Poverty eradication is of utmost importance to achieve truly sustainable growth, said President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday.
Inaugurating the 27 Indian Engineering Congress on the theme ‘Engineering for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth: Vision 2025’ at Vigyan Bhavan here, the President said poverty and a degraded environment are closely inter-related, especially where people depend for their livelihoods primarily on the natural resource base of their immediate environment.
Removal of poverty is, therefore, a prerequisite for the protection of the environment, he said.
Mr. Mukherjee said mechanisms must be put in place to make available to developing countries the latest technologies at a reasonable cost. Technology transfer must be informed by an understanding of its implications in the social, economic and environmental contexts of the recipient societies, he said.
“Several traditional practices that are sustainable and environment friendly continue to be a regular part of the lives of people in developing countries. These need to be encouraged rather than replaced by more modern but unsustainable practices and technologies,” he said.
The integration of agriculture with land, water management, and ecosystem conservation, is essential for both environmental sustainability and agricultural production, the President said.
