DISGRUNTLED with political parties and their candidates for their lack of seriousness over deteriorating environment, Ecological Society, a city-based NGO and Sant Tukaram Vyaspeeth have organised a two-day seminar to brainstorm on steps needed to be taken to make it sustainable to come out with environmental manifesto. Displeased with Lok Sabha candidate as environmental issues finding no place in their manifestoes members of various NGOs, institutes and environment experts have framed a common agenda that will ensure the welfare of human and other living beings. While speaking at the inauguration of the seminar, activist Anna Hazare said, "Politicians have distanced themselves from the problems relating to environment. All their attention is just focused on coming to power or retaining themselves in power. Therefore, taking up an earnest fight for the cause of environment is what we need to do." He further said, "Soil erosion and water scarcity are the two major problems that we face now. Since the surrounding areas of dams do not have sufficient number of trees, the soil has slowly started eroding. In the last 50 years, the volume of forest land in Maharashtra has dwindled by about 100 sq km." Chairman of Ecological Society Prakash Gole said, "There are a number of issues that need to be taken up. Among other things, environmental education needs to be included in the school curricula among other things." Some of the specific issues taken up for discussion are natural resource management, energy, watershed development, urban problems and health, agriculture, human and wildlife protection.