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Mobius Foundation in partnership with WION launches ‘Mission Sustainability – Population v/s Planet’

WION
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Mar 05, 2021, 05:14 PM IST
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Photograph:(WION)

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Overpopulation is among the most pressing environmental issues, silently aggravating the forces behind global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, and consumption of finite natural resources at speeds faster than their rate of regeneration.

WION, in partnership with Mobius Foundation, is taking the vision of the Government of India forward and launching a one-year-long social initiative called 'Mission Sustainability - Population v/s Planet'. The campaign commenced with a two-hour-long Thought Leadership Conclave on February 20, 2021. 

Technology has advanced in the last 100 years to give us television, satellites, space exploration, and instant communication through apps. But today, there is an urgency to take action, in the short and long term -- for the survival of civilisation as we know it. Although the general population is aware that the future looks bleak, the causes are not immediately apparent to the common person. But if we had to attribute the difficulty to a single cause, it is the explosion of population. The solution (mitigation), however, does not seem feasible.

Overpopulation is among the most pressing environmental issues, silently aggravating the forces behind global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, and consumption of finite natural resources at speeds faster than their rate of regeneration. Ecological issues are anyway just the beginning for many more problems and issues.

This conclave on WION seeks to trigger an informed and engaging debate around the dynamics of population and its bearing on economic growth and our resource-scarce planet. 

"Population explosion will cause many problems for our future generations. But there is a vigilant section of public that stops to think, before bringing a child to the world, whether they can do justice to the child, give them all that she or he wants. They have a small family and express their patriotism to the country. Let’s learn from them. There is need for social awareness.” - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, has been invited to grace the event as the chief guest and share his vision for population stabilisation and sustainable development of India. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog will also join the event and address India's population policy and family planning programme. 

The conclave will feature policy experts, demographic researchers, and academicians discussing issues like 'Human Population Growth and Climate Change', 'Population Stabilisation: The roadmap for India' and 'The Effect of Educational Intervention on Family Planning'. The list of panellists includes notable names like Pradip Burman, Chairman, Mobius Foundation; Dr M Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, PFI; Shailaja Chandra, Former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Kartikeya Sarabhai, Director, CEE; and Professor KS James, Director, IIPS.