Natarjan hopes to rope in common man to conserve environment

Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan has urged world leaders, industrialists, policy makers and NGOs to consider how they could make a layman relate to the importance of biodiversity and demystify issues relating to environment.

Addressing a special session on biodiversity at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2012, Natarajan called for a people’s movement to contribute to the conservation of environment.
“It is my firm conviction that a successful response to the changing needs of the world can only come through sustainable development,” the minister said.

“All of us should remember that climate and environment are not dependent on us, in fact we are dependent on them. As a responsible citizen we should contribute to protect environment,” she added.

She added that immediate action is required to preserve the biodiversity as 300 million people in the country are dependent on it for their livelihoods.

Biodiversity laws

Natarajan stressed the role of National Biodiversity Act (2002), National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and 32,500 biodiversity management committees that work with communities at the local level to conserve biodiversity.

The theme of the 12th edition of DSDS, organised by Energy and Resources Institute, is ‘Protecting the Global Commons: 20 Years Post Rio’.