Minister for Agriculture V. S. Sunil Kumar has said that construction of structures, which adversely affect quality of air, water and fertile soil cannot be accepted as development.
Inaugurating a two-day national conference on bird watching at the College of Forestry (CoF) under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), at Mannuthy on Sunday, the Minister said that agriculture was fundamental to the well-being of all living beings and hence real development should promote conservation of nature and its resources.
“I remember the Kole land developmentproject formulated with creative contribution of KAU scientists. It was a model of development through nature conservation with involvement of all stakeholders. We need sensible approach towards conservation of nature. We should revive the paddy mission, which had helped revival of paddy farming in the State,” the Minister said.
He suggested setting up a mechanism to conserve traditional crops and varieties even while new ones are being developed. Involvement of the KAU and close coordination between the University and Department of Agriculture will be ensured in all farm development activities, the Minister said.
KAU Vice-Chancellor Dr. P. Rajendran in his presidential address pointed out that the rich avian diversity in Kerala matches with the plant diversity of the State.
“Topography of our State and rich biodiversity are key elements in avian diversity. Bird count is a critical parameter of biodiversity and bird watching is a topic of contemporary relevance,” he said.
Dr. B.S. Courrie, Principal Chief Conservation Forests, in his keynote address said that the road to greed has destroyed the road to feed and hence there is a struggle to ensure food safety.
“Nature has been kind to humans, but our attempt to harm it has backfired. What we know about birds is much less than what we don't know.
Research has shown that bird music hastens flowering and fruiting. Let's vow to revive and restore the ecosystem,” he said.
The Minister also released the bird atlas of Alappuzha and Thrissur districts.
