Impact of Climate Change – Disaster Risk Management: With Special Reference to India

            Impact of Climate Change – Disaster Risk Management:                 

                  With Special Reference to India
(This article was presented in the National Seminar on "Impact of Climate Change - Disaster Risk Management with Special Reference to India on July, 29th & 30th, 2011 at Lucknow University, Lucknow - India)

                                                                                                                  -Dr. S. Vijay Kumar

     Every day, the entire world is talking about “Climate Change” or “Global Warming”. It is widely reported in television medium and newspapers about the negative impacts of climate change. Many countries in the way of economic development have given least importance to the environment surrounding them thereby causing ecological imbalance which has resulted in the change of weather patterns over a period of time. Climate change also has the exact meaning. It is defined as the change in weather patterns over a period of time wherein the time can be in number of years to decades and million years. In general, climate change is described with respect to a particular region. Sometimes, it can be referred by taking the entire Earth into account. In a country like India which is fast growing into a global economy, climate change is a major talking point and issue to be dealt with.

Climate change-- India’s stand at National and International level:

The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) in Bali, Indian delegation put forth the issue of technology transfer on the agenda for implementation. And India’s stand on this was very clear and that is to have to reach decisions. Indian Government also highlighted the need to reach consensus on technology transfer and capacity building – two issues that are really central to the global response to climate change. In this regard it may be worthwhile to mention that at the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, our Prime Minister offered that India’s per-capita GHG emissions would at no stage exceed the per capita GHG emissions of developed countries even as India pursues the economic development. India wanted COP-13 to send a strong message to the developed countries that the negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol for quantified, time bound and substantial GHG reductions by developed countries post 2012 will be completed by 2009.

Form the Indian delegation’s end, Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, in his speech at COP 13 at Bali said that “Let me conclude by saying that our efforts in the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol must move in a decisive manner for enhancing their implementation. That should be the singular message from Bali. Then alone will the journey to Poland and Denmark be truly fruitful”.

India with its active presence in the international climate change negotiations and various forums has also

taken the issue of Climate Change very seriously at National level. Recently, a National Committee has been constituted to assess the Impacts of Climate Change under the chairmanship of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister, and includes meteorologists, climate modelers, hydrologists, energy economists, as well as representatives of key Ministries. The Committee is evaluating the impact of climate change on key development activities, and assessing options to mitigate climate risks. At the national level, the integration of climate change in national development is guided by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change, which includes representation of key Ministries, as well as experts, and representatives of industry and of media. The Council provides overall strategic guidance on mainstreaming climate change in development, identifies key intervention priorities, and monitors the implementation of these interventions. Let us hope that Council of Climate Change and National Committee on Climate Change will come up with some tangible solutions and definite guidelines which can be implemented at the local level while acceptable at the global level.

Climate Change in India:

In India, climate change has caused tremendous changes in the weather patterns across different parts of the country. Extended summers, unpredicted rainfall are all some of the effects of climate change. If climate change is not seriously considered, the consequences will be irreparable. Climate change will affect the environment, economy and social welfare of a particular region or country. Some of the research work going on regarding climate change and its impact in India has revealed shocking results. The annual monsoon season will lead to severe droughts and floods in various parts of India. As India depends on monsoon rains for agriculture, forestry and fisheries it has a strong influence for the water based ecosystems.
One of the debatable topics in India is the concept of development and climate change. Does development take place at the cost of impacting the environment thereby aiding climate change?. India is on the fast track of becoming a global economy and on the other hand industrialization and urbanization leads to more greenhouse gas emissions which in turn cause climate change mainly impacting the monsoon rains. The changing rainfall patterns over the recent years have caused difficulties to farmers who are not able to cultivate crops with the deficit rainfall.

It is a known fact that global temperature levels will rise anywhere between 2 – 5° over the next century. A 2001 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued statistics which show that temperatures in India will rise by 4° around 2080. Further, it states that the sea level would have risen by about 88 centimeters around the beginning of 21st century. Climate change will also cause health problems which mainly come from water related diseases. Some of the ways of reducing impact of climate change is by finding alternate energy sources for transport which has fewer emissions. Awareness about the impacts of be passed on to the common man who is not aware.

Impact of climate change in India on different factors:

Agriculture:

Agriculture in India and entire world is mostly dependent on the persisting weather conditions. The alteration in Global warming has dramatically effected agriculture and its productivity. The increase in temperature has significantly led to a change in the agricultural zones and shift in the growing seasons. On the other hand the change in the rainfall pattern is the serious threat to the agriculture, which in turn effects the country's economy and food security. The delayed or inadequate monsoons also cause influence on the sale of the agriculture inputs such as fertilizers, agro-chemicals, tractors etc.

Scientists report a decrease in yield of crops as temperature increases in different parts of India. For example a studies carried out by Sinha and Swaminathan (1991) and Aggarwal and Kalra (1994), show that on a 2°C increase in mean air temperature, rice yields could decrease by about 0.75 ton/hectare in the high yield areas and by about 0.06 ton/hectare in the low yield coastal. For a 425-ppm CO2 ambient concentration and 2°C rise in temperature, a shift of iso-yield lines1 of wheat is projected northwards, which also seem to reduce in area (Aggarwal and Kalra, 1994). The major impacts of climate change will be on rain fed or un-irrigated crops, which is cultivated in nearly 60% of cropland area. In India it is the poorest, most vulnerable farmers who practice rain fed agriculture. A temperature rise by 0.5oC in winter temperature is projected to reduce rain fed wheat yield by 0.45 tonnes per hectare in India (Lal et al., 1998).

Some of the areas in India receive more than normal rainfall while some of the areas receive almost no rainfall. The various studies shows the overall loss in the crop production in the country in the last few years due to the anticipated rise in the temperature. It is expected that in the near future India is going to face the challenges that includes unwanted pressure from the growing population, and changing scenario of world trade in agriculture.

Forests:

Enhanced levels of CO2 are expected to lead to an increase in the net primary productivity (NPP) of forest ecosystems with more than 75% of the grids showing an increase in NPP (Ravindranath et al., 2006). Even in a relatively short span of about 50 years, most of the forest biomass in India seems to be highly vulnerable to the projected change in climate. Further, it is projected that by 2085, 77% and 68% of the forested grids in India are likely to experience shift in forest types under A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively. Indications are a shift towards wetter forest types in the north-eastern region and drier forest types in the north-western region in the absence of human influence. Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate warming could also result in a doubling of net primary productivity under the A2 scenario and nearly 70% increase under the B2 scenario. It is important to note that in some cases the changes may be for the better -- climate change does not only poses threat brings some opportunities as well and it depends on location.

Biodiversity:

Biodiversity is one of the major environmental concerns in India, now India is in the tenth position in the world and fourth in Asia in plant diversity. The biodiversity in forests, non-irrigated lands, irrigated lands and hill areas deserts and marines ecosystems is subject to many pressures. One of the major causes of the loss of biological diversity has been the depletion of vegetative cover in order to expand agriculture. Since most of the biodiversity rich forests also contain the maximum mineral wealth and also the best sites for water impoundment, mining and development projects in such areas have led to destruction of habitats. Poaching and illegal trade of wildlife products too, have adversely affected biodiversity.

The changes in the climatic conditions are already felt by the biodiversity and wildlife habitats across the world. Many plant and animal species are eventually becoming extinct as a result of the climatic changes. Some of the plant and animal species are unable to adapt to the changing climate. While some of the mammals have already reached the suitable places, appropriate for their survival. Green houses gases are the main reason for the climatic change which in turn posses the threat to the vast biodiversity. Further more the redistribution of life on the earth's surface is increasing at an alarming fast pace.
The tremendous change in the climatic conditions can be best felt at mountains, where due to the excessive heat, trees have started growing on the much higher elevations. Anothere example that apt to explain the impact of climate change is in the great Rann of Kutch, where the population of Lesser Florican and Indian Ass is plummeting sharply. As the global warming causes the rise in th sea level, it is expected that the marshes and mudlands of the Kutch will be submerged. Climate change not only influence the animal behavior but also slash the genetic diversity of the animals.

Coastal Areas:

An important impact of climate change and global warming may be the rise in sea level. The primary effect of sea level rise will be increased coastal flooding, erosion, storm surges and wave activity. Primary studies on the impact of one-meter sea level rise on the Indian coastline indicate that 0.41 % of India's coastal area will be inducted. The changing climatic conditions are also the severe threat to the coastal areas, which has led to the increase in the sea level. This could result in flooding and can cause damage to the coastal infrastructure. This will displace the large section of population and force others to migrate. The worst hit coastal areas in India will be Maharashtra, Goa and Gujrat. Currently the districts of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara in Orrissa; Nellore in AP and Nagapattinam in Tamilnadu; and Junagadh and Porabandar districts in Gujarat are the most vulnerable to impacts of increased intensity and frequency of cyclones in India (NATCOM, 2004). The past observations on the mean sea level along the Indian coast show a long-term (100 year) rising trend of about 1.0 mm/year. However, the recent data suggests a rising trend of 2.5 mm/year in sea level along Indian coastline. Model outputs indicate that the sea surface temperature adjoining India is likely to warm up by about 1.5–2.0oC by the middle of this century and by about 2.5–3.5oC by the end of the century. A one meter sea-level rise is projected to displace approximately 7.1 million people in India and about 5764 sq km of land area will be lost, along with 4200 km of roads (NATCOM, 2004). As for the purpose of information these coastal regions provide human with wide variety of goods and services including food, recreational opportunities and transportation corridors. As well as support the great wealth of marine life and diverse habitats. So the treat to the coastal areas is the threat to the human population at large.

Water:

It is projected that by 2050s the quantity of surface run off due to climate change would decrease (Gosain et al., 2004). Though an increase in precipitation in the northern, central Indian and the Southern river basins is projected under the climate change scenario, however, the corresponding total runoff for all these basins is not likely to increase. This may be due to increase in evapo-transpiration on account of increased temperatures or variation in the distribution of the rainfall. In the remaining basins, a decrease in precipitation is projected. The rivers in the western regions, namely, Sabarmati and Luni are likely to face 2/3rd decrease in total runoff with respect to current runoff conditions in 1 Isoyield environments to describe those sites that are homogeneous in their yielding ability, but not necessarily contiguous in their geography (Yang et al 2005, Crop Science) these basins. These conditions may lead to severe droughts in future. Flooding conditions may deteriorate in two river systems namely in Mahanadi and Brahmani.

Impact of climate change and Global warming has accelerated the shrinking of Himalayan glaciers, which could have disastrous consequences on the communities who live downstream. Decreasing glaciers along with higher evapo-transpiration will reduce the water flow of the Himalayan rivers. Nearly 15,000 glaciers and 9,000 glacial lakes are found in the Himalayan mountain range which stretches 2500 km across five countries – Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, India and China. The Himalayan range feeds nine perennial river systems in the region and constitutes a lifeline for nearly 1.3 billion people downstream. In the recent past significant changes were seen in the Indian Himalaya, with the highest rate of glacial retreat found in the Bada Shigri Glacier and lowest in the Chhota Shigri Glacier in the Chenab River Basin, where glaciers are retreating by 6.8 to 29.8 m each year.

The ICIMOD’s study report on impact of climate change on Himalayan glaciers warns of impending Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). This could create disaster of an enormous scale and it could affect millions of people and many countries which are fed by the rivers which originate from the Himalayan glaciers.

Health:

Under changing climate the chances of occurrence of diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress are very high. According to some estimates in the 2050s malaria is likely to persist in many states and new regions may become malaria-prone and the duration of the malaria transmission windows is likely to widen in northern and western states and shorten in southern states (Bhattacharya et al., 2006). The results of simulation models using current climate indicate that the most endemic malarious regions are the central and eastern Indian regions of India covering Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam. Under the future climate change conditions (results of HadRM2 in 2050s, it is projected that malaria is likely to persist still in Orissa, West Bengal and southern parts of Assam, bordering north of West Bengal (Bhattacharya et al., 2006). There is a possibility that it may shift from the central Indian region to the south-western coastal states and the northern states at higher altitudes above 1800m, in the North in the northeast may become malaria prone as well.

Climate change – Impact of Environmental Degradation on Society:

Environmental changes may be driven by many factors including economic growth, population growth, urbanization, intensification of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation. Poverty still remains a problem at the root of several environmental problems. The impact of environmental degradation on society has been discussed in the following:

It has been estimated that the process of deforestation, bad soil and water management, submergence of and in dam reservoirs, industrial and urban expansion, overgrazing, wind and water erosion, salination, flooding, water logging and so on, contribute to a loss of productivity in roughly one million hectare of land annually. The above process results in desertification and creation of drought prone conditions, leading to the immersion of those dependent on land for their daily subsistence.

Given these processes and the resultant, decline in livelihood for the millions critically dependent on these resources, there are few options but to cultivate increasingly marginal lands, thereby compounding the sustainability crisis. The impact on women is even more severe, as the loss access to fuel, fodder and water forces them to walk miles to collect the essential necessities for their subsistence.

       The consequent escalation in the pressure on available arable land is so enormous that it has contributed to the growth of criminalization in the country side with illegal occupation of community lands, the formation of land armies by land lords to oppose any demands by marginal farmers for land, as well as increasingly militant movements to assert local control over productive resources like land and forests. The latter process most often results in state repression, compounding the climate of social unrest.                                                                                                                               

         Much of these have severally strained social relations within communities and between communities and the state. For instance, every year, over five lakh people are forcibly displaced by development projects alone. Most of them are not rehabilitated, and alternatives are rarely provided. In the process, communities and families are broken up, destroying structure of social and economic support.

Loss of cultural diversity is an inevitable consequence. For instance, a report based on a comprehensive survey of people displaced by the Rihan Dam stated that, "Many of the oustees, particularly the tribals, have fallen into the typical cycle of debt bondage, coupled with increasing destitution and intermittent employment as contract labourers in coal mines and elsewhere ... most were simply kicked out with nothing left to fend for themselves."

Climate Change – Dimensions of the Environmental Crisis in India:

·        Of the 266 million hectares considered productive, about 175 million hectares are degraded in varying degrees (arid, alkaline, saline, waterlogged, ravine and the like). About 90 million hectare are acutely degraded, chiefly on account of loss of tree cover and top soil, leading to floods and drought.

·        Depletion of forest covers to about 19% of the total geographical area, instead of the desired 33%. India has only 2% of the forestland of the world but supports 16% of the world population.

·        Shortage of fuel wood and fodder for rural needs, leading to more pressure on the forests.

·        Threats to faunal and floral species and biological diversity, because of disturbance of their habitat.

·        Adverse impact of development activities such as mining, power generation, irrigation and industrialization.

·        Degradation of fragile ecosystems such as mangroves, irrigation lands, beaches and hill areas due to over exploitation, use of commercial agricultural practices, tourism and indiscriminate building activities.

·        Pollution of water from domestic and industrial waste.

·        Pollution of coastal areas and seas.

·        Air pollution due to emission from industries.

·        Increased production, transportation and use of hazardous chemicals.

·        Degradation of the urban environment because of rapid expansion and inadequate basic services.

Climate Change (Global Warming) Implications:

Rise in global temperature:

Observations show that global temperatures have risen by about 0.6 °C over the 20th century. There is strong evidence now that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is caused by human activities. Climate models predict that the global temperature will rise by about 6 °C by the year 2100.

Rise in sea level:

In general, the faster the climate change, the greater will be the risk of damage. The mean sea level is expected to rise 9 - 88 cm by the year 2100, causing flooding of low lying areas and other damages.

Food shortages and hunger:

Water resources will be affected as precipitation and evaporation patterns change around the world. This will affect agricultural output. Food security is likely to be threatened and some regions are likely to experience food shortages and hunger. India could be more at risks than many other countries

Models predict an average increase in temperature in India of 2.3 to 4.8^oC for the benchmark doubling of Carbon-dioxide scenario. Temperature would rise more in Northern India than in Southern India. It is estimated that 7 million people would be displaced, 5700 km of land and 4200 km of road would be lost, and wheat yields could decrease significantly.

Loss of Biodiversity:

          Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth, and its biological diversity. The number of species of plants, animals, micro organisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all a part of a biologically diverse earth. Biodiversity actually boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play and that it is in this combination that enables the ecosystem to possess the ability to prevent and recover from a variety of disasters.

          It is now believed that human activity is changing biodiversity and causing massive extinctions. The World Resource Institute reports that there is a link between biodiversity and climate change. Rapid global warming can affect ecosystems chances to adapt naturally. Over the past 150 years, deforestation has contributed an estimated 30 percent of the atmospheric build-up of CO2. It is also a significant driving force behind the loss of genes, species, and critical ecosystem services.

Link between Biodiversity and Climate change:

·        Climate change is affecting species already threatened by multiple threats across the globe. Habitat fragmentation due to colonization, logging, agriculture and mining etc. are all contributing to further destruction of terrestrial habitats.

·        Individual species may not be able to adapt. Species most threatened by climate change have small ranges, low population densities, restricted habitat requirements and patchy distribution.

·        Ecosystems will generally shift northward or upward in altitude, but in some cases they will run out of space – as 10C change in temperature correspond to a 100 Km change in latitude, hence, average shift in habitat conditions by the year 2100 will be on the order of 140 to 580 Km.

·        Coral reef mortality may increase and erosion may be accelerated. Increase levels of carbon dioxide adversely impact the coral building process (calcification).

·        Sea level may rise, engulfing low-lying areas causing disappearance of many islands, and extinctions of endemic island species.

·        Invasive species may be aided by climate change. Exotic species can out-compete native wildlife for space, food, water and other resources, and may also prey on native wildlife.

·        Droughts and wildfires may increase. An increased risk of wildfires due to warming and drying out of vegetation is likely. Sustained climate change may change the competitive balance among species and might lead to forests destruction.

Facts of Climate Change in India:
           The 2010 Maplecroft Climate Change Vulnerability Index ranks India as the world’s most vulnerable country apart from Bangladesh. With climatic zones ranging from the Himalayas to the humid sub-tropics of South India, with 5,700km of mainland coastline and 400 million people living in conditions of extreme poverty, India is fully exposed to the hazards of global warming.

           The Indian government commissioned a major study into the effects of climate change by its own scientists. The Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) published its report towards the end of 2010. Focusing on impacts predicted as early as the 2030s, the results make disturbing reading for government planners.

          Average temperature across the country is predicted to rise by at least 1.7°C from a 1970s baseline. India’s most respected plant scientist, Professor M.S.Swaminathan, estimates that each one degree Celsius rise in temperature reduces the wheat growing season by a week. The volume of rainfall is predicted to increase, but with greater variability and risk of flooding or drought. This is the prospect of greatest concern to small farmers.
          Sea level has been raising at 1.33mm per annum, a rate likely to increase and exceed predictions of UN scientists. Studies suggest that a one metre rise in sea level would displace over 7 million people, threaten freshwater supplies and the concentration of industry and infrastructure. Three of the world’s major cities – Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai – must contemplate this risk. The World Bank says that 500 million people live in States prone to devastating cyclones which are predicted to reduce in frequency but increase in intensity.
          Much attention focuses on the observed retreat of Himalayan glaciers, the source region for India’s three major rivers. The INCCA report anticipates an increase in water run-off in the Himalayan region of 5%-20%. Beyond the 2030s, the 500 million people living in the catchments of the Ganges and Indus rivers may experience diminishing water availability in summer.

Disasters in India:

Orissa Super Cyclone, Latur earthquake, Bhopal chemical disaster, Andhra cyclone, Gujarat earthquake, recurring floods, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami are some of the recent examples.

Disaster Risk Management:

Some of the catastrophic disasters in recent times have led to changes in disaster policy and creation of new organizations. Policy changes include the enactment of Disaster Management Act, 2005 and development of the national disaster management response framework. The National Disaster Management Authority was established to spearhead in creation of culture of disaster resilience. The National Institute of Disaster Management itself and along with Disaster Management Cells in the states is providing training opportunities in disaster management.

The Eleventh Five Year Plan 2007-2012 (Planning Commission 20008) states,

“The development process needs to be sensitive towards disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation. Disaster management has therefore emerged as a high priority for the country. Going beyond the historical focus on relief and rehabilitation after the event, there is a need to look ahead and plan for disaster preparedness and mitigation in order to ensure that periodic shocks to our development efforts are minimized.”

Disaster management has emerged as a high priority for the country. The Eleventh Five Year Plan aims at consolidating the process by giving impetus to projects and programs that develop and nurture the culture of safety and the integration of disaster prevention and mitigation into the development process. The guidance and direction to achieve this paradigm shift will need to flow from National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and in the true spirit of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to all stakeholders including State Governments and Union Territories, right up to the Panchyat Raj (local administration by five locally elected citizens) Institutions. Communities at large will need to be mobilized to achieve this common objective as they are the first responders (and not the usually thought fire, ambulance, and police). Even the best of isolated efforts will not bear fruit unless they are part of an overall, well-considered approach, and responsibilities of all stakeholders are clearly spelt out and accountability and sustainability factored in.

The 2001 Gujarat Earthquake was huge and had very serious impacts on the government and policy makers, in addition to victims, their families, and general citizenry. The Government of Gujarat for the first time in India enacted the Gujarat Disaster Management Act, 2003. Before that, neither at the federal level nor at the state level there was any act to deal with the management of disasters of various kinds in a comprehensive manner.
The World Bank estimates that annual economic losses arising from natural disasters already amount to 2% of India’s GDP. Climate change will progressively accentuate almost all of the disaster risks involved.
The government approved its National Policy on Disaster Management in 2009, backed by supporting institutions and funds. This policy marked a shift from recovery management to anticipation and reduction of disaster risks.

However, disaster risk does not feature prominently in the NAPCC and greater integration of India’s institutional response to climate change and disasters may be appropriate. The World Bank is offering support for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Programme which aims to improve the resilience of coastal communities to the threat of extreme storms and tidal surge. This will include the construction of shelters and installation of early warning systems, similar to those pioneered in Bangladesh.
To assess sea level risks more thoroughly, the government has commissioned a digital aerial mapping project covering a 7 km belt around the entire coastline. The objective is to identify hazards by reference to topographical contours.

Electricity Access:
Latest estimates suggest that over 400 million people in rural India have no access to electricity. These families largely resot to kerosene for lighting and wood for cooking, fuels which are expensive, damaging to health and a cause of deforestation. The drive towards rural electrification rests with the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, a plan of lofty ideals, 90% funded by central government. It absorbs all previous initiatives in a goal to achieve universal electrification by 2012, including free connections for BPL households.
The programme’s launch in 2005 quantified the task as connecting 78 million households in 125,000 villages. Government progress reports suggest that the programme is about one third of the way to completion.
There are 10,000 remote villages that lie beyond the reach of the Rajiv Gandhi plan. These should benefit from India’s Solar Mission, currently the most advanced of the eight programmes of the NAPCC. Armed with an initial budget allocation of $900 million, the mission plans a mix of major solar plants and micro-installations of household lighting systems.
Environmental groups support such moves towards decentralised renewables. There is also considerable interest in finding business models to merge such solutions for remote villages with the Rajiv Gandhi plan - which has created grids rather more effectively than the supply of power itself. It is possible that the proceeds of a new coal tax, introduced in 2010, may be allocated to the transition towards renewable energy sources for rural areas. Large power projects, especially hydro, have a poor reputation for human and environmental impact in India and experience increasingly hostile public protest.

Suggestions:

The best ways to communicate about climate change to masses at local and global level is by giving:

·        High priority and high interest by media

·        High focus and long term vision of government agencies in protecting and promoting green technologies

·        Improving common man and science community communication 

·        Strong political will to support clean environment issues

·        Translation and communication of these issues through multimedia in all regional languages in India.

·        Highlighting good practices, glorifying achievements of people/ institutions in preserving climate on earth.

·        We should take immediate steps to slow down climate change for fast Socio- Economic development of the people on sustainable basis

·        We must ensure that whatever we do, as populations expand and lifestyles change, the world must be kept in good condition in order to make available the same natural resources that we have to the coming generations. Natural resources that include: fresh air, clean water, farmland, wildlife, forests, unpolluted seas and a stable climate.

·        Roads, factories and housing should not destroy habitats of animals and plants. 

·        Bio-fuel development supported by new technologies need to be accelerated, aided by policies that provide direct incentives to invest in the most efficient bio-fuels. If we don’t act now, we will leave a much larger problem to future generations. The good news is that, if we all join in to stop climate change, we can reduce its impact on our planet earth.

Strategies:

·        Build capacity to adapt and reduce vulnerabilities to climate change

·        Promote greenhouse gas mitigation activities based on sustainable development

·        Support research and development to better understand climate change, its impacts and adaptation and mitigation options

·        Raise awareness and promote public participation

·        Build capacity of relevant personnel and institutions and establish a framework of coordination and integration

·        Support international cooperation to achieve the common goal of climate change mitigation and sustainable development

Immediate actions:

The overarching goals for the international response to protect health from climate change are:

(a) to ensure that concerns about public health security are placed at the centre of the response to climate change;
(b) to implement adaptive strategies at local, national and regional levels in order to minimize impacts of climate change on the health of human populations; and
(c) to support strong actions to mitigate climate change and to avoid further dramatic and potentially disastrous impacts on health.

These goals can be achieved by working through existing public health frameworks with the following specific objectives:

• Raise awareness of the need to ensure public health security by acting on climate change.
• Strong, evidence-based and consistent advocacy by the global health community will be needed to raise awareness that global public health needs to be protected from climate change. Such awareness-raising will call for health-sector professionals to show leadership in supporting rapid and comprehensive actions, promoting mitigation and adaptation strategies that both improve health now, and reduce future impacts of the climate change.
• The case for public health security should be made more clearly in national and international processes that guide policy and resources for work on climate change, such as preparation of National Communications and National Adaptation Programmes of Action, and the global Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Strengthen public health systems to cope with the threats posed by climate change.
• Increased investment in public health systems is necessary in order to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals, whose achievement will be further compromised by the impact of climate change. For this reason, additional system strengthening and forward planning will be required. Within this broad context, at national level the health sector should:
• assess the potential impacts of climate change on health;
  (b) review the extent to which existing health systems can cope with the additional threat posed by climate changes, and
  (c) develop and implement adaptation strategies to strengthen key functions that already protect against climatic risks.
• This approach will need to encompass interventions within the formal health sector, such as control of the neglected tropical diseases and provision of primary health care, and actions to improve the environmental and social determinants of health, from provision of clean water and sanitation, to enhancing the welfare of women. A common theme must be ensuring health equity and giving priority to protecting the health security of particularly vulnerable groups. Enhance capacity to deal with public health emergencies.
• There is a particular need to strengthen systems to be able to respond to acute shocks associated with climate variability, including the health consequences of natural disasters, and more frequent, severe and wide-ranging epidemics.

Promote health development:

National and sub-national health agencies can promote health through assessment of the health implications of decisions taken in other sectors, such as urban planning, transport, energy supply, food production, land use and water resources. In this way, they can support those decisions that provide opportunities for improving health and at the same time reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change; these opportunities include new investment in sustainable transport in developed and rapidly developing countries and in clean domestic energy in developing nations.

Enhance applied research on health protection from climate change:

Better evidence is needed of the effectiveness and efficiency of public health measures to protect health from climate change. Such activities require systematic, interdisciplinary applied research in Member States.

Monitor and evaluate delivery:

National and subnational agencies should improve identification and monitoring of the health status of vulnerable groups, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aiming to protect health better from climate change.

Foster cross-disciplinary partnerships:

In order to ensure wide-ranging and effective mitigation and adaptation, Member States should build partnerships at the national and subnational levels, exploiting the expertise of government agencies, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, and community, industry and professional groups for health protection.

Roadmap:

India needs to chart out a roadmap for itself in the light of the report on climate change. Climate change can be mitigated in many ways, such as improving the efficiency of energy - intensive devices, vehicles and buildings, all of which involve direct and indirect gas emissions. Developing countries like India must adopt new energy - efficient technologies. Fuel - efficient vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and affordable and safe public transport need policy support in the form of lower taxes and promotion of usage. The government can mandate that buildings integrate green technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems, which are particularly relevant in a country with plentiful sunlight. The energy efficiency of end user equipment can be ensured through appropriate tax brakes and certification systems. The improved cooking stoves and high efficiency lighting, heating and cooling devices are available even today.

·        What they need is promotion.

·        What is requires is a planned approach to disaster management; its management is a fundamental component of sustainable development because the reduction of disaster equivalent to increased development.

Further the following suggestions can be offered for effective disaster management system in India:

(I) There should be a proper multi-tier organizational structure in a focussed and co-ordinated manner

responsible for the overall management at national, state, districts and village levels.

(II) The basic design of disaster management should consist of planned co-ordinated efforts in following

important areas:

-Identification and prediction

-Early warning system

-Evacuation

-Relief

-Rescue

-Rehabilitation

-Compensation

-Reconstruction

-Preparedness

(III) There is a need to share the expertise and

experiences so that states can learn from each other. There

is also a need for training personnel likely to face natural

disaster and those who deal with the relief operations.

Conclusion:

India in the recent years have made significant development in the area of disaster management. A new culture of preparedness, quick response, strategic thinking and prevention is being ushered. The administrative framework is being streamlined to deal with the various disasters. Effort are also being made to make disaster management a community movement wherein where is greater participation of the people. However, a lot more need to be done to make disaster management a mass movement in near future.

References:

ISDR, ADB, AU, NEPAD, Guidelines for Mainstreaming

Disaster Risk Reduction into Development,

2004,www.unisdr.org/eng/risk-reduction/sustainabledevelopment/

cca-undaf/cca-undaf.htm

ISDR, Words into Action: A Guide For Implementing the

Hyogo Framework for Action, United Nations, 2007,

www.unisdr.org

ISDR, Living with Risk, 2004, www.unisdr.org

GOVT OF INDIA(2001), "High Powered Committee on

Disaster Management-Report", Department of Agriculture &

Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi

GOVT OF INDIA(2003), "Disaster Risk Reduction- The

Indian Model", Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India, New

Delhi.

GOVT OF INDIA(2004), Disaster Management Status

Report 2004, Ministry ofHome Affairs, Govt of India, New

Delhi.

SARKAR SUBHRADIPTA, SARMA ARCHANA(2006),

"Disaster Management Act 2005",Economic and Political

Weekly, Mumbai, pp 3760-3763, 2nd September 2006

SHARMA VINOD(2001), "Disaster Management", Indian

Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi

Ravindra K. Pande, Participation in practice and disaster

management:experience of Uttaranchal (India),Disaster

Prevention and Management, Vol.14, 3, 2006

Disaster Policy

Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12): Inclusive Growth. Volume 1, Chapter 9.3 Disaster Management, pp 207-221. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Viegas, Philip, Menon, Geetha (1989), ‘The Impact of EnvironmentalDegradation on People’, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi.