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Development and conservation must go hand in hand, President Pranab Mukherjee said today as he underlined the need for sustainable development.
“Debates are being held all over the world on development versus conservation. To me, development and conservation are not contradictory. Humanity needs both,” Mukherjee said at the convocation of Indian Forest Service probationers at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy here.
He said the solution to the debate was “inclusive” development, which looked at the environmental aspects of development.
“Mother Earth has everything to meet the needs of its children, but not enough to meet the greed of every man,” Mukherjee said, quoting Mahatma Gandhi.
A batch of 47 officers today passed out from the academy, set up by the British in 1926. The landmark building, once on the outskirts of the city, is now sandwiched between the booming Uttarakhand capital and lush green forests.
The president appreciated the fact that forest cover in the country had increased from 64.2 million hectares in 1987 to 79.4 million hectares, or 19.32 per cent of its landmass. He said the forest policy of 1952 had underscored the need to maintain forests over one third of the country’s land.
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