Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday called for the need to protect natural resources from the adverse impact of urbanisation.

During her visit to The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) campus in Gurgaon, she said use of eco-friendly technologies, such as those developed by TERI, could help boost sustainable growth, a TERI release said.

Suu Kyi said, “Myanmar is rich in energy resources, but also needs investment. We look for responsible investment that is not only sensitive to the environment, but also secures the future of our country. We need to learn more about handling our energy resources. Moreover, Myanmar also needs an effective energy policy.”

The Nobel Laureate also underlined that people’s prosperity should be considered when thinking of environment and energy. “We need to boost local governance by strengthening people economically,” she added.

TERI said it had set up biomass gasifier systems for village electrification of cyclone-affected areas in Myanmar, and had also distributed solar lamps to the affected households following the devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

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