Natural Resources Form 47 Pct of the 'GDP of the Poor' in India

As said by Pavan Sukhadev, UNEP's Goodwill Ambassador "Conventional GDP is not relevant to a poor person as it does not benefit them as much as the richer guys.” He spoke on the significance of biodiversity on the income of the poor people.

The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) has released numerous testimonies showing the effect of industrialization in the past two decades which has harmed the biodiversity resources and affecting the income of the poor in the country. In India half the poor population counts on the ecosystem supplies for their daily bread.

"Biodiversity based livelihood options form the basis of rural survival. Living at the periphery of subsistence, the poor are the most at risk from biodiversity loss," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said when he was inaugurated CBD’s high level segment.

As told by an environmental minister, India has permitted deforestation of 11.44 lakh hectares of forest land, which is twice the size of India’s capital Delhi, for various projects after the Forest Conservation Act was enforced in 1980 for project developments. This has led to an average of 35,775 hectares of forest land being sidetracked annually.