Secretary Agriculture, Abu Baqr Siddique said, on Saturday, that protecting natural resources for future generations is the moral responsibility of everybody because our ancestors took care of nature and mother earth for us. Healthy soil, water and overall environment is important for the well-being of not only human beings but for every living being who has the right to use and enjoy nature.
Siddique said social, economic and environmental damage expected from implementation of every project, programme should also be assessed in advance along with its benefits. He said that the State Government has a lot of money for promoting organic farming, natural farming and innovative projects but useful ideas, inputs, insight and innovative proposals can come from scientists and research institutions.
He was addressing the concluding session of a three-day national conference on 'Landscape management for preventing flood and reservoir sedimentation' at Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) on Saturday.
Siddique said we all should be aware of the United Nations-mandated 17-point Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for freeing the country from poverty, hunger, malnutrition and preserving the natural resources and environment. India is ranked 121 among 163 countries of the world in achieving the set goals. Jharkhand is further lagging behind on this front.
BAU Vice Chancellor Dr Onkar Nath Singh said scientists, policymakers should work in unison for the well being of natural resources and its beneficial use for all living beings. Conservation, storage and recycling of the 1400 mm annual precipitation received in Jharkhand is a major issue before the Conservationists and effective strategies need to be perfected for this purpose, he added.
Since a major area of eastern India remains inundated for several months, the conference recommended Integrated Farming System models for flood-prone areas based on the assessment of region specific aquatic production systems. NITI Aayog says there are five million springs in India which could be gainfully used for aquatic production. Spring geo-tagging, springshed delineation and micro watershed plan at landscape scale was also required for spring rejuvenation.
The scientists also recommended training and capacity building initiatives for natural resource literacy, silt retention and management of resources in flood-erosion as well as flood-prone areas. The event also stressed on strengthening mutual respect and bonding between technologists and farmers by respecting farmers' traditional knowledge and wisdom. The conference recommended conducting more studies on use of geotextile based resources on high sloping land, considering the development of new material by industry. Organising secretary Dr Gopal Kumar presented these recommendations.
Over 300 scientists and officials from eastern states participated in the event.