The Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 since 1970 to
demonstrate support for protection of planet Earth. The theme for 2022
is ‘Invest in Our Planet’. Climate change impact is stressing more and
more on food security, health and social life. The air is polluted,
water is polluted, soil is polluted, which are vital for development
to be sustainable. Inequality in gender, economic and social sector,
lack of understanding among nations, political instability,
pollution-intensive developmental activities and luxury-intensive
lifestyle lead to loss of peace and harmony with nature.
All such phenomena result in loss of resilience, loss of production,
increase of hunger, increased pace of natural calamities, cross border
conflicts and political instability. It is very well understood from
the theme that in order to sustain life in our only living planet
‘Earth’, we have to invest in wealth, knowledge, wisdom and technology
towards restoration of the ecosystem. Harmony with nature can only
help restore the ecosystem which is key to sustainable development.
With the modern luxury intensive lifestyle, man loses harmony with
nature and alienates from it, leading to rapid loss of natural
resources due to over-exploitation, emergence of newer diseases,
hunger, conflict, climate change, global warming, floods, droughts,
cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and other natural calamities, etc.
Lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney malfunction, Alzheimer’s
disease, etc. are on the rise now. The World Health Organisation (WHO)
estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year
are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate
crisis which is the biggest health threat facing humanity.
The Corona pandemic triggered severe social and economic disruptions
around the world, including the largest global recession. Widespread
supply shortages, including food shortages were caused by supply chain
disruption and panic buying. Educational institutions and public areas
were partially or fully closed in many jurisdictions, and many events
were cancelled or postponed. The pandemic raised issues of racial and
geographic discrimination, health equity, gender inequality, and the
balance between public health imperatives and individual rights. The
lesson learnt here is that the global lockdowns saw an unprecedented
pollution decrease. This is a clear indication of how human
interference affects the harmony with nature.
After World Wars I and II, there is an apprehension that the prolonged
Russia-Ukraine war may escalate to World War-III. Wars destroy the
life and property. Wars and natural calamities are catastrophic, and
development activities like mining, industries, urban expansion and
such other cause displacement, political refugees, environment and
climate refugees, and ecological disruptions.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN agenda
address to peace, harmony and sustainable development for a
sustainable future of planet Earth and Humanity. More than 1.4 billion
people and half of the world’s extremely poor people live in fragile
and conflict-affected settings. The number is forecast to grow by a
staggering 82 per cent by 2030. Around 244 million people are on the
move, with 65 million people in our world being forcibly displaced.
Nations across the world now work hard to be on track to achieve the
ambitious SDGs.
In western Rajasthan there is the largest desert known as Thar. There
lives a community called ‘Bishnoi’/ ‘Vishnoi’ (Bish means 20 and Noi
means 9), founded by Shree Guru Jambheshwar (1451-1536), who preach 29
principles. Of the 29 tenets, ten are directed towards personal
hygiene and maintaining good basic health, seven for healthy social
behaviour, and four tenets to the worship of God. The other eight
tenets have been prescribed to conserve bio-diversity and environment.
These include a ban on killing animals and cutting green trees, and
providing protection to all life forms. Khejri, a small tree and
blackbuck are their sacred plant and animal species. These two are
state species of Rajasthan. The Bishnois are commanded to provide
shelter for abandoned animals and prohibited to cut down trees; they
follow a system of sharing resources with the wildlife around them.
They lead very simple lifestyle in perfect harmony with nature. The
community conservation of blackbucks in Bhetnoi-Ramunda area, and
peacocks (India’s national bird) in Pakidi area near Sheragada in
Ganjam district of Odisha is a testimony of harmony with nature and
wildlife.
In 1730, in the remote village of Khejarli in Thar desert area, 363
Bishnoi men, women, and children sacrificed their lives trying to
protect hundreds of Khejri trees that the Jodhpur king Abhay Singh’s
men had come to cut down to fuel the cement lime kilns for the king’s
palace. The resistance movement costing so many lives was led by
Amrita Devi Bishnoi. The effort had a long-term impact on
environmental advocacy, and the massacre later became known as a
precursor to the 20th century ‘Chipko movement’. Holding reverence to
wild animals, plants and nature is very much ingrained in Indian
culture like that of Bishnoi.
Time has come for us to exercise restraint and withdraw from greed of
reckless use of natural resources paying scant regards to purity of
the nature. Let us try to give healing touch in a way that does not
lead to loss of ecological resilience of Nature.
Let us follow the ideology of Gandhi who preached ‘conservationism’ in
preference over ‘consumerism’.
Application of green technology and adoption of best practices such as
shifting from fossil fuel energy to renewable energy, use of
energy-efficient devices and equipment, conversion of waste into
wealth, conservation of air, water and soil, protection of natural
habitats and bio-diversity (forests, oceans, coasts, lakes, rivers,
ice caps, mountains, deserts, etc.), adoption of circular economy in
preference over linear economy would help reduce the pollution of the
environment and build up nature’s resilience. Besides, change to
environment-friendly lifestyle, taking organic home cooked food,
regular physical exercise and yoga, embracing spiritual life and
maintenance of disciplined life are necessary to achieves good health
and well-being.
The four dimensions of sustainable development are environmental
quality, economic prosperity, social equity, and cultural development.
Therefore, development must be made with an environmental approach and
in partnership with local community. Intensive study, survey,
research, education, training and awareness could be a great strength
in achieving sustainable development. A resilient ecosystem or
ecological resilience can only save the humanity from the disaster of
climate change due to global warming.
(Dr Patro is president, Orissa Environmental Society
snpatro11@gmail.com; Mob: 9437190420)