You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Development, Sustainability and Environment
powered byJotCast
Anish P
11:59
Hello and welcome to session 2 of the colloquium on 'Science, Technology, Policy and Society' featuring Dr Indu K Murthy, Sector Head - Climate, Environment and Sustainability at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). The session is being moderated by Nalini Rajan, Dean of Studies, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.
12:00
The session is on 'Sustainable Development Goals' and 'Understanding of the Ecosystem: Interface and trade-offs'.
12:01
Nalini Rajan introduces Dr Indu K Murthy, Sector Head, CSTEP.
12:06
Dr Murthy begins by delving into 'Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)', as mentioned in the Brundtland Report. She also provides a historical understanding, mentioning the conventions held in Stockholm in 1972, Rio in 1992  and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in 1994.
12:08
"Everybody is speaking about sustainable development," she says. Explaining the initiation of these goals, she explains the UN Millennium Development Goals which was discussed as early as 2000.
12:10
Dr Murthy sheds light on the 17 SDGs, which are built on three main pillars of sustainability, Social Development, Economic Growth and Environmental Protection.
12:12
She highlights the five thematic areas of these goals - people, prosperity, peace, partnership, and the planet. "The interconnections between these themes and pillars are extremely strong," she adds.
12:14
Elaborating on the importance of SDGs, Dr Murthy cites that the goals were split from the broader necessities to make it 'more tangible' and 'less fluffy'.
12:17
She uses an example of the system of garbage management in Peru to address the ways in which these goals can be globally achieved.
12:19
Dr Murthy also underlines the decline of global poverty levels between 2016 and 2018 but attributes the onset of the pandemic to derailing the progress made in achieving the goal to reduce poverty. The percentage of families below the poverty line increased from 6.7% in 2019 to 7.2% in 2020.
12:21
Stressing on the importance of the concept of 'RRR' -- Reduce, Re-use and Recycle -- she points out that 17% of the total food available to consumers is wasted at household and retail levels.
12:23
Dr Murthy brings forth India's rank in SDG performance, which currently stands at 121 out of 163 countries. "Though we have done well in terms of health, the waste management scenario pulls down the overall score," she opines.
12:24
12:26
Diving into the idea of trade-offs in the ecosystem, Dr Murthy emphasises how issues surrounding maladaptation, especially in the field of climate change, have to be dealt with.
12:29
She provides a basic understanding of the term 'ecosystem', which she further divides into various 'biotic' and 'abiotic' entities. She also points out that multiple biomes constantly interact within these ecosystems through the process of nutrient flow.
12:31
Dr Murthy refers to the book, 'The Hidden Life of Trees' by Peter Wohlleben, which deals with the relationship between trees and fungi, to throw light on the continuous flow of energy in the ecosystem.
12:35
Acknowledging the never-ending debate on religion vs science, she points out that cultural services like tourism and spiritualism are as important as the provisionary and regulatory services of ecosystems.
12:41
Dr Murthy also elaborates on societal needs that are met by the various ecosystem landscapes and cites an instance from her personal life, when she visited the Sirsi district of Karnataka, a region rich in evergreen forests and waterfalls.
12:46
She also highlights a dwindling in the population of bees, owing to changes in the flowering patterns of certain plants and deforestation.
12:52
Dr Murthy cites this example to further back the notion that there are constant interactions between varied strands that exist within these ecosystems.
12:53
Dr Murthy explains India's stance on climate change, citing the NDC commitment in 2015 and the country's stance on achieving the goal of continuously improving its green GDP.
12:55
Impact of climate change on India and the world (via Civilsdaily)
12:57
With an example of electric vehicles (EVs), she opines that it becomes necessary to mitigate emissions, which will help to improve other interconnected areas, like the development of bio-fuels that would also impact food security due to their utility in ethanol blending.
12:59
Can the convergence of science & environment help address the problem of climate change?
Yes (60% | 3 votes)
 
No (0% | 0 votes)
 
Maybe (40% | 2 votes)
 
Total Votes: 5
1:01
Dr Murthy concludes by elaborating on the roles of human capital, natural capital and social capital in sustaining human well-being. She emphasises that individuals must understand the nuances in these fields to achieve the goal of sustainable development.
1:03
She goes on to note that there is a problem in attributing developed nations and their high emissions as one of the reasons for the current issues surrounding climate change while addressing a question about governments being held responsible for the same.
1:06
"The way technology is developing, you don't know what it is capable of," says Dr Murthy, when asked about the likelihood of achieving our net-zero targets.
1:09
She adds that the focus should be centred on positive action and the development of technology would then result in a "win-win situation," while responding to another question from the audience.
1:12
Dr Murthy ends by stressing the need to showcase stories across communities about those who facilitate the positive action that will help promote a wider scale and the necessary interventions that need to be made.
1:15
This brings us to the end of the session. Thank you for tuning in. Stay tuned for the afternoon session on emerging technologies and the role of the media.
Connecting…