October 24, 2025: Any city or Pune city for that matter, cannot be viewed in isolation. They are all a part of a larger ecosystem and they rely on interconnected systems of water, food and human resources, stated Dr. Bharat Kakade, President, BAIF Development Research Foundation. Considering them as part of a larger supply chain is the key to achieving clean milk, residue-free food, renewable energy and clean water, he added. As a representative of BAIF which was a recipient of the JSW-Times of India 13th Earth Care Award for this year, Dr. Kakade was an invited panelist at the discussions on “Building Resilient Cities: Climate Action, Innovation and Equity” held in Pune.
BAIF’s renewable energy-powered campuses around Pune, demonstration of agrovoltaics technology, nurturing of youth to work on hi-tech agriculture value chains while generating employment, innovated feed supplement to reduce enteric fermentation by 20 per cent, the one-acre wadi model created by tribal families in sequestering 50 tons of carbon annually and its replication by NABARD and Tribal Development departments in more than 22 states and conservation of more than 700 varieties of millets and rice by tribal communities which have been processed and supplied by startups to Pune and Mumbai, were some of the examples quoted by Dr. Kakade in demonstrating how economy and ecology can go hand in hand. Social enterprise promotion, rural incubation, disaster management, land degradation control and improving soil health, agroforestry, spineless cactus promotion, chain of Naharis (tribal restaurants) for supply of healthy native food, participation in the Conference of the Parties at the global level and a landscape-based catchment management approach were also highlighted as some of the other climate action initiatives of BAIF.
Earlier, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, former Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), mooted the concept of More from Less for More (MLM) for inclusive and sustainable innovation. Other invited panel members included Dr. Priyadarshini Karve, Convener, Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change, Dr. Gurudas Nulkar, Professor and Director, Centre for Sustainable Development, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and Mr. Amarnath Karan, Scientist SE in Urban Programmes, Centre for Environment Education (CEE) who focussed on co-existence of environment and ecology, awareness generation and co-creation of different models. Ms. Prachi Shevgaonkar, Founder, Cool The Globe, moderated the discussions.
