Pointing out the sudden rise in natural disasters in India, owing to environmental degradation and climate change, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said there is a need to make sustainability the core of development philosophy.
"Development and environmental conservation were not mutually exclusive goals. There is a great need to rethink and redefine development. We need a paradigm that combines development with sustainability," he said at the presentation ceremony of 'Earth Heroes Awards' 2018, held here.
Speaking at the event, Naidu also expressed his deep concern about unchecked and unbalanced development, rapid and wasteful extraction and consumption of natural resources, thoughtless waste disposal, excessive use of fossil fuels and rapid deforestation that are ravaging the planet.
"The world had already lost 80 per cent of its forests and that the air in our cities had become un-breathable."
India's firm devotion to the cause of conservation and sustainable development, especially the gains made in the field of renewable energy should be applauded, he said. "What India does can change the global conservation landscape at this point," he noted.
--IANS
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