Sustainable Development Program

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

We are working for all round sustainable development of individuals and society. Our goal is to meet the economic needs of the present generation, but without compromising the ability of the Earth and its environment to provide for the needs of the future generations.

We are trying to create public awareness among the common masses with regard to the ground reality and material fact that- “Free of cost, the natural environment performs for us the basic services without which our species could not survive. The ozone layer screens out ultraviolet rays from the sun that harm people, animals and plants. Our ecosystems help purify the air we breathe and the water we drink. They convert wastes into resources and reduce atmospheric carbon levels that would otherwise contribute to global warming. Biodiversity provides a bountiful store of medicines and food products, and it maintains genetic variety that reduces vulnerability to pests and diseases. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries etc. depend directly on the sustainability of the ecosystems, and so does our own health as well as the health of our planet. But it is a matter of great concern that we are degrading, and in some cases we are virtually destroying, the ability of the ability of the natural environment to continue providing these life- sustaining services for us, for our present and future generations.

This fact has been well admitted in the “Millennium Summit Report of the United Nations Organization” that- in the rich countries, the by- products of industrial and agribusiness production poison soils and waterways. In the developing countries, massive deforestation, harmful farming practices and uncontrolled urbanization are major causes of environmental degradation. Carbon dioxide emissions are widely believed to be a major source of global climate change, and the burning of fossil fuels are their main source. Spurred by quadrupling of carbon emissions during the past half century alone, Earth’s atmosphere is warming at an increasing rate. Average temperatures are projected to increase further by 1.2 Degree Celsius to 3.5 Degree Celsius          (2 Degree to 6 Degree Fahrenheit) over the course of the present century, which would melt glaciers and the polar ice caps, raise sea levels and pose threats to hundreds of millions of coastal dwellers while drowning the low lying islands altogether. Portents of this future are already visible. As the warming trend has accelerated, weather patterns have become more volatile and more extreme, while the severity of weather related disasters has escalated. In the year 1998 alone, natural disasters caused due to unsustainable environmental practices, tens of thousands of mostly poor people were killed and an estimated 25 million “environmental refugees” were forced from their homes.

Fertilizer run-off and chemical pollution threaten both water quality and public health. More than one fifth of the fresh water fish stocks are already vulnerable or endangered because of pollution of habitat modification. Unsafe water and poor sanitation cause an estimated 80% of all diseases in the developing world. The annual death toll exceeds 5 million, 10 times the number of people killed in wars, on average, each year. More than half of the victims are children.

The ecological crises we confront have many causes, namely- poverty of the common masses, lack of public awareness about the need of adoption of sustainable environmental practices, negligence and greed, and above all failures of governance. We have been plundering our children’s future heritage to pay for our unsustainable environmental practices and unsustainable patterns of industrialization in the present.   

Therefore, in the facts and circumstances as mentioned above and as has been well admitted by the international community or world community, there is an urgent need to adopt “sustainable environmental practices” and “sustainable patterns of industrialization, in order to control climate change problem. And for that purpose, there is an urgent need for a strong political will of the governments of states / nations as well as public awareness with regard to adoption of “Sustainable Environmental Practices” and “Sustainable Patterns of Industrialization”. Further, to arrest (control) the unsustainable exploitation of water resources, there is an urgent need of adoption of water management strategies at national level as well as at local levels. 

For sustainable development of individuals and society, the environment must become better integrated into mainstream economic policy. 

On our part, in this direction, we are taking following steps for sustainable development of individuals and society:

1.    Spreading public awareness with regard to the need of adoption of sustainable environmental practices.

2.    Involvement of schools, colleges and universities for spreading public awareness for adoption of sustainable environmental practices.

3.    Involvement of the governments of all states and nations as well as local bodies, companies, civil societies and trusts (NGOs) and common masses for adoption of “sustainable environmental practices” and “sustainable patterns of industrialization”.

4.    Taking steps for availability of safe drinking water for common masses or the people of all communities.

5.    Taking steps for prevention from reckless use / misuse of water.

6.    Taking steps for adequate sanitation.

7.    Taking steps for maintenance of purity of river water.

8.    Taking steps for minimum possible use of artificial fertilizers / chemicals in agriculture.

9.    Taking steps for maximum possible use of natural fertilizers or bio-products in agriculture.

10. Promotion of gardening, tree plantation, reforestation and aforestation.

11. Taking steps for prevention from / control on reckless burning of fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, kerosene oil, coal etc.).

12. Taking steps for prevention from / control on reckless use of electricity.

13. Taking steps for prevention from / control on practice of unsustainable exploitation of water resources.

14. Taking steps for prevention from / control on greenhouse gas emissions.

15. Application of water management strategy.

16. Application of natural resource management strategy.

17. Preservation and maintenance of forests, fisheries and biodiversity.

18. Promotion of plantation, growth, development and proper use of medicinal plants.

19. Promotion of environmental friendly sustainable agricultural practices.

20. Promotion of sustainable economic development and industrial development.