Training Programmes

The Foundation organized a week long summer training program for college students and NGO Professionals from the 12th – 18th June, 2015 at the Eco-Ashram, Medawala, Thano, Dehradun. Of a total of 27 participants, 23 were law students from various esteemed institutions from all over the country, in addition to a member each from the NGOs One Nature, Bombay and Environment Support Group, Bangalore.

Through lectures, field trips, nature walks and presentations, in addition to the experience of living in the lap of nature at our Eco-Ashram, we aimed to help students internalise the spirit to stand up for our planet by understanding its problems and arriving at possible solutions.

The participants were addressed by eminent people in the field of environmental conservation including scientists, forest officers, retired government servants, activists, aggrieved communities etc. The following is the list of speakers and a summary of their lectures.

Mr. Joy Mangalani from the NGO One Nature, Bombay along with Shyam Aggarwal, a second year law student from Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, conducted the daily early morning yoga sessions. Mr. Naresh Bharadwaj conducted daily morning drills to instill a sense of discipline in the participants.  Late comers were made to jog few extra rounds so as to impress upon them the importance of time, a lesson which is highly useful later in professional life as well. Traversing the rugged jungle path in the treks by helping each other to move firmly, at times holding hands to keep the other from falling, helped the participants bond better. Walking in the shade of the Saal trees and listening to the chirping and singing of the birds against the absence of any human sounds, helped them imbibe the pristine beauty and harmony of nature.

With rug sacks and sticks, the MCMEF team of Green warriors thronged the Thano Mandir to wipe off any remaining trace of plastic that lied therein. Equipped with the training received during the cleaning at the Mandir, the participants were now all set for the final performance, determined to get rid from the banks of Mother Ganga. Seeing our team of over 30 people, the onlookers were really inspired and began lending a helping hand, throwing a word or two of encouragement. The Temple Samiti Pandits were also very supportive.

The students were excited to know that almost all cures to their medical problems lay in nature and were really surprised to see those cures in plants which they may have earlier dismissed. To ensure that they took some knowledge back home, the participants recorded short videos of each other explaining the significance of the plant and its properties. Few participants even purchased few Stevia plants, which they promised to take care of like their own child. All in all, it was a really refreshing and informative experience.

 The participants were divided into groups of four and were required to present on various topics including Climate Change and Global Warming, Sanitation, Hygiene and Public Nuisance, Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation, Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Energy and Environment, Alternative sources of energy, Municipal Solid Waste.DSC_0630

Case Presentation: Akhil Bharatiye Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sangh v. NPCIL & Ors.

All participants were equally divided into petitioners and respondents and were required to present their arguments in a Moot Court Competition before Sh. Mr. M.C. Mehta and Sh. Dr. G.D. Aggarwal. After extensively researching through the previous night, participants presented substantial arguments from both sides with the ruling being given in favour of the petitioners.

We feel really privileged to have organised Capacity Building Programs for lawyers from SAARC Countries including Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India. Young lawyers burning with a keen desire to learn attended the camps which were spread across six weeks and included intensive training through various projects, field trips, activities, research work, presentations etc. Moot Court competitions were also organised before an esteemed panel comprising of esteemed judges from Indian and beyond. The eminent experts at the program included Mr. Sunderlal Bahuguna, Dr. M.K. Ramesh (Prof. of Law, NLSIU Bangalore), Dr. I.M. Mishra (Head, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IIT Roorkee), Dr. Vinod Rishi   ( Ex-Additional Director General for Wildlife Conservation in India, Founder member Project Tiger and Project Elephant etc. ), Shri PC Tyagi (former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board), Justice Anil Dev Singh (Former Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court), Dr. G.D. Agarwal (Former Member Secretary, CPCB) etc.

This program was organised in March 2007 and saw the participation of around 30 NGOs including Jalpaiguri Science & Nature Club (West Bengal), Centre for Environment & Development (West Bengal), Society for Environment & Workers Allian (Orissa), Environment Conservation Group (Tamil Nadu), Nagaland Institute of Health and Social Welfare (Nagaland), Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (Maharastra), Himalayan Nature Society (Himachal Pradesh), Centre for Rural Education and Development Action (Uttar Pradesh), Paryavaran Sangrakshan Sangh (MP) etc.

A ‘Training Programme for Principals was organized by the MCMEF from 3rd to 6th October 2006. Twenty One Principals from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas of Jammu & Kashmir, U.P, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh participated in the programme. Eminent environmentalists, social scientists, experts from distinguished academicians were invited as resource persons during the programme.

In a landmark Judgement the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has emphasized the need for imparting environment education throughout the country by introducing Environment as a compulsory subject in Schools and colleges. It is generally felt that most of the teachers in India are not aware of the critical situation taking place because of pollution, forest degradation, depleting natural resources, effect of climate change and their impact on the life, health and property. Therefore MCMEF believes in taking initiatives in sensitising teachers through various innovative programmes.

The main objective was to introduce Principals to innovative and creative techniques (a hands-on and holistic approach) for environmental protection and teaching skills so that they can motivate/ teach children in their schools for the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development. Short films of half an hour duration related to environmental issues were shown during the program. The participants were taken to Rishikesh for the study of herbs at herbal nursery and to witness the famous Ganga Arti at Triveni Ghat, a trip which stayed in memory and was a great learning experience.

Another four day Training Program was organised for around 47 NGOs from all over the country including The Greens(Assam), PREM(Orissa), Teresa Social Welfare Organisation (Tripura), Paribesh Unnayan Parishad (Kolkatta), Education Society(Kolkatta), Vikalp Foundation (Bihar), Purvanch Environmental Association (U.P.), Paryavaran Parisad (Rajasthan), Environment Protection Forum (Maharastra), Young Monark Seva Sansthan (Jharkhand) etc.

A cultural event was also organised for the participants in addition to other interactive and stimulative activities. Besides equipping them with the requisite knowledge, the entire purpose of such programs is to also channelize varied expertise and skills into a common pool of ideas which can then be translated into action.

The eminent lecturers at the camp included Shri S. K. Saxena ( Sr. Scientific Officer , Punjab State Council for Science and Technology), Dr TK Joshi ( Head, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Delhi), Shri PC Tyagi (former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board), Justice Anil Dev Singh (Former CJ, Raj High Court), Dr. G.D. Agarwal (Former Member Secretary, CPCB) etc.

A four day capacity building program on environment protection and sustainable development was organised by MCMEF for 35 NGOs, some of which include Naya Kashmir Human Welfare Organisation (J&K), Youth Council for Development Alternatives (Orissa), Shristi Samajik Sansthan (Uttarakhand), Shramik Vidyapeeth (Jharkhand), Vikalp Foundation(Bihar), Prodigals Home  (Nagaland), Peace Society (Andhra Pradesh), Consumer Unity & Trust Society(Rajasthan), Volunatry Social Development Organisation(Tripura) etc. The program included interactive activities, discussions, presentations, nature walks etc.

We organised this training in order to acquaint NGOs with the environmental constitutional rights, duties, environmental legislations, policy, guidelines for the protection of environment and control of pollution. The Inaugural session was held at Raunaq Hall, PHD Chamber, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi on the 12th August while the remaining program was held from the 13-15th August (9.30 A.M. to 5 P.M daily) at HSMI, F-212, Malwa Singh Block, Khel Gaon, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi.

The participants received in-depth lectures on topics such as Municipal Solid Waste, Ground water pollution and control strategies, Biodiversity and forest laws, Vehicular pollution-law and landmark judgments, the lower Judiciary and the environmental Justice delivery system, Environment Impact Assessment and public hearing, Public Interest Litigation etc.

These eminent speakers include Dr D.K. Biswas (former Chairman, CPCB), Prof I. M. Mishra (Head, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IIT Roorkee), Shri SK Gupta (Chairman, Envirotech), Dr Amita Singh (Associate Professor, J.N.U.), Justice K.N. Saikia (Former Supreme Court Judge ), Shri PC Tyagi (former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board), Mrs Seema Midha (Advocate, Supreme Court of India), Shri SK Saxena (Sr. Scientific Officer, Punjab State Council for Science and Technology), Dr TK Joshi, Head (Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Delhi) etc.

A one day training was organised on 4th June, 2005 for teachers from various schools of Himachal Pradesh to discuss the various environmental challenges facing the state while trying to arrive at possible solutions to the same. The key objective was to sensitize the respected faculty to the urgency of the problems so that environmental education in schools also grows.

A capacity building training course was organized from 20th March to 23rd March 2005 at New Delhi. NGOs working in the field of environment protection and related issues like solid waste management, bio medical and hazardous waste management, water conservation and management, rain water harvesting, alternate energy sources, Environment Impact Assessment, public hearing, wild life and animal rights, forest and bio-diversity etc were invited to participate in the training program. Representatives of Twenty Four NGOs from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland participated in the program.

 Eminent experts in the field of conservation, public interest law and policy were invited to speak and discuss environmental law, policy, guidelines, constitutional rights and duties for the protection of environment . To name Dr G D Agrawal, former Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board; Dr D. K. Biswas, former Chairman Central Pollution Control Board; Justice Chaturvedi, Addl. Session Judge, Shri N. S. Tiwana, Director, Department of State Council for Science and Technology, Punjab; Dr. S. K. Saxena, Senior Scientific Officer, Dr. I. M. Mishra, Head, Deptt. Of Chemical Engineering, IIT Roorkee; Dr. T. K. Joshi, Head, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, Delhi; Dr A. Dey, Sr. Scientist, Central Ground Water Authority, Govt. of India; Shri S. K. Gupta (Director, Enviro-Tech); Dr. Amita Singh, (Associate Professor, University of Delhi) ; Mr M. C. Mehta, Ms. Seema Midha, Supreme Court lawyer, Sh. Biswajit Mukerji Senior Law Officer and some other experts addressed the participants with their rich knowledge and experience and had discussions at the end of every session with the participants.

Mr. M.C. Mehta travelled around different parts of India on speaking assignments to raise awareness about the plight of the Ganga and Himalayas, as well as other campaigns.