All the discussions so far have talked of Sustainable Development strategies and issues given the current development paradigm. They take into account a growing consumption pattern and resultant energy demand and examine two paths namely efficiency and clean renewable energy. Our experience on the ground shows that the way the renewable energy programme is being implemented today creates a lot of problems as they do not take into account the existing livelihood patterns and the relevance of existing energy usage patterns.

If you look at electricity, it is only one form of energy, one that shifts energy from the place of production to the place of consumption. So it by itself does not produce anything. If we are able to develop a production method that produces at the source of energy then we might need much less electricity than we think. The same can be said about roads and transport if the production is first for local consumption and only value added products are transported.

It is in this context that IELA talks of the relevance of the the agro-ecosystem approach to production, consumption, climate change mitigation and its relevance for Sustainable Development. In this regard, we also need to look at the relevance of four interface communities in this system namely the small fishermen, pastoralists, forest dwellers and forest dependent communities and the small agriculturalists who depend on the Common Property Resources for their livelihoods in an integral way.

The Conservation of the natural resources cannot take place without the involvement of the 61% of the people dependent on it. We have a vast range of climates and ecosystems in the country and it is only by informed involvement of the local communities and natural resource dependent stakeholders can we hope to develop suitable cost effective strategies for Climate change mitigation compatible with the need to livelihoods.

IELA therefore is committed to developing and implementing action research modules that will help to uncover various facets of the inter linkages and simultaneously unfold a debate with relevant stakeholders for sustainable and transparent governance strategies in a participatory mode.. We look forward to collaborating with all like-minded and concerned people in taking our one small step towards this goal.