Guwahati media institute holds memorial lecture on wildlife conservation, climate change

Noted environmentalist Anwaruddin Choudhury delivered a lecture on ‘Conservation of Wildlife in North East: Climate Change and Other Emerging Challenges’ in Guwahati, saying that balancing environment protection and development with awareness generation is key to combating climate change.

Choudhury was speaking at the 1st Naresh Mitra Memorial Lecture, organised on December 6 by the Institute of Media and Development Studies and Satirtha, a platform of journalists in Guwahati.

Climate change is a natural phenomenon, he said, but activities of humankind are accelerating the process which is a cause for concern. “I am not against development. But there is a need to review and regulate some of the developmental projects,” Choudhury added.

He questioned the necessity of mega dams, especially in areas like the North-East, even though Choudhury acknowledged that these are required for power generation. These are potential ecological disasters, he said, adding that most dams are being built on faulty Environmental Impact Assessment reports.

The former civil servant also questioned why roads, railway lines or power transmission lines are taken through forested areas even though it can be avoided by a little re-alignment.

Choudhury cited instances of building underpasses in Baksa and Lakhimpur districts of the state in select sites for smooth movement of animals.

He also sounded alarm bells regarding the threat palm oil cultivation poses to the environment, saying strict regulations must be ensured for taking it up on a large scale.

Extension of protected areas for flora and fauna, legal protection of elephant corridors, clearing of encroachment, strengthening of anti-poaching measures and control of jhum cultivation were among the other measures suggested by Choudhury to fight climate change.

“We may take all these measures and more, but the most crucial is awareness. Unless the people are made aware of the need to conserve the environment, we cannot achieve anything,” he said, adding that burning of fossil fuels and rapid deforestation are major causes leading to climate change.

Assam Pollution Control Board chairman Arup Kumar Mishra also spoke on the occasion, harping on the importance of awareness generation.

Mishra underlined the role of media in creating awareness and also spoke on the contributions towards environmental reporting by Naresh Mitra, in whose memory the programme was organised.

Mitra, a Guwahati-based journalist working with a national English daily, had succumbed to injuries sustained in a road accident two years ago at the age of 45.