Be brave and step forward

Rituraj Phukan is an environmental writer, TEDx Speaker, adventurer, climate activist and naturalist based out of Assam. He is the Founder of the Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum, co-founder of SMILY Academy, Climate Editor of Mahabahu, a member of the IUCN, and the National Coordinator for Biodiversity with The Climate Reality Project India.

Rituraj has experienced warming in the Arctic and Antarctic, around the Himalayas and across India. He was personally trained as a Climate Reality Leader by Nobel Laureate Al Gore and featured in the latter’s book  ‘An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power’.

He has been an accredited Observer and speaker at UN Climate Conferences (COP26, COP27, COP28, COP29) and the UNCCD COP16. Rituraj has been an invited speaker at the Women’s 7, G7 Summit in Rome and the Y20 inception during G20 in India.

His current focus is on mainstreaming indigenous food systems which are proven models of sustainability and resilience, besides being healthy and nutritious.

Rituraj shares his journey as an environmentalist in a candid conversation with Siddarth Pradhan.

Please tell us about yourself and your journey as an environmental activist.

I have been fascinated by nature since childhood, and I remember every moment in the wilderness as a magical trip of discovery. Assam is known for its biodiversity and experiencing nature was part of our everyday lives.  I grew up in a period of civil unrest due to a mass students-led agitation against illegal infiltration of people into my native state. We missed over a year of school, spending months at home doing nothing. It was very frustrating, and I always wondered why people would want to leave their own countries and cause trouble in other lands.

Years later, I quit my government job to begin a lifelong engagement with nature. My projects used to be on the conservation of birds and on the coexistence of humans and elephants – Assam is probably the area in the world with the maximum number of casualties due to human-elephant conflicts. Then I got exposed to the potential of climate change aggravating many of the environmental issues prevalent on northeast India.

The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth” was my eye-opener as it answered a lot of questions that had lingered in my mind since childhood. It opened my eyes to the fact that our region was one of the early climate-change impacted regions of the world.

I wanted to do something about it, but I had limited options with my different educational background. Travelling to Antarctica in 2013 was life changing in many ways. Besides first-hand experience of warming impacts on the fragile ecosystems of the remote continent, I learnt more about the consequences of polar melting on the planet. Just a few months later, I was trained as a Climate Reality Leader at Istanbul by former US Vice President Al Gore, the man who won the Nobel Prize for “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Attending the UN climate negotiations and other international events has been an eye opener for me.  I was shocked that the indigenous people populated Eastern Himalayan did not have representatives in these forums, despite being one of the early impacted and most vulnerable regions, confirmed by several studies in the past decade. This is not right, and we need to ensure that the negotiations address the needs and concerns of the people of our region. We must have access to the adaptation and loss and damage funds, having had to sacrifice our development aspirations for decades.

At the same time, I realized that the global realization that the traditional wisdom and knowledge systems of indigenous people presents a great opportunity to mainstream the age-old indigenous way of life, and motivate the youth to embrace and preserve these traditions which always prioritized sustainable coexistence with nature. The Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum aims to ensure that the global community recognizes the challenges and delivers climate justice to the people of the Eastern Himalayas.

How, when and why did you become a climate activist?

On the 2nd of March, 2013, citizens of 15 Pacific Islands nations urged the world community to take action before it is too late for them; these countries face complete annihilation by rising sea levels. The 350.org organized Pacific Warrior Day of Action had asked for solidarity from the global community in support of their theme - "We are not drowning. We are fighting against climate change. Will you stand with us?"

I was in Antarctica on a climate change expedition at that time. I am proud to have had the opportunity to hold up a solidarity banner and stand with the people of Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Is, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Niue, Cook Is, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Kiribati as the only activist from the entire continent.

Three months later, in June, I went to get trained as a Climate Reality Leader in Istanbul. The city was in turmoil over the decision to hack down trees in Gezi Park for a new development project, and things got out of hand during the training with violent attempts to suppress the protests. Over the next few days, I was caught in the whirlpool of police and public action amidst escalating tensions. To cut a long story short, a group of us from the training were hounded into a shelter as riots erupted all around us. I learnt my lesson the hard way- to fight for environmental rights was never going to be easy. I graduated as a Climate Reality Leader in the same week that I discovered that there was an effective antidote for tear gas burn. But that's a story for another day.

Tell us about your polar expeditions and how did they shape your journey as an activist?

I was a member of the International Antarctic Expedition 2013 led by Robert Swan, the first man to have walked to both the poles. We were on a mission to gain firsthand experience of climate change impacts on the fragile Antarctic ecosystems.

I will never forget the moments from the 9th of March, when we were summoned to the top deck at 7 AM for the Iceberg Ceremony at Antarctic Sound. We saw us the large tabular icebergs that had floated north from the collapsed Larsen B ice shelf 11 years earlier.

I still remember what Robert Swan said and I quote him- “Back in 2002, most people did not believe in climate change. When it started to collapse, scientists said it will take a long time to collapse, but after the cracks were first noticed, it went very fast and collapsed in less than 4 weeks. Now, you have seen climate change impacts already happening here, you must help spread the word and ensure the world leaders take decisive action before it is too late.”

Another highlight was the visit to the ‘E-Base’ on King George Island, which runs entirely on renewable energy. It is also the only private base on Antarctica set up by Robert Swan several years earlier.

In 2015, I spent two weeks at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in the Canadian Arctic. It opened my eyes to the cascading consequences of warming on the ecosystems of the arctic, observe the unfolding impacts on biodiversity ranging from polar bears to fishes, birds and amphibians, permafrost melting and the struggles of the human communities.

Four years later, I was thrilled when Robert Swan himself invited me to be a part of the Climate Force Arctic Expedition in 2019. The expedition team comprising of 86 scientists, naturalists, corporate leaders, writers, filmmakers, civil society leaders and other experts from 27 countries.

I was also invited to deliver an audio-visual presentation about the proposed Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary for all marine areas north of the Arctic Circle. I also talked about the impending water crisis in the northeastern region and the vulnerabilities and resilience of the Eastern Himalayas.

We flew to Longyearbyen, the world's northernmost town, which is located at only 800 miles from the North Pole. We visited the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster, is located at Longyearbyen. However, in the summer of 2017, meltwater permeated the seemingly invincible structure, and it was closed for repairs during our visit.

It was disconcerting to learn that parts of Svalbard, including Longyearbyen had warmed by over 5 degrees Celsius in the past 20 years, threatening the lifestyles of the people and biodiversity of the region. We learnt about the changing dynamics of predator and prey interactions in the warming arctic ecosystems from wildlife biologists with decades of ongoing research in the polar regions. Animals like the seals, walrus and polar bears were facing survival threats because of the loss of sea ice.

The National Geographic Explorer expedition ship that took us further north. After several days exploring the remote islands of the high Arctic, our route was blocked by an endless expanse of sea ice at 82⁰ North. The loss of sea ice has implications for global weather and is vital for the survival of animals like seals and polar bears. Our ship turned back without disturbing the sea ice, even though it is an ice-strengthened vessel capable of breaking through sea ice.

My third Arctic expedition was by public transport across Lapland, engaging with activists and indigenous communities in the four countries of the region.  

What do you think are the biggest environmental threat for Assam in particular and North East India?

The Eastern Himalayan region is one of the biologically richest areas on Earth, with an abundance of endemic and rare species inhabiting the diverse landscapes. This region is also home to many indigenous communities with unique cultures and traditions that are steeped in nature. We celebrate our biological diversity in art and music. Although blessed with natural largesse, our region is vulnerable to natural disasters and sits on the cusp of an impending climate and ecological crisis.

Across the region, the loss of forest cover, invasive vegetation and disappearance of native biodiversity have emerged as direct threats to the food security of millions. The impact of climate change on native biodiversity used as food and medicine by indigenous communities is an unknown but an expected consequence. Despite these impacts, the region is unrepresented in the global discussions about climate justice.

The lives, livelihoods and food security of the Lepchas, Bodos, Nyishis, Nagas, Meiteis, Ahoms, and other indigenous people and local communities across the Eastern Himalayan region are being undermined by the unfolding climate and biodiversity crises. The projected precipitation changes will cause water scarcity, drive biodiversity loss, and compromise food security and health, multiplying the vulnerabilities of the tribal populations. Ensuring access to the traditional foods of our ancestors should be part of the conversation about climate justice.

A few years back I launched the SMILY (Sustainable Mindsets and Inner Level for Youth) Academy, an indigenous-led impact accelerator under the Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum in collaboration with indigenous leaders in Assam and European entrepreneurs. The SMILY Academy will help young entrepreneurs to incorporate traditional knowledge systems in their businesses. The inaugural Assam experience in March 2024 brought together 30 participants from 6 countries for an immersive learning experience with 6 different indigenous people and local communities. Three of the cohort have secured international projects to implement their eco business ideas.

We organized a two-day masterclass under the theme "I am the Planet, the Planet is me - Indigenous wisdom and feminist leadership as catalysts for Planetary Mental Health" at the NNEDPRO -IANE International Summit on Food Nutrition & Health at Kolkata in December 2024. This year, the SMILY Academy will be collaborating with NNEDPRO for several upcoming events.

What is your message to students? How can they ensure a greener and better planet for the future?

Humanity is indebted to young people for their leadership of the movements for social justice and the modern environment movement is perhaps the best example of the power of the youth. From Denis Hayes to Severn Cullis Suzuki, Felix Finkbeiner to Greta Thunberg, every generation has produced inspirational young leaders who shaped the modern environmental movement. India has produced an impressive list of young changemakers and climate activists including Ridhima Pandey and Vinisha Umashankar and I call upon the youth readers to find their own local environmental heroes, or better still, be one yourself!

Last year the United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the ambitious Pact for the Future during the Summit of the Future in New York. One of the five focus areas is youth and future generations. The pact for the Future included the first ever Declaration on Future Generations, with concrete steps to take account of future generations in our decision-making, including a possible envoy for future generations. It is a commitment to more meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that shape their lives, especially at the global level.

There has never been a better time for young people to take charge. Be brave and step forward.