WCC Cohort leader Preeti Chauhan takes lead to safeguard Himalayas against pollution

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She is leading a community-based movement to protect the fragile Himalayan ecosystem with effective waste management strategies.

New Delhi: According to the UN Environment Programme, over 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems annually.

Numerous reports have also highlighted the pervasive presence of microplastics in rivers, lakes, glaciers, and terrestrial environments of the Himalayas.

The protection of this ecologically fragile region is immensely important as it shapes the nation’s geography, impacts climate, harbours biodiversity, and is the source of life-giving rivers.

This is why climate leaders like Preeti Chauhan are advocating remedial action to make the region climate-resilient. Preeti is also working to make the Himalayan environment strictly zero-waste, rather than relying on alternatives like recycling.

Preeti, who is also part of the 2024 cohort of the Women Climate Collective (WCC), a platform founded in 2023 which supports emerging women leaders to lead climate action towards a just, gender-inclusive climate transition alongside 20 young women climate leaders, believes gender plays a crucial role in climate action, especially in the Himalayas, where women are often at the forefront of managing available resources to sustain their households.

As she says, “During winter, women often take on the responsibility of storing food, fuel, and supplies to help their families survive when villages become disconnected from the outside world.

The recent weather events, including unexpected summer rains and delayed snowfall in trans-Himalayan areas, have particularly impacted women, who must adapt to these challenges.”

She also endorses zero-waste solutions in regions which have borne the brunt of environmental degradation due to unmanaged waste, increasing air and plastic pollution, as well as rapid infrastructure development.

She said , “Recycling is also not a practical solution here due to the region’s terrain and high transportation costs. Reducing single-use plastics, reviving traditional practices like composting, and supporting the local economy with local products are more effective.”

Preeti is the founder of Little Green World and Navikru Eco Foundation, and one of her key missions is to restore the balance between ecology and communities in the Himalayas.

She believes that engaging communities at the grassroots level is crucial, and adds, “That is why we are engaging students and the locals through experiential learning focused on topics like plastic types, waste management, biodiversity, and water.”

In her opinion, educational outreach is a powerful way to improve community engagement. “This will enable participants to adopt sustainable practices in their daily lives, enable students to identify local environmental issues, and ideate suitable alternatives. By involving schools and families, we can inspire long-term behavioural change,” she adds.

However, certain challenges persist in the course of her work. “In places like Ladakh, the shift towards packaged goods for convenience, especially in winter, makes it difficult for locals to switch to sustainable alternatives.

Moreover, the region’s infrastructure and geography create logistical hurdles, and funding constraints limit operations in areas like Zanskar. Lastly, the tourism-driven economy has shifted mindsets, making it hard to recruit locals for environmental work due to financial constraints,” says Preeti.

She also believes organic farming and greenhouses could help raise awareness among local communities, reduce transportation-related emissions, decrease packaged food usage, and provide access to leafy vegetables in early summer and early winter.

She concludes, “It is important to develop need-based sustainability plans for the Himalayan regions. The climate change effects are unpredictable in terms of their scale and frequency here, and we must collectively work to address and mitigate the ensuing risks.”

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