India

Women in Uttar Pradesh, India, came up with a novel way to protect their fuelwood trees from the threat of saws and axes. 'Hugging the trees' is catching on.

According to Indian scriptures, the four arms of the Hindu god Vishnu represent the stable, forested slopes of the Himalayas. Hindu priests claim that Lord Vishnu, protector of humanity and slayer of villains, has already lost two arms. The Chipko ('hug the trees') movement is trying to prevent the deforestation which is threatening to remove Vishnu's two remaining arms.

The Chipko movement began about ten years ago in northern India when the local people, mainly women, clashed with the authorities over the use of trees in the area. As one auction of ash trees to a sports goods company got under way, women protestors began to embrace the trees to prevent them being felled. This action, has triggered a chain of similar protests. Since 95 per cent of India's forests are state-owned the conflict is not only about commercial versus subsistence needs, but also about people versus the state. At another level, there is a clash between women and men over the use of trees.

As India earns a good deal of money from its forests (about $5 million in 1980-81) any reafforestation programme is directed towards commercially important trees, such as eucalyptus. Trees are now planted wherever there's land — along road and rail verges and on common lands where villagers previously had free access. The original purpose was to improve the quality of rural life, but it is the paper mills owners and big farmers who are reaping the benefits. The types of trees are important. Certainly the eucalyptus wood burns much too quickly for the villagers' liking.

Women in the area are dependent on the forests for their firewood and fodder. Not only are they doing battle with the authorities over what trees should be planted where, but their husbands may also have designs on the forest land. In the remote village of Dungari-Paitoli the government wanted to take over the community forest from the male-dominated village council to set up a potato seed farm. The men were promised jobs on the farm.

The women objected: this would mean a further five kilometre's walk for fuel. With help from other Chipko activists, the women finally won. But the struggle isn't over yet. The government is pressing for full state control over the exploitation of forests, while the customary rights of forest dwellers would be regulated by fines and punishments.

Through the strength they found in Chipko, women have begun to assert themselves in the village panchayat (council) meetings, and their influence in forestry matters has extended to other parts of India. Chipko now has a sister, Apiko, in the southern state of Karnataka, and all over the country there are 'friends of the trees' groups.

Adapted from 'Ask the Women Who Do the Work' in New Scientist, 4 Nov 1982, and 'A Handful of Grain for the Cane' in Manushi, No. 22, 1984.