Recommendations
1.
The Academy should spread
the awareness for conserving the
nature to curb the detrimental
effects.
2.
There is urgent need to stop
the degradation of forests and
reduce to the extent possible the
anthropogenic climate changes.
3.
Overuse of carbon-based
energy mainly coal and oil
resulting in large scale generation
of green house gases has to be
checked.
4.
Space technologies have a
role in detecting and predicting
adverse effect of climate change.
These can be developed and trained
human resources be generated for
this.
5.
Urgent need to increase the
agricultural production has been
emphasized.
6.
Many studies have emphasized
that Climate change scenarios will
have serious implications on food
production, availability and
ensuring food and nutrition
security. The challenge is how to
achieve enhanced agriculture
productivity without any associated
ecological harm. Immediate research
studies are needed in identifying
climate resilience genotypes of
major crop and wild relatives. It
would be useful to establish
Genetic Resources Centers for a
warming planet and rising oceans,
for assemblage of identified
genotypes and their
characterization and validation.
7.
There is a need for
establishing Genetic Enhancement
Centers, in leading institutions,
for undertaking studies on
identification of genes for
resistance to biotic and abiotic
stresses.
8.
Development of climate
resilience agriculture, based on
soil factors as well as emerging
threats of low water availability
is a greater challenge in ensuring
agriculture productivity. This
calls for an integrated approach on
application of technological
interventions in the area of
Biotechnology, space and
information technology. Knowledge
intensive agriculture practices,
being followed at the grass roots
level by the communities as an
adaptation measure needs to be
documented as well as
scientifically validated.
9.
There is fundamental need
for India to grow its energy,
especially electricity, since the
current consumption levels are
one-third of the global average,
and ensure rapid human development.
10.
For the foreseeable future,
coal will continue to be needed for
electricity production; and oil for
transportation. The problem will
be, to find scientific solutions,
within these parameters, to reduce
carbon footprint.
11.
A multi-pronged approach is
needed for: energy efficiency;
utilizing all fuels available; and
expanding the use of sustainable
fuels; and, in particular, the
introduction of a smart grid
system.
12.
There are large cost
benefits attached to adaptation,
particularly in urban areas, to
deal with mitigation of expected
possibilities. These include: storm
water management; flood control;
disaster management techniques for
rural areas; and ensuring that farm
value / net income is not
significantly reduced. These
aspects require more research work
and need to evolve policy
guidelines.
13.
Training and awareness
campaigns are needed on the
observed and predicted efforts of
global warming on health and food
production in India and remedial
measures need to be taken. The
academic activities of IGNOU have
very good scope of undertaking
training and awareness programmes.
14.
Modeling on the ecological
variables on food productivity in
India is essential.
15.
Studies on the climate
change and their impact on water
borne diseases in hotspots in the
country are essential. In
particular, understanding about the
climate-diarrhea (or cholera)
relationships has to be improved.
16.
Wherever possible,
retrospective data should be
checked for their uniformity in
measurements (use of instruments,
their precisions, unit of
measurement) over the entire time
period considered under the study.
Data should be collected for
sufficient time period to capture
changes in climate factors.
17.
Changes in hospital
catchment areas as well as people’s
care seeking behavior might
considerably affect number of
diarrhea cases coming to the
hospital; knowledge of such events
would allow better interpretation
of any changes in hospital data
over time.
18.
Attempts should be made to
verify the cause of any localized
outbreaks, if indicated by the
data, so that any outbreak
unrelated to climate events (such
as leakage in a water supply pipe)
is not attributed to climate
change. To facilitate the process,
generic study protocols are now
available for use in retrospective
as well as prospective studies to
evaluate climate-diarrhea
associations; these protocols have
been developed jointly by
scientists from National Institute
of Cholera & Enteric Diseases,
Kolkata and National Institute of
Malaria Research, Delhi for the WHO
South-East Asia Regional Office.
19.
Use satellite images of
environmental changes to predict
infectious diseases outbreak.
20.
Have more awareness
programmes in which honestly and
dispassionately the problems faced
with climate changes, keeping in
mind the need to have more and more
Energy requirements for the
economic uplift of masses are
discussed.
21.
Have more Scientific and
Technical Seminars and discussion
meetings prioritizing the goals of
getting the Scientific & technical
answers to the well defined climate
change problems.
22.
We need to enhance our
capacity to respond to the negative
health effects of climate change by
generating reliable, relevant, and
up-to-date information.
23.
Disease surveillance and
rapid dissemination of information
are important components of
preparedness for adapting to
climate change. Disaster management
also needs to be strengthened.
24.
Strengthening informational,
technological, and scientific
capacity is crucial for the success
of a public health movement to
enhance adaptation. Weak capacity
for climate research in poor
countries is likely to deepen the
social inequality in relation to
health. Studies should be
undertaken to assess the negative
health effects of climate change in
developing countries.
25.
To draw out a list of such
diseases relevant for India.
26.
Develop cheap and effective
diagnostic tools for early
detection.
27.
Stockpile antibiotics
(effective against these) for a
quick response if needed.
28.
Develop vaccines as a long
term measure.
29.
Establishment of long-term
observational and monitoring
network, in respect of
meteorological and ecological data,
for critical habitats, species and
ecosystems in the Indian Himalayan
Region (& elsewhere).
30.
Development of package of
practices for maintenance and
sustainable use of sensitive
components of the ecosystems, and
improvement/ value addition of
bio-resource based livelihood
options for the rural & indigenous
communities is called for.
31.
Establishment and
maintenance of a network of live
repositories (on farm cultivation)
of land races and lesser known
crops of different agro-climatic
zones across the IHR.
32.
Integration of biodiversity
conservation programmes with water
conservation.
33.
Involvement of local
communities in adaptation and
refinement of traditional cropping
mechanisms, especially by adopting
good practices in respect of
climate change.
34.
Promotion of awareness and
educational programmes on
conservation and sustainable
utilization of the bioresources,
and for safe guarding the
environment.
35.
There is an urgent need to
launch a national action plan to
take remedial action to clean up
the estuaries. The action plan
would involve two sets of actions.
The first is gathering of data on
the present status of the
estuaries. The second is remedial
actions for curbing of effluent
flow into the estuaries (for data
gathering and evolving policies for
pollution free estuaries).
36.
Traditionally ocean sciences
in India have focused on
large-scale, open sea
oceanography. In view of the
problems that are arising in our
estuaries, it is important to
enhance our understanding of these
systems through research. There is
also a need to build capacity to
address issues related to
estuaries. It is therefore
recommended to enhance
infrastructure to take up research
and education in estuaries
studies. This would be best
achieved by setting up an
institution dedicated to estuarine
science and education.
37.
Any action aimed at cleaning
of estuaries of India would require
gathering of data on their present
status. The number of estuaries
being large, and the required data
gathering being laborious, India
does not have government machinery
to achieve this task. It is
recommended that these data be
gathered through institutions of
higher learning (undergraduate and
postgraduate colleges) located in
the area. This will create
awareness amongst the local
population about the problem
associated with the estuaries and
their possible solutions. It will
also help in capacity building for
addressing issue of estuarine
pollution.
38.
Urgent support is needed to
generate local solutions to
biodiversity loss. Sustaining
biological diversity and ecosystem
services are hence important both
in our efforts to deal with climate
change and to reach the UN’s
Millennium Development Goals. Such
measures are in other words both
cost-effective and have the
capacity to create many potential
synergies.
39.
Reducing deforestation is a
cost-effective way of reducing CO2
emissions. Tree plantations can
contribute to CO2-sequestration,
but may also have detrimental
social consequences if, for
example, local people’s user and
access rights are disregarded
and/or unclear.
40.
Land use changes leading to
habitat and thus biodiversity
losses can also boost greenhouse
gas emissions. For instance
forests, which are vital carbon
sinks, release carbon dioxide (CO2)
into the atmosphere when cut down
or burnt. Major studies on all
these aspects are called for.
Plantation forestry is essential.
41.
It must be recognized that
human beings have integral
relationship with the natural
environment. The most effective way
to adjust climate change to adopt
the sustainable development pathway
(optimum carrying capacity) is by
shifting to environmentally
sustainable technologies and
promotion of energy efficiency,
renewable energy, forest
conservation, reforestation and
water conservation.
42.
There is change in rainfall
and vegetations due to global
warming; an alternate approach like
rainwater harvesting or artificial
recharging by site selection and
finally ground water exploration
using the modern methods of remote
sensing can tackle efficiently as
per our need.
43.
Global warming, its
deleterious effect on atmospheric
processes, biodiversity and human
health is apparent and knowledge
has to be generated in almost all
disciplines. An interdisciplinary
approach is needed to combat the
situation.
44.
The local chapters of NASI
could take up a movement on Climate
Literacy of local communities
including school students.
45 The main
concerned Ministries are: Science
and Technology; Environment and
Forests; Earth Sciences; Human
Resource Development; Indian
Council of Agricultural Research
and Indian Council of Medical
Research. There is need to involve
the universities, colleges,
research institutions, NGOs etc. in
the implementation of various
recommendations.
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