‘Promote ecological sense’ says Earthscan author

As part of Kew Garden’s 250^th Anniversary celebrations, an illustrious panel gathered at the British Museum to debate on ‘Whose Landscape is it Anyway’, an exploration of environment versus development in South Asia.

Chaired by the BBC’s Sarah Mukherjee, the panellists were Nicholas Stern, writer Tahmima Anam, historian Ramachandra Guha and environmental activist and Beyond Developmentality author Debal Deb. Guha was the first to speak, on how Gandhi’s advice on the destructive Western model of development had been ignored. Stern was next, on how consumption was all very well, but should not deplete the family silver, or indeed, attempt to rob other families of their silver. Easily the most optimistic of the speakers, he touched on the importance of allocating responsibilities correctly’, ending with the assertion that low-carbon growth is possible.

Deb mentioned the need to promote ‘ecological sense’ from childhood- both of the individual and of the nation, emphasising that ‘development’ should not be regarded as an inevitable, imitative process. He made a strong case for the re-establishment of communitarian values, highlighting the importance of inter-generational rights. Tahmima Anam was the last to speak, illustrating the issues surrounding climate change with a portrait of Bangladesh, which she described as being in the vanguard of the struggle. Bangladesh today faces what the world will have to deal with tomorrow, she said.

Nicholas Stern contributed a foreword to Carbon Markets, released last month, and Debal Deb’s book Beyond Developmentality will be under discussion on Wednesday 8^th July in a seminar at The University of East Anglia.