National Seminar on Development and Sustainability in Bomdila

- February 03, 2024

I attended the national seminar on ‘Development and sustainability: Emerging challenges in Northeast India, with special reference to Arunachal Pradesh’ held in Government College, Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh on 30th January, 2024. I arrived on the previous day with my family and was received by Dr Vineeta Dowera and other faculty members in the Circuit House of Bomdila. Then Chorten Norbu took us around the town for sight-seeing.

I delivered the key-note address in the seminar, organised by the Commerce Department, in collaboration with the higher & technical education directorate, Govt of Arunachal Pradesh. My theme was "Conflict between Development and Nature: case for sustainability."

I said that the fall-out of the development process is that the use of machinery and equipment go on increasing, the power requirements also rising along with it. All these mean extraction of natural resources from earth and converting them to commodities for use in secondary and tertiary sectors. The more intense this process of extraction and conversion with value addition, the more intense is the denudation of earth in an irreversible manner. While some resources like forest or water are replenishable, the mineral resources are not replenishable. This makes the process of development itself unsustainable. There lurks the danger that the development process itself will come to a halt at some point of time in the near future, when the reservoir of these non-replenishable resources is over. It is already the case with respect to fossil fuels. The moot point is that there should be development and it should be sustainable too. I gave several examples of how development affected nature and pleaded for a balanced approach to development so that it is sustainable.

The Head of Commerce Department, Dr Sangey Drema gave the welcome address. She emphasised in her address on sustainable development for preserving the resources. Lobsang Tsetan, the ADC of Rupa district was the chief guest. He reiterated the importance of environmental conservation, and assured to provide administrative support to initiatives aimed at protecting the region’s natural heritage. He also donated some books to the college.

The Principal, Dr Tashi Phuntso encouraged the participants to engage in research endeavours aimed at finding innovative solutions to the region’s developmental challenges. He underlined the multifaceted interlinkages between economic development and sustainability.

Tezpur University Assistant Professor Dr Biswajit Ghose and former RGU commerce department head Dr Tasi Kaye chaired the technical sessions, Several scholars from different states of North East presented papers in the seminar. The seminar concluded with a valedictory session where Passang Dorjee Megeji, Vice President, AITTF was the Chief Guest. He distributed certificates to the participants.

The participants gathered and had a musical evening to mark the successful completion of the event. It was anchored by Dr Sangey Gombu, who enthralled the audience with beautiful anecdotes.