moving forward
Striving for sustainable development calls for a dynamic balance between actions and policies which promote sustainable livelihoods, human development and better management of the natural and physical environment. The success lies in an effective and a responsive governance,and an empowered civil society which acts as a watchdog on issues concerning sustainable development at local and global levels. Access to information and its strategic use is the root to achieve both these conditions - a reality which cannot be ignored with the increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies.
In India, where a large fraction of population and organisations are still not fully sensitized to concerns regarding sustainable development and many crucial issues remain invisible even to policy planners, information has a significant role to play in highlighting their importance and building up pressure to force concerned authorities to take judicious action. Under these circumstances, the management of knowledge - the process of information generation, collation, analysis and dissemination becomes an important tool for :
In this context, the role which emerges of Environment Management Capacity Building Technical Assistance Project goes way beyond simply linking sources and users of information on sustainable development.
The niche area envisioned for ENVIS Sub-component is three-fold :
ENVIS Sub-component as a centralized, exhaustive repository (regional node) of information on issues, events, government policies, resource organisations and resource people related to sustainable development.
ENVIS Sub-component as an active mechanism for communication, coordination and networking among NGOs, community groups, business enterprises, academic and research institutions, and government bodies, on issues related to sustainable development.
ENVIS Sub-component as a multi-form, pro-active, value-driven force which continuously monitors policies and events, and facilitates partner organisations/ collaborative networks / resource persons in advocacy of policy-level changes to create a conducive national and international environment that promotes sustainable development.
ENVIS Sub-component can effectively perform these roles because of the functional advantage it would enjoy in terms of :
Strong networking with partner nodes and collaboration with other parallel organisations, and their active support in generation, collation and value-addition of information on diverse issues/events concerning sustainable development.
Timely access to updated, reliable information through multi-media, partner nodes, resource organisations, resource people, collaborative networks and in-house research.
Support and guidance of core group of resource people, subject experts and representatives of client groups who would be strategically involved with functioning of the ENVIS Sub-component .
Strong goodwill value and image build-up of ENVIS Sub-component in the development sector because of its ability to promptly disseminate reliable and unbiased information and its active involvement in issues concerning sustainable development.
Availability of qualified project personnel from diverse subject backgrounds with understanding of development issues and adeptness in handling multi-media information systems.
Likelihood operation of ENVIS Sub-component in an environment unconstrained by the bureaucratic straitjacket of more formal institutions.