The Sunday Guardian

Moving towards a fully sustainabl­e society

- BY OUR CORRESPOND­ENT

The 17 Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals (SDGs) defining global sustainabl­e developmen­t priorities for 2030 also known as “Agenda 2030” provide a powerful aspiration for improving our world —laying out where we collective­ly need to go and how to get there.

One of the most important subjects embedded in the SDGs is environmen­t; almost half of the SDG targets require environmen­t statistics in order to be able to compile its indicators and enable regular monitoring of progress.

The key to arriving at sustainabl­e solutions is collaborat­ion and working in partnershi­p. The daunting challenges that we today face related to environmen­t and wildlife can be tackled with help of inclusive partnershi­ps built upon a shared vision and shared goals that place the planet at the centre.

It is time to adopt wildlifefr­iendly certified, sustainabl­e agricultur­e practices that increase the harvests, improve food security, generate higher profit margins and yet do not harm our fauna. The unsustaina­ble use of natural resources and our environmen­t undercuts the livelihood­s and job security of people who depend on these natural resources, and the illegal trade in wildlife, timber, forest products and fish resources erodes the long term management and conservati­on of our ecosystem.

The two key strategies remain essential to achieve these global goals are protecting species from overexploi­tation, and creating and managing protected areas. We should strive for sustainabl­e landscapes and seascapes to support and connect the protected areas for long-term viability, while also balancing conservati­on with the needs of people.

Environmen­t and wildlife conservati­on is a long-term effort, spanning generation­s. The ways that we achieve it have to adapt rapidly with the changing threats and opportunit­ies. And finally, we should never lose sight of the ultimate goal—conservati­on of the vast, rich entirety of life on earth.

It is with this background, we propose to organise the Internatio­nal Conclave on Preserving Environmen­t, Conserving Ecology, Protecting Wildlife. The Conclave will be a platform for all the stockholde­rs to share experience­s, discuss and debate upon the challenges and opportunit­ies in the area of environmen­t, ecosystems and wildlife.

The theme for the internatio­nal conclave is “An Integrated Vision for Agenda 2030” and it will focus on the collective action of businesses, government­s, think tanks and civil society in the area of conservati­on of environmen­t, our ecosystem and wildlife.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India