Date:28/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/28/stories/2007122856770400.htm

New Delhi

IGNOU to sponsor plenary session of Science Congress

Staff Reporter

For the first time IGNOU will make its presence felt at the Indian Science Congress
‘There is an urgent need for changing the present pattern of unsustainable development’

NEW DELHI: For the first time since its establishment, Indira Gandhi National Open University will make its presence felt at the Indian Science Congress.

The Chair for Sustainable Development at IGNOU will sponsor the plenary session on “Sustainability Science” at the 95th Indian Science Congress to be held at Visakhapatnam from January 3 to 7.

The session will discuss the emergence of the new field of Sustainability Science and its relevance to India.

“Sustainability Science has gained worldwide attention because of the growing problems of climate change and the widespread environmental pollution caused by human activities. There is an urgent need for changing the present pattern of unsustainable development to a more sustainable development pathway,” said IGNOU Vice-Chancellor V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai.

“Sustainability Science provides the theoretical basis for planning and implementing sustainable development programmes and activities. It is a multi-disciplinary science that involves various disciplines, including environmental science, economics, engineering, social sciences, such as geography, sociology and political science. The session would describe the applications of Sustainability Science in specific sectors like the energy sector through case studies based on field experience,” he informed.

The session will be chaired by Prof. Pillai, while the keynote speaker will be the eminent agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan, who is the honorary Chair for Sustainable Development at IGNOU.

The Chair seeks to promote sustainable development through integrated attention to major components like ecology, economics, equity, energy and employment. It will also undertake field action research programmes in seven major ecosystems: hills, arid, semi-arid, coastal, irrigated, mountains and islands. Jeffrey McNeely, chief scientist at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Switzerland, will make a presentation on “Sustainability Science: Role and Applications in the international setting” during the session.

The other two speakers who have been invited are: eminent energy expert S. K. Chopra and social scientist from M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, R. V. Bhavani. On the basis of the panel discussions and presentations, a set of recommendations will be prepared at the conclusion of the session that will provide guidelines for introducing Sustainability Science.