A Step Towards Nature Restoration: Reflections from the Three-Day Sahyadri Environment Summit

At a time when ecological crises are no longer distant warnings but lived realities, the Sahyadri Environment Summit emerged as a meaningful space for dialogue, resistance, and hope. Organized by Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS), Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology, and Nanmamaram Kootayma, the summit was held at the serene Uravu Bamboo Grove, Wayanad—an apt setting for conversations rooted in nature.
The summit opened with a deeply symbolic gesture: a bamboo sapling was planted in memory of late Prof. Madhav Gadgil (Pseudoxytenanthera madhavii). The inaugural session was led by Kumar Kalanand Mani, Director of the Goa Peace Foundation, who reminded the gathering that nature is not separate from human life but its very foundation. He stressed our collective responsibility to protect ecological systems and to pass on a living, breathing planet to future generations. The summit was chaired by N. Badusha, President of WPSS.
Eminent environmentalists, researchers, activists, and practitioners including Adv. Mahendra Vyas, Praveen Bhargav (Former Member, National Wildlife Board), Dr. P. S. Esa (Former Director, Kerala Vanagaveshana Kendram), Dr. E. Unnikrishnan (SEEK) , Tajudheen (Nanmamaram Kootayma) , Sivaraj T. (Managing Director, Uravu Eco Links), and C. S. Murali (Activist) contributed powerful insights during the inaugural session.
Over the course of three days, the summit hosted intensive discussions, lectures, and panel conversations on a wide spectrum of environmental concerns. Themes ranged from development versus environment, biodiversity conservation, and Right to Information in environmental governance, to tribal communities and development, chemical fertilisers and sustainable agriculture, human–animal conflict, river conservation challenges in Kerala, coastal ecology, wetland conservation, and the overarching crisis of climate change. Each session echoed the urgent need for policies and practices that are ecologically sound and socially just.
Beyond discussions and debates, the summit celebrated the cultural and spiritual connections between communities and nature:. Theatre performances and Nattugadhika, a traditional Adivasi ritual performance.
The Sahyadri Environment Summit concluded with a collective resolve to prepare a Green Manifesto—a shared document that would articulate current environmental challenges and propose people-centred, sustainable pathways forward. More than an event, the summit became a step towards renewed ecological responsibility, collaboration, and action.