IIT Roorkee held panel discussion on Gross Environment Product (GEP) to discuss ways of boosting nation’s ecological growth

New Delhi, July 27, 2021: The Department of Water Resources Development and Management (DWRDM) at the Indian Institute of Technology, in tie-up with Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), organised a panel discussion on Gross Environment Product. The key motive of the discussion was to raise awareness about the ecological issues and the need for a comprehensive strategy to shift from GDP-led economic growth parameters to Gross Environmental Product (GEP) measures for defining development. Many believed that economic stability could not be achieved as long as we would continue ignoring ecological stability.

Speaking about the need for implementation of measures to prevent ecological damage at a global scale, Padmabhushan Dr. Anil P. Joshi, the founder of HESCO, said, “We cannot deny pressing needs of economic growth in the country for huge population but at the same time ecological needs cannot be forbidden. Our emphasis on commercialization has put the ecological issue on the backfoot. Rationality lies in the fact that there must be a balance between economy and ecology. Stable ecology can only bring consistent economic growth too.

The event started at 11:00 AM with the welcome address by Prof. Ashish Pandey, Head, WRD&M, IIT Roorkee and a short introduction by Padmabhushan Dr. Anil P. Joshi, a far-famed environmentalist and Founder of Himalayan Environmental studies Conservation Organisation (HESCO), a Dehradun-based voluntary organisation.

Dr.  Joshi who elaborated upon the subject, the context, the need of such a measurement criteria of development in today's times. He emphasised upon the complementarity of that subject with respect to other measurement criteria we have and he suggested that how the adaptation of GEP as a mode of measurement can balance the growth in association with the much needed environmental conservation.

Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, Secretary, DSIR and Director General, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Anusandhan Bhawan, New Delhi spoke on the importance of the subject and how relevant it is in today's context by mentioning about the efforts several global organisations are making by studying the prospect of Strengthening the environmental elements as the parameters of development and growth.

On the occasion of the event, Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, appreciated GEP and emphasized the need for a framework for judging our own actions and translate them into a number to rank different States."

Professor Rai the vice chancellor of UPES also spoke on the relevance and importance of the subject.

Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Ex-Director, CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur who has been associated with the subject for quite some time with reference to devising a formula and the structure of GEP emphasised upon about how this can be taken further by including several stakeholders.

Several other speakers After all the brief introductions, Prof. Vinay Sharma, Dept. of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee, delivered the vote of thanks.

The panel discussion commenced at 12:00 PM with the keynote remarks by multiple speakers, including Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, IFS, Director, Wildlife Institute of India, Prof. M.L. Kansal, IIT Roorkee, Prof. S.K. Barik, Director, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, Dr. Debapriya Dutta, Adviser & Head / Scientist-G, Department of Science and Technology,  Ms. Megha Prakash, Independent Journalist, Dehradun, Dr. Kapil Joshi, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Uttarakhand, Prof. Durgesh Pant, Director, School of Computer Science and IT, Vocational Education and ONLINE education, Uttarakhand, Dr. Githa S Heggde, Dean, School of Business, UPES, Dehradun, Prof. S.P. Singh, IIT Roorkee Dr. Tarun Dhingra, Assistant Dean Research, UPES, Dehradun, and. Prof. Prasoom Dwivedi, UPES, Dehradun, The event was moderated by Prof. Rajat Agrawal, Dept. of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee.

The speakers provided valuable insights about the GEP through the discussion, pressing the need for exploring holistic environmental sustainable development measures. The topic holds immense relevance today, especially when climate change has become part of key policy agendas across nations. The event focused on raising a call for an immediate action plan to protect our natural assets, which are fast depleting.

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About IIT Roorkee (https://www.iitr.ac.in/)

IIT Roorkee is an institute of national importance imparting higher education in engineering, sciences, management, architecture and planning, and humanities and social sciences. Since its establishment in 1847, the Institute has played a vital role in providing technical human resources and know-how to the country.