Humanity facing challenges of plastic pollution: Lt Governor

Srinagar, Jun 5: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha addressed the World Environment Day event, organized by the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Monday at Srinagar.
The Lt Governor reiterated the commitment of the UT Administration to protect the environment and natural resources and sustainable, inclusive development.
“Humanity is facing grave challenges of plastic pollution today. Our resolution on this year’s environment day is to ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. It is now the responsibility of the entire society to accomplish this resolution through the spirit of Jan Bhagidari,” said the Lt Governor.
We cannot exist without nature. This day reminds us to accelerate our actions and bring behavioural changes in our lifestyles. It should be the priority of all stakeholders to free our forests, rivers and lakes, mountains, grasslands, farms and urban landscapes from plastic pollution.
This decade is going to matter the most in preventing catastrophic climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss. By 2040, we will be able to reduce plastic pollution by 20% only by adopting the strategy of circularity economy, said the Lt Governor.
“We need to follow integrated approach, circularity economy- Reuse, Recycle, Reorient and Diversify to reduce plastic pollution. It is high time we should incentivize and promote sustainable alternative materials for redesign and repackaging of products to protect environment,” he observed.
He further suggested for creating a mechanism to generate employment opportunities from such transformation.
Speaking on the successful conduct of G20 Tourism Meet in Jammu Kashmir, the Lt Governor said the historic event has firmly placed the UT in the international tourism map.
Our natural heritage of snow-capped mountains, magnificent peaks, rich forests, picturesque alpine meadows, serene lakes and streams needs to be protected from the threats of climate change, he added
“We are truly fortunate that nature has selflessly given us everything that is necessary for a better life and it is our bounden duty to show sensitivity towards nature and make efforts to conserve natural resources,” he said.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the efforts of the central government and the UT Administration to reduce the impact of plastic pollution.
Cohesive efforts in urban development and planning policies are determining the future of our cities. In the last three years, there has been a rapid increase in awareness about environment, especially among the youth, he said.
The Lt Governor lauded the Forest Department for the continuous efforts to spread awareness and reduce the adverse affect of climate change on the environment through the initiatives like ‘Har Gaon Haryali’, ‘Ped Lagao Beti Ke Naam’, Green Life Contest, Mission LiFE and encouraging Jan Bhagidari in environment protection campaigns.
He also called for exploring all the possibilities to put to use the Green Technology and eco-friendly models showcased by the innovators and entrepreneurs from across the country and students from different schools during the exhibition
Junaid Azim Mattu, Mayor SMC spoke on the Corporation’s ‘One Soul, One Tree’ mission as a part of its endeavour to increase green cover in the city. City Biodiversity Index is an important tool for developing Srinagar as a sustainable city, he added.
Aftab Malik, Chairperson, District Development Council Srinagar highlighted the significance of World Environment Day and creating awareness to tackle the environmental challenges.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary called upon the people, all stakeholders to adopt sustainable lifestyle and Green Technology and remove single-use plastic from their lives to achieve the goal of carbon neutral and litter-free J&K, he added.
Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary, Forest Department and Sh Roshan Jaggi, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests highlighted the environmental conservation efforts of the department with active participation of people.
Under Mission LiFE, 10 lakh people participated in the 41,000 events organized across the UT, it was informed.
Earlier, the Lt Governor administered the LiFE-Lifestyle for the Environment pledge to the officers, students, and citizens from different walks of life present on the occasion.
He also felicitated the winners of the Green Life Contest 2.0, and the organizations, citizens, members of plantation committees and schools for their extraordinary contribution in environment protection campaigns.
The occasion also witnessed the launch of the Mobile app BIRD 1.0 for status and monitoring of Forest Boundary Pillars, developed by Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing department.
Reports on Climate Resilient City Action Plan for Srinagar and Jammu, and Forest Density-based Area Treatment Prioritization were also released by the dignitaries.
Administrative Secretaries, PRI Members, HoDs, Senior Officers, Students and people in large numbers were present.