By Narayani Ganesh and B Sivakumar

NARAYANI GANESH and B SIVAKUMAR make a plea to conserve the sacred groves and rich bio-heritage of the Western Ghats that stretch all along the coast of western India from Kerala upwards to Gujarat as they run across parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.

The Western Ghats have long been home to ancient sacred groves, inspiring deep insight into life and living. Designated as one of the 10 top biodiversity hotspots in the world and soon to be declared a World Heritage Site, the Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri range, are home to over 5,000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. There could be as many species here that are still unknown to us whereas 325 of those we know are on the endangered list.

Western Ghats, Eastern Pride: Click to see more stunning images of the Monsoon mountains.According to the Worldwatch Institute, from 1980 to 2008, an average of 52 species per year moved one category closer to extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red

By Narayani Ganesh

A twelve year-old Severn Suzuki blazed into the world’s consciousness with her touching SOS for Earth in 1992. And now it’s the turn of 17-year-old New Zealander, Brittany Tilford who is keeping her Date with History at Rio+20.

When twelve year-old Severn Suzuki delivered her short but powerful speech at the Rio’92 Earth Summit, everyone sat up. “The world simply stopped for those six minutes,” while heads of states and others were transfixed by a child’s plea for survival – not just of humans but of all species – demanding governments and all adults to take steps to reverse the damage that was being done to the environment.

Today, 32 year-old Severn continues to campaign for Earth as she did at Johannesburg in 2002 and now in Rio in 2012. “That was the most powerful thing I have ever done in my life till today,” says Severn in Rio, of her 1992 address to heads of state. And thanks to the power of social media, her 20 year-old speech continues to touch people across

Having to stay with a family on my first night in Rio de Janeiro as hotel rooms were unavailable – with Rio+20 delegates filling them well before the event -- I found myself in for a pleasant surprise.

The Brazilian couple, now retired, live in an apartment in Lapa, the happening place for music and dance lovers in Rio de Janeiro. My hotel booking was available only from the day after my arrival that night after a long flight. Because of the recommendation of a Brazilian friend of a friend, this couple kindly hosted me that night. All my apprehensions vanished into thin air the moment the lady of the house rushed downstairs to greet me at the entrance to her building despite it being close to 11 pm.

“Welcome to Brazil, to Rio, to Lapa....” she gushed, grabbing my suitcase and guiding me to the elevator. She has three children, she informs me. The older son lives with his wife elsewhere and the other two stay here. She ushers me into what looks like the master bedroom,

By Narayani Ganesh
 
Editor’s note: 300 parliamentarians from 80 countries meet up before Rio+20. Find out what’s new.

Every which way you turn, you bump into a legislator –- from Botswana, Gabon, Bahrain, Pakistan, Australia, Japan, Costa Rica, USA, Sweden, UK or India, to name a few -- for the ornate hall here at the Palacio Tiradentes in Rio de Janeiro is brimming with legislators, speakers and others from 80 countries with delegates and media persons attending the proceedings that began on June 15. It’s the old building that was used by the National Congress of Brazil, between 1926 and 1960, and is the current seat of the Legislature of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The palace is named after a seventeenth century dentist (Tiradentes) who later became a revolutionary, only to be arrested, executed and dismembered.

Palacio Tiradentes, RioThe summit, organised by GLOBE International, a UK and Costa Rica-based group seeks to place national legislation, natural capital and scrutiny at the heart of the Rio agenda.