Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

In order to meet our food requirements and other social and economic needs, it is important to manage natural resources and ecosystem sustainably. Factors like climate change, conflicts over access to resources, increased water scarcity, deforestation are threats to environmental sustainability and food security.

Environmental stewardship is an essential part of the fight against poverty. People under the poverty line are the targets when the environment is not taken care of. They do not have the basic amenities in life. They lack resources to buy fertilizers to support themselves through drought. They do not have access to clean drinking water and lack sanitation facilities.

Deforestation

Recently, due to slight decrease in deforestation and increase in afforestation, the net loss of forest area has slowed down. Still countries like South America and Africa suffered the largest net losses of forest area in the first decade of the new millennium. Oceania experienced loss due to severe drought and forest fires in Australia. All these activities lead to climate change.

2. Rise in greenhouse gases

A continual rise in greenhouse gases can make the planet warmer and cause irreversible changes in climate and ecosystem. It can further lead to food shortage, natural disasters and long lasting weather extremes. The global emission of carbon dioxide increased by over 50 per cent from 1990-2012.

3. Water scarcity

Every continent suffers from water scarcity. It not only affects sustainability of natural resources but also economic and social development. Currently, more than 40% of people around the world are dealing with this problem.

4. Exploitation of fish stocks

Large scale industrial fishing is increasing day by day, threatening the most important source of animal protein for most of the population all over the world. Poorly regulated access to fisheries have added fuel to fire and increased the

Scant rainfall and cyclic drought force many people to resort to illegal charcoal production. A project by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to promote agro-ecology is showing farmers how to make a living from the land while conserving the environment.

-A joint programme between three UN agencies, Panama’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economy and Finance, and traditional communities in the Ngöbe-Buglé indigenous territory has brought safe water to nine indigenous communities in Panama.

India’s Scenario-

India has made quite a lot progress and is on track for achieving mdg7. There has been an increase in forest area to 21.23%-an increase of 5871sq. kilo meter. Energy intensity of GDP growth has been reduced through high energy efficiency and this will help in achieving energy security.

The quantity of households having access to enhanced water sources risen from 68.2% to 90.6%.However there has not been the same kind of progress recorded in sanitation facilities in India over the last decade .Therefore the progress is slow for sanitation facilities. India requires to make fast progress in improving sanitation facilities.