The Future of Sustainability: Have Your Say!

Week One - “Global Challenges to Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century”
Comment / Comentario / Commentaire

Dr. Anil Kumar, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, India

Moderating team: Given its increased population and poverty, Dr. Kumar gives specific sustainability action points for India. These relate to ecosystems, traditional knowledge, law abidance and scientific awareness blended with spirituality.

Debido al crecimiento demográfico y a la pobreza en India, el Dr. Kumar otorga ejemplos específicos de posibles acciones. Acciones relacionadas con ecosistemas, conocimientos tradicionales, cumplimiento de las leyes ambientales, conciencia científica y su enlace con la espiritualidad.

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I fully agree with the views expressed in the statement from Mr. Jeffrey. In addition to the facts mentioned therein, the following points may be worth considering in Indian context, where increased population and poverty pose greater hindrances to the sustainability/biodiversity:

•The Himalayan ecosystem (the tower of biodiversity/sustainability) must be addressed first, right from the grass-root level with special care for traditional knowledge and skill.
•The environmental sustainability in the current century is likely to be hampered by the bunch of money-makers such as industrialists/contractors, who are least concern about the environmental health. Therefore, strict laws must be enforced with the provisions of legal/monetary penalties against the offenders.
•All the developmental works/ideas with full scientific and technical base must be thoroughly screened before implementation from the environmental point of view.
•When people of a country abide by its own constitutional laws, they have to abide by the environmental laws also, or face the consequences.
•Spirituality and selflessness can prevent people from getting indulged in the offences towards humanity and environment; therefore, spirituality blended with scientific awareness among societies will be an important tool for ensuring sustainability in this century.