The TARAgram Yatra, a five day event organised by Development Alternatives (DA), a not-for-profit organisation and its partners, concluded with a day-long conference in New Delhi today.
Speaking at the conference Surya P Sethi, former member Planning Commission said, "Access and empowerment are the keys to changing development paradigm in an economy and in order to see real difference it is important to take the development to the people than trying to bring people to where the development is".
Concluding the TARAgram Yatra, Dr Ashok Khosla, Chairman, Development Alternatives remarked that though India had many big scientists in the country but hardly any poor man gets to enjoy the benefits of the same. He hoped that TARAgram YATRA would provide solutions to help the poor.
Kalikesh Singh Deo, Member of Parliament from Orissa also spoke on the occasion. He said, "It is when the youth really raise their voice and demand change that the change happens. The idea is to show the initiatives towards green economy and the effects it can have so the same can be duplicated at a larger scale with maximum penetration".
Other speakers who addressed the conference included Bimal Jalan, former Governor - Reserve Bank of India, Anne Solagard - Coordinator Green Economy: UNEP-GRID Norway, Niranjan Khatri, General Manager ITC.
The ‘TARAgram Declaration 2010’ was released by Dr. Ashok Khosla on the conclusion of conference.
The Declaration comprised key messages emerging from the five-day event on critical green economy issues and practical solutions on green jobs, green investments and adaptation for livelihood security, relevant to practitioners and policy makers.
The declaration included few fundamental action points including:
The path for a sustainable future must focus on eliminating poverty and regenerating the environment in a way that creates decent green jobs and sustainable livelihoods
Transformation of attitudes and behaviours at individual and societal levels are possible through appropriate governance systems, sustainable methods of creating products and services that lead to equitable distribution of wealth.
Green growth will need to strengthen people’s institutions, empower citizens, secure eco-system services, enhance purchasing power, reduce carbon foot prints, reverse the loss of biodiversity and revive health of our eco-systems at a large scale
Policies and mechanisms for scaling up of solutions need coherent overall vision, agreement on outcomes from all stakeholders, political will and a critical mass of public opinion to enable transformation at the scale required.
Large scale impact will require efforts for green technology packaging and incubation for mass markets, including mechanisms for skill building, knowledge generation and sharing.
Green social investments will be required in the areas of eco-system services, sustainable agriculture, small and medium enterprises, waste management and recycling, green construction, and urban infrastructure.
