Eco system threatened by development: Bhuj Declaration

Bhuj, Dec 20 (UNI) A three-day regional conference on ''Natural resource conservation, use and sustainability in drylands'', concluded here today with a warning that development is endangering the environment.

In its Bhuj declaration, the conference said that three-fourth of India was classified in one or the other categories of drylands.

For centuries, such regions have supported farming, pastoral and artisan communities who had developed a culture of adaptation to the fragility and variability of the local eco-systems.

''This culture of adaptation is now endangered by a development, which disturbs eco system balance with scant regard for long-term consequences,'' the declaration said adding that this needs to be corrected because good ecology makes good economic sense. Development that is not supported by the environment is inherently unsustainable. Therefore, a value needs to be placed on the many services that dryland ecosystems provide for sustainable development, it added.

Biodiversity is instrumental and tightly interlinked with the provision of dryland ecosystem services. Its conservation is therefore of paramount importance. Development driven by principles of sustainability and a broader framework of values is not only a proven model from the past, but a valid model for the future, the conference concluded..

Various stakeholders including state agencies, NGOs, farmer groups, business community and scientists from different countries participated in the conference to discuss various aspects of dryland development with a view to ensuring its conservation and sustainable use.

The conference was organised by the Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE) and the Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan as part of the International year of deserts and desertification declared by the United Nations.

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