Stating that a successful response to the changing needs of the world can come only through sustainable development that is equitable and people-centric, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan said over the weekend that there is need for a people's movement to contribute to the environment and global commons.
Delivering the keynote address on the second day of the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) 2012 organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here, Ms. Natarajan urged the dignitaries and delegates from across the world to consider how they could relate to the lay person to save biodiversity and demystify these issues for normal people to understand and make it into a people's movement.
“All of us should remember that climate and environment are not dependent on us, in fact we are dependent on them. We need to contribute as a responsible citizen to the environment and the global commons. Immediate action is required to address the cause of biodiversity as there are 300 million people in the country who are dependent on biodiversity for their livelihoods,” she said at a special session on bio-diversity.
She also discussed the inter-linkages that biodiversity has with global commons, with the economy, with the atmosphere, with the ordinary men and women, in short with all the elements of the world.
The Minister also highlighted the active role of India in protecting the global commons and discussed the implementation of the National Action Plan on Climate Change and how its eight missions cater to different aspects of biodiversity and global commons at large.
Highlighting India's role in protecting and conserving biodiversity, she discussed the role of National Biodiversity Act (2002), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and 32,500 biodiversity management committees that work with communities at the local level to conserve biodiversity.
The second day of TERI's DSDS-2012 saw world leaders, industry captains, policy makers, non-profits and government bodies focus on biodiversity, sustainable development and global commons with special thrust on South Asia and Africa who said that DSDS will set the stage for CoP-11 to be hosted by India in October 2012.
