The River Keeper of Periyar : V. J. Jose

The deterioration of a river due to toxic effluents from an industrial estate - critical as such issues are, they remain distant for most members of the public; something they will only read about in newspaper columns. What makes a man so passionately devoted to a river that he dedicates virtually his entire existence to the cause?

V.J.Jose, appointed by Greenpeace as the River Keeper of the once-magnificent Periyar in Kerala, is perpetuating a romance with this river that has survived several generations of his family. Jose is the very first River Keeper in Asia (It was in the United States of America that Greenpeace appointed John Cronin the first River Keeper for the Hudson River, a post presently held by Alex Matheson.)

A Lifelong Cause for Jose

Jose was born in Eloor to a family that had, for generations, depended on the Periyar for sustenance. He studied up to the tenth after which he took up part-time jobs, dabbling in marketing, before his energy and attention turned to things that he believed demanded immediate attention - issues of environmental concern.

Moved by the state of the Periyar, Jose's first act on behalf of the river was to lodge a complaint against the Fertilizers And Chemicals Travancore (FACT) authorities, objecting to the pollution they were causing.

As the River Keeper of the Periyar, it is Jose's responsibility to safeguard the river from further degradation and draw attention to the failing 'health' of the river. Although he had already spent years raising awareness about the state of the river, writing to authorities and challenging bureaucrats, Greenpeace empowered him further by helping him train at the People's Science Institute, Dehradun, and equipping him with a boat and materials that allow him to monitor the river in a scientific manner. He periodically updates the Kerala Pollution Control Board with his findings, campaigning vigorously with the local community and the media to ensure that the Periyar's slow death does not pass unnoticed.

It is now almost two decades since he turned environmental activist, and although he's seen his share of closed doors and deaf ears, Jose remains unshaken in his faith. His family: his wife Alice, his daughter, Remya and his little son, Joel all pitch in to assist him, and reflect his own attitude towards his job and their environment. "We need industries," Jose will agree, "No nation, especially a developing country like ours, can do without industries. However the industries must find and adopt more environment friendly, socially responsible practices. Industries need to learn how to co-exist with the environment they operate in."

Community Right to Information
Often, those who are the most affected by environmental pollution are the last ones to learn of it. Jose believes that the ones who ought to receive regular information about the state of the river are those who live by its banks, suffering death and disease without knowing the cause. Jose uses simple science and a persuasive manner to convince people of the need to take action on behalf of the river, and now has a growing band of volunteers from Eloor helping him with his daily responsibilities.

In a typical week, Jose will steer his boat across the Periyar, taking samples of water and using his mobile laboratory to monitor the quality of water, hold meetings with local youth, give interviews to the media, write letters to the Pollution Control Board, to the industry and other stakeholders, and investigate reports of clandestine dumping of effluents by the industry.

Success in small measures

Keeping up a constant flow of information to the community, Jose has managed to galvanize the media to take a stand on the issue and multiply his efforts. In a concerted elections-related outreach programme, Greenpeace campaigners polled people from Eloor, allowing them to cast their vote for the Periyar. As a follow up to this outreach programme, Greenpeace organized an opportunity for the community to "Meet the Candidates" standing for election and quiz them on their stand vis-à-vis the Periyar. As a direct outcome of this event, the elected MP from Ernakulam district Dr. Sebastian Paul, pledged his commitment to the Periyar, even revising his manifesto to reflect his commitment.

Jose is now part of a multi-stakeholder group that has been given the mandate to come up with a Periyar Action Plan as soon as possible. The Plan is intended to support industrial growth in a sustainable manner that does not compromise the Periyar any further.

In another significant achievement, on the 15th of June 2004, the Kerala Pollution Control Board (a body that has been receiving Jose's reports for more than a year now) took action against Hindustan Insecticide Limited, filing a case in the Judiciary 1st Class Magistratre Paroor, Ernakulam making a formal complaint against the company's inadequate effluent processing systems, and the dumping of excess effluents beyond permissible levels.

While Jose is aware that these are but small steps towards success in a long-drawn out battle, he sees them as an indication that change is possible.

Replicating success in a new community

Jose avers that his main duty as River Keeper is to turn people's attention towards the increasing levels of pollution in the river, and to create growing awareness of the need to take preventive action.

Although his allegiance to the Periyar is his primary motivation, Jose' commitment to the environment, and his success as the River Keeper make him an ideal advocate for people's science, the community's right to information and their need to take direct action.

In a recent campaign at Patancheru district, Andhra Pradesh, Jose, along with other colleagues from Greenpeace, trained a group of volunteers in People's Science and helped them analyze the quality of water in their highly polluted cheruvus (lakes) - the result of profligate dumping of effluents from the industries based in the district. Fired by Jose's enthusiasm members of the local community have committed to monitoring the water in their lakes and replicating the success that Jose has met with.

Greenpeace believes that Jose has made a significant contribution towards empowering this community just as he has for Eloor, and enabled them to raise pertinent questions and seek feasible solutions from their government and the industry.

Meanwhile in Kerala, Jose continues to mark time in his mobile laboratory on the Periyar River, till his beloved Periyar can be restored to her former glory.