Expressing concern that economic development has become a threat to bio-diversity in the country, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh today stressed the need for improving the country's Green Domestic Product (GDP) along with the gross domestic product.
"Let us recognise the enormous threats to our biodiversity. We need to achieve a 9 per cent green domestic product as well, along with economic growth. I think it is possible if we demonstrate greater sensitivity towards ecology. In fact, ecology and economy can go hand-in-hand," Jairam said.
Presiding over the Convention on Biological Diversity, organised by the United Nations at the MCR Human Resources Development Institute here, the Union Minister said "Our economic future will be in danger, if we do not improve green cover at least to one-third of our land area.
He said there was an intimate link between climate change and biodiversity.
Reacting to observations made by some non-governmental organizations, the Union Minister said that not enough was being done on conservation on biological diversity and sustainable use of resources. Henceforth, conservation, sustainable use of resources and access will be our priorities in the national biodiversity management, he added.
