The Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi district committee has welcomed the decision of the State government to make Wayanad the first carbon neutral district in the country.
The pilot project is aimed at reducing and offsetting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve carbon neutrality, which is key to avert the worst impacts of climate change being felt in the district.
Carbon neutral
‘‘We welcome the announcement of Finance Minister T.M. Isaac to launch the ambitious programme to make the district as the first carbon neutral district but the programme should not be restricted only to planting tree saplings to meet the end, N. Badusha, president of the organisation, said.
‘‘The ecologically fragile hill district is facing various environmental threats such as filling of paddy fields, bulldozing hillocks for constructing buildings, and construction of multi-storey buildings on ecologically fragile areas,’’ Mr. Badusha said.
Apart from coffee, agriculture products such as the traditional and aromatic rice varieties, value-added products from various fruits, spices, and pesticide-free vegetable should be marketed under a brand name, he said.
Budget allocation
The budget allocation of Rs.100 crore to mitigate man-animal conflict should not be used for providing compensation to the victims in wildlife attack. Instead digging elephant trenches, installing power fence on the fringes of forest, and constructing granite walls to tackle the wildlife attack should be done, Mr. Badusha pointed out.
The pilot project is aimed at reducing and offsetting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.
