Kerala needs elected representatives who are sensitive to ecological concerns, an online youth conclave for a green State has said.
The conclave was organised by the city-based Sustera Foundation in association with various grassroot organisations on Saturday to engage the youth and create awareness of a green future for the State against the backdrop of the Assembly elections.
Environmentalist-engineer Sridhar Radhakrishnan who spoke pointed out that despite the eco disaster that were the floods, all talk during election time was about development. The manifestos of all three fronts mentioned the environment vaguely, such as promising protection of the Western Ghats.
But when it came to roads or railways or other infrastructure development, they talked about development that would not only be ecologically destructive but also economically debilitating, he said.
He stressed the need to look at concerns about ecosystems and climate concerns and future sustainability and urged the youth to study and ask questions to ensure their future was safe. “Kerala has to rethink its development agenda,” he said.
Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF-India, said to sustain ourselves, other living forms, and the planet, it could not be business as usual. This was particularly true of Kerala, which was set to choose its leaders for the next five years.
Aspects such as change in land and sea use, species overexploitation, invasive species that destroy biodiversity, contribution to environmental pollution, and how our choices contribute to climate change needed to be looked at closely. The State’s elected leaders should understand and prioritise these five parameters for the sake of the people.
He also underlined the need to give back to nature, be it by giving up single-use plastic, conserving energy and water, or checking food waste.
New policies to protect ecologically sensitive areas, incorporation ecological boundaries during planning process, improving action through local bodies, increasing youth participation in grama sabhas, and environment education in schools and colleges, were some of the suggestions that arose.
A beach clean-up and awareness campaign held on the Shanghumughom beach on Sunday yielded 40 sacks of plastic waste.
