IBSD summit ends with 'Imphal Declaration'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 23 2015:
The first ever National Bioresources and Sustainable Development (NBSD) Summit held from Feb 19 to 20 concluded with the unanimous adoption of the 'Imphal Declaration on Bio resources and Sustainable Development' .
According to a statement, the summit recommended the role of scientists and social scientists from knowledge/industry/civil society sectors in developing evidence-based or science-based policies and implementation strategies for sustainable development in an integrated manner with a bottom-up approach.
Some of the key recommendations include development of local capacities for value addition of natural or bio-resources to maximize their returns to the local producer communities.
They must include all raw materials, agricultural and forest produce at the village level.
Governments may put in place incentives for local value addition as well as disincentives against long distance flight of raw materials.
Bioresource federations/cooperatives/SHGs empowering local producer communities are needed at the State, district and local level for capacity building, technology transfer/adoption, value addition and economies of scale while maximizing employment and returns to the local producers.
It further recommended the interdependency of technology development and enterprise development.
They need field models, system design, raw material flows over full annual production cycle, product range and pricing for existing/potential market conditions, marketing/sales strategies, end-to-end linkages, regulatory issues etc, to ensure viable/sustainable business and maximize benefit for local communities.
Technologies need to be adopted/adapted/modified accordingly, including supporting grass-root innovators and innovations, linking modern S&T with traditional crafts and other artisan goods.
Local employment generation, including knowledge/skill development for employability should be the cornerstone of all interventions for sustainable development.
They should enhance per capita rural GDP, infrastructure, health, education and livelihood for the people of NE, the summit recommended.
It further recommended planned promotion of black rice, bamboo, Shiroy Lily, Sangai and other such unique bioresources for all round sustainable development of Manipur, as a model for the rest of North-East and the rest of India, through development of interdisciplinary task forces on each resource.
250 subject experts and bioresource managers from all over India attended the summit.