Link sustainable livelihoods to sustainable ecology: Mukul tells policy makers
From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday threw out a challenge to policy makers to focus on the synergy between ecology and livelihoods for sustainable development.
Stating that he did not believe in grand policy prescriptions Sangma narrated real life policy initiatives his Government has been making in this respect. He also gave specific example of Meghalaya which according to him has encouraged green road building technology and was looking at sustainable building solutions.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS) organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here. Heads of States, Nobel Laureates and thought leaders converged at the landmark summit to find solutions to some of the key issues that will save the globe from the impending drastic climate change.
Sangma was the only Chief Minister to address the high level conference.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is expected to adopt the new set of goals in September and the climate negotiations will be held in Paris later this year following this summit.
Sangma said that at the ground level drying up of rivers and depleting ground water resources are challenges that policy makers face while looking at livelihoods based on agriculture.
“If optimal technology solutions are deployed and sustainable ecology becomes the basis for the livelihood then this syncing would provide sustainable solutions,” he said.
Sangma felt that promotion of innovative technology needed to be backed by robust policy framework for its adoption. “There is a need for policy makers to adopt a novel approach to ensure that sustainable livelihoods are linked to sustainable ecology and vice-versa,” he said.
He felt that this could be the key for successful socio-economic transformation which facilitates sustainable growth. “The policy makers have long grappled with the challenges of meeting modern infrastructure needs without focusing on the root cause of the so called migration issue,” he observed.
The infrastructure needs for development have a very heavy carbon footprint. To move to a low carbon footprint, policy makers need to take bold decisions to encourage such technology transfer and adoption, the Chief Minister said.
While stating that he was against pilot projects, Sangma said, “Experimental technologies should be best left to research institutes but proven innovative technologies should be provided policy support to rapidly scale their deployment.”