SHIMLA, DECEMBER 19:

No one has a panacea for preventing “natural disasters, melting glaciers, glacial lakes and climate change in Himalaya”. The message of the two days long “Secure Himalaya, Safe Himalaya” conclave in Shimla is loud and clear: Natives will have to adapt to disasters as they have been doing down the ages before the new resolution and transboundary response system see the light of the day.

Only way to secure “future and Himalaya”  is by linking “local  ancestral wisdom with modern technology  engaging local comminates”, said Sonam Wangchuk, director, SECML Ladakh. “The copy and paste solutions from Outside will add to a list disasters”.

It is not less than “Achar Samhita” for planting a tree for each citizen in a year  that will go a long way in mitigating climate change, said  PadamShri Himanta Ram Bambhu from Rajasthan, who took the discourse on climate change to his native village, where he has shown a way to world by raising a forest of local species that thrive with wildlife in his farm land. “It should be a duty for every citizen to  plant one tree every year,  rear it up every year to increase green cover and oxygen level  to mitigate climate change in the country”, he said.

But there are very few success stories that inspire like this. Another story of inspiration is a “green isle” at  Potter Hill in Shimla city, where HFRI’s field botanist Dr Vineet Jishtu has raised a jungle of 120 native species, which  now thrives with birds and oxygen ,  in team with forest department that has attracted a worldwide attention and appreciation.

When it comes to mitigate disasters, it is the same old principle, "Forewarned  is Forearmed" that works. Sonam Lotus  from IMD Ladakh  said the early warning system can not only save lives, but also contribute to economic prosperity of farmers in cold region as it has happened in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

An avalanche of presentations by 50 speakers (see photo), who talked about “Secure Himalaya, Safe Himalaya” and huge number of delegates from 15 states at Himachal Pradesh climate Change conclave-2021 suggests that Glaciers are not safe in the “Third Pole”.

The glaciers in fact have become a new hot “Kamdhenu” of a “new climate change cold war” for researchers  and now financers and insurance agents over last 30 years. But nothing much concrete is happening on the ground for actual stakeholders- mountain communities- to improve their harsh mountain life and to halt their migration to the cities for jobs, said the community leaders.

At the end  of day, the Conclave converged on yet another 14-point agenda of Resolution-21, released by additional chief secretary, environment, science and technology Prabhodh Saxena and other panelists, whose main thrust is: How to get funds for Resolution-21 of Conclave to put it into practice on the ground.    

Scientists and experts agree that the disasters will continue to strike, displace and shake mountain people. The glaciers will continue to melt and shrink, glacial lakes will continue to be formed, threatening downstream  communities more frequently due to “climate change” in the Himalayan region every year.

But, not all disasters and earthquakes kill people. “In most cases, earthquakes don’t kill, but it is the concrete buildings built in the flood plains and at the wrong place and something that come in the way of Nature, which kill people during a disaster like floods ”, said Wangchuk, Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECML), a keynote speaker.

Wangchuk said this while he gave the concluding remark at the two days long conference, “Secure Himalaya, Safe Himalaya”. Wangchuk is a household name and a “game changer” engineer from Ladakh. His SECML tells a success story of what no one has done before in the country: SECML admits failed and rejected students in Ladakh and many of them have succeeded in life.

It would be blending of “ancestral wisdom of mountain people with modern technology”, community leaders and scientists doing actual work on the ground and their success stories, which will change the scene on the ground.  

The scientists and experts pinned “Big culprits like the USA and others, who are contributing to larger share of global climate change and carbon footprints and global warming to bring them on board   so that they be made to pay for their "climate sins". 

Walter J Linder, German Ambassador to India said climate change manifests in many ways and developed countries should support developing countries. Germany will support Himachal on climate change, agriculture and hydropower, he said. 

The Corporates should contribute  to mitigate climate change under Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR)  mandate and “pollute and punish”  principle will not work if they really want to address climate change”, said the scientists.    People Need fruits and crops and sources of livelihoods  to survive, not only glaciers and trees and biodiversity as it is coexistence that will  work, experts said.      

Main energy for safe Himalaya should go into preparedness of communities and their eco-education. Identify all risks and challenges,  trouble spots, people’s priorities and moods that will actually work in the Himalayan region rather than copy and paste kind of solutions.

“When we will not engage people and local communities, even best of policies will fail,  and communities are left behind”, said Sonam, citing examples of Haiti and Chile earthquakes in 2010. Haiti was ill prepared and lost 2 lakh people (earthquake 7 on Richter scale) while well-prepared Chile lost just 500 people (8.6 on Richter scale). 

Mountain people in Ladakh and Himachal, since childhood are prepared as to how to deal with the harsh winter months  and they face disaster annually. 

“Disasters and earth quakes do not kill, it is design of the buildings  that kill. People have wisdom not  to build mud houses in the flood plains but to build on a safe mountain slope”.  It is co-existence that needs prominence, he said.

Kunal Satyarthi, joint secretary, NDMA, Delhi  said the states should implement the  NDMA’s new road map for risk preparedness and community response and outlined in for windows  for mitigation and adaption to community response. He along with Manoj Yadav, senior  advisor, GIZ, India, painted a grave picture of international funding of climate change by the bigger culprits and gave a brief on various funds allocated for this by the Centre as per its road map that will act as a big change maker in state like Himachal.       

Saxena said the scientists from all over the world should join hands to discuss prevention and mitigation of climate change-induced risks in the Himalayas. The Resolution -21 will be adopted  as a note for policy implementation.  

Earlier, Kamal Kishore, member secretary, NDMA and acting director, CDRI gave six points agenda for Himalayan states  to be adopted to manage climate risks. It will enhance community level disaster preparedness and integrate state disaster management and climate change action plans, he said.  

It was director Dr Sudhesh Mokhta, additional director  Praveen Gupta, Dr Suresh  Attri, principal scientific officers and others who brought the wide range of scientists, experts, community leaders and officials on board to zero in on the Resolution- 21  to address the issue of climate change. 

At the end of it, much will depend on how Resolution-21 is translated into action on the ground.

(Kuldeep Chauhan is Editor, HimbuMail )