The Earth We Stand On, The Change We Stand For | Bharti Sharma | TEDxClaret College Bangalore

Quick Overview

Bharti Sharma advocates for ecological preservation, specifically highlighting the severe threat posed by the Great Nicobar Island project to its unique biodiversity, including the extinction risk for species like the leatherback turtle, concluding that systemic ecological governance issues, rather than political affiliation, drive unsustainable development which requires citizen action to counter.

Key Points: Bharti Sharma, an environmentalist and social entrepreneur, champions community-driven growth and ecological stewardship, bridging sustainability, finance, and technology. The Great Nicobar Island project faces criticism because its proposed development threatens the island's unique biodiversity and risks sinking the landmass due to tectonic activity. The ROI model for the Great Nicobar Project suggests a significant government subsidy (₹14,000 cr) with private players barely surviving, resulting in negligible net returns for the government. Tree felling is shown to be non-partisan, citing examples in Punjab (2016, SAD-BJP alliance) and Kanche Gachibowli (2020, INC), where significant tree loss occurred despite political differences. The estimated loss of 9.6 lakh trees in the Great Nicobar Islands due to the project is contrasted with the survival of only 300 remaining ancient Banyan trees in Punjab from a similar historical context. The speaker emphasizes that the solution lies in biological fortification using coral reefs, fungi, and tree roots to reinforce the landmass against sinking, rather than relying solely on government action. Sharma stresses that citizens must step in to demand action, citing her own efforts like campaigning against the project, because current ecological governance is weak and development often overrides conservation.

Context: This TEDx talk features Bharti Sharma, introduced as an environmentalist, social entrepreneur, and researcher dedicated to community-driven growth and ecological stewardship. The presentation focuses on the critical environmental risks associated with large-scale development projects in ecologically sensitive areas, using the Great Nicobar Island project as a primary case study to illustrate systemic failures in ecological governance that cross political lines.