Climate Risk.docx

8/12/2019 Climate Risk.docx

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CLIMATE RISK: CRITICAL CHALLENGES

-Anil Kumar Gupta

I recall my first national publication in Yojana in June 1993 issue which

reviewed the efficacy and status of Indias environmental legislation, following

the strategic article by then Prime Minister Late Sri Narsimha Rao depicting the

concern on environment and extrapolating it for sustainability of economic growth.

India has a prestigious history on environmental fronts be it the Stockholm

Conference in 1972 which was attended by Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, or the UN

Conference on Environment and Development, 1992 at Brazil where Indias

contribution and eco concerns also figured in shaping the historic Agenda 21. It

was in 1991 that the Honble Supreme Court issued a directive for compulsoryenvironmental studies in all undergraduate programmes in the country. It is

regrettable that it hasnt been uniformly implemented even with the passage of two

decades. In another article on environmental policy concerns in Yojana in 1996

February, I tried help prioritize the issues for immediate concerns.

There are significant efforts to promote green cover in urban areas with

noted success, but at the same time vast tracts of natural green cover of forests and

rural areas have been lost owing to increasing biotic pressure, low regeneration and

devastating side effects of poorly planned developmental projects. India has a new

water policy of 2012 now, but without subjecting it to a formal system of

environmental assessment, despite having globally accepted tool strategic

environmental assessment (ETA of policies and plans) in practice. I wrote in

Yojana May, 2000 on water policy and integrated water management calling for a

system approach, which in turn also calls for coherence of water, land, energy and

forest related policies with the broad environment policy. Fortunately the

environment policy of 2006 at least mentioned this.

The recent reinforced calls at global level to integrate disaster risk reduction

and climate change issues within the broad umbrella of environmental

management for sustainability and inclusive growth has attained momentum with

the UN led Partnership of Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction (

UNPEDER).


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Climate Risk and Indias Environment

Whereas many regions are likely to experience adverse effects of climate

change of which some are potentially irreversible, in some cases certain impacts

are likely to be beneficial as well. The World Bank Study entitled ManagingClimate Risk: Integrating Adaptation into World Bank Group Operations

identified the result of environmental changes in South Asia as following:

Decreased water availability and water quality in many arid and semi-aridregions

Increased risk of floods, droughts, and water borne diseases / epidemics Reduction of water regulation in mountain habitats Decrease in reliability of hydropower and biomass production Increased damages and deaths caused by extreme weather events Decrease agriculture productivity, in fisheries and sustainability of

ecosystems

The World Bank interpreted the consequences of these impacts in form of

severe economic shocks, which will exacerbate existing social and environmental

problems, and migration within and across national borders.

So far most policy interventions related to climate change were mitigation

centric and broadly based on geophysical parameters. However, the focus is nowshifting towards vulnerability reduction centric and adaptation approach which at

the same time facilitates climate change mitigation-adaptation convergence with

disaster risk reduction. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) that

emphasized livelihood and food security as key challenges of human vulnerability

is an insight to understand the significant efforts of Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPCC), in particular the 4th Assessment Report and the recent

Special Report on Extreme Weather Events (SREX) to draw the concerns for

South Asia and more particularly for India.

A 4x4 assessment of climate change impacts on India, organized by Ministry

of Environment & Forests (2010) has concluded with serious concerns on impacts

on agriculture, water security, health and forests, more particularly in Himalayan

region and coastal areas. The impacts have been observed in terms of changing

rainfall patterns, intensity, number of rainy days, hottest and coldest days, hot/cold


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waves, sea level rise, cyclonic storms, etc., whereas improper land use coupled

with ecological degradation has aggravated peoples vulnerability to these climatic

and the other geophysical disasters like earthquake, landslides, etc.

Besides the availability concern, quality of water (be it ground or surfacewaters) is critical in health and agriculture. Air quality is deteriorating despite the

efforts governments made over past decades. Waste management situation in many

cities of the country has improved but is far from satisfactory, and urban flooding

has become a common annual menace.

Ecosystem Services: Economy and Livelihoods

The environmental problems in India are growing rapidly. The increasing

economic development and a rapidly growing population that has taken the country

from 300 million people in 1947 to more than one billion people today is putting a

strain on the environment, infrastructure, and the countrys natural resources. The

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Risk and Poverty in a

Changing Climate (2009) identifies ecosystem decline as a key driver in

exacerbating natural hazards in the future. Indian economy is likely to grow at 6.4

per cent rate in 2013 outpacing the 6 per cent expansion in developing Asia-Pacific

economies in the same period. However, the current projected growth is below its

own pace of the past. The global economic slowdown starting 2008 has made us to

review on the limitations our ecological systems and non-renewable resources pose

to our economic growth. We need to analyze our fiscal balance sheets again for

expenditures on managing the challenges arising as a consequence of

environmental degradation on different time- scales.

India is now the worlds third biggest carbon dioxide emitting nation after

China and the US. The new emission data from the United Nations published in

early October 2010 is a probable cause of worry for Indias climate negations in

the future. The ecosystem based approaches for adaptation and mitigation are the

noble options we still have. We need to evolve approaches where we have

mitigation values for the adaptation options and strategies as well, and at the same

time disaster risk reduction as the benefit. We have not only spoiled our wetlands

and river systems, but the entire land- soil system, making it chemical intensive in

its composition in quest of immediate high returns.


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Green revolution was needed as India then needed food to feed the people.

Now the concept of 2ndgreen revolution has to be built up with great caution and

concerns for sustainability. Natural resource related activities form major

livelihood for Indiaspopulation. Land, water and bio-productivity cannot be dealt

in isolation. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) refers to naturalsystems as humanitys life support system providing essential ecosystem

services for existence and socioeconomic well being. Twenty four services are

classified under major four categories:

a) Provisioning services, the material that people extract directly fromecosystems such as food, water, and forest products;

b) Regulating services, which modulate changes in climate and regulate floods,thought, disease, waste and water quality;

c) Cultural services, which consists of recreational (tourism), aesthetic andspiritual benefits, and

d) Supporting services, such as soil formation, photosynthesis (foodproduction, oxygen generation) and nutrient recycling.

Human Security and Disaster Management

The World Summit on Social Development (2005) noted the reconciliation

of environmental, social equity and economic demands as the three pillars of

sustainability. An imbalance in one or more of these may exacerbate the impact of

a natural or impending humanitarian crisis, resulting in a disaster like situation.

The challenges of naxalism may be understood in ecological terms of forests,

people and livelihoods, which due to our failure to address, have grown up to

emergent state in such areas. Environmental refugees from the regions affected

by natural calamities, insurgencies, or due to developmental interventions like in

case of large dams, or migrants for livelihoods are one of key humanitarian

concerns worldwide as well as in India.

Poor, down trodden and marginalized people, landless, or those occupying

low cost but hazardous locations for their housing and occupations, are the ones

most and worst affected by natural disasters like earthquake, floods, drought,

cyclone and diseases. Relationships between environment and disasters are

inextricable. We need to understand the ecology of conflicts, vulnerability, human


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behavior, and thereby of the disasters, for their effective and preventive

management.

It is worthwhile to mention that our initiative in India during 2008-9 on

integrated environment and disaster risk management, when noticed by the UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP), was followed by a high level meeting

at the UN Campus Bonn in Germany, to evolve a UN Partnership of Environment

and Disaster Risk Reduction. First capacity building programme on Ecosystem

Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (eco DRR) was piloted in Sri Lanka and

followed by New Delhi in 2011 itself. Recent release of Disaster Management and

Risk Reduction (2013) as follow up to the Government of India publication

(NIDM) on Ecosystem Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (2013), that related to

United Nations University (UNU) bringing a special volume entitled Role of

Ecosystems in Disaster Risk Reduction.

Issues of Critical Concern

Looking to the present state of Indias environment and context of climate -

change, disasters and corporate environmental governance, following issues have

been identified for critical concern in academia and policy planning:

1. Natural disaster management:

Number of natural disasters continues to rise in India and the region, with heavy

toll on human lives, environment and economies. Losses due to water and climate

related disasters far exceed that of purely geophysical ones. On the other hand,

chemical intensive economic development has increased the risk of industrial-

chemical disasters. Disaster management needs to be a priority subject for

intervention as it has great humanitarian aspects.

2. Environmental-Health:

Despite the need, the aspects of environmental health including those related withwater, sanitation, waste management, toxicology, has been inadequately addressed

due to lack of policy intervention. We need to have integrated policy direction on

preventive and social health issues in the country.


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3. Natural Resource Systems:

Be it a river, a wetland, forest, land or soil, urban area or a crop field, the

management of natural resources need to be evolved with consideration of these as

system and with the scientific understanding of resource rather than treatingthem primarily as source.

4. Environmental liability:

Environmental policy implementation cannot be effective unless the concept of

absolute liability is enforced not only in context of industrial hazards or pollution

but equally in relation to ecosystem integrity, sustainability and natural resources.

Liability should be integrated with accountability and must also include the

Government, monitoring agencies and decision makers.

5. State/District Environmental Action Plans:

We have National Environmental Protection Act (1986) but could not regulate the

mandate for environmental action plan at state, district and local levels. This is an

emergent need. Plan should have a time frame,

6. EIA and SEA improvements:

Environmental impact assessment is an effective and noble instrument of policy

and legal enforcement but, however, is under question in India due to its

marketplace image. It requires scientific and academic community to come

forward together to intervene and take up research studies on validation of such

reports. Another approach where EIAs are done by Government agencies

responsible for decision making may also be thought of, but with fixing

accountability for their interpretations. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

is a recognized tool for environmental screening of policies, plans and programmes

in practice in particular in advanced countries. On initiative of UNU and UNEP,

we have worked out a protocol for EIA and SEA application in disastermanagement. Recently, Sri Lanka carried out an SEA of its North Province before

launching post-conflict developmental plan. We need to learn and evolve to

scrutinize our economic and other strategic decisions for their impacts on different

aspects of environmental quality and resources.


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7. Environmental Audit:

Environmental audit in mandatory terms is a formal procedure in India, except big

industries and corporations conducting detailed audits voluntarily. Practice of

comprehensive environmental auditing must be compulsory for all industries,establishments including housing complexes, municipalities, and institutions with

significant water, energy and material balance or involving hazards.

8. Natural Resource Accounting:The concept and practice of natural resource

accounting or green accounting was mooted and pilot studies undertaken during

1990s. However, the practice didnt continue to grow. The concept of green

accounting and green GDP must be integrated with national and state

environmental action planning as well as with developmental planning.

9. Economic evaluation of environmental impacts: In the absence of proper

economic evaluation, environmental impacts and hazards are not given due

importance in planning and decision making. For example, the environmental

damages and losses due to disasters and environmental needs following a disaster

situation havent been evaluated on economic terms. This results in their

undermining. The practice of ecological economics needs to be promoted in

research, planning and monitoring of developmental plans and policies.

10. Ecological Auditing (Eco Audit):This is rather a new tool, extended from theprinciple evolved a decade ago. This focuses on auditing of natural resource

systems and environmental quality aspects on ecosystem approach. This takes into

account the ecosystem capacities, services and related sustainability parameters in

the context of internal, external and human- induced factors.

Revisiting Economic Growth to Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology it describes how

biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans,

sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has

ecological, economic, political and cultural dimensions. Healthy ecosystems and

environments are necessary to the survival and flourishing of humans and other

organisms. Chennai based Centre for Development Finance has developed

Environmental Sustainability Index 2011 for Indian states considering the


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achievements, challenges, priorities and present state of environment. The study

found the north-eastern states as most sustainable whereas the least sustainable

states are Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh.

Poverty, disparity and inequality are key factors that aggravate peoplesvulnerability to hazard be it of a natural, human-induced, technological or

socio-political origin that may result in a devastating situation or crisis. These

factors are in turn aggravated by ecological deprivation and poor management of

natural resources, coupled with infrastructure disparities brought in by the techno-

fiscal intensification. No model of economic growth can sustain for long if it

doesnt respect ecology in local and regional context, and at the same time the

environment as broad concern including the inter-relationships of natural, human-

made and socio cultural environments. Unless we understand the ecological basis

of conflicts and evolution of local/regional terrorism, we often fail to find

sustainable ceasefire solutions. Alternative models of sustainable land use

economies need to be worked out taking care of climate change adaptation and

disaster risk concerns as well.

Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and

environmental consequences of an economic activity. Sustainability economics

involves ecological economics where socio-cultural, economic and health-related

aspects are integrated. Now, in the times when we are calling for Integrateddistrict planning process, we need to evolve the models and protocols for

ecological compatible integrated planning at state, district and local levels. At the

same time, it is important to recognize the ecosystem relations between urban,

rural and industrial development planning. Economics as a function within social

arena of the environment as recognized by Scott Cato (Green Economics, 2009,

Earthscan). Adams (2006) enumerated the pressure balance among environment,

economics and social functions under a sustainability framework (International

Union for Conservation of Nature). However, environmental economics new focus

is on the economic valuation of ecosystem services in immediate and long-term

parameters that helps understand need for ecological sensitive developmental

planning process. In India as well, the concept of Green GDP is upcoming which

should help promote sustainability concerns into developmental economics as well.


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National Environmental Protection Agency

Disaster management is a state subject, whereas environment is a broad

concern divided and shared between central, states and concurrent lists, in the

schedules of Indias Constitution. In most cases States enjoy the powers delegatedby Central Government. Therefore, an apex agency should not be only an authority

to develop broad policies and guidelines but also its own standards, and need to be

responsible and accountable for their proper and effective implementation at the

ground levels as well. We need to learn from the United States model of

Environmental Protection Agency. Pollution Control Boardconcepts are obsolete

and need to be abolished to bring a cultural change in environmental management,

by replacing it with Environmental Protection Agencies with a uniform

institutional framework at State, district and Urban local bodies level. It is also

important that a standard ratio of scientific, technical and social experts is

maintained in these agencies at all the levels.

Policy Interventions: National Environmental Council

Broad Paradigm Shift is needed from fragmented and spontaneous

response or wait until emergent approach to accountability and liability based

proactive culture of prevention and infused mitigation approach on

environmental protection affairs including climate-change, natural disaster

management, chemical safety, environmental health and overall natural resource

management system. Prime Ministers Council of Climate Change may be

renamed as Prime Ministers National Environmental Council offering an umbrella

coordination of Ministries like Environment and Forests, Earth Science, Science &

Technology, environment related divisions of OST, ICAR, ICMR, DBT, CSIR,

ICFRE, ICSSR, UGC, National Biocliversity Board, etc. and international

organizations like UNEP, IPCC, WMO, WHO, UNDP, UNESCO, etc.

Development and promotion of environmentally compatible models for

inclusive growth and sustainable economic development at village, taluka and

district levels may be a key objective. Intensive and effective drives of capacity

building and awareness shall be needed to attain its objectives. A policy guideline

on environmentally compatible integrated district-planning needs to be

developed. It is ironical to note that India as a country though loud enough in


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global platforms of Stockholm and Rio de Janeiro has missed to represent ecology

in its constitution of strategic and planning organizations like Planning

Commission, National Disaster Management Authority, National Investment

Agency, etc. The time has come when we need to be sensitive to own long-term

sustainability and feel accountable for all our deeds.

Education and Research

Environmental research in the country is fragmented with much of

duplicacy, gaps and sometime with conflicting conclusions. The proposed National

Council and National University may be mandated to share the strategic

responsibility of organizing and coordinating with the relevant agencies a broad

network forum to avoid these challenges. Some of the states/UTs have integrated

their science & technology councils with environment, and is a welcome move.University and college curriculum of environmental studies need to be diversified

to meet specialized needs for professionals on its sub-disciplines, viz,

environmental health, system ecology, climate change, disaster management, ETA,

law & policy, environmental economics, industrial hazards, etc.

Education and training in environmental studies need be diversified with

specializations at University/college levels to focus on emergency issues and

challenges. Our experts and Governments have taken great steps towards

environmental awareness of the masses including college youth and children, but

could not mandate a compulsory orientation of our legislators and Government

officials of all levels including sub-district and local levels who built up the

administrative priorities of the governance. This is one reason of increasing

conflicts between public or civil society and Government as their perceptions do

not match at all.

National University on Environment and Sustainability

For more than two decades, there has been a demand for a central institutionon environmental research and training which at the same time shall award degrees

and professional certification in the areas of environment. In the present times,

when disasters, climate change and health risks are emergency challenges, a

National University on Environment and Sustainability Studies (UNEST) need to

be established by the Central Government to cater the needs of quality research,


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training and education leading to masters and research degrees, and will extend

advisory support in assessments, planning and policy making. The institute may be

mandated also to host a forum for organizations and institutions working on

environment, climate change and disaster management issues in the country, to

facilitate exchange of knowledge, skills, and professional value addition.

University Grants Commission has supported Universities and institutions

on innovative course and research programmes on concurrent issues in

environmental sciences and notified a model curriculum on disaster management

for all undergraduate course in the lines of compulsory environmental studies.

Ministry of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Earth Sciences have also

schemes to support environment and climate research. United Nations

Environment Programme has expressed concern in promoting the ecoDRR

curriculum in Indian Universities which has already been included in other

countries. Recently, UNESCO has established a high level academic institute, first

in Asia, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Environment, Peace and Sustainability which

will organize and conduct courses and research on environment, climate and

disaster related issues of Asian concern.

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