Government releases Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy
Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recently released Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy, 2019. It has invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders including public/private organizations, experts and concerned citizens on the draft policy.
Features of Draft National Resource Efficiency Policy (NREP)
It envisions future with environmentally sustainable and equitable economic growth, resource security, healthy environment (air, water and land), and restored ecosystems with rich ecology and biodiversity.
It is Guided by Principles of-
(i) reduction in primary resource consumption to ‘sustainable’ levels, in keeping with achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SGs) and staying within planetary boundaries.
(ii) creation of higher value with less material through resource efficient and circular approaches (aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources).
(iii) material security and creation of employment opportunities and business models beneficial to cause of environment protection and restoration.
(iv) waste minimization
It provides overarching collaborative framework for resource efficiency across all sectors in the country, covering both biotic and abiotic resources and life cycle stages and aspires for cross-sectoral stakeholder partnerships for cause of resource efficiency for sustainable development.
Background
Natural resources form backbone of any economic development. India, as one of fastest growing economies with GDP at US $2.6 trillion has increased its material consumption to six times, from 1.18 billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 BT in 2015. It is expected to increase further to provide for increasing population, rapid urbanization and growing aspirations. Thus, enhancing resource efficiency and promoting use of secondary raw materials has emerged as strategy for ensuring that potential trade-off between growth, environmental well-being and resource constraints can be minimized.
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Month: Current Affairs - August, 2019