GUWAHATI, June 12 � With its peculiar climatic and geographic conditions, Assam should have a comprehensive action plan to combat disaster situations emerging from extreme weather events. Unless that is prepared with urgency, there is a real chance that both human beings and biodiversity would suffer irreparable harm. This was the unambiguous message generated during a State-level workshop on �Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change� organised by Gramya Vikash Mancha, Action Aid, and National Union of Journalists in the city recently.
Sponsored by the European Union, the workshop helped shape a demand that in accordance with the National Action Plan on Climate Change, a State action plan should be formulated by the Assam Government, which takes into account both the adaptation and mitigation angles concerning long-term changes in weather patterns. In the next step, the plan should be implemented by the government to ensure environmental security in the region, which is among the most eco-sensitive in the world.
Addressing participants, Arabinda Mishra, Director of Earth Science and Climate Change Division of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), underlined the need to recognise the real threat of climate change which could impact human settlements, agriculture, health and biodiversity in unprecedented ways.
He identified science and policy as two components which should be used to confront the challenge of climate change. While good science and effective technology could help project and promote adaptation and mitigation strategies, sound policy was required especially when it came to their implementation.
In his view, there were gaps in knowledge and understanding about the issue on various levels, and his organisation was keen to fill such gaps. One way to respond to the situation would be to have more studies so that it could lead to shaping better policy decisions.
Referring to the present level of knowledge about climate change and its likely impact on Assam and other North-eastern States, Mishra said that some simulation models suggested a marked rise in temperature and precipitation. However, there was a need to know about the pattern and the regions where the impact would be felt the most. Mishra made a case in favour of thorough impact assessment studies to understand how sectors like agriculture, health, land use and biodiversity would be affected by significant changes in the temperature and moisture regime.
Noted scientist Prof Dulal Chandra Goswami, in his address, asserted that because there has been a succession of mega natural disasters in the region, bold and innovative measures were required to combat any forthcoming extreme events.
He said that changes in the weather pattern have already become evident, including a phenomenon that has seen the merging of pre-monsoon and monsoon leading to excessive rainfall in Assam this year.
According to him, vulnerability of people and biodiversity is becoming a major issue and it was therefore necessary to have an increase in the knowledge base. Unfortunately, there was a lack of sufficient data, and even in the face of an emerging crisis there was a lack of co-operation between the State and among the stakeholders.
On the relevance of computer models to predict climate change, he said that while they did point at possible changes, there was a need to take into account local conditions with the specifics involved.
Highlighting the media�s role vis-�-vis climate change, Naba Thakuria of the Guwahati Press Club mentioned that journalists can help promote awareness about the issue that has emerged as a grave threat to the planet. Appreciating the role of Gramya Vikash Mancha, he said that empowering the media would have a noticeable impact on its audience. He hoped that organisations like Action Aid and TERI would come forward with more initiatives to support media persons interested in the climate change discourse.
Soumyadeep Dutta of the NGO Nature�s Beckon observed that although climate change was a global issue, there were local angles to it which have to be brought into sharper focus. He pointed to the loss of forest cover in several parts of the State, which played a role in encouraging changes in the micro level. He hoped that stakeholders would recognise this fact, and help shape policies which were friendly to both human beings and natural environment.
