In the coming decades, balancing claims over our natural resources will require an institutional framework that factors in ecological considerations at all levels of decision-making. Our population will climb to over 1.4 billion. We will soon have many of the world's largest cities, consuming natural resources at a furious pace, as cities are wont to. Water stress will grow, exacerbated by shifts in precipitation due to climate change and the retreat of Himalayan glaciers.
There are other daunting challenges: air quality, disposing of waste, preserving our forests and bio-diversity, protecting wildlife and promoting the welfare of indigenous communities. As home to a seventh of the world's population, India has an ethical responsibility to the global community to ensure that its development path is sensitive to the needs of our planet. Read the full report here.
Source: by Shyam Divan, Times of India.
