Tenzin Lepcha, one of the participants at the Indian Himalaya Youth Summit which ended on September 23. Tenzin works for an NGO, Affected Citizen of Testa which focuses on Dam issues.
As the first Indian Himalaya Youth Summit came to an end on September 23 at Kisama, participants from the 10 Himalayan states concluded by consolidating young voices on development preferences where their aspirations were revisited, presentations were made and several recommendations were given. This was in preparation for the upcoming Sustainable Mountain Development Summit.
"This Youth Summit has given me a better understanding on the concept of sustainable development and the current problems that our mountain states are facing today." says Swastika from Darjeeling who works with the NGO Chai Project.
The challenges and opportunities of Sustainable Development in the water sector, agricultural and forest sector including solutions and key lessons learnt were also discussed. Another important topic discussed was 'Sustainable solution- a reality or fiction?'
Tenzin Lepcha
Tenzin is a 30 year old farmer from Sikkim participating at the Indian Himalaya Youth Summit. He works for the NGO, Affected Citizen of Testa which works on dam issues. "Sustainable development is a concept that is attached to what we do. We focus on restoring indigenous structures and promoting organic farming," says Tenzin.
He belongs to the first group in his village to start the marketing their agricultural production. He says that their older generation was more focused on sustaining themselves. "We started this so that our next younger generation can cope up with the changes. We employ the youths, let them work and earn so that they don't depend on their parents."
The NGO that Tenzin works for, opposes dam constructions and also works in preserving and restoration of historical relics. They try to educate people on agriculture and tourism. Tenzin further adds, "Instead of selling our land to big companies, we can make use of our own land. It helps generate income, employ the local people and we do not have to be completely dependent on the government."
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• Start a youth set up at the institution of Indian Mountain Initiative (IMI) to address issues of the mountain states.
• Appoint a combined steering committee for the review of agricultural policies of mountain states and come up with recommendations specific to the region. Eg. Production, market linkage
• Promote Youth Entrepreneurship
• Implement village-friendly policies: A bottom up approach especially related with forest.
• Inclusion of local history and culture in educational curriculum.
• To have more civil society representation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• To identify water springs, preserve them for supply and lobby with government policy makers.
• Environmental education at educational institutions.
• Integrated tourism involving more youths thus reducing unemployment
• Introduce proper town planning and proper development activities.
• Empower local communities and secure forest rights
via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEQ9TIBSoreokTGTIaGFSoP4YyBiQ&url=http://www.morungexpress.com/frontpage/103735.html
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