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Conservation second to development, says PM

Prime Minister A B Vajpayee today reiterated India's commitment to sustainable development, but stressed that poverty alleviation and economic development remained first priorities.

Addressing delegates at the first world assembly of the Global Environment Facility, which opened in New Delhi on Wednesday, Vajpayee pointed out both affluence and poverty contributed to high levels of pollution.

While stringent emission norms work in the case of the rich and developed world, the best approach for developing countries would be incentives that encourage conservation without compromising economic development, the prime minister said.

"We should make concerted efforts to facilitate and promote adoption of environment friendly techniques of production and also undertake far greater measures to disseminate information about the ill-effects of polluting forces," he said.

The prime minister said new partnerships between the developed and developing world would now be required for conservation and sustainable development while ensuring equitable distribution of technology and social advancement.

However, the promotion of such partnerships required making the most of the diverse repertoire of knowledge, skills, perceptions, and assets belonging to a wide cross-section of nations and societies, he pointed out.

Vajpayee observed that while much attention was lavished on climate change, global warming, and the ozone layer depletion, very little is being done to address the environmental problems faced by the poorer societies such as the paucity of drinking water or inadequate sanitary conditions.

"If there is to be serious commitment to sustainable development then a new international movement, the like of which has never been seen before, will have to be built up," he said.

Such a movement would require the effective integration of the sporadic efforts being made by the different players whether it be international organisations, national governments, or non-governmental organisations.

Vajpayee called for a consensus between the forces of development such as business and the forces of conservation represented by environmentalists.

Since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, he said many international business leaders had taken the lead in urging the business community to be environmentally more sensitive and responsive.

In fact, the gathering today, for the first-ever assembly of the GEF spoke for the continuing commitment to the cause while the structuring of GEF itself in 1994 gave it vitality and responsiveness.

Vajpayee emphasised that the imperative of sustainable development placed a common responsibility on the rich and developing countries to concentrate research and development efforts for that cause.

He suggested three immediate projects for the GEF: an all-out effort to harness renewable energy sources on a large-scale at comparable costs; the development and commercialisation of new materials; and across-the-board introduction of energy-saving techniques and management.

As a country, India itself is committed to rapid and sustainable development as surest way to improving the living standards of its people and eradicating poverty, he added.

There is, he emphasised, a strong complementarity between economic development and improvement of the environment.

He said India proposed to establish legal frameworks for the protection of the environment and his government will shortly unveil a national environment policy to reconcile development and environmental conservation.

Earlier, Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said the government is committed to improving the lives of Indians but without compromising on environmental protection.

Sinha, who was elected the GEF chairperson, said he was acutely aware that squandering natural resources could only lead to poverty.

He stated that it was satisfying to note that the government, judiciary, non-governmental organisations, students, and general populace have all started taking interest in environmental issues. "With this commitment, the future is denfinitely going to be promising," he added.

The finance minister said India wished to work in tandem with the international community so as to share experiences and learn from mistakes.

But, he said, the Indian government was committed to rapid economic development and environmental improvement in a "mutually reinforcing framework."

UNI