CHENNAI: “We have to be more frugal in the way we use natural resources, including biodiversity, for sustainable development”, said Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday.
Speaking after inaugurating the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) celebrations, organised by National Biodiversity Authority of India here, he said, “The current consumption patterns, especially in the industrialised world, are unsustainable as they put enormous pressure on natural resources”.
Pointing out that “a grave challenge we face today is the destruction of forests and the loss of species,” he said forests are an important component of our ecosystem and render vital services which have a direct impact on the very sustenance of life on earth.
The Vice-President said that ‘The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’, released by the Intergovernmental platform on Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Services on May 6, has underlined that global trends on continuing biodiversity collapse remain alarming due to unsustainable consumption in pursuit of a material-intensive lifestyle.
“We are loosing trees at an unbelievable pace because of deforestation, urbanisation, industrialisation and pollution. India has lost over 1.6 million hectare of tree cover between 2001 and 2018, according to a new study released by the World Resources Institute,” he said.
“Today, inclusive growth and a rapid increase in per capita income levels are our development imperatives as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. More powers should be given to the local bodies and they should be made more dynamic for planning economical development and also to address the environment concern at the global level,” he said.
Venkaiah Naidu said globally also in the last 100 years more than 90 per cent of crop varieties have disappeared from farmers’ fields, affecting food security of billions of people. He released a poster on India Biodiversity Awards 2020, and a booklet on implementation of India’s National Biodiversity Action Plan.
Anil Kumar Jain, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, Purvaja Ramachandran, Secretary, National Biodiversity Authority, Hans Raj Verma, Additional Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu, were also present.