NATIONAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY AND POLICY STATEMENT ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

source :www.nposonline.net


PREAMBLE

The survival and well-being of a nation depend on sustainable development. It is a process of social and economic betterment that satisfies the needs and values of all interest groups without foreclosing future options. To this end, we must ensure that the demand on the environment from which we derive our sustenance, does not exceed its carrying capacity for the present as well as future generations.

In the past, we had a great tradition of environmental conservation which taught us to respect nature and to take cognizance of the fact that all forms of life - human, animal and plant - are closely interlined and that disturbance in one gives rise to an imbalance in other's. Even in modem times, as is evident in our constitutional provisions and environmental legislation and planning objectives, conscious efforts have been made for maintaining environmental security along with developmental advances. The Indian Constitution has laid a new important trail in the Section on Directive Principles of State Policy by assigning the duties for the State and all citizens through article 48 A and article 51 A(g) which state that the "State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife in the country" and "to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes and rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for the living creatures".

Nevertheless, over the years, there has been progressive pressure on the environment and the natural resources, the alarming consequences of which are becoming evident in increasing proportions. These
consequences detract from the gains of development and worsen the standard of living of the poor who are directly dependent on natural resources. It is in this context that we need to give a new thrust towards conservation and sustainable development.

The National Conservation Strategy and the Policy Statement on
Environment and Development are in response to the need for laying down the guidelines that will help to weave environmental considerations into the fabric of our national life and of our development process. It is an expression of our commitment for reorienting policies and action in unison with the environmental perspective.
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