Good ecology is good business, Prof. Swaminathan said, at the World Environment Day celebrations organised by Standard Chartered Scope International, calling for enlightened self-interest among corporates and business houses.

Good ecology also meant less expenses and it would do businesses good to realise this and incorporate it in their strategies. It was a sign of hope that a number of corporates were developing internal green audit procedures, he said. Projects must be sustainable, not only economically, but also socially and environmentally.

Providing a historical perspective on the global green movement, Prof. Swaminathan described the various advances in the area since the first Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. With the release of the IPCC report and Sterne Committee report, there were no doubts about the phenomenon of climate change and the measures that had to be taken to stem the effects of global warming.

There was evidence that the polar continents and the Ladakh glaciers were melting faster, and the projection that vector-borne diseases may increase across the world.

Prof. Swaminathan was also clear that conservation alone, at this stage, was not sufficient. It would have to be paired with enhancement of green resources too.

Planting trees was one way to do so, he explained. Earlier, he planted a neem sapling in the premises of the bank.