Need for protection of wildlife, natural resources, say NGOs

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 5

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day is ‘Celebrating Biodiversity’ and 2020 has already given mankind enough reasons to take nature and biodiversity seriously. Recently, the brutality against a pregnant elephant in Kerela has already shaken even the most non-believers and so organisations working for environment protection in the city took the opportunity to give out a string message of sustainability and move towards conservation and protection of wildlife and natural resources.

The WWF Punjab Chapter showed its solidarity towards the cause of wildlife conservation and protection. “The Kerela brutality is being justified by a few as a desperate attempt by marginalised farmers to protect their pineapple crop. They related the incident to such incursions by nilgai, leopards etc into farmlands. Pit bulls are another way in which farmers slay families of wild boards and other transgressors. To these justifiers of cruelty, we share ingenious ways in which human conflict is mitigated and coexistence is maintained even within wildlife sanctuaries,” said Gunbir Singh, chairperson, WWF Punjab.

“On this day it is perhaps opportune to reflect that we are the transgressors upon their diminishing lands. As our footprint expands to unsustainable levels, we must coexist or face the consequences,” he added.

Phulkari CAN, an NGO, working for environment conservation, also called for a creating a safe haven for species of flora and fauna at Ram Bagh Garden. NGO volunteers have dedicated a small space to organic farming, where green practices such as using pests as fertilisers, composting and sustainable irrigation are implemented.

“We are being supported in our cause by Undleeb Aujla, wife of MP Gurjeet Aujla, as we work towards making our dreams into reality — a dream of a clean city,” said Nidhi Sindhwani from Phulkari CAN.

The Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of Guru Nanak Dev University organised a webinar on ‘Biodiversity: Bio-Indicators, Monitoring and Ecosystem Health’ to celebrate World Environment Day here on Friday. The webinar was held in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Commission on Education for Communication (CEC). As many as 700 scholars, researchers and faculty participated in the webinar.

NGO Bharat Vikas Parishad planted saplings on the premises of Shanti Niketan High School and Amritsar Study Circle, Gopal Nagar, on Friday.

Mayor, MLAs plant trees

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu, MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and MLAs Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Sunil Dutti and Inderbir Singh Bularia planted saplings at Company Bagh. “It is our responsibility and duty to pass on a healthy environment to future generations so that they can live a healthy and prosperous life,” said the Mayor.