Eight millennium development goals (MDGs) have been adopted by the international community as a framework for development activities in over 190 countries during the Millennium Summit held on September 6, 2000 at the United Nations Headquarters. India is one of the countries that aim to achieve these goals by 2015.
The Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) and the UNICEF are convinced that achieving MDGs in Odisha will put India on track to achieving the MDGs. For this, a State-level Multi-Stakeholder Forum on MDGs consisting of representatives from the Government, international agencies, civil society organisations, corporates, academia, political parties and media has been formed to deliberate on the progress of MDGS in Odisha.
The meeting of the forum was held on Tuesday at the XIMB to deliberate on MDG 7: “Ensure Environmental Sustainability.” The meeting also coincided with the Climate Change Conference being held in Copenhagen. The meeting was inaugurated by local UNICEF chief Shadrack Omol. A status note and a short video documentary on MDG 7 were presented by Prof S Peppin of the XIMB and Agnita Lazarus, respectively, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Prof C Shambu Prasad of the XIMB.
The forum called for strict legal measures to reduce CO2 emissions by the industries. The other recommendations that emerged during the discussion were: provide incentives to farmers and communities involved in promoting and protecting environment, promote collaborative production and sharing of information, promote environment-friendly and energy-saving buildings and structures, encourage safe drinking water and sanitation practices on a war-footing and include environmental sustainability in the school curriculum.
