The Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI) in collaboration with the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) hosted the opening session of the 10th Sustainable Mountain Development Summit, which focused on “Towards One Health; Making Our Mountains Resilient.”
Wing Commander (Retd.) Praful Rao, the president of DHI, stated in his welcome statement that the two tiny mountain districts (Darjeeling and Kalimpong) of an otherwise primarily lowland State are hosting this national level event and that while this is an opportunity, it is also a challenge due to human and financial resources constraints. According to a press release, he emphasised the difficulty of choosing a theme that is still “largely conceptual and lodged in the future,” but the summit must be relevant due to the situation created by Covid-19.
P.D. Rai, president of the IMI, reminded the attendees of the recently concluded COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, and the importance of the summit’s discussions, particularly in light of India’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2070. He hoped that the COP’s undertone would come up again and again in the summit’s discussions. He emphasised IMI’s all-encompassing vision, “Make India Proud of Our Mountains,” in which minds, hearts, and hands must come together at the local level.
B.V. Umadevi, MoEFCC’s additional secretary, stated that the government of India has adopted a “One Health” approach and outlined some of the measures being taken in this regard.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, gave a comprehensive keynote address, emphasising the importance of a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to “One Health.”
Dr. Swaminathan emphasised the importance of using scientific tools and data, which requires capacity building and empowerment at the local level.
Pema Gyamtso, director-general of ICIMOD in Kathmandu, stated that ICIMOD would collaborate closely with IMI and other relevant organisations on such issues.
“Planetary health and human health are One Health because we are part of the planet,” Dr. Vandana Shiva of Navdanya said during the panel discussion. Biodiversity is a thread in the One Health tapestry that begins with soil health.”
Ravi Singh, WWF’s CEO and Secretary-General spoke about the planet’s environmental concerns, saying that business as usual is no longer an option.
The clear message from the panel discussion, according to Dr. Mathur, chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority, was the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, and environmental health in order to address the current planetary crisis.
More discussions on the ‘One Health’ response to zoonosis, biodiversity, and ecosystems for ‘One Health,’ sustainable food systems, and governance and institutional processes that promote ‘One Health’ will take place over the next two days of the summit.
The Mountain Legislators’ Meet is another highlight of the summit. This time, the topic will be plastic waste in the mountains. The summit was designed with youth in mind, and youth perspectives on ‘One Health’ will be a big part of the programme, according to the press release.
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