Center for Environment and Energy Development (CEED) on Tuesday organised a webinar to bring together a diverse stakeholders from Jamshedpur and Chaibasa districts on a common platform to engage in a solution oriented discussion on identifying certain pollutions hotspots and clusters and bring in relevant preventing measures to ensure a better air quality in the region.
The webinar was organised under the aegis of Clean Air Implementation Network (CAIN) with the objective to ensure a collaborative discussion on range of issues around clean air and most importantly bringing various voices and concerns of local communities to document pollution hotspots and its pilferages, and further generate public momentum to implement air pollution related mitigation measures effectively. The webinar witnessed participation of prominent civil society organisations, academic experts, think-tanks and citizen groups from these cities.
Highlighting importance of a multi-stakeholder approach with collective vision for ensuring clean and breathable air, Naveen Mishra, head-operations at CEED said, “A coordinated and convergence effort in planning and implementation mechanisms with engaging all key stakeholders is important to bring sizeable change on the ground. We believe capacitation activities for all concerned agencies and organisations is crucial to enable them to evaluate and act for reducing the risk caused by air pollution. CAIN, as a common platform, is working in this direction and creating citizen agendas with farsighted approach with raising public awareness to strengthen the efforts on ensuring healthy environment in the state.”
It is noteworthy that the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) is preparing a Clean Air Action Plan under National Clean Air Program (NCAP) for eight cities namely, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Sahibganj, Dumka, Pakur, Chaibasa, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh, where CEED is playing a role of technical partner. Realising the importance of bringing local knowledge and ideas into the planning and implementation process, CEED has sought to increase more active public participation and it is trying to ensure that those having a larger stake in the process, their voices and concerns must be heard.