As part of the NIAS Climate Change, Civil Society and Peace (C3SP) initiative in collaboration with GPPAC South Asia, the inaugural workshop of 'The Grass Roots,' the NIAS Youth Network on Climate Change, Civil Society and Peace, was held on 03 June 2026 at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. During the workshop, young scholars from institutions across India examined the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in responding to climate change through a poster presentation exercise. As part of this initiative, Nithin V, a postgraduate student in the Department of International Relations at Loyola College, Chennai, documented the work of Poovulagin Nanbargal, a Chennai-based environmental organisation.
This note examines how Poovulagin Nanbargal has promoted climate awareness, environmental justice, and ecological conservation through research, public engagement, and community advocacy across Tamil Nadu. It highlights how the organisation has connected scientific knowledge with grassroots action to strengthen public participation, defend vulnerable ecosystems, and encourage climate-responsive approaches to environmental governance and sustainable development.
Poovulagin Nanbargal (Friends of the Earth) is an environmental organisation based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1988, it has spent more than three decades creating awareness about environmental issues, climate change, and sustainable development. Through education, research, advocacy, and community participation, the organisation works to promote ecological conservation, climate justice, and environmental responsibility.
Poovulagin Nanbargal has supported people to understand the ways in which climate change challenges such as increasing temperatures, extreme weather events, water scarcity, and loss of biodiversity get reflected in one's daily life. The organisation does not only see environmental protection as preserving nature but also as a subject of social justice. Climate change, according to the organisation, severely affects vulnerable groups like farmers, fishermen, and weaker economically communities. Their initiatives expose the interrelations between environmental pollution, people's health, sources of income, and the general welfare of the human race.
Environmental education and climate awareness have been the major targets of the organisation. In order to raise the environmental sustainability consciousness of the general public, it organises workshops, seminars, public lectures, documentary screenings, and community outreach programmes. Through the publication of books, reports, and other educational materials in Tamil, the centre puts environmental knowledge within the reach of students, youth, and local communities. Its magazine, "Poovulagu, " has emerged as a significant forum for debate and information-sharing on environmental and climate-related issues.
Poovulagin Nanbargal has also been involved in several environmental campaigns across Tamil Nadu. In the process, Poovulagin Nanbargal has become locally rooted environmental watchdog group for Tamil community. Recently, the organisation focused on saving Ennore wetlands by spreading the message that these wetlands can be a good source of biodiversity, flood management and, climate change adaptation. It has also supported several environmental justice efforts including, the Sterlite Prohibition in Thoothukudi and at the same time, it has raised the voice against the projects of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Neduvasal Hydrocarbon Project, and methane production in the Cauvery Delta. In this way, the organizations constantly defends nature, advocating for green solutions.
Furthermore, community participation is also a major element of the organisation's work. Through constant outreach, it is able to connect with various segments of society, such as schools, colleges, volunteers, researchers, farmers, fishermen, and local communities. In order to raise awareness about environmental responsibility and climate action by means of scientific knowledge mixed with grassroots experiences and local environmental challenges, it builds up networks across different sections of society. People's growing consciousness of the environment and their participation in climate and nature discussions underscore the impact the Poovulagin Nanbargal. The organisation through awareness programmes, advocacy, research and community has made a significant contribution to environmental protection and climate resilience in Tamil Nadu.
