Orissa is the first state in the country to have prepared the Climate Change Action Plan in the country and the state government has planned to invest Rs 18000 crore for the implementation of this plan, said Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik.
Pattnaik inaugurated the national conference on ‘Coastal Eco-System and Sustainable Development’ at Paradip, being organized by Coastal Orissa Eco Foundation.
Addressing the gathering, Pattnaik said that environment and culture are closely related with each other and stressed on environment protection for the safety of habitants.
“Paradip is going to be the industrial hub in the coastal belt and there should be balance between industrialization and environment protection”, he said.
“Thirty six per cent of the people in the state are living in coastal areas so we should keep attention towards their protection. The government has introduced integrated coastal management scheme in which the protection of environment will be emphasized for the safety of coastal villages”, he added.
Environmentalists, socials activists, geologists, experts, elected representatives and government officials from the different parts of the country participated in this conference.