Isha Foundation responds to ESG's open letter to Leonardo DiCaprio

The Isha Foundation has issued a response to the environmental group ESG (The Environment Support Group) which claimed that the plantation of trees in the Cauvery belt will do more harm than good. The ESG wrote an open letter to actor Leonardo Di Caprio asked him to withdraw his support from the ‘Cauvery Calling’ campaign. 

Isha Foundation responds to the letter

Isha Foundation responded to the letter in an open statement on its website "An open letter recently written to actor Leonardo DiCaprio attempts to gain publicity by attacking a high visibility cause supported by a prominent celebrity... The letter is a baseless opinion that contains blatant untruths and loose comments with no backing in facts," said the statement.

Isha Foundation releases a point to point response to the letter

The Isha Foundation has released a point-to-point response to the letter. The letter says:

“ The letter (ESG’s letter to Leonardo Di Caprio) is a baseless opinion that contains blatant untruths and loose comments with no backing in facts. The main argument is that the Cauvery Calling movement is proposing simplistic solutions, such as planting monocultures of trees on riverbanks. That is factually incorrect: The Cauvery Calling campaign is a comprehensive plan to plant trees on a portion of private farmland in Cauvery basin districts. The fundamental principles of Cauvery Calling have been supported by both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments.” The letter further explains what Isha Foundation is trying to do at the Cauvery. 

Isha Foundation’s response to allegations 

The open letter also responds to ESG’s allegations of ‘mindlessly planting trees’ in the Cauvery basin.

The response says “We have listed the appropriate species to be planted in each segment of the entire basin stretch – we have compiled this list with advice from Karnataka Forest Department,  Institute of Agricultural Technologists, Institute of Agroforestry Farmers  & Technologists, Forest College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, academics, and Ministry of Environment, Govt of India, individual experts who have decades of experience in agroforestry and trees in the Cauvery basin before the Cauvery Calling plan was developed. Along with this, Project GreenHands of Isha Foundation which is the recipient of the country’s highest environmental award, the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar, has experience of agroforestry in Tamil Nadu for over 18 years. There are successful cases of agroforestry practised by farmers in many districts of Tamil Nadu, including Cauvery basin districts.”  “Cauvery Calling is an economic solution for ecological problems to be implemented by farmers in their private agricultural lands through the promotion of agroforestry with local species ” the letter adds.

READ | IN PICTURES | Sadhguru celebrates International Yoga Day 2019 with Andaman and Nicobar Command

ESG writes an open letter to Leonardo Di Caprio

The letter written to DiCaprio by the ESG states that “The tree planting promoted by Isha Foundation, by inviting people to donate money to plant 2,420,000,000 trees, may appear incredibly attractive. But on deeper investigation, it comes across as a method that promotes a monoculture paradigm of landscape restoration which people of India have rejected long ago. Besides, such a programme could create unintended and unforeseen social and ecological consequences, as planting trees in certain regions (grasslands and floodplains for instance) could result in drying up of streams and rivulets, and destruction of wildlife habitats. Further, it can also lead to encroachments of the floodplains and riverbeds, as has happened at numerous places.” the letter further says that Isha foundation has low credibility in conforming with Indian laws protecting human rights and environment. 

READ | Leonardo DiCaprio lends support to 'Cauvery Calling' initiative

DiCaprio supports Sadhguru’s campaign

Leonardo DiCaprio on September 21 supported Sadhguru’s campaign in a Facebook post. "India's rivers are severely endangered with many of its smaller rivers vanishing. Join Sadhguru and the Isha Foundation in their fight to preserve the Cauvery River..." said the Facebook post. The Cauvery basin has depleted over 40 per cent in the last 70 years. Isha foundation says that at least 87 per cent of the basin's original tree cover has been lost. 

READ | Cauvery Calling: Freeing farmer's hands by agro-forestry

READ | 'Cauvery Calling' reaches Puducherry, Kiran Bedi welcomes Sadhguru