The manifesto, says among other things, that environmental rating and profiling of candidates appearing for election should be used as parameters while selecting candidates (by parties) as well as while endorsing or voting for candidates (by environmentally conscious voters or organisations).

The manifesto is an outcome of the deliberations of the Environmental Conference held in Pune by Ecological Society and Sant Tukaram Vyaspeeth last week.

The preamble of the manifesto, states: “ Environment protection is not merely planting trees or protecting the tiger. It involves conscious decisions and choices on the part of every citizen about human activities and the economy prevalent today. Environmental protection can only be meaningfully achieved if all of us accept that man’s efforts and economy are part of the larger economy of nature and ecosystems needs are more important than consumer sovereignty. We must first allocate resources for the maintenance of nature and then consider resource allocations for human needs.”

Mrinalinee Vanarase, executive director of Ecological Society said, “In this election year all those in power and all those aspiring to be in power, politicians and administrators, should clearly understand what measures are in the interest of all. We have sent the copy of this manifesto to the four aspirants of the Lok Sabha seat in Pune.” She said that they were going to follow up the matter through the MPs and MLAs.

The manifesto also speaks about water sources, agriculture, urban issues, health, energy and natural resources, human and wildlife conservation, education and environmental ethics and so on.

Environment manifesto highlights

* Emphasising all natural forms of agriculture and progressive elimination of chemical insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

* Support maintenance of wilderness and difficult areas for pest control, pollination and yield improvement of agriculture.

* Agricultural universities must emphasise training and education in natural methods of agriculture.

* Cultivation of sugarcane and other cash crops need to be looked at afresh from a perspective of food security and environmental impact.

* Support conservation of existing Devrais (sacred groves) and creation of more of them.

* Protection of a ll natural and built heritage including rivers, streams and open spaces in urban areas.

* No privatisation of natural resources including water sources, urban recreational areas.

* Restricting the number of visitors to forests and ecologically sensitive areas

* While demarcating the current protected areas including the non-government land, it is necessary to see that movement of wildlife will not be restricted.

* Redesign of curricula at all levels with a focus on environment and ecology.