HimVani
Shimla: The Himalaya Niti Abhiyaan will organize a two-day National Peoples’ Convention on Livelihoods and Sustainable Himalayan Ecology in Kullu on December 27and 28.
The convention is intended to bring activists, researchers, ecologists and representatives of peoples’ movements striving for livelihood rights and sustainable development on a common democratic platform in order to facilitate meaningful exchange on common issues from the perspective of a common ecological premise.
The convention will be participatory and interactive, intended to highlight the imperative for a national mountain-specific approach to development in the Himalayas, to be accountably implemented by governments of the mountain states. Key issues of focus will include The Forest Rights Act and environmental violations in the context of cement, hydro-power, SEZ, mining and infrastructure building projects, all of which question the fundamentals of land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation policies. Of equal importance to the convention will be calling attention to the dire environmental impact of current development on the fragile western Himalayas ecology. The Himalaya Niti Abhiyaan will provide board and lodging.
