JOIN US'Sustainable development, good governance needed'
There is a need to concentrate on sustainable development, equity issues and good governance, said Padmashree Awardee Dr H Sudarshan after inaugurating the national seminar ‘Samprathi-2011’ on topic ‘Sustainable Development: Towards a self reliant India’ organised by St Aloysius College MSW department at the college on Wednesday.
When the needs of the present are met without compromising and future generation is able to meet their own requirements, one can say sustainable development is achieved. ‘Environmental’, ‘Economic’, and ‘Socio political’ are the three constituent parts of economic development, he said.
Explaining environmental sustainability in detail, he said that there is a need to keep environment in a pristine state. Unsustainable situations occur when natural capital (the sum of total of nature’s resources) are used up faster than it can be replenished. “Beware of Geo-engineering and synthetic biology”, he warned and said “Bellary mining is raping mother earth”.“Do not leave carbon footprints and do not use fossil fuel for daily needs,” he advised.
Speaking on economic sustainability he said profit and market oriented economy has failed with globalisation and privitisation. There is a need to think of alternatives such as Home Economics, Fair Trade and Green Economics, he said.
Socio Political sustainability cannot be achieved until inequity and social justice issues such as class, caste, gender discrimination, regional disparities are not solved. There is a need to curb corruption and encourage good governance, he said.Cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. “It becomes one of the roots of development understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence,“ he said.
Presiding over the programme St Aloysius Institutions Rector Fr Joseph Rodrigues advised students on the need to assess and address impacts of wasting energy. “Development should be ecologically efficient,” he said.
The inauguration was followed by sessions on topics ‘Economic Development: Enduring or inclining’ by Nitte University Professor Dr G V Joshi and ‘Social Equity: Problems and Concerns’ by Global Concerns India Director Brinda Adige.
Sessions Today
Today, Center for Ecological Sciences Scientist Dr Harish Bhat will take up a session on ‘Bio-Diversity and its Present Scenario’ and Dr Valerian Rodrigues will take up a session on ‘Political Will for sustainability: Feasible or unfeasible’. A panel discussion on ‘Eco-centered development’ will also be held.