By James Sangma
Coronavirus has changed the worldview of the world and extreme weather events from across the world have brought the erstwhile distant threat of climate change to our doorstep. Our consumption has exceeded the regenerative rate of the planet. Despite various sustainability strategies implemented across the globe, there’s no escaping the 1.5 °C reality.
There is a tidal wave of strong public sentiment along with political pressure to treat nature as an asset in order to avert the civilization level challenge of climate change and it has been widely stated that the Governments have the opportunity and moral responsibility especially post Covid-19 to use their fiscal recovery programmes to reset the economy on a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable terms towards a nature positive economy.
The recent school strikes led by Greta Thunberg and millions of young students across the globe to protest the inaction by climate change and their uncertain human future across the world is a true reflection of the civic – minded generation of millennials and Gen Z attitudes towards the environmental future of our planet.
We need to think about intergenerational equity.
Meghalaya with its forest-based economy and nature-inspired spirituality embedded in its indigenous origins needs to lead an example for charting out a path towards regenerative and conservation-based economy through public education of climate change and conservation in order to shape our human capital/young demographic dividend towards 21 st century ideals of a sustainable planet. It is critical for our young generation to be upgraded on the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed to build a green, low emission, and climate-resilient future.
Meghalaya has one of the highest forest cover in the country along with one of the most distinctive ecological heritage in the world and a State that is on the frontlines of climate change, it is critical for us to introduce and train our young generation towards the indigenous conservation approaches and build a cognition to adapt with the ever iterating climate change reality of the world through a curriculum of conservation and climate change in our education system.
The idea is to provide an education that will empower people to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions: economical, environmental, and societal which will be in sync with the geo-economic shift towards bio and green economies of the future. Moreover, Meghalaya with its young demographic dividend-needs to aid in creating a human capital formation that is in sync with its fragile ecological existence and global green practices.
Progressive states like Odisha have just made disaster management a mandatory subject in schools and colleges and Italy has become the first country in the world to make the climate change subject mandatory in schools followed by New Zealand.
It is also important for our young population of Meghalaya to learn about their natural capital, indigenous environment and conservation protocols inscribed in our Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia ancestral conceptions and of course our biodiversity heritage to tackle to attune to the reality of new bio- economies, green action and low carbon livelihood opportunities of the future and also to help the state in its transition towards positioning it as environment leader on the lines of other forest-based economies in the world like Costa Rica.
Climate Change is a ‘hyper-object’ as stated by Timothy Morton – a multi- pronged problem that requires intervention and overhauling of economic and social structures and institutions along with mindset, it stretches from adapting to low carbon lifestyles to livelihoods, from energy usage to manufacturing and food habits. This is not a theoretical subject but should be clubbed with practical knowledge. Biodiversity Visits, Regenerative Agriculture classes, Bio-economy workforce development, and ‘service hours’ for the environment should also be a part of this initiative.
In essence, we need to build human and institutional capacities through education, values, and skills that are critical to jumpstart Green Frontier industries and models in our State and we have to remember that today’s students are the stakeholders of tomorrow. Climate Change and Conservation as a school subject is the start of our transition towards an environment first state and ensuring inter-generational equity.
(The writer is Minister Forests & Environment, Government of Meghalaya)