News Excerpt:

The Supreme Court has advocated the need for a change from anthropocentric to ecocentric approach towards natural resources, saying there is "selective amnesia" among humans about the importance of forests.

Background of the case:

• The court made the observations in its verdict while setting aside the Telangana High Court judgement declaring 106.34 acre forest land as private.
• The court also slammed the Telangana government for "graciously gifting" the forest land to a private person who could not prove his title. 
• It also came down heavily on state officials for abdicating their duty to protect forest land. 

Observations of the court:

• Human beings indulge themselves in selective amnesia when it comes to fathom the significance of forests. 
• It is the forests which give life to the Earth by replacing carbon dioxide with oxygen, thereby providing a hospitable environment for the steady growth of diverse life forms.
• Despite forests providing "unblemished, selfless and motherly service", people continued to destroy them, while remaining unmindful of the fact that they were inadvertently destroying themselves.
• It was the "spirit of the forest" which moved the earth, and the history of humankind would be understood "through the prism of the environment, the forest in particular." 
• Underlining that protection of forests was in the interest of humans, the Supreme Court said that the vulnerable sections of society would be most affected by their depletion.

Anthropocentric vs Ecocentric approach towards natural resources:

• Man being an enlightened species, is expected to act as a trustee of the Earth. 
• He has to ensure the preservation of the ecosystem and to continuously endeavour towards the protection of air, water and land.
• It said the time has come for humans to live sustainably and respect the rights of rivers, lakes, beaches, estuaries, ridges, trees, mountains, seas and air. 
• The need of the hour is to transform from an anthropocentric approach to an ecocentric approach which will encompass a wider perspective in the interest of the environment.
• Underscoring the economic implications of forests the Court said:
• Wealth of a country has to be seen not only from the perspective of mere revenue, augmented through its industries and business activities. 
• Rather, it has to be seen by giving due importance to its natural wealth which actually contributes much more than the other factors.
• A country with excess forest cover would be in a position to sell its surplus carbon credit to the one in deficit and that "a difference of one and half degrees Celsius in temperature saves the global economy tens of trillions of dollars."