The United Nations (UN) has recognised the National Mission for Clean Ganga initiative, also known as the Namami Gange effort, as one of the Top 10 Environment Restoration Flagships programmes focused at recovering the natural world. On World Restoration Day on Wednesday, G. Asok Kumar, the Director General of the Namami Gange project, accepted the prize during a ceremony at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada.
“The National Mission for Clean Ganga, Government of India, is making concerted efforts to restore the riverine environment, as evidenced by Namami Gange’s ranking as one of the top 10 ecosystem restoration initiatives in the world. I hope that our efforts serve as a model for other, globally similar interventions “G. Asok Kumar made this statement after accepting the award for the project.
Also Read: Zombie Virus ageing 48,500 revived in Siberian Permafrost
Namami Gange, which was chosen among over 150 similar initiatives from over 70 different nations.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) coordinated the global movement known as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which is where these programmes sprang from (FAO).
It is intended to stop and stop the global deterioration of natural areas. According to a formal announcement, the initiatives that have been recognised, including Namami Gange, are now qualified to receive assistance from the UN in the form of finance or technical know-how. Asok Kumar had additionally taken part in a seminar that the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Youth Task Force had organized in Montreal, Canada, for the event.
“This has come at a perfect time for us as India has assumed the G20 group of countries’ Presidency. In the true spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, our Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to the preservation of the environment when he assumed the presidency. I am. thanking the World Restoration Forum, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization for honoring India by including Namami Gange in the top 10 restoration programmes,” Asok Kumar made the following statement.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised the need to revitalise River Ganga and pledged more than $5 billion to ensure that the river gets clean upon taking office in 2014, when the Namami Gange Program was launched.
“With 40% of India’s population, 2500 species of plants and animals, and an 8.61 billion square kilometer basin that is home to more than 520 million people, the Ganga is significant to India. Ganga is also crucial from a spiritual perspective “Kumar continued by stating that the river represented the nation’s beliefs, feelings, and collective consciousness and was strongly linked to Indian heritage and civilization.
Also Read: India and France to collaborate on surveillance of South-West India Ocean
He added that the NMCG used a multi-sectoral, holistic approach and offered cutting-edge concepts for the comprehensive preservation of the riverine environment and its health. In addition, Kumar stated that Arth Ganga is a crucial part of Namami Gange since it helps to improve the socioeconomic connections amongst river users.
Due to this, the Mission has evolved into a Jan-Andolan, or people’s movement. The NMCG is creating a road map for cleaning additional rivers throughout the nation and the world as a result of numerous cutting-edge project management techniques, like HAM and One City One Operator, effectively evolving.
