Biodiversity

This document discusses the process oriented programme of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) on Vulnerability Assessment (V&A) and Enhancing Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change initiated in the semi-arid regions of India. The aims of this programme include strengthening the resilience of local communities to conditions of unfavourable weather, like adverse alterations in temperature and precipitation leading to the more frequent occurrence of drought and to use the experiences for policy development for climate change adaptation measures at various levels.

Over 60 per cent of the cultivated area in India is rainfed & unfavorable and uncertain rainfall patterns will seriously affect the food, drinking water and livelihood security of millions of children, women and men. Since the initiation of this project, the emphasis on proactive research on adaptation mechanisms has increased at the national level. 

The present decade may mark the beginning of a new climate era, characterized by extreme and often unpredictable weather conditions and rise in sea levels. The greatest casualty of climate change will be food, water and livelihood security.

Guest Post: Text by Amitangshu Acharya, Photographs by Ayan Ghosh

Kachchh – a brilliant halfway between a turmeric yellow Rajasthan and the emerald green Sahyadris – offers an upside down version of life. It tells you that seeds of life and civilisation are often hidden beneath the sands of time in inhospitable terrains.

Guest Post by Shashank Srinivasan

High altitude wetlands in the Indian Himalayas are crucial to the water security of downstream communities. They buffer the flow of glacial meltwater to sustain river flow in the dry season, ensuring that human settlements have access to water when they need it most.

High altitude wetlands are also reservoirs of biodiversity and contribute local livelihood opportunities. Identifying these wetlands and demarcating areas for their protection is thus crucial to any wetland management plan.

In this poster, a method of using topographic data obtained by remote sensing techniques, to identify the catchment areas of these wetlands has been described.

The author suggests that the protection of these catchment areas will ensure the survival of these wetlands, as well as of the communities that depend on them.

This report by MoEF regarding the environmental impact of Phata-Byung & Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects on the river Mandakini deals with the additional safeguards and proper monitoring & supervision to help protect the environment in these project areas. It says that since a fairly large portion of the works has been taken up it may not be worth to abandon the project. It has proposed certain remedial measures to mitigate the damage if caused to the environment and local villagers. 

The Phata-Byung and Singoli-Bhatwari hydro power projects, are Run of the River (RoR) projects on the river Mandakini. The series of RoR projects proposed and under construction as a part of cascade development are to generate electrical energy which is considered to be clean power as it is non-polluting and renewable in nature.