The Chipko movement (Hindi: चिपको आन्दोलन, lit. 'hugging movement') is a forest conservation movement in India. Opposed to commercial logging and the government's policies on deforestation, protesters in the 1970s engaged in tree hugging, wrapping their arms around trees so that they could not be felled.[1]
Today, beyond its eco-socialist reputation, the movement is seen increasingly as an ecofeminist one. Although many of its leaders were men, women also had significant participation, as they were the ones most affected by the rampant deforestation,[2] which led to a lack of firewood and fodder as well as water for drinking and irrigation. Over the years they also became primary stakeholders in a majority of the afforestation work that happened under the Chipko movement.[3][4][5] In 1987, the Chipko movement was awarded the Right Livelihood Award "for its dedication to the conservation, restoration and ecologically-sound use of India's natural resources".[6]
- ^ Badri, Adarsh (5 February 2024). "Feeling for the Anthropocene: affective relations and ecological activism in the global South". International Affairs. doi:10.1093/ia/iiae010. ISSN 0020-5850.
- ^ The women of Chipko Staying alive: ecology, and development, by Vandana Shiva, Published by Zed Books, 1988. ISBN 0-86232-823-3. Page 67
- ^ The Chipko Movement Politics in the developing world: a concise introduction, by Jeffrey Haynes. Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. ISBN 0-631-22556-0. Page 229.
- ^ Chipko Movement The Future of the Environment: The Social Dimensions of Conservation and Ecological Alternatives, by David C. Pitt. Published by Routledge, 1988. ISBN 0-415-00455-1. Page 112.
- ^ Dankelman, Irene; Davidson, Joan (1988). "[Studying Chipko Movement – ] Pakistani Women Visit India's Environmental NGOs". Women and Environment in the Third World: Alliance for the Future. London: Earthscan. p. 129. ISBN 1-85383-003-8. OCLC 17547228. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
- ^ Chipko Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Right Livelihood Award Official website.