My Open Letter to Narendra Modi

Dear Sir, I'm writing in respect of a story in today's paper about your plans to fell 420,000 critically important acres of forest in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

I've read the trees sit above an estimated 5bn tonnes of coal, however, the planetary cost of its extraction will make our planet weaker, less healthy and far less able to cope with extreme weather events and climate chaos, all of which, your country is suffering from right now: at least 0.4 million ha of crops were lost in March 2020 alone.

Extraction of this coal will make your people sick with the pollution caused from its removal and the burning thereof. In a world where there are so many solutions for safe, clean, reliable, renewable energy, why are you squeezing dry the very planet you and I are trying to live on?

I'm CEO of an international reforestation charity, we plant fast growing trees in the tropics. We are very clearly following the science and planting as many as we can to replace forests decimated by individuals chasing short term profit, not prioritising the health and wellbeing of humans, wildlife, biodiversity and our shared world.

If you care about the lives of your people, your children and grandchildren, you must reconsider the jobs you're presenting them with to rise up from the chaos of Covid-19. Employment cannot come with a cost to their lives, it simply cannot.

I would like very much to have a discussion with you, Sir, about the reasons behind your decision and I will attempt to change your mind about the choices you appear to have made. No amount of money or comfort can write off the damage and death this project will cause.

There will be no escape from the havoc you'll be helping our planet gear up to wreak upon us. You 'can' mitigate that damage, Sir.

Please cancel and rethink your plans.

I very much hope to hear from you.

Yours, in service to our planet,

Tracey West FRSA, Environmentalist, Mother, CEO The Word Forest Organisation