New
Delhi: On the occasion of The International Day of Biological Diversity (IDB)
National Mission for Clean Ganga and International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) organised a oneday workshop at India Habitat Center on Wednesday.
Welcoming
the guests, Director General, NMCG, Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said that
‘Sustainability is the key-mission of NMCG’. Sustainable agriculture integrates
environmental viability, economic profitability and social equity. Organic
Farming is being promoted in certain regions along Ganga and it would be scaled
up over the Ganga basin.
Speaking
on the occasion, Dr. Bharat Sharma, former Director IWMI Delhi emphasised on
effective water management and conservation of rain water as basic requirement
for sustainable agriscape. He recommended different approaches of water
conservation in Himalayan basin, Western Gangetic basin, Eastern Gangetic Basin
and coastal or delta region.
Shri
Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, MOWR, RD and GR said that sustainable water
resource management is the key to the success of the program. He expressed his
satisfaction that subjects like biodiversity conservation and water
conservation has become the center of the narrative. He also emphasised on the
inter -departmental collaboration for better result from the river conservation
initiatives.
The
objective of the workshop was to understand the impact of agriculture on the
Ganga basin through landscape approach and the larger ecosystem services that
the basin provides.
The
workshop was designed to bring together experts, academicians, civil society
organization and policy planner to understand the linkages between agriculture
and river Ganga.
The
workshop saw participation from organizations like IUCN, Ministry of Water
Resources River Development and Ganga rejuvenation, Ministry of Environment and
Climate change, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, IIT Kanpur, BHU,
Institute of Economic Growth, NEERI, FRI, WWF, WWI, CGanga and representative
of state governments including UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
Further
eminent dignitaries including Prof. RK Sinha, VC, Nalanda Open University, Mr.
Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, UP and participants from
organisations like Welthungerhilfe, OISCA, WHO, FAO and Development
Alternatives, also took part in the workshop.
Two
technical sessions were held on ‘Biodiversity, Ecosystem services &
Sustainable Agriculture challenges and Opportunities for India’ and Sustainable
Agriculture; Ground Level Experiences’.
Promotion
of organic farming in Ganga Basin was recurrent theme of the workshop. It was
informed that Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare released an amount
of Rs.1413 lakh for the year 2018-19 to the Government of Uttar Pradesh for
organic farmaing under Namami Gange Clean Abhiyan for 700 clusters i.e. 14000
hectare area.
Participants
advocated curbs on cultivation of non-essential water-guzzling crops such as
sugarcane, particularly in water-constrained regions and creating adequate
buffer regions of natural vegetation (trees, shrubs and grasslands) between
farmlands and rivers, lakes, etc. for minimizing polluted runoff from agricultural
fields directly into the nearby water bodies.
The
concluding session sought to create a roadmap for sustainable agriculture in
the Ganga basin by bringing in various solutions and experiences from the
field.
The
workshop succeeded in getting close to 20 national and international
organizations involved in sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation
and community building on a common platform. Sharing success stories and
challenges in creating ecologically sustainable world keeping water and river
Ganga at the center was an excellent learning experience for the participants.
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