Continuing his emphasis on India’s Green Future, Green Economy campaign on World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched new schemes to conserve the country’s wetlands and to revive and protect the mangroves along the long coastline to fight climate change.
“In the last 9 years, the number of wetlands and Ramsar sites in India has increased almost 3 times as compared to earlier. Today the Amrit Dharohar Yojana has started. Through this scheme, the conservation of these Ramsar sites will be ensured through public participation. In future, these Ramsar sites will become the centre of eco-tourism and will become a source of green jobs for thousands of people,” PM Modi said in his address on World Environment Day
The second scheme is related to the long coastline of the country and the population living there. The mangrove ecosystem of the country will be revived as well as protected through the ‘Mishti Yojana’. With this, mangrove cover will be restored in 9 states of the country. This will help in mitigating the threat to lives and livelihoods in coastal areas from rising sea levels and disasters like cyclones, the Prime Minister said.
He pointed out that the theme of this year’s Environment Day is the campaign to get rid of single use plastic and “India has been working continuously for the last 4-5 years on what the world is doing today.”
In 2018 itself, India started working on two levels to get rid of single-use plastic. On one hand, single use plastic was banned and on the other hand plastic waste processing was made mandatory. Due to this, there has been a compulsory recycling of about 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging in India. This is 75% of the total annual plastic waste generated in India. And today about 10 thousand producers, importers and brand owners have come under its ambit, PM Modi said.
India of the 21st century is moving forward with a very clear roadmap for climate change and environment protection with a a balance of Present Requirements and Future Vision.
“On the one hand, we have given necessary help to the poorest of the poor, tried our best to fulfill their needs, and on the other
During the last 9 years, India has made an unprecedented focus on green and clean energy. Be it solar power, LED bulbs should reach more and more homes, which has saved the money of the people of the country, especially the poor and middle class and also protected the environment. Electricity bills have reduced continuously.
The world has seen India’s leadership even during the global pandemic when India started Mission Green Hydrogen.
It was also during the global pandemic that India took major strides to promote organic farming in order to save its soil and water from chemical fertilisers, PM Modi explained.
Concerns of the Global South
In his role as the leader of the Global South, PM Modi said it is very important for the protection of world climate, that every country thinks above the vested interests. For a long time, the model that was made in the modern countries of the world is very contradictory. He pointed out that these advanced countries put development first and relegated concerns about the environment to the backburner.
“Due to this, such countries achieved the goals of development, but the environment of the whole world had to pay the price of their development,” he remarked.
“Even today the developing and poor countries of the world are suffering from the wrong policies of some developed countries. For decades, there was no one to stop this attitude of some developed countries, no one to stop, no country. I am happy that today India has raised the issue of Climate Justice in front of every such country,” he remarked.
PM Modi explained that in the philosophy of thousands of years old culture of India, there is nature as well as progress. Due to this inspiration, today India pays as much attention to ecology as it does to the economy. Today, India is investing unprecedentedly in its infrastructure, so the focus is equally on the environment. If on one hand India has expanded 4G and 5G connectivity, then on the other hand it has also increased its forest cover.
On one hand, India has built 4 crore houses for the poor, while on the other hand there has been a record increase in the number of Wildlife and Wildlife Sanctuaries in India. The country is running a Jal Jeevan Mission on one hand, and on the other hand we have prepared more than 50,00 nectar lakes for water security, he explained.
Giving further examples, PM Modi said, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, while it has also joined the top-5 countries in renewable energy. Today, on the one hand, India is increasing agricultural exports, while on the other hand, it is also running a campaign for blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol. He also referred to India’s role in organizations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure- CDRI, and the International Big Cat Alliance which is a huge step towards the conservation of feline species.
Mission LiFE
PM Mod also highlighted how is brainchild “mission LiFE” i.e. Lifestyle for the environment is becoming a mass movement in the whole world today.
“When I launched Mission Life in Kevadia- Ekta Nagar, Gujarat last year, there was a curiosity among the people. Today this mission is spreading a new consciousness about lifestyle changes to combat climate change. A month ago, a campaign was also started regarding Mission LiFE. I am told that in less than 30 days about 2 crore people have joined it,” he added.
Lakhs of school children and their teachers joined this campaign.
“ Change your nature and change the world, this is the basic principle of mission life. Mission life is equally important for the bright future of the entire humanity, for our future generations,” PM Modi added.
