Back to: Andhra Pradesh Board Class 10th English Guide and Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
This is an interview with Wangari Maathai, Environmental Activist, and Nobel Prize, winner. Wangari Maathai started the Green Belt Movement and also fought for equal rights for women in Africa. She is the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Summary
Peace and a good environment go side by side
From the very beginning, Wangari Maathai understood that she has to rehabilitate the environment as the rural people are asking for clean drinking water, food, energy, building material, for fodder for the animals.
She thought peace is connected to a good environment because there won’t be any conflicts if natural resources are abundant. She insists that conflicts over natural sources are even at the global level. When she was a child, which was almost more than fifty years ago, the environment was very pristine, very beautiful, and very green but as she grew the people destroyed all the local biological diversity. All the flora and fauna disappeared.
A campaign to restore vegetation, land, and forest
One thing she noted is that not only did the rain pattern change, became less, but also the rivers started drying up. So, she started a campaign to restore the vegetation and restore the land, and rehabilitate the forests. When she started working with the women, she taught them how to plant trees. In the beginning, it was difficult, but they soon gained confidence and they became very competent foresters. She called them “Foresters without Diplomas.”
Wangari Maathai thinks that the women responded well to her message because it is a need for them. She has seen three transformations. One of the biggest was the ability of an ordinary illiterate woman to get to understand and to be able plant trees. The other two transformations are the transformation of the landscape, and the willingness of people to fight for their rights. Wangari Maathai also influenced the rest of Africa through her efforts. She finally concluded that the greatest activity is to plant a tree which is a wonderful symbol for the environment.
Conclusion
The specific message of Wangari Maathai is that we must restore our environment and try to ensure that we don’t fight, to avoid the land to get degraded. Moreover, we should plant a tree as it is going to long last and benefit the future generation. The basic needs of the rural areas can be fulfilled by protecting forests. Like African stool, three legs are necessary for society namely peace, good governance, and sustainable management of resources. We lost our local biographical diversity.
So that’s a lot of damage to our environment. In the beginning, restoration is difficult but people soon gained confidence and became competent foresters. We can see two transformations – one is of their landscape and another fight for their rights. She said planting a tree is her greatest activity.
