Re-thinking the Sustainability Narratives!!
COVID-19 has caught us off guard with zoonotic
diseases is on the rise, whether Ebola, Nipah or the present COVID-19. When we
destroy animal habitats or trade illegally in wildlife, the spill-over effect
on humans is bound to increase. On the other hand, witnessing fall of Green
House emissions by 33%, breathing clean air, rivers and water bodies are
regaining their lost pristine properties, ozone hole is closing. In short, our
mother nature is healing. But this is temporary and short term gains. In
actual, we certainly have long term plans to realize.
The
theme for World Environment Day 2020 is, 'Time for Nature,' with a focus on its
role in providing the essential infrastructure that supports life on Earth and
human development. This is a significant theme and as a matter of fact, we
don’t lose sight of investing in nature. Nature-based solutions can help us with all Sustainable Development
Goals since they address the crucial links between climate change,
biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainable resource management. As Elizabeth Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on
Biological Diversity says “Nature-based
solutions offer ways to promote human well-being, tackle climate change and
protect our living planet”.
India
Water Foundation’s Jal Mitra campaign to turn ‘Water Conservation into Public
Movement’ has enhanced awareness on understanding of water and environmental
issues inspiring more than 50,000 Jal Mitras. Since inception, India Water
Foundation are espousing good practices, innovative solutions in our key
projects and programmes given our expertise and experiences on Integrated Water
Resource Management, water-energy-food-nexus, Ecosystem based Adaptation and Environment
plus approach, etc. Given the
Foundation’s mandate, water is not a mere sector but a connector, a
socio-economic indicator & key component of sustainable development and
ecosystems are linked with water. Incorporating a ‘Transversal’ shift
interlinking vertical linkages between water, energy and environment with
horizontal linkages like Heath, Agriculture, Entrepreneurship, etc., the
Foundation has espoused these inter-linkages at various local, national, regional
and international platforms, especially in the backdrop of SDGs.
With the Paris agreement to
limit warming to "well below 2°C' ", we need to ACT NOW. Our standing
is that many institutions are committed towards bringing a change with passion
and dedication. But patch work will not work, and a well coordinated efforts is
needed that can lead to a resilient and thriving society. ‘Environmental stewardship’ is the magic bullet that calls for defenders like
scientists, experts, governments, CSOs, International organisations and UN
agencies to assimilate on a common platform and make collective resolutions to
the global challenges. Leverage horizontal partnerships with other like-minded civil
society organizations should be leveraged through 3Cs: Coordination,
Cooperation & Convergence to achieve best outcomes by ‘investing in
nature’. In the capacity of notable accreditations to various UN bodies like
UN-ECOSOC, UNEA, UNFCCC, UNCCD, CTCN, we have assimilated and disseminated best
practices across the globe, cross-sectoral perspectives, new ideas, case
studies and innovations and have shared during our programs and projects.
Taking
care of nature is vital for particularly during times of COVID-19 shock. Nature
based Restoration needs an integrated action-oriented approach through
collective efforts where people, especially at grass root level must get
involved. We must sustainably support strategies and call for adopting green
practices and technology, mechanisms of Adaptive Management, Carbon Offset,
Resource efficiency, Rewilding, Circular Economy, Polluter pays principle etc. At
the implementation level, Nature-based solutions shall be more effective and
efficient if soft measures like ‘capacity building, dissemination of awareness
and translating knowledge to practical usage’ complement technological or
scientific solutions.
Development and Environment
must be a parallel ongoing process. We need to think about our nature and
ecosystem boundaries for our present and future needs as well. In the midst of
the extraordinary COVID-19 scenario, an opportunity is finally giving way to
momentum of our ecosystem restoration. This is because roughly US$44 trillion
of economic value generation which represents more than half of global GDP is
moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. Given the complex
links between people and land, World Bank for instance, has adopted a more
integrated landscape approach that simultaneously works on improving the
resilience of both ecosystems and livelihoods. In short, we are all dependent on
natural resources for our basic life needs and livelihoods, whether through
agriculture, water, forestry, or other nature-based activities. As put forth by
Karin Kemper, Global Director,
Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy,” Nature is not a luxury but is
the foundation of economic stability, poverty reduction and shared prosperity
says” it is possible for people to live in harmony with nature and harness its
potential for the benefit of mankind without undue exploitation and extraction
of natural resources.
The changeover to a truly inclusive green economy needs be built on
resilient ecosystems, clean production systems, healthy consumption choices,
environment-friendly policies and access to all and leaving behind none. Vertical growth does not hold
much importance and the need is to go back to our roots (earth). Strengthening
actions for nature to achieve sustainable development goals must reflect our
urgent commitment to work with nature. Let’s ‘Rethink and Analyze’ our climate
ambitions for a green and eco-friendly sustainable environment.
Comments
Post a Comment