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on
the
visit
of
Swedish
delegation
giving
birth
to
the
network
and
The
population
of
the
world
is
increasing
and
it
will
soon
become
about
8
billion
in
25
years.
While
the
population
in
developed
countries
like
Sweden
is
expected
to
show
certain
stability
or
even
a
small
reduction,
the
population
of
the
developing
countries
like
those
of
the
south
Asia
including
India
will
almost
be
doubled
by
that
time.
We
may
also
find
that
the
population
is
being
urbanised
at
an
alarming
rate
and
soon
in a
limited
number
of
years
more
than
30
cities
of
the
world
will
have
a
population
above
10
million
inhabitants
and
most
of
these
cities
will
be
in
the
so
called
developing
countries
with
insufficient
water
supply,
waste
management,
pollution
control,
social
security,
employment
opportunities,
food
security,
sanitation
and
public
health.
In
spite
of
the
enormous
improvements
in
the
methods
of
agriculture,
animal
husbandry
and
fisheries,
a
major
portion
of
the
world’s
population
living
mainly
in
the
developing
countries
of
Asia,
Africa
and
Latin
America
suffer
from
so
called
hidden
hunger
due
to
food
shortage
and
malnutrition.
Nearly
800
million
people
suffer
from
protein-
and
energy
malnutrition,
47%
of
the
women
of
the
world
mostly
in
developing
countries
have
iron
deficiency
anaemia,
about
900
million
have
iodine
deficiency
disorders
and
40
million
children
are
affected
by
vitamin-A
deficiency
every
year
leading
to
more
or
less
permanent
blindness.
More
than
ever
before,
it
will
be a
matter
of
great
concern
for
the
governments
of
the
world
to
know
how
to
organise
safe
and
secure
food
supply
at a
reasonable
price
to
all
the
people.
To
achieve
complete
household
food
security
with
all
what
it
means,
we
may
have
to
resort
to
both
extensive
and
intensive
measures,
bringing
more
area
under
cultivation
as
well
as
increase
the
efficiency
of
food
production.
However,
previous
experience
shows
that
this
cannot
be
done
without
causing
serious
environmental
problems.
In
Europe
<85%
of
the
arable
land,
<90
% in
Asia
and
<55%
in
North
America
is
already
used
for
production
of
food.
Some
surplus
land
suitable
for
cultivation
is
available
only
in
South
America,
Africa
and
Australia.
One
must
also
remember
that
intensive
agriculture
by
all
means
is
like
an
industry
not
only
in
causing
depletion
of
energy,
water
and
other
natural
resources
but
also
in
causing
pollution
of
environment
with
pesticides,
acidic
rain,
nitrogen
leaching
and
green
house
effect
to
mention
a
few.
In
many
ways
Kerala
is
one
of
the
most
appropriate
places
for
developing
a
network
on
sustainable
development
and
that
also
by
conducting
a
seminar
on
sustainable
utilization
of
plant
biomass.
Kerala
literally
is
also
the
land
of
coconut,
a
tree
(a
Kalpavriksham
which
means
a
tree
that
gives
every
thing
for
a
living)
every
part
of
which
is
utilized
for
one
or
other
purpose
from
food,
feed,
fuel
and
manure
in a
sustainable
way
from
time
immemorial.
The
very
wealth
of
Kerala
and
also
the
primary
means
of
living
to
its
people
is
essentially
the
plants
which
are
cultivated
in
the
agricultural
fields
and
those
plants
which
are
cultivated
or
growing
wild
in
the
forests.
So
many
people,
almost
1000/km2,
live
here
in
Kerala
in a
limited
area
and
yet
in
spite
of
this,
people
have
successfully
created
so
many
natural
reserves
for
preservation
of
the
biodiversity
of
plants
and
animals.
It
is
also
a
place
where
not
only
rationality
and
superstition,
order
and
chaos,
faith
and
atheism
seem
to
co-exist
but
also
politics
of
the
left
and
the
right
and
all
the
major
religions
of
the
world.
It
is
also
a
place
where
rice
and
spice,
Rubber
and
tapioca,
coffee
and
tea,
banana
and
pineapple,
mangoes
and
jackfruit
are
grown
not
far
away
from
each
other.
It
is
also
a
place
where
modern
medical
doctors
and
nurses
are
educated
and
send
to
foreign
countries
for
doing
bypass
surgery
in
multistoried
hospitals
while
people
from
foreign
countries
come
in
large
numbers
to
meditate
and
get
the
treatment
of
their
life
at
the
traditional
ayurvedic
resorts
coming
up
all
over
the
beautiful
hills
and
all
along
the
seashores.
It
is
also
the
place
where
a
mountain
is
not
very
far
from
the
sea
and
the
paddy
fields
are
not
very
far
from
the
blue
lagoons.
By
many
standards
Kerala
is a
blessing
from
heaven
to
its
people.
The
purpose
of
the
network
is
also
to
discus
in a
humble
but
rational
way
how
this
blessing
from
heaven
the
“so
called
gods
own
country”
can
be
managed
well
for
the
benefit
of
the
future
generations.
The
international
seminar
on
sustainable
utilisation
of
tropical
plant
bio
mass
conducted
on
15th
and
16th
of
Dec
2008
is
the
first
of
the
series
of
seminars
dealing
with
the
aspects
of
sustainable
development
of
Kerala
the
gods
own
country
-Baboo M. Nair,
Professor emeritus,Lund University, Sweden
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