By IANS,
Hyderabad : India’s economic policies are destroying biodiversity and livelihoods on an unprecedented scale, civil society groups warned Tuesday.
“The blind pursuit of economic growth is coming at massive costs, both to natural ecosystems and to hundreds of millions of ecosystem-dependent people, who are being affected by mining, dams, power plants, ports, industries, and other such projects. Such growth has also not solved the chronic problems of poverty, hunger and malnourishment, and social exclusion that affect more than half of India’s population,” said over two dozen civil society groups attending the ongoing UN conference on biodiversity here.
According to the civil society groups, India’s growth fetish is leading to a massive attack on biodiversity and people’s rights and livelihoods.
“Policies of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have caused damage to millions of hectares of forests, wetlands, rivers, mountains, coasts, marine areas, and grasslands, and to the lives, cultures, and livelihoods of tens of millions of people depending on such ecosystems,” the civil society groups said in a statement.
The statement called for a moratorium on mega-projects and processes, including mining, mega-dams and power projects, genetically modified crops, ports and others that threaten or undermine fragile ecosystems and livelihoods based on them, until the following actions are undertaken.
“A comprehensive and participatory review of economic policies and planning processes, to put biodiversity conservation, and peoples’ livelihoods based on biodiversity, as core values. This means a central focus on sustainable livelihoods based on responsible use of forests, rivers, marine and coastal areas, grasslands, farms, and other ecosystems,” it said.
They also emphasised on decentralization of political, financial, and economic governance to gram sabhas and urban ward or area sabhas, empowering communities and citizens to participate in decision-making processes based on the best available knowledge.
“There should be strict compliance of legislations such as the Forest Rights Act and others which provide some safeguards for the rights of vulnerable communities and require prior informed consent of gram sabhas or other relevant community institutions,” it added.