PUDUCHERRY: Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy signed the Talloires Declaration on Thursday and handed it over to M Nandhivarman, general secretary of Association for Promoting Sustainability in Campuses and Communities (APSCC).
The following is the ten-point action plan of the Talloires Declaration: increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, education for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology, involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
According to a media release, the declaration is the university’s symbolic representation to inspire and develop sustainability related skills among students and scholars and to disseminate knowledge to the neighbourhood. The initiative is also expected to provide an additional momentum to the decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014), with a greater focus on what higher educational institutions can achieve in this regard for the region/ country and also for their campus environment sustainability.
The declaration, signed on the occasion of World Environment Day, was handed over in the presence of Dr G Poyyamoli, coordinator, sustainability cell, Golda A Edwin, researcher, Pondicherry University.
“To promote sustainability among the university staff and students from diverse disciplines, a sustainability literacy test will be conducted,” Dr G Poyyamoli said.
Nandhivarman is authorised as the national expert committee member and facilitator to promote sustainability literacy test throughout the country.