16 February 2018, 11:16 pm

PM and CM together joins inauguration of 2nd?WSDS 2018 in New Delhi

By voiceofsikkim · Historical Archive

PM and CM together joins inauguration of 2nd?WSDS 2018 in New Delhi

16 Feb, New Delhi (IPR) : ?The Sikkim Chief Minister? Shri ? Pawan ? Chamling ?join ed the? Prime Minister? Shri ? Narendra ? Modi ?who inaugurated the 2 nd ?World Sustainable Development Summit 2018 here at the? Vigyan ? Bhawan ?in New Delhi.? While delivering his inaugural address, t he? Hon?ble ? Prime Minister said that the? Summit? is? reinforcement of India?s commitment to sustainable planet for? ourselves ?and for future generations.? He further said that a s a nation we are proud of our long history and tradition of harmonious coexistence between man and nature . Over the years, the world sustainable development summit? has? spread consciousness about our action to preserve the purity of mother earth to all parts of the world. India believes in growth but it is also committed to protecting the environment, the Prime Minister said. He also recounted various initiatives at the national and international levels for climate change mitigations.

CM Sh Pawan Chamling addressing mammoth gathering of 2nd?WSDS 2018 in New Delhi

In the evening, the Chief Minister was invited to? address? the Plenary? Session? at the India Habitat Centre. While? dwelling ? on the t heme ?of P artnering to create a green, clean and prosperous world , the Chief Minister said that? we are passing through a? very critical juncture in earth's history when our use of resources has outpaced the ability for its regeneration . The Chief Minister recounted the many environmental measures undertaken by the Sikkim Government over the years and shared about the many positives outcomes at the state level.

Calling upon the world to the need of bringing about? drastic changes in perception,? behavior , habits, cultural adaptations and societal ways , the Chief Minister prescribed actions? involv ing ?(a) continuous course corrections of our process based on the assessment of outcomes (b) aggressive policy formulation and enforcement to support the required climate change adaptations (c) formulation of guiding principles and practices for creating changes in individual and societal behaviour (d) building capacity to guide future generations and developing expertise to undertake and implement required changes in communities.

Calling upon the world community to make the earth total organic by 2050, the? Chief ?Minister ?said that it is possible? if we all work together .

Offering his service to address the global challenges, the Chief Minister said that he is

o pen to developing partnerships for creating a clean, green and prosperous world for all, based on? experimentations in Sikkim for? build ing ?a greener, healthier and sustainable future. ? (Attached below text of Speech)

Sharing the dais? for the Plenary Session? with the? Hon?ble ?Chief Minister w ere ?HE Mr Laurent? Fabius , Former President of COP21 and UN Environment Patron on Environmental Governance, Constitutional Council of France, Mr.? Aiyaz ? Sayed-Khaiyum , Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service and Communications, Government of Republic of Fiji, Ms Christine St-Pierre, Minister of International Relations and La? Francophonie , Government of Quebec, Mr.? Lyonpo ? Lekey ? Dorji ,? Hon?ble ?Minister of Economic Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan and other distinguished participants. ? The session was chaired and moderated by Ambassador? Ajai Malhotra , Distinguished Fellow,? TERI .?

Speech of CM

2 nd ?World Sustainable Development Summit

India Habitat Centre

New Delhi

February 1 6 , 2018

Theme:? Partnering to create a green, clean and prosperous world?

In the chair, respected Dr.? Ajai ? Malhotra ? ji , and distinguished fellow participants? in the panel .

It is an honour to be a part of the 2 nd ?World Sustainable Development Summit and to represent Sikkim at this esteemed global forum. As we stand ?at a? very? critical juncture in? ear th's history when our use of ?resources has outpaced? the? ability? for its regeneration, it is timely to ask what should our? g lobal approach be towards green ?and sustainable? development ? ?I? have been serving ?the people of Sikkim , ?trying to see how sensitive? and eco-friendly? governance , ? along with the? active involvement of people , ? can make a difference in society while keeping our environment ?sustainable, ?clean and green ?and I am happy to share our story with you today .

In Sikkim , we have tried to address the ?many? challenges to? the earth?s health , such as global warming and depleting natural resources, ?in our own way .? We have innovative? and environment-friendly development programs ?that keep in mind our fragile Himalayan ecosystem .? For example,? we placed a? ban on? the? use of plastic and other non- biodegradable materials in 1997. ? S moking in public places ?is also outlawed since 1997 and in? 1998, ?we stopped the ?grazing? of animals? in reserve forest? areas. In 1999, we ?launch ed the ? Smriti ?B an program? and in 2001, we? ban ned the? killing of wildlife and felling of trees . In 2005, we i ntroduce d ?com pulsory environmental education ?in schools? and ?launch ed the ?Green Mission in ?Sikkim in 2006. We ?constitute d the ?Glacier and Climate Change C ommission in 2007 and in? 2009, ?we launched the program called? Ten Minutes to Earth . This is a mass afforestation program during which citizens spend 10 minutes on? 25 th ?of June ?of each year, pla n ting tree saplings. We banned the? bursting of? fire cracker s ?in 2014? and the burning of agricultural wastes in 2015. The use of ? diclofenac has also been banned since ?2015.? We have recently launched the Sikkim Climate Inventory and Monitoring System aimed to put in place a system that will determine reduction in CO2 emission s ?as a result of our green actions.?

In Sikkim,? we have? standing regulation to plant 10 tree saplings compulsorily instead of the 1 tree felled for? bonafide purpose s .? We have yet another unique and culturally absorbing initiative? based on the age-old tradition of ? mith ?? or? ? mitini ?? in? Sikkimese society , which is a bond ?to forge? fraternal relationship between two persons,? whether as? sister s ? or as brother? &? sister. T he same concept is being extended to enter into this bond with? trees and forests. ? And this is only a fraction among the many eco-initiatives launched in the State.

Trees being the main entity ?to absorb CO2 emission s, ?we consider ?their protection ?to be a? cornerstone ?in our? program towards ?nature conservation.? Because of this, our forest cover has increased by ?over 4 percent from? 43.95% in 1993 to 47.80 % today within the last 20 years.

Sustainable development for quality of living and for economic development largely depends on clean and green environment. Addressing to achieve 100% sanitation goal in both urban and rural habitation, Sikkim earned the distinction of becoming the first? Nirmal ? Rajya ?of India in 2008. In 2015-16, Sikkim was awarded for being the First Open Defecation Free State and the? Cleanest ?state of India.?

Sikkim also has the cleanest city of India with? Gangtok ?city as a model. All other towns in Sikkim are also emerging as? ? environment-friendly towns and cities. Under every development program in Sikkim, we have earmarked? minimum of? 1 % of the total project cost as green fund to support plantation initiatives and develop green avenues through afforestation and make up for the possible loss of green cover in the proposed areas. This initiative of provisioning? green fund ?in every development scheme could be taken up by all the governments across regions and nations in the world.

I am also happy that? there is no extreme poverty ?in Sikkim today. In fact, Sikkim is a zero-hunger state.? Sikkim recorded the highest annual growth rate of? upto ?22 percent in the Country.? The Sikkimese pe ople enjoy good health and well being. The life expectancy in Sikkim has increased by 10 years ? during the last 2 decades.?

In contemporary Sikkim, there is not a single case of a person marginalized or suppressed on account of his birth or caste.? There is no gender discrimination in Sikkim ?and we have made it a priority ?to provide equal representation, irrespective of gender . ?For example, we have 50%? reservation for women in the? Panchayati ?raj system. ? The government provides justice based on inclusive policies. The government?s inclusive approaches encompass every citizen through recognition, reservation, representation and redistribution.?

Sikkim has ?also ?earned the rare distinction of becoming the first fully? O rganic? S tate in India and the world after a long and protracted campaign. The total cultivable land of Sikkim has been converted into certified organic farms over the years following the guidelines as prescribed by National Programme for Organic Production.?Sikkim ?today ?contributes around 80,000 million tonnes ?of ?organic production out of? the? total 1.24 million tonnes of organic production recorded in India.?

Unfortunately today, the world has become a dumping ground for ?chemical contaminant s .? Global ?communities have woken up to the dire consequences of this overwhelming poisoning of the entire biodiversity of the land, sea and the atmosphere.? H uge subsidy on chemical fertilizers? is ?being ? pumped in , which is putting? living beings ?to great? risk . If the available subsidy is diverted to encourage organic farming, it will? help? change the entire world into an organic world. We do not need any additional ?resources for organic farming.?

Personally, I have made my fervent appeal to the world communities to create an organic, pollution free, chemical free and clean ?world and that if we want to protect our planet, we must go for organic farming. Organic farming is the only answer, the only life-saving occupation. I am happy to share with you my basic perception about organic farming that guided our mission successfully in Sikkim:

1.? The basic need for the survival of mankind is clean air, clean water and? healthy ?food grains. Only organic farming ensures clean air, clean water and? clean food grains to the people ensuring good health and well being of man and nature.

2.? Organic farming ensures economic viability, environmental sustainability and generates the feeling of social responsiveness amongst the people.

3.? Organic farming is the holistic approach of protecting the environment,? living b eings? and also? ensure ?responsible consumption and production patterns as envisaged under the Sustainable Development Goals envisioned by the United Nations.

4.? Organic Farming will greatly contribute towards climate change mitigation and will arrest further degradatio n of our environment and ecology.

5.? With organic farming, human health and also the environment will improve and we will arrest further damage to our environment and other living creatures ?in? water ?and on land . This is for the same reason that organic farming is? also? often referred to as ?a non-violent farming practice as well as a ? life-saving and also earth saving occupation .

6.? We must promote? organic? agriculture as a fashionable profession to attract all classes and all age group s ?of people ?across nations .?

7.? Available data suggests that if we convert this earth into? an? organic world, we can? contain carbon emission s ? by 50 percent ?in the future .

W e call air as our ? pran ? vayu ?, as the? life-giving ?element in our nature. ?If the air is polluted, how can it create or sustain life on earth?? Everywhere in the world,? people are dying due to pollution and pollution related ailments. We the humans? alone? are polluting our environment for our personal greed and self-interest. ?Therefore, we must also do everything ?in our power to correct and rejuvenate earth?s wealth.

We? also say ?? jal ?hi? jiwan ? hai ?. But how can water give us life if it ?is polluted in the way it is being exploited at present? Ther e fore,? we? have to? realize that we have harmed our earth enough times. We must realize it now and work towards its preservation and safeguard ing .?

T his would require drastic change s ?in perception, behavior, habits, cultural adaptations and societal ways. The resolutions we need to adopt and action s we need to take ?will involve (a) contin uous course corrections of our? process? based on ?the assessment of outcomes ? (b) aggressive policy formulation and enforcement to support the requ ired climate change adaptations? (c) formulation of guiding principles and practices for ?creating ?changes in individual and societal? behaviour ?(d) building capacity to guide future generations and developing expertise to undertake and implement required changes in communities.

I f we want to protect our planet, we must go for sustainable development. And for that to happen, the first condition is to stop the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and go for? only? organic farming to make this world wholly organic. ?Let us take up organic farming on mission mode to change our earth i nto? a? fully organic world by 2050. ?It is possible if we all work together!

Let us adopt? eco-sensitive and eco-friendly policies for? a? sustainable future. Together we must stand against strong interest groups? at the local, regional , national and world? levels? who ?may seek to derail our mission .? Everyone should be part of the solution rather than ?a ?part of the problem.?

I am sure, we have enough of leaders, policy makers, civil society members, scientists and academicians who share this determination and resolve to wo rk for the better future of our earth and? full safety of? all its? inhabitants ?? ? from human beings to trees , butterflies? and? the tiniest? living organisms with whom we share our world.

I am open to develop ing ?partnerships for creating a clean, green and prosperous world for all , ?based? o n our own experimentation s ?in Sikkim . ? It is a critical time to think together for the sustainability of our world and I am sure that together, we can build solutions for a greener, healthier and sustainable future.

Thank you!