Remind yourselfthat development experts and environmental activists warn us that life on earthis on the brink of apocalypse unless drastic steps are not taken. The causesare global warning, climatic change, resource exploitation etc. We are at theverge of mass extinction due to greed towards material comforts. Governmentissues laws which turn out a mere paper work. Last time the government ordereda ban on plastic which is a threat for terrestrial as well as aquatic life, butplastic is still used freely. So the work is not done on the ground level. Thegovernment focuses more on roads, parks etc., without least considering thevalue of human life. On the other side, humans too are reasons for this awaitedglobal destruction. If the catastrophe is to be avoided, we have to change ourselves,and our attitude towards nature. Nature protects humanity, but the disturbanceto it will be a disturbance in the human life.
The best thing tostrive for the general good is to inculcate in ourselves the love towardsdiversity. A changed attitude may help in contributing to the benefit ofhumanity.
Consider, forexample, the case of Kashmir. A place of eternal beauty with flowers ofabundant colours and life giving breeze. It too is on pyres of destruction andwithout any concern for its inhabitants. Those were the days when people wouldthrong the valley to renew their life energy, but the exploitation of nature,its resources continued unabatedly, and this changed the scene. No conversationhas been ensured so far. In my get together with many of the native farmers, Icome across the diminishing status of production here. The political atmospherehas hampered the growth, bringing the downfall in production and farmers’earning. On the other hand, climatic changes threaten life security of the individualspushing them to the edge of calamity. Long lockdowns hit the economic sector toadd to the misfortune. The unchecked use of pesticides harms the quality ofproduction, and affects adversely itsdemand in the international markets.
The deforestation,another threat today, is spreading rapidly here. People are cutting forests,constructing new building. and many beautiful resorts have fallen prey to suchpractices. The man is least concerned about the demands of the futuregenerations. The tourists coming every year should have been served with thebest possible way to minimise the pollution. But the fact is that flora andfauna are receding rapidly due to human infiltration into their habitat. Theconstruction of the roads and highways is going on in an unscientific way. Theprotection of forests by Japan can be taken as an example to save the greeneryhere .
The soul of thisdiscourse is the man who is loaded with modern technology, intentionally andunintentionally he defiles the ecosystem. The order that nature had bestowedupon it is nowhere seen now; it needs to be highlighted that if ignored, theposterity will have to pay the price of the destruction done to the naturalenvironment. Eliminating pollution must be a priority just like eliminatingpoverty and hunger. It will not be easy, but we can’t backdown from thechallenge. The target we have set is ambitious but achievable and shouldgalvanise action toward achieving environmental development. Our ambition is towork with government and development partners to meet the challenge.