Environment and Governance to Promote Environment Conservation

Sustainable development is widely used term that encompasses three areas in policy viz., economic, environmental and social aspect. Planning and management is essential requirement of development and for protection of environment i.e. conservation and when we talk in context of environment sustainability and conservation a need for participation and collaboration in planning arises. It all starts with problem and then need as there is serious dilemma particularly how to reconcile the extensive land and financial resources required by protected areas with the acute social and economic development needs of poor rural people with very limited access to any kind of resources because of which experts are hired that go for lengthy process of management which people, community don’t understand and become impatient so it is important to engage them and there is requirement of the shift from the traditional expert –driven conservation practice to a more holistic community centered management of natural and cultural heritage resources where it is important that participation be included in every aspect and at all stages because if it is incorporated in initial stages people are aware about the project and feel as a part of it.

Participatory Environmental Management Committee (PEMC) consisted of every stakeholder from governments including both central and local to citizens commerce, NGOs, low income households, junior high schools, colleges, and media) and participation can be defined as a process that facilitates dialogue among all, mobilize knowledge and skill, support communities and institutions to manage and control resources and seek to obtain environment sustainability, economic equity and social justice. For knowledge it is important to understand that conservation cannot be achieved without development if even if we ponder about it we indirectly alleviate the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people so that means conservation and development can go together which indicates that there is wrong mythology that they are opposite but actually they are not although conservation includes both protection and the rational use of natural resources.

It is just that we have to train people, educate them but for education media is not enough as most of people living in settlements are illiterate and cannot understand English. We have to make them understand intricate relationship between environment and sustainable development and about the concept of living sustainably which can never be applied if hundreds of millions live even without basic essentials of life after educating people supporting them is equally essential so designing programs that link social and economic empowerment activities with conservation objectives so that it should be of mutual benefit to communities and environment.