewards of our planet and of our environmental resources. We understand that the environment and development are intrinsically linked and that global challenges such as the unprecedented climate change, deforestation and the decrease of biological diversity have to be faced with urgency, conviction and responsibility. India is heavy with pollution, especially its major cities, with over 4,000 people dying in Delhi every year from air pollution related causes. Plus, with the demand on food far outweighing the available supply.

India has gone from being a self-reliant nation of food surplus, to a country that is becoming a net importer of food. We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals#7: that aims to Ensure Environmental Sustainability and to the belief that communities and organizations like ADRA India can work together to promote environmental sustainability in India. Our partnership with the community is currently focusing on improving the understanding of environmental issues in schools, improving the disposal of solid waste, getting involved in coastal greening initiatives that work towards a sustainable future. We also facilitate innovations, such as supporting households in utilising organic and non-organic recyclable waste, as methods of improving their individual cultivation as well as earning their livelihood.

O ur Environment Program

Tsunami Survivor Learns Enviro Skills

Jaya is a woman who, like many others, is still living in a temporary bamboo shelter after the tsunami ravaged her village on the Andaman Islands late 2004. The tsunami caused not only damage to human life and man-made structures, but it destroyed thousands of acres of natural and cultivated land. Since 2006, ADRA India has been present in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the form of the ‘Ensuring Environmental and Livelihood Security’ (EELS) project.
EELS project aims to improve the mitigation and rehabilitation of degraded coastal, urban and rural environments of the tsunami-affected communities of Andaman and Nicobar Islands through integrated management of natural and non-biodegradable waste resources. Some of the ways that EELS achieves this is through eco student clubs, environmental care awareness, salt water intrusion protection, environmental clean-up, related livelihood and backyard agro-forestry promotion.
As a beneficiary of the EELS project, Jaya has learnt to cultivate vegetables in her backyard. She says “I learnt about backyard cultivation from ADRA, before tsunami I did not do anything in my backyard. With the support of ADRA I started vegetable cultivation and I even got sufficient vegetables during Kharif (Spring) as well as Rabi (Winter) season.
I also got some training in vegetable cultivation, compost making and environmentally friendly methods of controlling pests. Now I have learnt how to cultivate and manage my backyard, and also how to protect the vegetables that I grow from pests, through biological control.” She continues, “ADRA has taught us how to clean our immediate environment as well our community. I now make compost out of kitchen waste and dead trees, and use this as manure for my backyard cultivation.” Jaya is 1 of 805 beneficiaries who received seeds, seedling, irrigation tools and training in Backyard Cultivation. Jaya concludes, “Now I am happy and thankful to ADRA for their support and helping me and my environment here.”