Environment Support Group (ESG) is a not-for-profit voluntary organisation, registered as a Public Charitable Trust. ESG believes in promoting a pattern of development that is socially just, economically viable, ecologically sustainable, politically participative and culturally vibrant.

In fulfillment of this task, we facilitate local communities and civil society groups in their effort to resist socially and environmentally destructive developments for which we provide a variety of support functions including research, documentation, training, advocacy and legal support. In this task ESG is supported by an in-house staff consisting of technically qualified researchers, and draws upon the expertise of various faculties on a case to case basis.

The broad focus of our work is in the following areas:
 

1. Evolving a rigorous industrial and urban development policy that works within the environmental limits of the local area, especially in ecologically sensitive areas
2. Streamlining all initiatives in such areas towards evolving a mechanism of participatory and environmentally sensitive decision making processes at the regional level

• evolving a sustained plan for the collection and analysis of critical data in urban and regional development priorities,
• in pushing the odds against violators of environmental and developmental norms, and
• lobbying for benchmark processes for environmentally sensitive decision making, such as "carrying capacity" studies.

The main functions of ESG are in the following areas:
 

1. Research functions would include a range of activities from broad- based research initiatives such as monitoring and identifying major policy decisions and their impacts, to conducting specific research into individual projects to understand their socio-economic and environmental impacts. All along the focus will be to continuously provide and update such information and feed-forward to a variety of decision making levels both within and outside of the Government.
2. Documentation would include sourcing of a variety of literature (newspaper and magazines, scientific journals, company profiles, government orders, policy statements, etc.) and making it available for a variety of environmental initiatives and activities such as campaigns, training, media advocacy, lobbying, public interest litigation's, publications, etc.
3. Training would involve development of training modules and conducting of workshops on a range of topics such as environmental science, legislations and policies, perspectives of development, alternatives, campaign strategies, etc. for a variety of focus groups at the village, taluk, district and regional levels.
4. Advocacy with a variety of sectors including the media, administration, legislature, judiciary, business community, etc. on environment and development issues.
5. Legal Support including documentation for the purpose of Public Interest Litigation, networking, etc. In order to support a regional lobbying process in evolving a rationale for people-centred planning and sustainable development practices in the areas of urban and industrial development projects, a variety of networked campaigns are envisaged at the local, regional, national and international levels.

• To effectively utilise the working of urban and rural local bodies (Nagarpalikas, Panchayat Raj institutions, Village Forest Committees, etc.) so as to convey the concerns and expectations of local communities in the appropriate levels of decision making.
• To utilise and strengthen the processes of consultative decision making in Nagarpalikas, Panchayat Raj institutions and regulatory bodies and identify mechanisms for effectively engaging local communities in planning and development of local areas within the constraints of their environment.

• ESG has recently completed a year-long research exercise for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific on "Integrating Environmental Considerations in Economic Policy Decision Making - A Case Study of Dakshina Kannada".
• ESG is collaborating with the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) led Centre for Environment Education, Research and Advocacy (CEERA) project in the implementation of their 5 year programme on Environment Management Capacity Building. ESG is parallely collaborating with an NLSIU-NOVIB project on "Evaluating the Implementation of the Right to Environment" in Karnataka.
• ESG participates in a variety of environmental campaigns and networks, and regularly collaborates with the National Alliance of People's Movement in this effort.
• Legal and campaign support to Janajagriti Samithi (Public Awareness Committee) of Nandikur, in Dakshina Kannada, a committee of project affected communities, in sustaining their decade long resistance to the location of Thermal Power Plants in the environmentally sensitive and coastal Dakshina Kannada region, particularly the Cogentrix and Nagarjuna led power plants. This involved complete involvement and support in the Public Interest Litigation against the US MNC Cogentrix Inc. led Mangalore Power Company, both in the High Court of Karnataka and Supreme Court of India. The petitions were filed by Janajagriti Samithi and Ms. Maneka Gandhi on grounds of violations of environmental and planning norms, and by Mr. Arun Kumar Agarwal on grounds that corrupt practices were involved in the deal.
• Legal and campaign support to Vimana Nildhana Vistharana Virodhi Samithi (Committee to resist expansion of Airport), a committee of project affected communities who have been resisting the expansion of Bajpe airport near Mangalore for more than a decade now. Recently ESG supported the Convenor of the committee, Mr. Arthur Pereira, in filing a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court of Karnataka. Co-litigants involve a wide range of people's organisations including the Dalit Sangarsh Samithi, the local school, church, mosque and temple.
• Legal and campaign support to Shambavi River Protection Committee, a committee of project affected communities, who are resisting the illegal location of a pigment and dye manufacturing factory. The produce from this factory is exported for use in US mints by the US company Engelhard-Highland Pvt. Ltd. which has completed construction of the factory without clearances near Kadandale in Dakshina Kannada, on the banks of the Shambhavi river.
• Legal and Campaign support to environmental groups and local communities in the Chickamagalur district who are resisting the extension of mining operations of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. into the Kudremukh National Park.
• Legal and campaign support to the fisherfolk of Dakshina Kannada in their fight against pollution of the sea by the Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd., and BASF of Germany which manufacture tannery dispersion dyes in its Mangalore factory. ESG also supports a variety of local fishing communities in their resistance against three barge mounted power plants that are being located on the Dakshina Kannada coast in collaboration with MNC's one each from the US, UK and Germany.
• Until early 1997, ESG was completely involved in the Save Dakshina Kannada Campaign initiated by the Dakshina Kannada Parisarasakta Okkoota (Dakshina Kannada Environmentalists Federation), from which it was forced to dissociate on grounds of principle.