Vanashakti is a non-profit environmental NGO based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was formed in 2006, by Meenakshi Menon, Namita Roy Ghose, and Peter Armand Menon. Vanashakti aims to conserve the forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors, habitats, through education and litigation to achieve its objectives of creating awareness about environmental topics, protecting and reviving rivers and preventing opencast mining in areas that are well-endowed with biodiversity. It also directs its efforts in involving local forest-dwelling communities to protect the biodiversity of the region and provides sustainable livelihood options for forest dependent and coastal communities. Vanashakti's thrust areas are forest, mangrove and wetland protection, environmental education for both urban and rural schools, livelihoods for forest based communities and scientific investigation into local environmental degradation.
Projects
Mangrove and Wetland Conservation
One of the major initiatives of Vanashakti is conservation of Wetlands, specifically mangroves in Mumbai metropolitan areas. Vanashakti conducts research on Mangroves through "photo documentation, regular visits, and archive databases". Over the years, Vanashakti has fought many court cases against activities that have harmful impact on the health of the wetlands in Maharashtra. Following are the examples of Vanashakti’s legal efforts to save the Mangroves:- PIL filed to stop reclamation of coastal wetlands to construct SEZ (Special Economic Zone) in Important Bird Area, the Thane Creek. In response to the PIL, Bombay High Court ordered the project proponent to stop dumping of solid waste in Mulund-Thane SEZ. PIL filed against Kanjurmarg dumping ground for destruction of mangroves and violation of waste management rules by BMC.Following the PIL, Bombay High Court ordered BMC to stop dumping waste in Kanjurmarg Landfill. Complaints filed highlighting issues of degradation/destruction of mangroves and wetlands at all levels of government. PIL filed by Vanashakti on the non-implementation of Wetland Rules led to High Court ruling that banned all construction on Wetlands. Along with two other NGOs, Vanashakti filed a PIL against illegal reclamation and dumping on the CRZ-I. The PIL also asked for the creation of a governing body to keep the destruction of wetlands in check. The state environment department directed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to carry out an inspection at Sewri Bay in response to Dayanand's letter to the state government urging the protection of its wetlands and birds. The Mumbai High Court issued notices to port trust and Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. Meanwhile, officials from the city collectorate confirmed that indeed there was destruction of mangroves at Sewri Bay. Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary has more than one and a half lakh birds, many of which are migratory species and many of them critically endangered species. The state of Maharashtra had refused to take steps to protect it. In 2011, Vanashakti proposed to declare the area as Sanctuary and requested the State Government to protect the area. Finally, in 2016 the notification was issued where the Thane creek from Airoli bridge to Vashi bridge was declared the ‘Thane creek Flamingo Sanctuary’.
Restoration of Degraded Wetlands
Vanashakti was a part of a restoration programme launched by state of Maharashtra which involved plantation of mangroves over 60 hectares across the city of Mumbai. Vanashakti collected 300 kg of garbage from 200 acres of mangrove forests in Bhandup.