We must accept that being green is complex

This paper had reported that Madhya Pradesh’s State Wildlife Board had refused permission to the Kshema Power Plant and Infrastructure Company to take up 9 hectares of land in the Ratlam Forest Circle, because it was the habitat of the endangered Lesser Florican.

It’s great news : it takes a science–based step in the right direction, it compels us all-citizens, politicians and civil-servants-to understand how two important environmental issues are not complimentary. It’s also important news because it underscores the need for niche habitat for any species. You simply cannot expect an adult tiger to live cheek-by jowl with another adult tiger, the way human beings do in urban India. What sense can we make of this complexity? A key move ahead is to accept that being green is complex. Yet, conservation and renewable energy should not be a zero-sum game. We can have both, with some trans-border co-operation. If Rajasthan is the home of one of the country’s most endangered birds, the Great Indian Bustard, severely impacted by solar farms, as this column previously pointed out, then can the government offer financial incentives for another, suitable part of the country to put up solar, even in smaller areas? Can Rajashtan be incentivized for conservation so the loss of investment hits them less? author is founder and director, Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group)