Green crusade

Haridwar hosted Indo-Canadian Conference on Biodiversity and Environmental Governance::

P.S. Chauhan

A three-day Indo-Canadian conference on 'Biodiversity and Environmental Governance in Canada and India : Safeguarding Ecosystems for Human Welfare' was held in the Gurukul Kangri University. The conference, organised jointly by the center for Canadian studies under the department of English and the department of environmental science of the university, was sponsored by the department of foreign affairs and international trade, government of Canada.

Dwelling on the theme of the conference, Professor Rama Singh of McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada said that environmental degradation, both in Canada and India, is a subject of concern for both the countries. Delivering the keynote address, Dr. M.M. Kimothi, the director of the Uttarakhand State Space Application Center pointed out through charts and projections how glaciers in Uttarakhand have been receding due to climatic change. The inaugural session was presided by the vice chancellor of the university, professor Swatantra Kumar, while Dr. Shravan Kumar, the director of the conference welcomed the guests. Professor Swatantra Kumar pointed out that the Indian scriptures had advocated a life in harmony with nature. Experts and environmental scientists from various universities of the country and Canada participated in the deliberations.

Speaking as the chief guest in the conference, the acting High Commissioner of Canada in India, His Excellency Jim Nickel said that since environmental concerns, including global warming and threat to biodiversity, are global issues, not the local ones and a global strategy is needed to address these issues. "Literature can create an awareness about environmental problems and the universities can play a vital role in solving these problems by conducting higher studies and research on matters related with ecosystems to promote human welfare," said Nickel. The Canadian envoy told Haridwar Plus that Canada has been co-operating with India in a big way in the field of higher education. "The number of Indian students in Canada has gone up three times since 2008. We are going to establish centre for higher studies in India at 8 places," said the envoy.

The scholars participating in the conference expressed their views on topics such as 'Human Demography and Biodiversity Crisis'. 'Green Movement', 'Watershed Development', 'Some Concerns of Environment and Sustainable Development', 'Environmental Accounting - Issues and Challenges', 'Conservational Strategies and Values', 'Environmental Management and Human Health' and 'Eco-tourism - Generating Revenue and Loss of Biodiversity'.