3rd Curtain raiser... Making Peace with Nature

 By Malini Shankar

Digital Discourse Foundation

Making Peace with Nature is one of the lofty goals of the currently underway United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties 16 in Cali Columbia. To make this a reality COP 16 is aiming at realising the goals envisioned in SDGs (in SDG 14, 15 and 17, to be precise) which is Life Under Water, Life on Land and Partnerships for the Goals respectively.

Making peace with Nature encompasses a whole gamut of issues…combatting biopiracy to veganism / vegetarianism… to fair trade, benefit sharing of genetic resources to protection and promotion of traditional wisdom and benefit sharing mechanisms. Biosafety protocols, decreasing harmful subsidies on fertilisers and toxic agricultural practices are just some of the  issues on the table in Cali.

Habitat protection for marine wildlife, regulated whaling, (huh?) cleansing the oceans of human generated debris, (SDG 14) to mitigation of human wildlife conflict (SDG 15), Sustainable co-existence of Man and Beast in tiger terrain, or protecting the interests of that hapless victim of bear attack in India’s Western Ghats, all these issues need policy guidelines. … best meant for these COPs. But it is green reporting that brings sharp focus to issues and succeeds partially in putting the green agenda on the political table.

Near shore is always biodiverse. But trawler fishing is killing olive ridley turtles and other marine faun a indiscriminately. UNCBD COP 16 needs to focus on the legal regime and execution of laws to solve this issue. Here is a sad picture of a bleeding dead Olive Ridley on the coast of Orissa in India. Picture Credit: Malini Shankar.

But green agenda such as those in discussion need a serious treatment of anecdotal perspectives, which is why the Green Movement needs political sagacity best espoused by the Media.

Sustainability is not just Electric Vehicles nor is Climate Change Adaptation just about Renewables. The Wyanad Landslide in July in India literally brought home the Power of Climate Change unmistakably. Corporate Social responsibility credits for greener agenda needs a whole lot more of dynamism and focus, besides “ease of doing Green business” atleast in India. The current fiscal infrastructure in India needs constructive and creative streamlining and out of the box engagement to cater to the green agenda.  

Farcical programmes like afforestation has resulted in saplings being replanted on rocky terrain in India!

There are a whole lot more issues that come within the scope of Partnerships for Goals. Corporate Social Responsibility have to be a part of Sustainable Fisheries; Re-greening as Climate Change Adaptation can effectively get stake holder participation through creative out of the box schemes like Memorial Green Parks, or soil conservation in Tsunami affected areas, Climate resilient agriculture, investment in biofuels, and so on…can re-purpose Corporate profits.

In the first curtain raiser I wrote last week I mentioned forest dwellers with Jan-Dhan accounts but they are badly impoverished and unable to survive a ruthless digital economy.  Will Corporates be kind enough to found a bank exclusively for tribals in India? That would help a situation like the one where the Kani tribal could not negotiate for a renewal of patents for his ancestors bequeathing traditional wisdm on Arogya paccha or Tricophus zeylanthicus … the patent they shared with JNTBGRI went dry because the patent money after endless legal disputes was neither invested in tribal development nor did the community of Kanis benefit… most of what they got was spent on the bottle! Our political leadership over 75 years has not thought of an exclusive bank for the tribals in India. If the thriving Corporates – the modern economic Tsars in India were to take up such an honourable and glorious partnership in conformance to SDG 17 atleast one goal or one Target is likely to be achieved.

Hope peace begins…

 

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