Global Warming and Climate Change: A Way Out21st - 22nd November 2015, Vidhan Sabha Parisar, Bhopal

Reimagining PeoPles AlternAtives

Global Warming and Climate Change: A Way Out

32 32

The climate crisis is a crisis in between the crisis of opulence and the crisis of wants. Unless we address the

development deficits for majority and inequality for many, the resolution of climate crisis seems difficult. Now is the time to think whether one should depend solely on the global and national responses or try to look more inward. Thousands of local and grassroots responses are already growing scores of solutions and leading the way. There is a flood of local alternatives. We have not been able to look into them enough. The solutions abound when a small farmers fights climate change with a land holding, which is small but grows more than twenty crops and easily survives a drought or a flood. The crisis is mocked when a farmer grows a tree with a litre of water. The crisis becomes an opportunity of solutions when womenfolk in an eroded far off village fight their sustenance back through local enterprises and are able to say no to migrating into the unknown. One doesn’t bother the crisis when people in desert having scantiest of rainfall declare that they have abundant water for five years. This opulence of solutions makes the crisis look insignificant and that’s what we must aim for.

The role of politics in resolving climate crisis is big and justice aspects cannot be addressed globally and nationally unless the rich communities provide atmospheric space to growing communities, however, it has no conflict with looking into tradition of local solutions and alternatives. The crisis must encourage us to look into what I can do, what we can do, and what all of us can do together. The crisis must be

32

21st & 22nd November 2015

32

an opportunity to explore how development can take place without hurting people and the planet, learning from self realiant communities and strengthening local economy.

The stream Reimagining Peoples Alternatives will explore how peoples’ alternatives could become fulcrum of fight against the climate change. It has three workshops, creating an ecological civilization, women in the harms way and youths shaping the future. While the first workshop will underline role of nature, ecology and agriculture in the struggle against the climate crisis, the second workshop will showcase women’s leadership in formulating exemplary responses. The third workshop will involve youth and present their perspective of the crises, challenges, solutions and role of youth in developing a culture of alternatives.

A brief profile of speakers:

Dr. V S Vijayan

Dr. Vijayan is the Chairman of Salim Ali Foundation. He holds expertise in wetland, tropical forest ecology, Ornithology. He has contributed to drafting the National Wetland Conservation and Sustainable Use Policy, Kerala State Environmental Policy, among many others. He also worked to formulate the Kerala State Organic Farming Policy.

Session 1

Creating an ecological civilization

Global Warming and Climate Change: A Way Out

54 54

Popat Rao Pawar

Mr. Pawar is Sarpanch, Gram Panchayat, Hiware Bazar since 1989 and Chairman, Adarsh Gaon Yojana, Govt. of Maharashtra. He has received the International Ground Water Management Award -2009 and numerous national awards.

Vijay Jardhari

Mr. Vijay Jardhari is an erstwhile activist of the Chipko movement who started the Beej Bachao Andolan, a mission to preserve India’s native seeds in the hills of Uttarakhand.

Dr. Aseem Srivastava

Dr. Aseem Srivastava is a Delhi based writer and ecological economist. He holds a PhD in Economics from University of Massachusetts and has taught in universities in India and the US including St. Stephen’s College (Delhi) and Middlebury College (Vermont).

Dr. Neelam Gorhe

Dr. Neelam Ghore is the President of Stree Aadhar Kendra, Pune, India and Member of Maharashtra Legislative Council representing Shiv Sena.

Session 2

Women in the harm’s way

54

21st & 22nd November 2015

54

Aditi Kapoor

Ms. Aditi Kapoor is the Co-founder of Alternative Futures. She has served on several Boards including that of the World Resources Institute in Washington DC and is currently on the Boards of India Water Partnership and Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA).

Gurinder Kaur

Ms. Gurinder Kaur is the current Secretary of Rotary Club of Delhi. She has held senior posts in various national and international organizations like Oxfam America, Inc (Regional representative, South Asia) and Oxfam India.

Dr. Mira Shiva

Dr. Mira Shiva is the Coordinator of Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, Founder Coordinator & Co Convenor of All India Drug Action Network, Coordinator of South Asian Women’s Network (SWAN), and member of Working Group, Planning Commission for 12th Five Year Plan.

Jamini Payeng

Jamini Payeng is a national award-winning weaver from Assam’s Majuli island. She has set up a Mishing women’s cooperative to weave and market Mising Mekhela-Chadar, shawls and other accessories. She has journeyed from being a flood-affected youngster to an entrepreneur and activist, inspiring many. Through her venture, she tries to provide an alternative livelihood to flood and erosion affected women of Majuli.

Global Warming and Climate Change: A Way Out

76 76

Dr. Shipra Mathur

Dr. Shipra Mathur is a seasoned professional in the field of journalism. She is currently the Senior Editor for the newspaper Rajasthan Patrika Samooh and has successfully brought the attention of policymakers towards issues of farmers and marginalized.

Dr. Aunubhav Varshnay

Dr. Varshney is an Assistant Professor in Department of Philosophy, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. Earlier, he was teaching philosophy in University of Delhi. His areas of interest are existentialism and Nyaya Darshan. Currently he is doing research work in existentialism and post-rationalism.

Aditi Mathur

Ms. Mathur studied Aerospace Materials Engineering from the University of Sheffield, UK. Her interest lies in understanding and documenting social, cultural and environmental background of India. She is Currently studying indigenous solutions to climate change in the area of Thar desert.

Dr. Gaurav Joshi

Dr. Gaurav Joshi is the Managing Director of Global Pathfields, a leading development organization. In his previous portfolio he worked with UNICEF India in the capacity of Child Protection Specialist, as a PPP Specialist in USAID, HUP Program and most recently with UNDP-IICPSD.

Session 3

Youth Shaping the future

76

21st & 22nd November 2015

76

Riya Kesri

Ms. Riya Kesari is currently a student of Grade 12 at Billabong High International School, Bhopal. For the past two years, she has been developing a project for making her school India’s first Zero Carbon Footprint School. She was also the Minister of Environment in the School’s Student Council. Riya is interested in pursuing a career in designing environmentally friendly products.

Shambhavi Priyam

Ms. Shambhavi is a researcher working with the Baiga and Gond tribes in India. She has studied at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Sciences Po, Paris. She is currently working on a project to build risk capacities, tackle nutrition challenges by improving crop and forest biodiversity among these rain-dependent indigenous communities. Shambhavi is passionate about the culture and ways of these people and believes that knowledge at the local level, combined with modern research, can help tackle livelihood issues in the wake of climate change.

Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO)Paryavaran Parisar, E- 5, Arera Colony, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh - 462016

Phone: 91 755 2460255, 2460206, Fax: 0755 2462136www.epco.in

Centre for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society (CECOEDECON)

F 159-160, Sita Pura, Industrial Area, Jaipur, Rajasthan - 302022Phone: 0141 239 4834-36, Fax: 0141-2770330

www.cecoedecon.org.in