Pambazuka News believe the articles will contribute towards raising public awareness about what is at stake at COP 17, deepening analysis and understanding of the climate crisis and its impact on the people of Africa, creating linkages between academics, activists and journalists and reflecting the advocacy of African civil society organisations in the lead-up and during COP 17

The rhetoric of economic progress being a necessity for developing countries is repeated in various policy documents, project reports and judicial orders. In an effort to realise this, several regions that are critical for their biodiversity value, that support the livelihoods of marginal communities such as indigenous and forest dwelling people, fishworkers and landless farmers are assumed to be available for transforming into sites of industrial production of energy, goods and services.

The following set of articles, entitled “People’s Struggles in India,” documents a variety of facets of social movements in India. The movements are set in different regional contexts – the militarized Northeast of India, urban spaces, forests and coastal areas – and document several kinds of processes – a trade union movement, radical street theatre, working class people’s organisations and middle class environmentalism amongst others. They are meant as a reflection of the plurality of struggles in India.