Environmentalist Keshava Hegade Korse called on the people to beware of excessive use and dependence on science and technology.
The thought that there is a technological solution for every environmental issue, is dangerous. Overdependence of science and technology has made us think so.
Over-consumption of natural resources has been a cause for concern, he said.
He was delivering a special lecture on the conservation of natural resources at Alva’s Nudisiri on Sunday.
People of non-coastal regions are under the illusion that origins of rivers in the Western ghats are huge reservoirs of water. Once the forests at Western Ghats are destroyed for irrigation projects, however, the process of formation of clouds will be adversely affected and this will in turn result in less rains. Hence, it is high time to undertake conservation of forests in the Western Ghats, he said.
Referring to the water crisis, he said that at present 150 taluks in the state are facing severe drought and 5,000 among 6,000 gram panchayats in Karnataka are facing acute shortage of drinking water. About 4,000 lakes have either gone dry or been encroached. Also, not even 10% of forests exist in the state, but no serious works have been undertaken by the government towards creating awareness on environment conservation, except including the subject in the school syllabus.
Although Karnataka has created a lot of awareness on groundwater recharging and rainwater harvesting, owing to the efforts of environmentalists, the implementation of water conversation methods is done very less in the government level. Excessive drilling of borewells should be controlled by the government. These days, borewells are drilled without any control, even for meeting the primary necessities. This reflects an ignorance about the water cycle, said the environmentalist, “We tend to forget the existing primary and traditional knowledge is being lost to overdependence on science and technology.”
Stating that waste segregation and management have become issues in all panchayats, he said that there is a need to stress on the proper management of waste and also recycling of water. Also, afforestation is the need of the hour, he added.
Writer Na Da Shetty presided over the session.