Climate Change Community

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SSoolluuttiioonn EExxcchhaannggee ffoorr tthhee CClliimmaattee CChhaannggee CCoommmmuunniittyy CCoonnssoolliiddaatteedd RReeppllyy Query: Inputs for Developing the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) - Experiences; Examples Compiled by Ramesh Jalan and G Padmanabhan, Resource Persons and Jai Kumar Gaurav and Nupur Arora, Research Associates Issue Date: 12 September 2011 From Shirish Sinha, Climate Change and Development, Embassy of Switzerland in India, New Delhi Posted 09 August 2011

The earliest impacts of climate change are invariably experienced in mountain areas. Melting of snow and glaciers impacts, macro and micro climatic systems, which in turn have a spiralling impact on water, food and livelihood security. This is critical in the context of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), as the region is a repository of enormous freshwater resources. The run-off of the Himalayan Rivers are the main source of livelihood for people residing in the mountains as well as people living downstream by providing for irrigation, drinking water, and agriculture. Developing adaptation strategies, which are rooted at community level and draw from scientific assessments, are essential for achieving climate resilience to help protect the poor, who are most vulnerable. This requires advanced scientific research and capacities, which needs further attention in the IHR. Equally critical is the need for prioritisation of climate resilient development and climate adaptation in policy development and implementation. Recognizing the enormous challenge of climate change for the IHR, the Division of Climate Change and Development, Embassy of Switzerland in India is developing a new programme called the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP). The IHCAP is under the Global Programme of Climate Change supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The outline of the programme is being developed in consultation and with

inputs from several organisations including the Government of India and some State Governments in the IHR. The IHCAP builds on capacity and knowledge enhancement related to three pillars:

1. Scientific and technical knowledge cooperation between Indian and Swiss scientific institutions for long-term research in the field of glaciology, hydrology and climatology; and short-term research in the field of science based adaptation;

2. Adaptation measures and risk reduction for vulnerable communities 3. Mainstreaming adaptation policies for improved action in the IHR by linking

grassroots voices with science and policy. Therefore in the context of climate change adaptation (including disaster risk reduction), we would request members to respond to the following keeping in view critical sectors/ themes such as livelihoods, water, agriculture (including land use, horticulture and livestock), disaster risk reduction, climate resilient development, etc. in the IHR Eco-system:

• What are the methodologies that have been applied/available to conduct Climate/Hazard Risk and Climate Vulnerability Assessment?

• What have been the community experiences/responses to climate change impacts and disaster risks in the mountains?

• What policies and programmes presently exists/that could be put in place to strengthened/promote adaptation and what are the constraints /barriers in up-scaling/implementing them?

In addition please share potential innovative areas of research that need to be taken up for better understanding of climate change and disaster impacts at micro and macro level in the IHR. Your inputs will help us in formulating the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP). The contributions of members would be suitably acknowledged. Responses were received, with thanks, from 1. Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Udaipur, Rajasthan 2. Sandeep Srivastava, Shohratgarh Environmental Society (SES), Lucknow, Uttar

Pradesh 3. Rudra Prasad Nandi, Sea Explorers' Institute, Kolkata 4. Arvind Sinha, UNDP-BCPR, New Delhi 5. Shalini Misra, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development

Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand 6. Himadri Maitra, Department Of Disaster Management, Kolkata, West Bengal 7. Swayamprabha Das, New Delhi 8. Ramesh Jalan & G Padmanabhan, UNDP, New Delhi 9. Archana Chatterjee, Regional Programme on Himalayan High altitude wetlands,

WWF-India, New Delhi 10. P. C. Joshi, Department of Anthropology, Delhi University, Delhi 11. N K Agarwal, Dehradun 12. Rudra Prasanna Rath, , State Child Health Resource Centre, Orissa 13. Sunder Subramanian, Gurgaon, Haryana 14. Sejuti Basu, Pragya, Gurgaon, Haryana 15. K N Vajpai, Climate Himalaya Initiative, Uttarakhand 16. Mustafa Ali Khan, Climate Connect, New Delhi

17. Kriti Nagrath, , Development Alternatives, New Delhi 18. Manu Gupta, SEEDS, New Delhi Further contributions are welcome! Summary of Responses Comparative Experiences Related Resources Responses in Full Summary of Responses The IHCAP could play a pivotal role in ensuring a sustainable future of the Himalayan region by addressing the impacts of climate change. Collaborating with existing programs and projects could help IHCAP achieve exceptional results and avoid duplication. The experiences, examples and issues shared by members include the following: The respondents shared the following methodologies that could be utilized for conducting Climate/Risk hazard and Climate Vulnerability Assessment:

• Literature review and data analysis: Review of literature and analysis of meteorological data, historical disaster related data, recent weather changes data etc..

• Surveys and interviews: Conducting surveys and interviews in the local community. • Methodologies: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD),

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), United Kingdom, Ramsar particularly for Wetlands and IPCC framework for Vulnerability Assessment could be used in the IHCAP.

The community experiences related to impacts of climate change and disaster risk include:

• Variations in precipitation: change in the rainfall pattern with fewer rainy days; more intense rainfall during rainy days, reduction of snowfall during the winter etc.. Due to excessive rain major disasters occurred in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh (HP).

• Water scarcity: Extreme water scarcity caused primarily due to reduced discharge of water in springs and lower water flow into rivulets.

• Changes in flowering pattern and climate change impact on food production: The Rhododendron, litchis, peaches etc. flower early and wheat crop is growing spikes before time. Citrus fruit production is being curtailed in Sonali village in Chamoli district, HP.

• Behavioral change in wildlife: Districts in HP and Uttarakhand have been experiencing attack of wild life on crops due to reduced forest produce.

• Impact on tourism: Changes in rainfall pattern, increasing frequency of disasters is resulting in decline in tourism. For example, heavy rains this year hampered the Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand.

• Increasing risk of disasters: Around forty villages in Chinyalisaur block of Uttarkashi district in Garhwal have been affected by seepage of water from the Tehri dam. Rains are breaking record for the last 10-years in Garhwal, increasing risk of floods.

• Impact on cattle: Due to heavy snowfall and harsh weather conditions death of cattle is increasing. Further, there is not enough fodder available in many parts of the IHR.

• Impact on infrastructure: Houses, roads, commercial buildings etc. are damaged by frequent disasters and adverse climatic conditions.

• Changes in river water flows, adversely impacting Hydro Power Generation: In Bhutan, the change in river water flows caused by colder, drier winters and warmer, wetter summers is threatening its ambitious hydroelectric power plans. Similar impacts are being observed in India as well.

• Occurrence and risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs): Melting of glacial ice due to warmer summers has led to the creation of lakes leading to increased frequency and higher risk of GLOFs.

• Traditional water harvesting: In Kangra district of HP, Khatri, a kind of percolation tank with dimension of 10’x10’x10’ or more is being used for storage of water for drinking and other uses. In Rajasthan also traditional techniques of water harvesting are being used by communities.

• Migration: Communities are migrating to other regions due to impacts of climate change, adverse climatic conditions and increased disaster risks.

Existing policies and programmes and suggestions for new programs include:

• Enhancing awareness on climate change: Developing different innovative knowledge products; promoting use of eco-friendly materials and inclusion of climate related issues in the curriculum of schools and colleges. Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO), People’s Science Institute, Himalayan Action Research Centre, Sri Bhuvaneswari Mahila Ashram and Research Advocacy & Communication in Himalayan Areas (RACHNA) are enhancing awareness on climate change in the region. A “Community Led Assessment, Awareness, Advocacy and Action Programme for Environment Protection and Carbon Neutrality” in the State of HP (HP-CLAP) is being implemented by Development Alternatives (DA). The Climate Change Leaders Programme of LEAD India in the Himalayas could be utilized for creating awareness at the community level. Climate Himalaya Initiative focuses on adaptation in Himalayan region through awareness generation, knowledge networking as well.

• Research on climate change impacts: Scientific community and academic institutions need to be involved in a structured and systemic manner to conduct research on impacts of climate change. For example, Pragya has been working on threat assessment and identifying vulnerable hotspots in the high altitude Himalayas, particularly in Jammu & Kashmir and HP. In 2006-2008, it conducted a series of detailed studies in the cold desert region of the Indian Himalayas.

• Documenting and using traditional knowledge: There is a need to document traditional knowledge for assisting the community in its adaptation efforts.

• Women empowerment and gender sensitive adaptation programs: Improvement in education of women, providing access to market etc. will empower women.

• Conserving forests in Himalayan region: There is a need to prevent deforestation and conserve the forest ecosystem.

• Promotion of eco-tourism: Home stays, eco-tourism, particularly in rural areas need to be promoted to provide alternate livelihood options.

• Land and watershed management programs: It is important to develop specific land and watershed management programs for the Himalayan region.

• Development of Early warning systems and training on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Early warning systems and training programs for communities on DRR need to be developed. For example, WWF-India has a programme in Ladakh involving training of youth on DRR.

• Adaptation Programmes being implemented include: o State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC): The SAPCC are being

prepared for a majority of the states in IHR, utilizing a consultative process for its design and subsequent implementation.

o Working group under the Planning Commission: A working group under the Planning Commission to address issues affecting the IHR is being formulated.

o Adaptation component in MGNREGA and NDMA programs: Adaptation projects could be linked to MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) programmes.

• Replication of success stories: Replicating success stories of organic farming, Eco-tourism, Bamboo based livelihood, water mills, Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) & Joint Forest Management (JFM) needs to be encouraged.

• Promotion of climate resilient buildings: Climate resilient buildings involving innovative features including passive solar heating; stone foundation, corner reinforcements for disaster risk reduction; use of compressed stabilised earth blocks in walls up to the sill level to withstand damage from water logging and use of local materials and resources needs to be promoted in the IHR. For example, SEEDS and Ladakh Ecological Development Group have been promoting Climate Resilient Housing in the Ladakh region.

Comparative Experiences Rajasthan Unaware of the Term 'Climate Change', Local Communities Prepare Themselves for Adverse Weather Conditions, (from Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Udaipur, Rajasthan ) In the drought affected Aravallis, an NGO through its research concluded that the local community has its own traditional approaches to face challenges due to climate change. They adopt strategies (livelihood, water security, cropping etc.) according to the local weather conditions. Since drought is the main disaster, they are now using traditional techniques of water harvesting. Jammu and Kashmir & Himachal Pradesh Vulnerability Assessment in J&K and HP, (from Sejuti Basu, Pragya, Gurgaon, Haryana) Pragya, a NGO, has been working on threat assessment and identifying vulnerable hotspots in 82 watersheds across J&K and HP. It used strati?ed, nested sampling across four altitude Bands and three hydrological levels in the target bio-geographic regions. Participatory surveys, scienti?c ?eld observations and secondary data collection were conducted to identify the “Vulnerability Hotspots”. Himachal Pradesh Water Conservation Through Traditional Ways, Kangra (from Arvind Sinha, UNDP-BCPR, New Delhi) In Kangra, community uses traditional methods and structures for conserving and harnessing water in the mountains like Khatri, a traditional percolation tank. It has dimension of 10’x10’x10’ and could be made larger depending upon the space available. It requires special skill to dig and select the place for the Kharti. Community in Kagra district is using this structure for storage of water from the mountain top that percolates down in the Khatri. Community Leads Environment Protection Programme (from Kriti Nagrath, Development Alternatives, New Delhi)

Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) is supporting a programme on “Community Led Assessment, Awareness, Advocacy and Action Programme for Environment Protection and Carbon Neutrality” in the State of Himachal Pradesh (HP-CLAP). The programme at the grassroots level is being implemented through a network of eco-clubs, mahila mandals, NGOs including Development Alternatives, WWF, Jagriti etc.. Ladakh Training Youth on Disaster Preparedness, (from Archana Chatterjee, Regional Programme on Himalayan High altitude wetlands, WWF-India, New Delhi) In the aftermath of Ladakh cloudburst, WWF-India applied Climate witness approach and documented community experiences with scientific backstopping. From the experiences it clearly emerged that communities are not prepared for disasters hitherto unknown in their region. WWF-India is training youth on disaster preparedness in the region. Climate Resilient Housing in Ladakh, (from Jai Kumar Gaurav, UNDP, New Delhi) SEEDS and Ladakh Ecological Development Group is supporting development of climate resilient housing using local material. It includes using stone foundations, corner reinforcements for disaster resistance; use of compressed stabilised earth blocks in the walls up to the sill level to withstand damage from water logging. Related Resources

Recommended Documentation From Shalini Misra, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand Spring in winter Article; by Ms. Shalini Misra; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development; Down to Earth; Uttrakhand; 2007; Available at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2997

Article elaborates on changes in flowering pattern and its possible impacts on productivity and food security.

Lets celebrate Spring Article; by Ms. Shalini Misra; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development; Down to Earth; Uttrakhand; May, 2009; Available at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/3109

Article provides details of changes in flowering pattern in Himalayan region and its impact on social customs.

Floods and Politics Article; by Ms. Shalini Misra; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development; Down to Earth; Uttrakhand; May, 2009; Available at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/1965

Article highlights impact of heavy rains coupled with rise in water of Tehri dam in the region.

Mountain Women- Key Drivers of Change Article; by Ms. Shalini Misra; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development; Climate Himalaya; Uttrakhand; May, 2009;

Available at http://chimalaya.org/2011/08/08/mountain-women-key-drivers-of-change/ Article focuses on the importance of understanding the functioning of mountain ecosystem in context of livelihood and women.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) Available at http://pmindia.nic.in/climate_change.htm (PDF; Size: 19 MB)

Outlines the national strategy to enable the country adapt to climate change and enhance the ecological sustainability of India’s development path.

IPCC framework for Vulnerability Assessment Document; by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New Delhi; 2007; Available at http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg2/en/ch2s2-2.html

Methodology recommended in the framework has been used in Sikkim and Arunachal to identify the most vulnerable districts.

From Mustafa Ali Khan, Climate Connect, New Delhi Land use dynamics and landscape change pattern in a typical micro watershed in the mid elevation zone of central Himalaya, India Article; by Ms. K. S. Rao and Ms. Rekha Pant; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development; Uttrakhand; 31 August 2000; Available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880900002747

Highlights the land use land cover change pattern and policies leading to such impacts. Patterns and ecological implications of agricultural land-use changes: a case study from central Himalaya, India Article; by R. L. Semwal, S. Nautiyal, K. K. Sen, U. Rana, R. K. Maikhuri, K. S. Rao and K. G. Saxena; Uttrakhand; 31 August 2003; Available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880903002287

Article elaborates on land use and land cover changes and their impact on yield, manure input, soil loss and run-off in the Pranmati watershed.

Recommended Organizations and Programmes Rajputana Society of Natural History, Rajasthan (from Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Udaipur, Rajasthan ) Kesar Bhawan, 16/747, P. No. 90, B/d Saraswati Hosp., Ganeshnagar, Pahada; Tel: +91 294 2470690; Contact Mr. Satya Prakash Mehra; Advisor; spmehra@yahoo.com

Organization involved in CCA and DRR work in the state; have researched on meteorological data, disaster vulnerability, recent weather changes and their correlations.

G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand (from Shalini Misra, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand) Kosi, Almora, Uttrakhand, 263463; nfo@gbpihed.nic.in ; www.gbpihed.gov.in;

Focal agency for advancing scientific knowledge and evolving integrated management strategies in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

Climate Change Leaders in the Himalayas programme, New Delhi (from Swayamprabha Das, New Delhi)

LEAD INDIA, 66, 1st Floor, Hemkunt Colony, New Delhi - 110048, +91 11 26225790 92, 41638440; +91 11 26225791, http://www.leadindia.org/beta/?p=climatechangeli; office@leadindia.org

LEAD India (supported by the British High Commission) had trained 56 people across the regions from different backgrounds on climate change issues.

From Archana Chatterjee, Regional Programme on Himalayan High altitude wetlands, WWF-India, New Delhi International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal G.P.O. Box 3226, Khumaltar, Kathmandu, Nepal; Tel: 977-1-5003222; Fax: 977-1-5003299/77; http://www.icimod.org/?page=abt

Knowledge development and learning centre serving the countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas and assisting them on climate change related issues.

WWF- India, New Delhi WWF Programme, WWF-India, 172 B, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi- 110003; Tel: +91 11 4150 4815; Fax: +91 11 2469 1226; http://wwfindia.org/about_wwf/reducing_footprint/living_ganga/;

WWF has undertaken several scientific studies, hydrological modeling studies, developed Vulnerability Assessment (VA) protocols for Himalayas.

Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), United Kingdom, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW; +44 (0)1248 374500; +44 (0)1248 362133; http://www.ceh.ac.uk/

Centre has developed methodologies that have been applied to conduct climate and Hazard Risk and Climate Vulnerability Assessment.

Ramsar, Switzerland Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, Tel.: +41 22 999 0170, Fax: +41 22 999 0169; ramsar@ramsar.org; http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-home/main/ramsar/1_4000_0__ ;

Organization involved in conservation of wetlands and has developed a framework for Vulnerability Assessment in high altitude regions.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi NDMA Bhawan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029; Tel: 91-11-26701700; info@ndma.gov.in; http://ndma.gov.in/ndma/aboutus.htm ; Contact Brigadier (Dr). B. K. Khanna; bkkhanna2@gmail.com; 9911297972

Apex body mandated to lay down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management and also provides support to other countries affected by major disasters.

National Rural Employment Gaurantee Act (NREGA), New Delhi Ministry of Rural Development,Krishi Bhawan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi 110001; Tel: 91-11-2338-5027; Fax: 91-11-2688-8254 psjspa.rd@nic.in; www.rural.nic.in

National Employment Guarantee Scheme provides 100 days of employment to rural poor and can be collaborated with to conduct adaptation work.

From P. C. Joshi, Department of Anthropology, Delhi University, Delhi Himalyan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation, Uttrakhand Village : Shuklapur, P.O. : Ambiwala, Via: Prem Nagar, Dehradun, Uttrakhand, INDIA; Tel: 09411109073, 09412932511, 09411112402; dranilpjoshi@gmail.com; http://www.hesco.in/

Works to promote use of indigenous knowledge for finding solutions to reduce mountain hazards along with providing scientific inputs.

People’s Science Institute, Uttrakhand 653, Indira Nagar, Dehra Doon - 248 006, Uttarakhand, T: 0135 – 2763649; F: 0135 – 2763650; http://peoplesscienceinstitute.org/#

Organization involved in community-led watershed-based livelihoods development, environmental quality monitoring and dissemination of appropriate technologies.

Himalayan Action Research Centre, Uttrakhand 744 Indiranagar, Phase 2, PO New Forest, Dehradun 248 006 Uttaranchal; T: 0135-760121

Conducts research on issues such as Survey of Natural Resource of Central Himalayas and is involved in development and planning based on biotic resources.

Research Advocacy & Communication in Himalayan Areas, Uttrakhand 47/33/2 Park Road, Laxman Chowk, Dehradun, Uttarakhand- 248001, India; Contact: Mr. Manoj Bhatt, Executive Director, manojbtt@gmail.com

Nonprofit organization working for promotion of green businesses, policies, practices etc. for lasting protection of the Himalayan ecosystems.

Pragya, Haryana (from Sejuti Basu) 766, Udyog Vihar, Phase-V, Gurgaon-122 016, Haryana; +91 124 4574500; +91 124 2341559; info@pragya.org; http://www.pragya.org/

Organization involved in threat assessments and identifying vulnerable hotspots in the high altitude Himalayan region.

SEEDS, New Delhi (from Manu Gupta, SEEDS India, New Delhi) 15/A, First Floor, R.K.Puram, Sector-4, Institutional Area, New Delhi-110022, India; Tel: 91-11-26174272; Fax: 91-11-26174572; http://www.seedsindia.org/home.html ;

SEEDS is a non-profit organisation that seeks to protect the lives and livelihoods of people exposed to natural disasters and are living in disaster prone areas.

Recommended Portals and Information Bases Himalyan Voices, Pragya, Haryana (from Sejuti Basu, Pragya, Gurgaon, Haryana) http://www.himalayanvoices.org/?q=media/voices/videos; http://www.himalayanvoices.org/?q=media/voices/interviews/4

Collection of Audio-Visual clips and interview transcripts from the field under the initiative called 'Himalayan Voices' to address the existing information gap in the Himalayas.

Climate Himalaya, Prakriti, Uttrakhand (from K N Vajpai) http://chimalaya.org; info@climatehimalaya.net

Organization connecting various institutions, leaders etc. working in the Himalayan region to encourage collaborative actions at local, regional and international level.

Related Consolidated Replies Developing a Training Module for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change, from Sarat Panda, UNDP, Thimphu (Advice; Experiences). Solution Exchange Bhutan; Issued 26/May/2010 Available at: http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.bt/cr/cr-se-bhutan-26051002.pdf (PDF, Size: 143 KB)

Provides inputs for developing a training module on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation through effective natural resource management.

Developing a PPP Framework for Climate Change Adaptations and DRR Efforts - Advice; Examples from Tanvi Patel, Centre for Integrated Development, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.Climate Change and Disaster Management Community, New Delhi Issued 7/September/2010. Available at: ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-drm-27071001.pdf (PDF; Size: 147 KB)

Elaborates possible frameworks that could be effectively used in order to include public/private partnerships for climate change adaptation and DRR.

Developing Climate Responsive Approaches to Managing Disaster Risk from Amit Tuteja, SEEDS, New Delhi for Alliance for Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Disaster Management and Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 30/June/2010. Available at: ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-drm-clmt-28051001.pdf (PDF Size: 276 KB)

Shares experiences of adaptation to Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes, and identifies key challenges faced in implementing them.

Climate Himalaya Initiative, from K. N. Vajpai, Prakriti- A Mountain Environment Group, Uttarakhand (Examples; Advice). Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 01/June/2010. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-06041001.pdf (PDF,112 KB)

Themes to be covered under the initiative and ideas to make the electronic platform more interactive were highlighted.

Climate Change and the Himalayan Eco-system, from Pragya Varma, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) - India, New Delhi (Experiences, Referrals). Climate Change Community, Delhi, Issued 16/October/2009. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-11090901-public.pdf (PDF,157 KB)

Case studies on impact of Climate Change on Himalayas as Inputs to the Conference organized by LEAD India were highlighted.

Enabling Conservation of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Knowledge for Climate Adaptation, from Tenzing Ingty, ATREE, Bangalore, (Experiences; Advice). Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 17/June/2011. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-food-13051101.pdf (PDF,196 KB)

Measures to promote eco-tourism, conserve medicinal plants, traditional knowledge and certification of traditional healers have been highlighted.

Enhancing the Reach and Effectiveness of Climate Himalaya Initiative Knowledge Sharing Platform, from K. N. Vajpai, Climate Himalaya Initiative, Uttarakhand, (Advice). Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 21/July/2011. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-10061101.pdf (PDF,152 KB)

Suggestions included on steps to make the CHI Knowledge sharing platform more interactive and additional themes, resources, activities that could be added.

Climate Change in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, from Krishna S. Vatsa, Bureau of Crisis prevention and Recovery-UNDP, New Delhi (Experiences; Examples). Climate Change Community and Disaster Management Community, New Delhi,

Issued 11/January/2011. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-drm-14121001.pdf (PDF,142 KB)

Climate Change impacts, adaptation and mitigation measures adopted in the eco-fragile Hindu Kush Himalayas were discussed.

Disaster Risk Reduction in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, from Krishna S. Vatsa, Bureau of Crises Prevention and Recovery-UNDP, New Delhi (Experiences). Disaster Management Community and Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 21/December/2010. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/drm/cr/cr-se-drm-clmt-16111001.pdf (PDF,276 KB)

Experiences of DRR in Hindu Kush Himalayas, community responses and role of government institutions were discussed.

Enhancing Awareness on Climate Change in the Northeast, from R. N. Boipu Koireng, United NGO's Mission, Imphal, Manipur (Experiences, Advice). Climate Change Community, New Delhi, Issued 05/August/2011. Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-16061101.pdf (PDF,188 KB)

Includes experiences of communicating about ‘climate change’ to communities and suggests appropriate climate change related issues for the Northeast.

Responses in Full Satya Prakash Mehra, Rajputana Society of Natural History, Udaipur, Rajasthan Greetings!! This query is in fact helpful for all the members at least in developing nations. As per our working experiences in Rajasthan, here are my inputs: 1. Methodology: We used two approaches - first, review of literature of particular region in question related to the meteorological data, disaster vulnerability (historical perspectives), recent weather changes in the region and the correlations with the other aspects collected (second approach) through surveys, interviews etc. with the concerned local community. The biodiversity components were also used along with their relations with indirect factors due to local climate changes. 2. Community responses/experiences: We were more concerned with the microclimatic conditions of Aravallis (environmental conditions of which are a lot different from the Himalayas). We found that the local community has got their own traditional approaches to meet the challenges of climate change though they are least aware of the term 'climate change'. The local community adapts their strategy (livelihood, water security, cropping etc.) according to the local weather conditions. This may be short term change or long term as per their experience and circumstances (scientifically, as per the local predictions/ weather conditions). Since drought is the main disaster for the communities of the Aravallis (for example, Abu Hills), therefore, they have the traditional techniques of water harvesting which is being used for many years. Further, local movement within lower/ higher altitudinal ranges/ terrains along with their herds/ cattle are also adapting to the adverse conditions. In the lower terrains, there are sites with flooding (eastern parts of Rajasthan), community has the option to move away from the flooding areas but they usually retain the land for the agricultural practices and as per the water availability they decide the cropping pattern too.

3. Policies/ programmes: Though, there exist lot of policies and governmental programmes for the disaster prone areas but lack of awareness as well as lack of proper implementation leads to failure of these programs. Lack of coordination within governmental departments and with NGOs/ social workers etc. worsens the conditions. Potential Innovative Areas of Research: These include involvement of traditional approaches/ methodologies adapted by the local communities for adapting to climatic change or disasters within their regions experienced by them. In many areas, the traditional approach may not be documented but are in existence and passed from generation to generation through folklore. These should get properly documented and should be given priority in the policies and programmes for the community. Thus, policies and programmes should be planned from the lower level (local community) to higher level (scientific community/ policy makers) so that ground reality could be included. Sandeep Srivastava, Shohratgarh Environmental Society (SES), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Our organization is working in the Tarai Region of Uttar Pradesh. In my viewpoint, following can be a part of the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP):

• Constraints to adaptive practices (including physical, social, economic). • Historical/traditional knowledge regarding agriculture and climate, and passing down of

adaptive strategies from one generation to another. • Knowledge and learning patterns and structure. • Existing institutional structures and behavior that may facilitate or hinder innovation and

/or adaptation to climate change. • Exchanges within the community (internal) and with outside farmer communities

(external), including through migration. • Farmer organizations/network (formal/informal), especially groups of farmers and their

innovations. • Household priorities and behavior, in terms of flexibility towards adaptive change and

belief in investing in new innovations. Last but not the least, engage local partners in targeted areas, as they are the best to bring out information, knowledge & suggestion from the community. Rudra Prasad Nandi, Sea Explorers' Institute, Kolkata Climate change will have far-reaching consequences for agriculture that will disproportionately affect the poor. Greater risks of crop failures and livestock deaths are already imposing economic losses and undermining food security and they are likely to get far more severe as global warming continues. Adaptation measures are needed urgently to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change, facilitated by concerted international action and strategic country planning. As a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, agriculture also has much untapped potential to reduce emissions through reduced deforestation and changes in land use and agricultural practices. But for this to be achieved, the current global carbon enhancing mechanism needs to change. For example, Agriculture in low-lying areas in some developing countries would also be damaged by ?ooding and salinization caused by sea level rise and salt water intrusions in groundwater aquifers. Less precipitation would reduce the availability of water for irrigation from surface and groundwater sources in some areas. Access to perennial surface water may be particularly

vulnerable in semiarid regions, especially in parts of Africa and in irrigated areas dependent on glacial melt. Between 75 and 250 million people are expected to experience increased water stress in Africa. In all affected regions, the poor will be disproportionately vulnerable to its effects because of their dependence on agriculture and their lower capacity to adapt. Adapting agricultural systems to climate change is urgent because its impact is already evident and the trends will continue even if emissions of GHG emissions are stabilized at current levels. Adaptation can substantially reduce the adverse economic impact. Arvind Sinha, UNDP-BCPR, New Delhi Thanks for bringing the e-discussion on such a vital issue about Indian Himalayas. Himalayas are very sensitive to climate and it is also very responsive to any human action and intervention. Climate is the lifeline for the mountain people for their livelihood and habitation. Good climatic condition is not only responsible for high yield in agriculture and horticulture but it also contributes to the economy by promotion of tourism, traditional handicrafts, availability of medicinal plants and fresh water. Climate variability has direct bearing on the livelihood support system. Scientific community and academic institutions are involved in measuring the impact of climate change in the mountain area by way of studying the glacial retreat, variation in precipitation, snow modeling and so on. Community measures the impact by measuring the changes in physical appearance. I had an opportunity to work in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir with community in association with civil society. I worked on project called, Regional Climate Risk Reduction in Himalayas with UNDP-Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (UNDP-BCPR). Risk identification in terms of climate induced disasters and development of some measures for reducing the risk to the community was a major component of the project. I would like to take you through some assessment processes in the context of Climate Hazards, Risk and Vulnerability as we are in the process of discussing pertinent issues related to climate change and find out the perceptions of the community. I am sharing some of the views of community about the understanding/perception of climate change as given below:

• Decrease in rain fall, shorter span of rainy season, untimely and unseasonal rain and shifting of geographical location of rain fall. Shifting of geographical location of rain fall has caused a major disaster in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is known as the cold desert and receives very less rain for shorter period. It received a lot of rain this year for extended period and it has impacted badly on the topography. District head quarter of Kinnaur has developed lots of cracks in the land mass and buildings. Communities see it as an impact of climate change, which has brought more rain to this cold desert and it has resulted in sinking of Rekang Peo. Scientific study is being commissioned to understand the facts.

• Community also relates to it with the diminishing of crops and livelihood options. Few

years ago, Sonali village in Chamoli district had good harvest of oranges and other citrus fruit as one of the source of food. Nowadays, its production has gone down and it is not available in the village. It is also perceived by the community that its production has reduced and diminished due to climate change.

• Community also perceives that behavior of wild life has changed in recent past due to

climate change. Most of the districts in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been experiencing the attack of wild life on the crops. It has been perceived that there is not

much forest produce available in the forest to feed the wild life which is now being attracted towards the agriculture produce. Crops are being ruined by monkeys and bears to a large extent. It is also related to climate change as perceived by the community. Forest cover is reduced and it is forcing the wild life to invade into human settlements. If the trend continues, it would create food insecurity in the mountain.

There is an urgent need to enhance the knowledge, information and skills among local communities, Panchayats and government agencies on climate change issues. Following strategies could be adopted to enhance understanding about climate related issues:

1. Engage different scientific and research institutions in developing people centric awareness strategy on climate change adaptation for common people;

2. Establish and strengthen the institutional mechanism to develop different innovative knowledge products on climate related issues to impart knowledge to government institutions and panchayats;

3. Develop and impart training courses on climate change to policy makers and orientation for executive body in government organizations;

4. Create an enabling environment at home, public and work place by writing slogans, instructions and using eco friendly materials;

5. Inclusion of climate related issues and knowledge in the curriculum of schools and colleges.

I will like to share one initiative for water conservation undertaken in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. There are several processes that have been adopted to conserve water in a traditional way. Communities are using lots of traditional methods and structures for conserving and harnessing water in the mountains. Khatri is a kind of percolation tank, which is dug in the mountain. It has dimension of 10’x10’x10’ and could be more depending upon the space available. It requires special skill to dig and select the place for kharti. Community in Kagra district is using this structure for storage of water from the mountain top, which percolates down in the Khatri. Community was using stored water for their house hold work and drinking purposes. Few places in Kabgra are known as changer (It is local name, meaning desert). Most of the Khatri are present in these changer locations. People have started realizing the change in rain fall in this area and it is reducing day by day. It has also started impacting agriculture and vegetable produce of this area. Community thought about some value addition in the process of harnessing water from khatri for sustaining their agriculture produce. Unfortunately, Kharti does not store that much water so that larger agriculture produce could be sustained. Community then took a mid path by developing some kitchen gardens in their homes to grow some vegetable with the help of little water from Kharti. It was very helpful for fulfilling their daily needs of vegetables for a family of 5 members. Then they decided to connect Kitchen garden with small pipes to grow vegetables with little amount of water from the Khatri. It could be considered as one of the examples of adaptation in the context of climate change and change in rain fall pattern. Shalini Misra, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand

I am a researcher from G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (www.gbpihed.gov.in) and the focus of my research has been on understanding the functioning of ecosystems, particularly forests and adjoining village ecosystems, the pressures on them both climatic and non-climatic (natural and man-made) and the development of a framework for assessment of vulnerability so as to suggest an adaptation framework for forest and village ecosystems. I am giving below links of my publications: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2997; http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/3109) which can be used for planning research on developing adaptation strategies, which are rooted at community level and draw from scientific assessments. These are essential for achieving climate resilience to help protect the poor, who are most vulnerable. My publications can help provide a glimpse of community responses and observations as these publications are based on community responses generated through personal interviews, discussions and group discussions with elderly people particularly women (as they have a better idea about changing weather conditions in last couple of decades) with methodologies for initiating your work. Detailed archival reports were also reviewed along with literature in different libraries of Uttarakhand. In addition potential innovative areas of research that need to be taken up for better understanding of climate change and disaster impacts at micro and macro level in the IHR apart from agriculture, forestry and livelihood (though they are one of the most important areas of research on Climate Change (CC) in IHR where locals are hit invariably). They are also trying to adapt with their available capacities and resources as climate in Himalayas has never been consistent and locals have faced disasters in the form of land slides, cloud burst, storms, floods, famines almost every year. They have tried to evolve their life style according to climate extreme events. What I personally think is that research needs to some how also cover the issue of CC and adaptations with linkages to upcoming hydro electric projects. This would be extremely relevant as in most of the high altitude areas either these projects are working, or under construction or are proposed and their implementation has accelerated the pace of disasters for the locals who would be hit the hardest in the near future (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/1965). Gender can also be an interesting issue (http://chimalaya.org/2011/08/08/mountain-women-key-drivers-of-change/) . Working on health aspects of CC is also an important area for IHR. Regarding policies and programmes I think if this research comes up some brilliant results can in a big way strengthen National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) in which sustainable agriculture and Himalayan ecosystems both are a major work areas. Hope this can help you in some way to initiate your interesting work. Himadri Maitra, Department Of Disaster Management, Kolkata, West Bengal Climate change, development and disaster are correlated to each other. Climate change can cause disaster and disaster can also have the potential to change the climate. Likewise developments for the last 100 years are directly affecting the climate. In fact, industrial development is supposed to be the main cause of climate change. Alternatively, climate change can also hamper development; this is true also that disaster hamper development and some developments also trigger disasters.

So, there is a clear correlation amongst disasters, development and climate change. Here we mean development as social development mainly which is hampered by disaster and climate change, whereas structural development causes climate change or disasters. Since long we have spent on structural development, building capacity of people in this field completely but ignoring disaster risk reduction factors in designing these structures. In climate change adaptation we want to involve the community and want to sensitize them regarding the effect of climate change on their livelihood. In Himalayan region people depends on nature basically for their livelihood. Marginalized people choose their living places in most vulnerable areas. They excavate mines, quarries in unstable slopes of Himalayas. Flow of water in rivers that is fed by glaciers are reducing, thus ultimately reducing the scope of agriculture which is the main livelihood support of rural India. So, when we try to introduce community based climate change adaptability vis-a-vis Disaster Risk Reduction to marginalized people, the first question will be the question of livelihood, i.e., what will happen to their livelihood. Risk perception for these people is not same as we perceive them. Their livelihood is at risk, so they do not bother if they are creating any risk to the environment or not in the process of earning their livelihood. Thus, when we plan a project on climate change adaptation and want to involve community in the project, that means if we want to plan for a community based climate change adaptation (CBCCA) or community based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), we plan first for an alternative livelihood programme for the local people. Secondly, development planners and structural designers should be sensitized to the effect that the future development programmes needs to take care of disaster related risks. Thirdly, specialists of climate change, disaster risk reduction and development should sit together and jointly plan to save Himalayan region. Traditional local knowledge and scientific knowledge needs to evolve a common platform so that the community gets the benefit of both scientific and traditional knowledge. Swayamprabha Das, New Delhi Climate Change in the Himalayas is indeed of importance as it impacts the lives and livelihoods of millions of people living in the region and also the communities dependent on associated rivers emanating from the Himalayas. In the context of climate change, an ecosystem approach (which includes humans) needs to be considered. There are two important issues I would like to flag here -

1. Degrading/ degraded ecosystems will be adversely impacted than others, so it is of utmost importance to identify and prioritize these areas for action. Land degradation is one of the major problems in the Himalayas, where unsustainable mountain agricultural practices have impacted not only the land but also the associated ecosystems. It is therefore of utmost importance to consider land management and also watershed management in the Himalayas. Pasture lands should also be considered in the context of livestock management and programs & policies in this context should be analyzed and revised (if need be!)

2. Cold deserts in the Himalayas should be given due importance as any change in the precipitation levels incapacitates the community who are unaware of such climatic events and not prepared for eventualities. This could be considered from the ecosystem management perspective as well as disaster management.

Secondly, in agreement with Shalini Misra, Gender should be one of the areas of consideration as women have a direct interaction with the environment and are also impacted by variations in the surroundings. Thirdly, the culture and traditions of the mountain communities are related to seasons, specially winters & snow covers. It has been documented that some of the traditions, which are dependent on snow cover and the duration of winters are no longer been followed due to changes in the climatic patterns. These may impact the social structure of the communities and need to be considered. Last, considering that there are a large number of organizations and initiatives already in the region, an assessment of policies and programmers already in place would reduce duplicity of efforts and support replication of best practices. Further, the Climate Change Leaders in the Himalayas programme of LEAD India (supported by the British High Commission) had trained 56 people across the regions from different backgrounds. IHCAP could possibly consider their engagement/ participation, as appropriate. Ramesh Jalan & G Padmanabhan, UNDP, New Delhi Thanks for the overwhelming response to the above query, so far. We are highlighting the experiences, examples and issues shared by members while responding to the query till now. The respondents shared the following methodologies used for conducting Climate/Risk hazard and Climate Vulnerability Assessment:

• Literature review and data analysis: Review of literature and analysis of meteorological data, historical disaster related data; recent weather changes data etc..

• Surveys and interviews: Conducting surveys and interviews in the local community. • Methodologies: It is advisable to use the methodologies developed: International

Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), United Kingdom, Ramsar particularly for Wetlands and using the IPCC framework for Vulnerability Assessment.

The community experiences related to impacts of climate change and disaster risk shared included:

• Variations in rainfall: Decrease or increase in rainfall, shorter span of rainy season etc.. Major disasters in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh were caused due to excessive rain.

• Changes in flowering pattern and climate change impact on food production: The Rhododendron, litchis, peaches etc. flower early and wheat crop is growing spikes before time. Citrus fruit production has stopped in Sonali village in Chamoli district, HP.

• Impact on cultural practices: Spring flowers bloom earlier than usual in Uttarakhand disrupting the annual festivities. The rituals to celebrate spring are done without the flowers.

• Behavioral change in Wildlife: Districts in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been experiencing attack of wild life on the crops due to reduced forest produce.

• Impact on Tourism: Changes in rainfall pattern, increasing frequency of disasters lead to reduction in tourism. Heavy rains hampered the Char Dham pilgrimage this season.

• Increasing risk of disasters: Around forty villages in Chinyalisaur block of Uttarkashi district in Garhwal have been affected by seepage of water from the Tehri dam. Rains are breaking record for last 10-years in Garhwal, increasing risk of floods.

The members shared following community responses to climate change impacts and disaster risks:

• Traditional water harvesting: In Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh Khatri, a kind of percolation tank with dimension of 10’x10’x10’ or more is being used for storage of water for drinking and other uses particularly for kitchen gardens.

• Migration: Communities are migrating to other regions due to impacts of climate change and increased disaster risks.

Existing policies and programmes and suggestions for new programs included:

• Enhancing Awareness on Climate Change: Developing different innovative knowledge products is crucial; promoting use of eco-friendly materials and inclusion of climate related issues in the curriculum of schools and colleges.

• Research on climate change impacts: Scientific community and academic institutions are involved in research on impacts of climate change. It is crucial to support additional research and utilize research findings in tackling climate change.

• Documenting and using traditional knowledge: There is a need to document traditional knowledge and use it for adaptation.

• Women empowerment and Gender Sensitive Adaptation Programs: Improvement in educational status of women, providing access to market etc. will be empower women for adaptation.

• Adapting agricultural systems to climate change: Adopting climate resilient crops and plants to ensure food security.

• Conserving Forests in Himalayan region: There is a need to prevent deforestation and conserve the forest ecosystem.

• Promotion of Eco-tourism: Home stays, eco-tourism need promotion as it provides alternate livelihood opportunities.

• Community based climate change adaptation (CBCCA) and community based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) projects are required.

• Land and Watershed management programs: It is crucial to develop effective land and watershed management programs in the Himalayan region.

• The Climate Change Leaders in the Himalayas programme: LEAD India program was highlighted and suggestion for its engagement with IHCAP is important.

We request you to respond on other aspects of the query particularly regarding responses of community, existing programs and new programs that could be initiated to strengthen adaptation in order to enrich the discussions even further. Archana Chatterjee, Regional Programme on Himalayan High altitude wetlands, WWF-India, New Delhi Firstly, I would request the query poser to get in touch with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) as they are working on a very similar proposal called HICAP (Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme).The programme goals are to reduce the scientific uncertainty, promote policy frameworks for autonomous adaptation and generate knowledge for informed policy decisions making. This would help develop synergies between the programmes. WWF-India is working on Conservation of Himalayan High altitude wetlands in 5 Himalayan States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh). This

is part of the WWF Regional Programme 'Saving Wetlands Sky High' operational in 5 countries in the region (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and China). Climate adaptation for ecosystems, species and communities is evolving as an integral part of the conservation programme. We have undertaken several scientific studies, hydrological modeling studies, developed Vulnerability Assessment (VA) protocols, and undertaken pilot adaptation initiatives for selected locations in Himalayas. Regarding the query, my responses are as below: What are the methodologies that have been applied/available to conduct climate/Hazard Risk and Climate Vulnerability Assessment? Methodologies have been developed by ICIMOD and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), United Kingdom and also by Ramsar but for Wetlands specifically. WWF-India has used Ramsar framework for VA of high altitude wetlands and based on the field work adapted it to Himalayan high altitude ecosystems and species. For community and livelihoods, IPCC framework for VA has been used in Sikkim and Arunachal to identify the most vulnerable districts based on certain indicators. Data deficiency in Himalayas is a constant constraint to effective VAs, and this is an area where a lot of focus is required. A network of long-term representative Himalayan ecosystem plots for monitoring needs to be identified (on the lines of Biotope system in Switzerland). What have been the community experiences/responses to climate change impacts and disaster risks in the mountains? WWF-India has applied the Climate witness approach and carried out documentation of community experiences with scientific backstopping ( wherever possible). In the aftermath of Ladakh cloudburst disaster last year, it was very clear that communities are not prepared for disasters hitherto unknown in their region, and thus a well thought programme of community preparedness, education and awareness is required. WWF-India has taken up a small programme in Ladakh towards this and is working with the youth by training them. An early warning system is an absolute necessity and this is a potential area for research on what would work in mountains ( keeping in mind the sensitive border zones, presence of army and non availability of radio frequencies due to security reasons) What policies and programmes presently exists/that could be put in place to strengthened/promote adaptation and what are the constraints /barriers in up-scaling/implementing them? State level action plans on climate change (within the framework of NAPCC) are under first level of finalization. WWF-India held policy platform consultations in five states on these issues and also to highlight high altitude region concerns to be reflected in state planning documents. Apart from this Himalaya Mission under NAPCC would be a perfect avenue. The adaptation works could also be linked to MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) training programmes. P. C. Joshi, Department of Anthropology, Delhi University, Delhi The idea of IHCAP is excellent and from its brief introduction the programme speaks loudly of the concerns to the community, especially the marginalized and most vulnerable inhabiting the Indian Himalayas. With such an objective the goal of the programme needs to be facilitating the vulnerable and marginalized section of the society in adapting to climate change and risk

reduction to hazards. Therefore, the process of such a change should be rooted in strengthening the food security and livelihood systems on one hand and increasing the coping capacity and resilience to the hazard risks of the community on the other. While there is no denying of the fact that climate change is occurring in the Himalayas and is affecting the critical resources – water, food and livelihood, in rural areas in particular the consumption pattern has so far not reached the critical level warranting extreme measures. While the urban areas in the Indian Himalayas, Dehradun, Nainital, Shimla have become sterile concrete jungles, the relative absence of population pressure in the rural areas has protected the resources to an extent that some timely interventions and appropriate scientific inputs can go a long way in increasing the coping capacities of the rural communities to the adverse effects of the climate change and disaster risks. In looking for the mechanism to implement such an ambitious programme, the endeavor should be ‘growth’ oriented. By this approach, I have in mind the approach which is capable of strengthening the existing capacities rather than imposing an entirely new and alien structure from outside. While elaborating on this approach, I would like to make a brief mention of the organizations which have a grass root presence in Uttarakhand Himalayas and have been involved in using science to find solutions to mountain hazards. The first such organization that comes to my mind is HESCO. The scope of activities that HESCO has been working on is countless but the basic premise that this organization has always believed in is to start from the indigenous level of knowledge and then improve further upon through scientific inputs. It has its network spread around the Indian Himalayas and its work on the water mills has been exemplary. What is most important is the very innovative work that it has undertaken to empower the rural children through uninterrupted publication of children’s newspaper called ‘Bachchon ka Akhbar’. Besides Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO), People’s Science Institute, Himalayan Action Research Centre, Sri Bhuvaneswari Mahila Ashram and Research Advocacy & Communication in Himalayan Areas (RACHNA) are other committed organization working on the philosophy of empowering the people by inculcating scientific temperament and rational spirit. I personally see the government to be the biggest cause to the problems being faced by the Himalayan communities. In the name of development, progress, industrialization and urbanization, the impact on ecosystem and climate are too visible to be ignored. Therefore, a programme aimed at climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction should be of the people, by the people and for the people. It is necessary that we involve the grass root organizations and people as partners in such a manner that the people are able to live a better and secure life than before. N K Agarwal, Dehradun The Himalayas all along its approximately 2400km length has highly variable disaster potential mainly due to:

• Terrain Inherited Geo-hazards and • Man Induced Geo-hazards.

Hence, community livelihood adaptation strategies in Himalayas need to integrate these two important aspects which are climate change and anthropic inclusive but, a strategy pivoted to climatic change alone is necessarily not inclusive of these two aspects.

Rudra Prasanna Rath, State Child Health Resource Centre, Orissa Two things that come to my mind while finalizing the action plan for climate change- one is the indigenous knowledge of the inhabitants and the second with regard to protection of the Natural Ecosystems. In Orissa, particularly in tribal districts, where shifting cultivation is rampant, tribal’s follow cyclic cultivation pattern so that even if trees are cut for cultivation purpose a space is given to earth so that the same can be regenerated after a fixed interval of time. This is an example of shifting cultivation & ecosystem preservation as well as climate change adoption going in tandem. The second most important thing is linking scientific knowledge of modern day with traditional behavioral pattern. Once scientific intervention cannot save the earth from doom but linking it with communication pattern or traditional behavioral pattern without disturbing the life style of the community is critical. While drafting any action plan for climate change these two things need to be tabbed & clubbed together. Sunder Subramanian, Gurgaon, Haryana I would like to mention a few inputs from a long history of work in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) region as well as from a more recent consulting exercise for KfW, designing the institutional and financial flow mechanisms for their (upcoming) North East climate change adaptation (CCA) programme:

• It is important for states and other governance entities in the HKH that climate change impacts both rural and urban sectors! Therefore, not only is it important to focus on issues such as water, food and livelihood security in the rural context, but also on urban systems and infrastructure.

• What is less obvious is that while a programme can be designed for CCA, it is important to recognize that adaptation and mitigation needs to be hand in hand -- adaptive measures often hinder mitigation, and mitigation measures often run counter to adaptation efforts. Therefore, there is a need for states/their levels of governance entities to develop a larger order and overarching Strategy For Climate Change Response (including both mitigation and adaptation, rural and urban responses, and covering not only livelihoods, natural resource base degradation, and building community resilience, but also adapting the states’ infrastructure base)

• Considering that capacities in the HKH states can be very limited, it is highly recommended that one of the first programme activities needs to be an intensive orientation (3-4 days) exercise on climate change in general, and specifically on adaptation, including the differences between adaptation and mitigation, and the relationship between the two approaches that key personnel (from various levels) from the states (and potentially, the Centre and Region) undergo. Such an orientation session should be specially designed to suit the needs of the Programme – and this, it is anticipated, will bring the states on a common shared platform of understanding on CCA and programming approaches

• It will be evident from the above, then, that the program design/re-design approaches to CCA need to emerge from the overarching state strategies and form an integral part of it, ensuring that a process of mainstreaming adaptation mechanisms in all development programming in the respective states is begun right at the start of programme implementation and adopted/codified in the state policy.

• Since building focussed and successful adaptation strategies and programming will require an assessment of climate change related risks, the building up of time-series data and documenting of anecdotal evidence and analyses of both should become a key element of the overarching State Strategies, thus providing a strong basis for evidence and research based informed policy making and programme design.

• Since climate change and its impacts are as much local and state issues as they are regional and global, it is recommended that States incorporate a Climate Data and Research Wing within the organisational and institutional frameworks which can also be empowered and tasked with connecting to regional and global networks on climate science.

These are some initial remarks; I'd be happy to comment on any strategy drafts that might get developed. Sejuti Basu, Pragya, Gurgaon, Haryana We at Pragya, (www.pragya.org) have been working on threat assessment and identifying vulnerable hotspots in the high altitude Himalayas. In 2006-2008, we conducted a series of detailed studies in the cold desert region of the Trans and Western Indian Himalayas. We followed strati?ed, nested sampling across four Altitude Bands and three hydrological levels in the target bio-geographic regions. Participatory surveys (PRAs), scienti?c ?eld observations and secondary data collection were done for 82 watersheds across Himachal Pradesh and J&K. Criterion variables were used to identify the “Vulnerability Hotspots” and attempts were made at identifying the driving factors (both anthropogenic and natural processes), and determining focus areas for interventions. The details are available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1896526. After the Leh flash flood event in August 2010, post disaster assessment and analysis validated several of these research outputs and predictions. The article also contains a brief description of our interventions for adaptation measures and success stories. Each of these and the whole process involved in design and implementation needs to be understood and localized to suit the context where it is being implemented. Regarding community experiences, you can visit the following links and browse through some Audio-Visual clips and interview transcripts collected from the field. They are part of an initiative called 'Himalayan Voices', aimed to address the existing information gap on the Himalayas. http://www.himalayanvoices.org/?q=media/voices/videos http://www.himalayanvoices.org/?q=media/voices/interviews/4 We are in process of consolidating the collection. There are a number of activities that have already been done or are underway in this field. We hope IHCAP takes all these into account during its developmental phase. K N Vajpai, Climate Himalaya Initiative, Uttarakhand The proposed measures by SDC for the region are much needed. I have been reading the points made by members with great interest, as these areas are of concern at present in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). With our work at Climate Himalaya (http://chimalaya.org) on climate change aspects in IHR and across Himalayan region, we have been learning from a number of researches and interventions. Our role since the last one year remained to connect various institutions, leaders and

interventions, so that people in this region are benefited from collaborative actions at local, regional and international level. Therefore, knowledge networking on various climate change adaptation and mitigation aspects remained our core areas in policy advocacy domain. Voices have also been raised by a group of Parliamentarians from all the 12 Indian Himalayan States recently at the Planning Commission of Government of India, which recommended urgent consideration of the following issues in the 12th Five Year Plan:

• Forming a separate working group under the aegis of Planning Commission to address various mountain related issues. This group will work closely on the unique challenges faced by the mountain ecosystems and its inhabitants.

• Reviewing piecemeal approach adopted by various Ministries like: Ministry of Environment & Forest, Ministry of Development of North East region, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Science & Technology on mountain development issues and

• Considering the recommendations of various Task Forces created for Indian Himalayan Region for inclusion in the 12th Five Year Plan document.

However, in this region three major sectors need attention, i.e. Water, Forest and Agriculture. What are the methodologies that have been applied and available to conduct Climate Hazard Risk and Climate Vulnerability Assessment? Reading through various examples put forth by members about such methodologies, I feel that everyone in this region is new in applying those methods in their various assessments. In the absence of a proven methodology, we need to learn the methodologies applied in other mountain region of the world, and these could be from the Alps or Caucasus mountains. During one of the mountain summits recently, I came across a presentation made on such community based assessment, and found that it was not much different from the assessment we do for various social development purposes, without using the same logic. Further, I find that people who did this assessment had no experience on Climate Hazard or vulnerability assessment. So, before applying any such methodology we need to be cautious on applying them to communities; areas; spread, types of vulnerabilities, sector, processes, agencies in the region, sample size, data collection methods, questionnaire, people being involved in the task etc. What have been the community experiences/responses to climate change impacts and disaster risks in the mountains? It has been learned that climate change is not the only factor which contributed to the vulnerability of mountain communities or threatened their livelihoods. As the communities in mountains have faced challenges from a range of social, economic, political and environmental factors, and the threats from these factors have further been intensified due to the current climate change scenario. (Link: http://bit.ly/qJnxo0) Regarding water, agriculture, forest and disaster following experiences of community in the IHR are being shared:

• Water: While interacting with communities about water resources, we find that people in the region are experiencing high water scarcity for the last 15-20 years caused primarily due reduction in the spring water discharge, less water in rivulets and scanty rainfall. This has led to struggle for water during peak summer season of May-July and lower crop yields in rain fed areas. Further, due to reduced water in rivulets, cropping pattern in irrigated part of mountains has been altered. One study conducted in 2001 and subsequently in 2003 in Uttarakhand showed that 60 % water springs in Garhwal

and Kumaon region received lower discharge during the preceding 10 years and about 20% completely dried up. Also, in last two years we faced long spell of rains during monsoon that led to disaster like situation.

• Agriculture and Forest: During our interaction with various women in Indian Himalayan mountains they feel that due to various natural factors productivity in agriculture has declined and major factor remained the changing and uneven weather conditions in terms of rain (scanty and erratic), harsh weather, temperature rise and increased pests. They also feel that due to uncertain, lower and uneven rain pattern, crop production has been affected and they are switching to cash crops. This has also been elaborated by one of Climate Himalaya's Youth commentator (Link: http://bit.ly/qjEaxp), leading to women drudgery. Similarly there are issues related to agro-pastoral communities in this region. Various mountain communities are now dependent on food supplies from lowland areas.

• Disaster: Last year heavy rain took toll across the region where huge road network collapsed leading to a situation of non availability of food, milk, vegetables etc. Everyone was disconnected with phones not working and there was no electricity for at least a week. We are facing similar situation of heavy rains these days as well. The major reasons according to the community are deforestation and increasing temperature. Similarly one of our Youth Leaders from Pakistan writes about the 2010 Flood in Pakistan and the reasons put forth by the people were deforestation and theft of trees by timber mafia (Link: http://bit.ly/ppO0Yx ), as people were not at all prepared for such an eventuality.

What policies and programmes presently exists/that could be put in place to strengthened/promote adaptation and what are the constraints /barriers in up-scaling/implementing them? In this context each sector in IHR region has its own framework. States like Sikkim, Manipur are far ahead of devising their climate change policies. However, other states in IHR need to be pushed to take it up seriously. The Shimla Declaration (Link : http://bit.ly/nhSfI8 ) still needs a big push where the Chief Ministers of all Himalayan states participated and agreed on climate change issues. Success stories of organic farming, Eco-tourism, Bamboo based livelihood, water mills, Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) & Joint Forest Management (JFM) etc. are some of the areas that need further intensification. Under the NAPCC the 'Himalayan Mission' also needs to rope in all the 12 Himalayan states. Apart from this, as mentioned by fellow members about their work in the direction of climate change in IHR, a serious thought needs to be given in collective action and non-repetition or duplicity. This is the biggest problem in this region where agencies (including government) are reluctant to come together to work for mutual benefits. We come across instances regularly where agencies are even reluctant to share their success stories and good work done in different part of the IHR. In this context I would request you to please go through two of my articles about Knowledge Disconnect and organizing events in the Himalayan region (Link: http://bit.ly/o5DlPn and http://bit.ly/pAdtBX ). I hope the above information is useful in some way. Mustafa Ali Khan, Climate Connect, New Delhi The Himalayan region is characterized by a huge biodiversity wealth, heterogeneity of land use, land cover types and variation in management practices. In addition, new economic policies may

interact in unexpected ways with the existing situation and lead to changes in land use land cover. The land use, land cover change perspective to climate change adaptation may be of use. Land use-land cover change directly affects biodiversity, contributes to global warming and is a major determinant of soil fertility and food security. Here are the results of a few peer reviewed research studies which have been carried out in the Indian Himalayas and have policy level implications are being highlighted. Land use land cover change patterns and their policy level reasons have been studied by Rao and Pant (2001) in Sadiyagad micro watershed and found that between 1963 and 1986, 13.1% of the natural forests had been lost. Between 1986 and 1996 the rate of deforestation slowed down and 1.1% of the forest was lost. The slowdown in deforestation was attributed to intensification of agriculture and developmental interventions including irrigation, agro-forestry, soil conservation and reforestation by the government. Sen et al. (2002) studied land use land cover change in the Pranmati watershed, Chamoli district. Agriculture was found to have increased by 1.03% between 1963 and 1993. They found land use land cover change to be driven by a conversion from subsistence level economy to a market driven one. Semwal et al. (2004) studied land use land cover change and effect on yield, manure input, soil loss and run-off in the Pranmati watershed. They found that agricultural area increased at the expense of forests. Local crops were found to be replaced by introduced ones. Manure input was found to have increased while the yield of local crops decreased and those of introduced crops increased. Wakeel et al. (2005) showed that government institutions were more effective in controlling forest cover loss than public institutions. From 1967 to 1988 the loss in natural forest cover was around 18% while from 1988 to 1997 the loss was 2%. The slowdown in the rate of deforestation has been linked to intervention by Government agencies in providing alternate employment opportunities and improvements in agricultural production systems. Singh et al. (2008) analyzed various land use types in a village landscape in Tehri district and found that the existing community based land use differentiation is optimally designed to respond to climatic variability in the region. Hope that the response was pertinent to the queries raised. Kriti Nagrath, Development Alternatives, New Delhi Climate change is a global phenomenon and its impacts are being observed all over the world. However, the impacts of climate change are most seriously felt in Himalayan regions because latter belong to the most vulnerable ecosystems and lives of the people are closely intertwined with the natural resource base. The environmentally fragile and ecologically vulnerable region is faced by threats from glacier retreat, extreme weather events, changes in food production and security, water stress, increased drought and floods, increased incidences of vector borne diseases. For e.g. As per a ICIMOD study, the average temperature of Shimla has increased by about 1° C during last 100 years and the average snowfall in the state decreased from 272.4 cm in the year 1976-80 to 77.20 cm in the year 2001-04. Keeping in mind the fragile environmental condition of the hilly states, Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) is supporting a programme on “Community Led Assessment, Awareness,

Advocacy and Action Programme for Environment Protection and Carbon Neutrality” in the State of Himachal Pradesh (HP-CLAP). Development Alternatives (DA) as a ‘Programme Management Agency’ is managing and implementing the programme in the state. The Department of Environment, Science and Technology, Himachal Pradesh is leading the initiative. The overall aim of the programme is to develop HP as a sustainable and climate resilient state by mobilizing community responsibility for environment protection and carbon neutrality. The programme at the grassroots level will comprise of the following activities being implemented through a network of eco-clubs, mahila mandals, NGOs etc.

• Assessment: Systematic assessment and documentation of the existing environmental quality and carbon foot-prints of Panchayats, Urban Local Bodies, Blocks, and Districts by participatory appraisal techniques and building requisite capacity for these purposes on an ongoing basis.

• Awareness: Generation of systematic awareness amongst citizens, decision makers and other stakeholders on the state of environment, environmental issues and causes of degradation and possible ameliorative action.

• Action: Based on the environmental assessment, help Panchayats and communities to undertake environmental improvement actions at local level and reduce their carbon foot-prints

• Advocacy: Mobilization of Panchayats and communities to promote environmental advocacy for policy change at district and state level.

The focus areas of the assessment are Energy, Land use, Waste, Livestock and Biodiversity. The programme is developed on a very participatory approach, where in the communities themselves assess their impact and take corrective and / or preventative action to mitigate the environmental damage. Communities assess their impact while responding to an interview schedule calculating their carbon footprint and via on site water and air testing kits. Results are shared using pictographic Village Carbon Cards. This creates a sense of ownership for the programme and facilitates appropriate action among the communities. Periodic assessments enable them to track their progress and compare themselves against other panchayats generating an atmosphere of healthy competition. HP has a very strong and empowered network of Mahila Mandals. They have responded extremely well to the programme in terms of proactive participation in the assessment exercises. Among the NGO’s working at grassroot level also, environmental concerns are integrated in their work. Another area that requires concern in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is the construction sector – Habitat, Housing Infrastructure, roads. Increased urbanization and commercialization of these spaces has lead to a boom in the construction industry. The sector contributes to almost 22% of the national GHG emissions. As demand for habitat services increases, the strain the sector places on the environment not just in terms of emissions but also in terms of resource utilization becomes immense. Also the sector is closely impacted by climate change impacts especially when seen from the disaster point of view. The region is seen as a weekend retreat / getaway from the plains. This has led to a proliferation of construction activities – roads, villas, resorts, spas, etc. Thus a very urgent question that we need to answer is how do we decide / demarcate zones of no-construction where forests are conserved and preserved i.e. establish “go” and “no go” areas for construction. While the NAPCC recognizes the importance of the habitat sector, the emphasis of it’s mission on sustainable habitat is more urban in nature and focuses on energy efficiency aspects. The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and other relevant bodies however do recognize the need for climate compatible construction in small towns and rural areas. Certain states have begun

taking initiatives. In the IHR, the State Council for Science Technology and Environment, Himachal Pradesh, is working on developing a Green Building code for the state. The Council has established a Building Centre at the Appropriate Technologies Research, Development & Promotion Centre [ATC] at the Government Polytechnic in Sunder Nagar in collaboration with Housing and Urban Development Cooperation Ltd. (HUDCO) to promote low cost & environment friendly building technologies. There is a need to introduce and mainstream concepts of low carbon climate compatible construction in such ecologically fragile areas. This includes ideas related to energy and resource efficiency, disaster risk reduction as well as appropriate design, planning and zoning. There is latent need among stakeholders to fill this knowledge gap. Thus packaging of relevant knowledge on low-carbon construction, planning and policy and its application through building requisite capacities of stakeholders is required for the region. The DA group has begun an initiative supported by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) to develop and disseminate knowledge on low carbon construction in order to build capacities of relevant stakeholders viz. masons, architects, engineers and policy makers. Other NGOs like Technology and Research Network Welfare Society (TARN) and Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO) are also involved in this space. Manu Gupta, SEEDS, New Delhi So far, an excellent discussion with some rare insights into the volume of work accomplished. Responses from other colleagues, strengthens our conviction on the high level of risk to loss of life in the Himalayan region due to impacts of climate change. In the last few decades, the DM community has strongly believed and practiced community led risk management practices. This is widely recognized in the region and has successfully demonstrated local capacity and leadership in finding practical, low cost and lasting solutions aimed at reducing risk. (Local early warning system and successful dissemination of warning messages has significantly reduced loss of life in many parts of South Asia). Moreover, lessons learnt from such community led risk management practices should be able to influence on how similar practice can be followed in the proposed IHCAP. An important lesson relevant to the current discourse is of limited sustainability of community led risk management initiatives. Attempts to address this issue have recently been initiated at the community level. In India, six such district level alliances are being mobilized. District alliances place communities, particularly vulnerable groups at the centre stage supported by a long term partnership forged between local civil society groups, academia and government. The starting point for such forums has been an orientation on methodologies and tools to assess local perceptible risks followed by assessments and dialogue ultimately leading to local policy notes that in turn would influence how government programmes incorporate climate change impacts and other risk concerns. Settlements in the Himalayan region, especially district level towns high on the vulnerability scale can forge such local alliances aimed at strengthening resilience through increased adaptive capacities. National and International institutions can do well in enabling such alliances

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