Prof. V. Subramanian, School of Environmental Sciences, JNU; Dr. Sarala Gopalan, Former Secretary to Government of India in the Department of Women and Child Development; Prof. J.S. Gill of the NCERT; Dr. Ajay Mishra, Chairman, Sankalp; Principals and Teachers and the student participants; its a matter of pleasure for me to inaugurate this Environmental Education Interactive Workshop, being organised by the Sankalp and participated by the students, whose projects on various environmental issues and problems of Delhi have been evaluated as best ones by a panel of senior faculty members and scientists from the School of Environmental Sciences, JNU; NCERT and the Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi. The workshop is to provide a close interaction among the young environmentalists.
As all of you know, the sustainable development became an integral part of the global agenda in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in 1992, popularly known as Rio Conference, with the goal of establishing a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of co-operation among States, key sectors of societies and people.
I would like to interpret the issue of environment and development as an issue of Human Rights. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in its Principle-1 of the Preamble has declared "Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature". The Preamble further adds "the right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations".
The Agenda 21, adopted in the Rio Conference, had put equal importance on the socio-economic dimensions, along with conservation and management of resources. Combating poverty, population and sustainable development, protecting human health and sustainable human settlements have been identified as major socio-economic problems; which would decide the pattern of sustainable development at the global, national and regional level.
The equitable socio-economic development, which is the essence of the protection and promotion of human rights; holds key to conservation, protection and management of environment and natural resources. Women, children and youth are the most vital groups in strengthening sustainable development. Women have considerable knowledge and experience in conserving and managing natural resources. However, their role in achieving sustainable development has been restricted by gender discrimination and lack of access to education, land and employment. The household work; including collecting water, fuel and fodder, is the greatest restriction on the participation of the majority of women in the rural areas in the process of sustainable development.
Efforts should be made to promote the ability of women to play a greater role in sustainable development. The government should take necessary measures to eliminate discriminations, violence, negative images, stereotypes, attitudes and prejudices against women. The value of women’s invisible unpaid work, including "domestic" work, should be counted while measuring the state of the economy.
Youth makes up nearly one-third of the world’s population, and they need a voice in determining their own future. Their active role in environmental protection, conservation and management is critical to the long-term success of Agenda 21. Students should be taught about the environment and sustainable development throughout their schooling. Governments should consult with and let the youth participate in decisions that affect the environment.
Children make up nearly half the population in many developing countries and they are highly vulnerable to the effects of environmental degradation. We should combat human rights abuses against youth, especially young women and girls and see that children are healthy, adequately fed, educated, and protected from pollution and toxic substances. Development strategies should deal with the entitlement of young people to natural resources.
Environmental information and education are key to sustainable development. The Global Environment Outlook-2000, brought out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has admitted that "the information base in most countries is relatively weak". The report has also stressed that in the Asia-Pacific region in the formal educational system the development of environmental education has "concentrated on the primary and secondary levels, with pre-school and tertiary levels receiving less attention".
Efforts should be made by the governmental and non-governmental agencies to integrate environmental orientation and awareness in education. The students with better understanding and knowledge could act both as participants and benecificiaries in the process of sustainable development.
Sankalp’s effort in involving the students in grappling and solving the environmental issues and problems is laudable and the same could be replicated by other agencies.
I wish the workshop a great success. The young minds would share their expertise and experience with their peer groups and with the renowned environmental scientists. They would definitely go with a much better perspective on sustainable development with a humanistic approach for a just and equitable social order.
The following student participants received their prizes and certificates from Ms. Najma Heptullah, Vice Chairperson, Rajya Sabha on June 21, 2001 at India International Centre:
1 Anuj Tyagi: Bal Bhavan Public School
2 Arti Bala: Bal Bhavan Public School
3 Mahima Tyagi: Delhi Police Public School
4 Gayatri Jaiswal: Delhi Public School
5 Pooja Mallya: Delhi Public School
6 Supriya Malik: Delhi Public School
7. Meenakshi Wasan: Govt. Co-ed Sr Sec School
8. Pooja: Govt. Co-ed Sr Sec School
9. Shelly Sachdeva: Guru Harkrishan Pub School
10. Roopali Bahal: Holy Child Sr Sec School
11. Shivani Rathour: J.D. Tytler School
12. Varun Grover: J.D. Tytler School
13. Meenakshi: JVSD Girls Sr Sec School
14. Meenakshi Lakra: Maharaja Agrasen Model School
15. Deeksha Elwadhi: Manav Sthali School
16. Divya Srinath: Mater Dei School
17. Jinu Abraham: Mater Dei School
18. Siddharth Garg: Naval Public School
19. Menakshi Misra: Navyug School
20. Safdar Omran Aslam: New Horizon School
21. Prashant Kashyap: Ramjas School
22. Rupen: Red Roses Public School
23. Anupam Das: Rukmini Devi Public School
24. Nupur Sharma: Sachdeva Public School
25. Kavita: Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya
26. Vipul Kumari: Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya No.2
27. Sherry Punj: St. Cecilia’s Public School
28. Surabhi Luthra: St. Cecilia’s Public School
29. Arijit Mitra: St. George’s School
30. Vivek Padmanabhan: St. Marks Sr Sec Public School
Detail Report will be in the next issue.
