UPDATE

The public lecture organized by Toxics Link, Kalpvriksh and the Australian High Commission, with environmental activist John Seed as the speaker took place on January 28th, 2010, as part of the Environment and Health Public Lecture series held on a monthly basis at India International Center.

The public lecture- ‘How the rainforests were saved in Australia- the influence of Gandhi’, was a huge success since the efforts taken by John Seed were highlighted and juxtaposed with the efforts in India like the Chipko movement, the issues of livelihood in the area, rain forest conservation, rehabilitation and resettlement were discussed through a little embellishment with songs on environment by the speaker.

John Seed is founder and director of the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia. www.rainforestinfo.org.au. He has created numerous projects protecting rainforests in South America, Asia and the Pacific through providing benign and sustainable development projects for their indigenous inhabitants tied to the protection of their forests. Since 1979 he has been involved in the direct actions which have resulted in the protection of the Australian rainforests.

The event was a crowd puller and a few questions on the ecology in the present time, the peaceful activism, on if there exist aborigines, threw further light on the topic.