Climate change is currently taking place at an unprecedented rate and is projected increase pressures on natural resources and the environment associated with rapid urbanization, industrialization and economic development. This will also have wide uneven effects on the availability of and access to resources. Changes in the timing and amount of rainfall could affect productivity, food security, ecosystem, livelihood, increase migration due to pressure on land and land degradation and health. Climate change will have differentiated impacts which would be more severe for women, the poor and marginalized community. Here the fact is, we are most at risk inspite of being low emitters in the carbon cycle. How do we understand the risks and the opportunities to reduce our vulnerability and initiate adaptive measures?
Climate change directly affects the basic human existence. Climatic changes are predicted to affect the most fragile on earth – the environment. Most of all the mountains which is home to the richest resources depository supporting the poorest communities who are heavily dependent on the biological resources for their very existence will be severely affected. The impact of climate change on mountains will experience effects on the environment, natural resources including water, biological resources and socio-economic conditions of the people. Majority of the population dwelling in these regions depend on subsistence farming and forests produce for their livelihood which is highly temperature sensitive and therefore susceptible to climate change.
The survival and degradation of species in high elevation ecosystems are projected to shift to higher altitudes, fragmentation, loss of habitat or even extinction. Increasing temperatures and water stress are expected to lead to decrease in crop yields. The growing population concentration in the urban areas will increase the pressure on water availability and water quality.
According to the recent article in the local papers ‘India expected to be water stressed by 2020’ which projects nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries will be water stressed by 2025 - is not far. Climate change is currently taking place in the mountain regions at a rapid pace. The impacts on the local community is more threatening as people in these regions heavily rely on the monsoon for their livelihood and will be altered by the extreme changes by climate change. The rates of warming in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region are significantly higher than the global average. With a 2 degree C increase in temperature in the coming decades, will hasten glacial melt with most glaciers in the region will reduce while smaller glaciers will disappear and increase water run-off.
The Himalayan Ecosystem is rich in biological resources; however, due to lack of any consistent reliable data collection or documentation available we are unable to make reliable predictions about the vulnerability of the mountain ecosystem to climate change. A preliminary assessment on the impacts and vulnerability of these regions was conducted and well documented by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) with partners in the Eastern Himalayan region. Recognizing climate change as a global challenge, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) identifies core indicators that must be focused and promoted in dealing with climate change risks. The NAPCC thrusts lies on Eight National Missions which aims to deliver each Mission’s objective effectively. The Eight National Missions focus on integrated strategies to combat climate change challenges. What do we need to know about the Eight National Missions?
The Eight National Missions covers:
National Solar Mission will aim to increase the share of solar energy in the total energy while recognizing the need to expand the scope of other renewable and non-fossil options such as nuclear energy, wind energy and biomass.
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency which will be implemented through the institutional mechanism of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) a legal mandate provided by The Energy Conservation Act of 2001 for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the Central government and designated agencies in the state.
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat launched to make habitat sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency buildings, management of solid wastes and modal shift to public transport where energy efficiency will be promoted as an integral component of urban planning and urban renewal. The Mission will also address the need to adapt to future climate change by improving the resilience of infrastructure, community based disaster management and measures for improving the warning systems for extreme weather events. The Mission’s most important component strategy will be through capacity building.
National Water Mission will ensure integrated water resource management to conserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across and within the states. The Mission will take into account the provisions of the National Water Policy and develop a framework in consultation with states to optimize water use by increasing water use efficiency by 20% through regulatory mechanisms with differential entitlements and pricing. The Mission will also develop strategies to deal with variability in rainfall and river flows due to climate change. This will include enhanced storage both above and below ground, rain water harvesting, coupled with equitable and efficient management structures.
National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem will be launched to evolve management measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan glacier and mountain ecosystem. The Himalayan has 45 million people who practice hill agriculture and whose vulnerability is expected to increase on account of climate change. The system of community-based management of these ecosystems will be incentives to community based organizations for protection and enhancement of forested land. In mountainous regions, the aim is to maintain two third of the area under forest cover in order to prevent erosion and land degradation and ensure the stability of the fragile ecosystem.
National Mission for Green India will seek to enhance ecosystem services including carbon sinks to be called Green India. Forests play an indispensable role in the preservation of ecological balance and maintenance of biodiversity. Forests constitute one of the most effective carbon sinks. The Mission on Green India will be taken up with an initial corpus on degraded forest land through direct action by communities, organized through Joint Forest Management Committees and guided by the Departments of Forest in state governments.
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture aims to devise strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change. This initiative will identify and develop new varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant crops and alternative cropping patterns, capable of withstanding extremes of weather, long dry spells, flooding and variable moisture availability. This initiative will be supported by the convergence and integration of traditional knowledge and practice systems, information technology, geospatial technologies and biotechnology. New credit and insurance mechanisms will be devised to facilitate adoption of desired practices. The Mission will focus on improving productivity of rainfed agriculture, adaptation to anticipated climate change, orient agricultural research systems to monitor and evaluate climate change and recommend changes in agricultural practices accordingly.
National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change will enlist the global community in research and technology development and collaboration through mechanisms to identify challenges and responses to climate change. The Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change will focus on funding of high quality research into various aspects of climate change such as socioeconomic impact including health, demographic, migration patterns and livelihoods of coastal communities. The research findings will be disseminated to support policy and implementation based on research findings. A Climate Science Research Fund will be created to support establishment of and networking of dedicated climate change related academic units in Universities, other academic and scientific research institutions in the country. This initiative will encourage development of innovative initiatives and technologies for adaptation and mitigation through capital venture funds including the private sector.
The National Missions will be implemented through respective ministries and organized through inter-sectoral groups in addition to the related Ministries, Ministry of Finance, the Planning Commission, and experts from industry, academia and the civil society.
The complex interactions between the communities and climate change will be manifested in not so alarming or sudden events which may come without any warning since we are not equipped with any information or good data to predict the situation. Poor accessibility, lack of infrastructure, and lack of adaptation capabilities can increase our vulnerability to climate change risks. The risks will impact on our very own water resources, agriculture and food production, health, forests, biological diversity, disaster such as earthquakes, land slides, droughts, thunderstorms, forests fires and floods. However, threat to climate change is largely contributed to human and their life style. The threats to the ecosystems are driven by the rapid growing population, economic production, consumption behaviors, burning of fossil fuels, use of chemical fertilizers, over harvesting of resources and unsustainable use of land. The consequences of threats to functioning of structures and ecosystems are due to human activities that render them more vulnerable to climate change stresses. With the advent of an increasing threat, every community need to understand, build and invest in the traditional resilience to balance with each other and the environment around them.
In conclusion, each one can be an agent of change. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri by Reader’s Digest about global warming on –
How do you yourself lead an environment-friendly life?
“I don’t do a very good job because I’m on an airplane all the time. So, in that sense I am not a very good model. But I only buy the things I really need. I try to minimize the use of a car. Even if I step out of my office for two minutes, I switch off the lights. In little ways, I try not to be a burden to Mother Earth.”
Climate change directly affects the basic human existence. Climatic changes are predicted to affect the most fragile on earth – the environment. Most of all the mountains which is home to the richest resources depository supporting the poorest communities who are heavily dependent on the biological resources for their very existence will be severely affected. The impact of climate change on mountains will experience effects on the environment, natural resources including water, biological resources and socio-economic conditions of the people. Majority of the population dwelling in these regions depend on subsistence farming and forests produce for their livelihood which is highly temperature sensitive and therefore susceptible to climate change.
The survival and degradation of species in high elevation ecosystems are projected to shift to higher altitudes, fragmentation, loss of habitat or even extinction. Increasing temperatures and water stress are expected to lead to decrease in crop yields. The growing population concentration in the urban areas will increase the pressure on water availability and water quality.
According to the recent article in the local papers ‘India expected to be water stressed by 2020’ which projects nearly two-thirds of the world’s countries will be water stressed by 2025 - is not far. Climate change is currently taking place in the mountain regions at a rapid pace. The impacts on the local community is more threatening as people in these regions heavily rely on the monsoon for their livelihood and will be altered by the extreme changes by climate change. The rates of warming in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region are significantly higher than the global average. With a 2 degree C increase in temperature in the coming decades, will hasten glacial melt with most glaciers in the region will reduce while smaller glaciers will disappear and increase water run-off.
The Himalayan Ecosystem is rich in biological resources; however, due to lack of any consistent reliable data collection or documentation available we are unable to make reliable predictions about the vulnerability of the mountain ecosystem to climate change. A preliminary assessment on the impacts and vulnerability of these regions was conducted and well documented by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) with partners in the Eastern Himalayan region. Recognizing climate change as a global challenge, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) identifies core indicators that must be focused and promoted in dealing with climate change risks. The NAPCC thrusts lies on Eight National Missions which aims to deliver each Mission’s objective effectively. The Eight National Missions focus on integrated strategies to combat climate change challenges. What do we need to know about the Eight National Missions?
The Eight National Missions covers:
National Solar Mission will aim to increase the share of solar energy in the total energy while recognizing the need to expand the scope of other renewable and non-fossil options such as nuclear energy, wind energy and biomass.
National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency which will be implemented through the institutional mechanism of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) a legal mandate provided by The Energy Conservation Act of 2001 for the implementation of energy efficiency measures in the Central government and designated agencies in the state.
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat launched to make habitat sustainable through improvements in energy efficiency buildings, management of solid wastes and modal shift to public transport where energy efficiency will be promoted as an integral component of urban planning and urban renewal. The Mission will also address the need to adapt to future climate change by improving the resilience of infrastructure, community based disaster management and measures for improving the warning systems for extreme weather events. The Mission’s most important component strategy will be through capacity building.
National Water Mission will ensure integrated water resource management to conserve water, minimize wastage and ensure more equitable distribution both across and within the states. The Mission will take into account the provisions of the National Water Policy and develop a framework in consultation with states to optimize water use by increasing water use efficiency by 20% through regulatory mechanisms with differential entitlements and pricing. The Mission will also develop strategies to deal with variability in rainfall and river flows due to climate change. This will include enhanced storage both above and below ground, rain water harvesting, coupled with equitable and efficient management structures.
National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem will be launched to evolve management measures for sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan glacier and mountain ecosystem. The Himalayan has 45 million people who practice hill agriculture and whose vulnerability is expected to increase on account of climate change. The system of community-based management of these ecosystems will be incentives to community based organizations for protection and enhancement of forested land. In mountainous regions, the aim is to maintain two third of the area under forest cover in order to prevent erosion and land degradation and ensure the stability of the fragile ecosystem.
National Mission for Green India will seek to enhance ecosystem services including carbon sinks to be called Green India. Forests play an indispensable role in the preservation of ecological balance and maintenance of biodiversity. Forests constitute one of the most effective carbon sinks. The Mission on Green India will be taken up with an initial corpus on degraded forest land through direct action by communities, organized through Joint Forest Management Committees and guided by the Departments of Forest in state governments.
National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture aims to devise strategies to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change. This initiative will identify and develop new varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant crops and alternative cropping patterns, capable of withstanding extremes of weather, long dry spells, flooding and variable moisture availability. This initiative will be supported by the convergence and integration of traditional knowledge and practice systems, information technology, geospatial technologies and biotechnology. New credit and insurance mechanisms will be devised to facilitate adoption of desired practices. The Mission will focus on improving productivity of rainfed agriculture, adaptation to anticipated climate change, orient agricultural research systems to monitor and evaluate climate change and recommend changes in agricultural practices accordingly.
National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change will enlist the global community in research and technology development and collaboration through mechanisms to identify challenges and responses to climate change. The Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change will focus on funding of high quality research into various aspects of climate change such as socioeconomic impact including health, demographic, migration patterns and livelihoods of coastal communities. The research findings will be disseminated to support policy and implementation based on research findings. A Climate Science Research Fund will be created to support establishment of and networking of dedicated climate change related academic units in Universities, other academic and scientific research institutions in the country. This initiative will encourage development of innovative initiatives and technologies for adaptation and mitigation through capital venture funds including the private sector.
The National Missions will be implemented through respective ministries and organized through inter-sectoral groups in addition to the related Ministries, Ministry of Finance, the Planning Commission, and experts from industry, academia and the civil society.
The complex interactions between the communities and climate change will be manifested in not so alarming or sudden events which may come without any warning since we are not equipped with any information or good data to predict the situation. Poor accessibility, lack of infrastructure, and lack of adaptation capabilities can increase our vulnerability to climate change risks. The risks will impact on our very own water resources, agriculture and food production, health, forests, biological diversity, disaster such as earthquakes, land slides, droughts, thunderstorms, forests fires and floods. However, threat to climate change is largely contributed to human and their life style. The threats to the ecosystems are driven by the rapid growing population, economic production, consumption behaviors, burning of fossil fuels, use of chemical fertilizers, over harvesting of resources and unsustainable use of land. The consequences of threats to functioning of structures and ecosystems are due to human activities that render them more vulnerable to climate change stresses. With the advent of an increasing threat, every community need to understand, build and invest in the traditional resilience to balance with each other and the environment around them.
In conclusion, each one can be an agent of change. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri by Reader’s Digest about global warming on –
How do you yourself lead an environment-friendly life?
“I don’t do a very good job because I’m on an airplane all the time. So, in that sense I am not a very good model. But I only buy the things I really need. I try to minimize the use of a car. Even if I step out of my office for two minutes, I switch off the lights. In little ways, I try not to be a burden to Mother Earth.”
Ella Mary
CANet, Nagaland
