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My roots with nature are so weak that I fail to understand. . .

A lot is being talked about the sustainable environment in Himalayas and its management these days. There is no doubt that it is getting affected. But how do we manage it?

On this point the question mark exists as previous efforts have yielded little and attempts to improve other services, be it infrastructure, agriculture, irrigation, water supply and to large extent man’s greed to make a few quick bucks fast have seriously impacted the environment in Himalayas.

So what is the way out?

It is projects  sustainability so that it runs on its own long after the project is over.

Unfortunately, the word ”sustainability” has become a fad these days. Almost all conservation projects talk about sustainability without knowing how to make conservation projects sustainable in reality.

If we look  at various projects be joint forest management, medicinal plants conservation, biodiversity conservation, cold desert development, pasture land development, social forestry and all other conservation projects, most of them are made to look  sustainable till the funds keep flowing in and once the project gets over and funds dry up, sustainability also dries up as if affected by a severe drought or washed away by a powerful tsunami.

Some conservationists contend that sustainability of the project is time specific and the project had achieved its target when it was running actively & they are not concerned about it  once the project gets over. But is it the power of sustainability or money flow that keeps the project running? Doesn’t sustainability mean long-lasting or is the word directly proportional to money flow?

Alas! What became of the word “sustainability” which was splashed all over the pages when the project proposals were made and highlighted in a big way while submitting the project? Was it then misinterpreted or is it too big a word that anything and everything can hide behind it.

Actually, what all that is needed in the end is a crisp report camouflaging the small achievements as big,  juggling with data and a final report declaring that overall goals of the project have been achieved.

Now is any organization ready to open the can of worms of current sustainability of their previous projects ? Has there been any assessment of the post impact of the project, say after 2-3 years after the project was completed to know whether the sustainability is still there or has fizzled out.

Mostly no, because organizations don’t get money to do assessment of projects long completed. They only get money for new projects also no organization wants to count its failures as it dents their standing & maybe prospectus to get  future  projects also dampens.

So it is time to write  a  new project proposal, splash it with high- falutin words, some fancy ideas which can be made to look innovative but have loose bonding with real goals and sustainability.

Cheers