Speakers at a day-long conference on “sustainable development” organised by the Eco Youth Forum on Saturday, urged the Central and State government to popularise the cultivation of ancient and conventional minor millets and traditional crops. They underlined the need for protecting and stabilising the storage in water bodies.
A. Adhappan, founder of Rose Trust, who presided over the trust, said that a majority of the river basins in the State needed adequate maintenance and restoration of their capacity for storage of water.
He said that conservation of river basins was all the more necessary for sustainable development.
A. Sakthivel, National Convenor of Eco Youth Forum, in his address, said the three-day United Nations Organisation’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit, to be held from September 25, would be an eye-opener in protecting the environment.
A memorial park would be set up in the district shortly to mark the summit.
Appavu Balandar, a progressive farmer, Paamaiyan, an environmentalist, spoke on the importance of conventional millets and paddy varieties.
They said efforts should be made for restoration of the same, particularly in areas with low rainfall.
Earlier, students from various schools and volunteers of service organisations took out a procession from Thilagar Thidal to Town Hall.
Carrying placards, they raised awareness slogans on conventional crops.
They brought conventional crops cultivated in the bio-fields in the district.
Resolutions were adopted at the end of the conference urging the Union and State government for immediate intervention for protecting the water bodies.
Copies of the minutes of the conference would be sent to the United Nations Organisation, Union and State governments for follow-up action, according to Mr. Adhappan.
He said that lack of awareness about sustainable development was the main reason for various agriculture and irrigation-related issues.
The U.N. summit would go a long way in resolving the problem, he said.
Source : The Hindu
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