Stress on sustainable development policies

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran has stressed the need for sustainable development policies to combat the ecological and environmental impact of climate change. Inaugurating the valedictory function of a global meet organised by OISCA (Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement) here on Saturday, he said the "blind pursuit" of development was playing havoc with the environmental equilibrium.  "There is no doubt that the present condition of climate change has been caused entirely due to human activities. We have only ourselves to blame. It is high time we replaced our concept of development and adopted a sustainable approach with social commitment and futuristic vision," he said.The Minister added that society's change in attitude towards nature was also connected with globalisation and liberalisation which had made people more selfish and competitive. "Our attitude towards agriculture in an example. An agriculture-oriented economy will automatically take care of nature," he said.As many as 260 delegates, including 20 delegates from Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka and school students from Ethiopia, participated in the global meet held on the theme 'Human activities and climate change.' A seminar was also organised jointly by OISCA and the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) as part of the meet. In its Thiruvananthapuram declaration, the OISCA Global Meet recommended the formulation of a comprehensive scheme to encourage afforestation and create awareness among school children of the need to protect the environment.The declaration also proposed the involvement of vulnerable communities in conservation programmes and promoting traditional knowledge and practices in agriculture and soil conservation. It observed that food security of communities across the world was being compromised by low productivity, pollution, excessive consumption and wastage. Additional chief secretary to the Government of Kerala K. Jayakumar; Centre for Earth Science Studies director M. Baba; and KSCSTE principal officer Kamalakshan Kokkal; were among the invited speakers for the seminar.OISCA International executive vice-president Toshihiro Nakano; Chief Conservator of Forest and OISCA Kazhakuttam chapter president K.P. Ouseph; OISCA Kerala South Zone president P.P. Nair; and South India Chapter Women's Forum president Parvathy Warrier; were also present at the valedictory function.

The Hindu, 28^th September 2008