On June 5, 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was inaugurated at Stockholm, Sweden, attended by 122 countries. The conference led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The road to the conference was far from smooth, with recent colonisers plotting to stymie the conference.
However, the conference marked a new path for the world, and India's then-Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, made a powerful speech about the hypocrisy of the West. Meanwhile, in the Garhwal Himalayas, ecological awareness was at an all-time high following the 1970 Alaknanda River floods.
The Chipko Movement, named after the women's unique style of protest, was born in 1974 when loggers were stopped by the women of the village who hugged the trees and refused to let go. The movement inspired others, including Panduranga Hegde, who began working to educate and empower people to take responsibility for their forests.
In 1983, Hegde's efforts led to the birth of the Appiko Movement in Karnataka, where people hugged trees to stop logging. The movement captured the public imagination, and in 1990, the state government imposed a total ban on the felling of green trees within natural forests.
