/topics/ecology-and-environment
Ecology and Environment
Social exclusion in watershed development: Evidence from the Indo-German watershed development project in Maharashtra - A LEAD paper
Posted on 18 Feb, 2012 03:08 PMMarginalized communities are excluded from a say in the creation of policies.
Climate change risk - An adaptation and mitigation agenda for Indian cities - A paper published in the journal Environment and Urbanisation
Posted on 18 Feb, 2012 01:33 PMThe paper dwells on the likely changes that climate change is expected to bring in temperature, precipitation and extreme rainfall, drought, river and inland flooding, storms/storm surges/coastal flooding, sea-level rise and environmental health risks, and who within urban populations will be at risk.
The status of glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region - A report by the ICIMOD
Posted on 17 Feb, 2012 03:00 PMThe HKH region is one of the most dynamic, fragile, and complex mountain systems in the world as a result of tectonic activity and the rich diversity of climates, hydrology, and ecology. The high Himalayan region is the freshwater tower of South Asia and has the highest concentration of snow and glaciers outside the polar regions giving it the name Third Pole.
Balati glacier, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand (Source: Uttarakhand and I)
Framework for valuing ecosystem services in the Himalayas - An ICIMOD technical report
Posted on 17 Feb, 2012 12:12 PMThis has been a generic first attempt that can be fine-tuned and customised for each type of ecosystem and each kind of service value. Ecosystem services are defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as ‘the benefits people obtain from ecosystems'.
Mountains occupy 24% of the global land surface area and are home to 12% of the world’s population. Mountains have an ecological, aesthetic, and socioeconomic significance, not only for those living in the mountain areas, but also for people living beyond them. However, the importance of ecosystem services arising from mountains is not properly recognised. The HKH region is endowed with a rich variety of gene pools and species, and ecosystems of global importance. It is a storehouse of biological diversity and a priority region in many global conservation agendas. The region has many unique ecosystems that play a critical role in protecting the environment and in providing livelihoods for much of Asia and beyond.
Multi-stakeholder dialogue is messy, but necessary
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:32 PMA workshop on ‘Understanding and resolving water conflicts in the North East India', was organized by Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India (Forum), in collaboration with Aaranyak (Guwahati), Centre for the Environment, IIT (Guwahati), Arghyam (Bangalore), SaciWATERs-CapNet Network (SCaN) and Cap-Net to discuss emerging issues related to water conflicts and their resolution in the region. This workshop was held in Guwahati on January 23-26, 2012. It aimed at presenting concepts and theory related water conflicts as well as issues especially relevant to the North East Region.
"Understanding and resolving water conflicts in the North East": Workshop held at Guwahati, 23-26 January 2012
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:31 PMGuest post by: Raju Mimi
Climate change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas -The state of current knowledge - A book by ICIMOD
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 01:10 PMThe Hindu Kush-Himalayan region has had very few resources to develop a detail scientific understanding needed to assess climatological, environmental, and other data in the past and there is very little information upon which a baseline for comparison with the present can be formed and future impacts can be anticipated.
Climate change adaptation in Himachal Pradesh - Sustainable strategies for water resources - A report by the ADB
Posted on 16 Feb, 2012 10:29 AMIt includes the present and planned water utilisation across sectors and uses, within a framework of environment, conservation and sustainability. It also examined the present institutional arrangements for water resources management and assessed the requirements for institutional development, improvement in data collection and analysis, catchment and agriculture planning, and other reforms required to ensure sustainable water resources management.
Adapting to climate change - Conserving rice biodiversity of the Apatani tribe in North East India - An IGREC working paper
Posted on 15 Feb, 2012 11:47 PMIt also deals with the threat to the biodiversity in the area due to climate changes and argues for the need to devise adaptation strategies at an urgent level to preserve the unique genetic variability of the region and the indigenous knowledge of farming practices in the area.
Climate: Observations, projections and impacts - India - A report by the Met Office (UK)
Posted on 15 Feb, 2012 03:25 PMThis was done as a part of a project that aimed at compiling scientifically robust and impartial information on the physical impacts of climate change for more than 20 countries.