A National Seminar on ‘Combating Environmental Degradation’ is being held on the 26th & 27th of July, 2010 at Gandhinagar with the aim to bring together different organizations & individuals working in the area of environmental degradation and climate change on one platform .

Continuing in its endeavor to combat environmental degradation and climate change in the State of Gujarat, the Gujarat Ecology Commission, an apex body of the Department of Forests & Environment, Government of Gujarat in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Gujarat State Council and Mudra Institue of Communications, Ahmedabad is organizing this seminar which will facilitate discussions and debates about environmental degradation, the resultant impact and the means to combat it.

The National Seminar expects the participation of a number of eminent personalities, policy makers, government officials, scholars, representatives of the industries, NGO and international bodies and others, who are directly or indirectly involved in this task of common concern, to share their views. Participation from UNDP, GTZ, Shell India, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Center for Management in Agriculture & Centre for Environment Education, is expected, to name a few. Stalwarts and think tanks from diverse backgrounds such as Mr. D. Rajagopalan, Dr. Kartikeya Sarabhai, Director, Center for Environment Education, Dr. K. V. Sankaran, Director, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Binod Agrawal, TALEEM Foundation, Prof. Y. K. Alagh, Institute of Rural Management, Mr. Hardik Shah, Member Secretary, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Mr. B. P. Sanjay, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Tamil Nadu and Mr. N. M. Prusty, Disaster Management Expert, International Resources Group and many other eminent personalities will participate in panel discussions aimed at answering issues regarding initiatives that need to be taken in areas of planning, capacity building, infrastructural development and communication to combat the rampant environmental degradation taking place in the state.

The National Seminar will also see the participation of a number of organizations from across the country such as the National Solid Waste Association of India (Mumbai), Chattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Marine Environment Group (Gujarat), Institute of Environmental Studies and Wetland Management (West Bengal) Center for Mining and Environment (Jharkhand). The discussions during the seminar will aid the Gujarat Ecology Commission in arriving at a Roadmap for Combating Environmental Degradation in the State of Gujarat leading to an all encompassing sustainable development.

As a precursor to this Seminar, the GEC had conducted four workshops with different stakeholders such as the government officials & policy makers of the State, the non-governmental organizations, leading corporate & industrial houses, and the scientific, research & academic thought leaders. The reflections of the workshops suggest four areas of prime concern namely planning, capacity building, infrastructural development, and communication that will be discussed during the Seminar. The National Seminar aims at facilitating further discussions to arrive at practically implementable measures that need to be taken in each of these areas for combating environmental degradation.