Policy Watch: Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability – April 2023

This issue of Policy Watch is on the theme Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability. This issue of the policy watch primarily discusses development and ecological issues in the Indian Himalayan Region. Moreover, it brings articles on issues related to water sustainability, biodiversity and their implication in our social and political interactions.

The first article is by Mr. Jeet Singh, Fellow, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies and it is a summary report of two important events held on development issues of Indian Himalayan Region. The first event reported in this article is the Meets of the Mountain States organized by Integrated Mountain Initiative in Delhi to discuss two major issues namely increasing plastic waste and resurgence with millets in the mountain states. The second event reported in this article was organized by Uttarakhand Sadbhavana Samiti where overall developmental strategies adopted by successive governments in the Himalayan states were critically discussed.

The second article is by Gandhian activist Late Smt. Sarala Behn on the right direction of mountain development. She wrote this article in 1977 as an advocacy and suggestion paper for the sixth five year plan. This article discusses the pitfalls of conventional development projects in the mountains and also suggests mountain appropriate development strategies.

The third article is by Mr. Yuvan Aves, founder of Palluyir Trust in Chennai on the significance of biodiversity in addressing our social and political problems. The article originally written for Vikalp Sangam is based on experiences of programs of Palluyir Trust with children where they found that working on biodiversity bridges social gaps between children from different caste groups.

The fourth article is taken from the UN Water Conference organized in March 2023 in New York. This article is reproduction of the Water Action Agenda adopted by the Water Conference. This agenda aims to create political momentum to accelerate progress in the second half of the Water Action Decade 2018-2028 and second half of the 2030 sustainable development agenda.