2024 Goldman Prize winner Alok Shukla (Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize)
The biodiverse Hasdeo Aranya forests are one of the largest intact forest areas in India. Spread over 657 square miles, the forest, which is popularly known as the Lungs of Chhattisgarh, provides crucial natural resources to the 15,000 Indigenous Adivasi people living there. The sprawling forest is also home to diverse wildlife including elephants and tigers, as well as thousands of unique reptiles and birds.
However, one of India's largest coal reserves is also located in the Hasdeo Aranya forest, and in a country where blackouts are common and widespread, there has been a great deal of focus on turning the forest into a mining hub. Even though the Hasdeo Aranya forests are considered a “no-go” zone by India's environmental ministry, the policy was never enacted into law and as a result, more than 21% of India's coal comes from the region.
Several years ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime pushed for 21 new mines to be placed in the forest, but a local man named Alok Shukla refused to let that happen. Shukla, a 43-year-old environmental activist, grew up watching the effects of deforestation on his community. He stepped up and founded the Save Hasdeo Aranya Resistance Committee, a grassroots organization advocating for the preservation of the sweeping, lush forests in the region. The protest campaign relied on both in-person action and social media awareness, and included events such as sit-ins, tree-hugging campaigns, and advocating for couples to write #savehasdeo on their wedding invitations.
Shukla's efforts paid off as India's legislature voted unanimously that all new mining proposals in the forest should be canceled. His commitment to conservation has also earned him the 2024 Goldman Environmental Prize, which “honors ordinary people who take extraordinary actions to protect our planet.” He is sharing the prize with five other winners from Brazil, the United States, South Africa, Australia, and Spain.
An environmental activist in India named Alok Shukla founded a grassroots organization to help preserve the lush forests of his country.
2024 Goldman Prize winner Alok Shukla and community members at Hasdeo Aranya (Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize)
Over the years, India has cut down forests to build coal mines, but Shukla took a stand against the environmentally harmful deforestation of places like the Hasdeo Aranya forests.
2024 Goldman Prize winner Alok Shukla at the edge of a mine (Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize)
Shukla's efforts paid off as India's legislature voted unanimously that all new mining proposals in the forest should be canceled.
Hasdeo Aranya (Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize)
And now, he's won the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work on conserving one of the largest forests in India.
Alok Shukla at the 2024 Goldman Prize ceremony in San Francisco (Photo: Goldman Environmental Prize)
Watch Shukla's acceptance speech:
Goldman Environmental Prize: Website | YouTube
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Goldman Environmental Prize.
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