UN Solution Exchange IndiaUN Solution Exchange India and Bhutan: Query: Enhancing the Reach and Effectiveness of Climate Himalaya Initiative Knowledge Sharing Platform – Advice. Reply by 24 June 2011

Moderator’s Note: Enhancing the reach and effectiveness of knowledge platforms like the Climate Himalaya Initiative (CHI) is crucial as they play a critical role in knowledge sharing, advocacy, research and capacity building to address issues related to Climate Change.  The query is also being posted on Solution Exchange India Community and the Solution Exchange Bhutan Community to enrich the discussion. We look forward to your valuable inputs, please. Thanks.

Query:

‘Climate Himalaya Initiative’ (CHI) is a collaborative effort by a group of people and a number of organizations concerned about the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region of the world including South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

The initiative includes a platform for knowledge sharing, advocacy, research and capacity building. It was launched in June 2010 after seeking inputs from members through a query floated in April 2010 regarding the sub-themes that could be included in the platform and how to make it more interactive and action oriented. The Consolidated Reply on the query is available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/cr-se-clmt-06041001-public.pdf (PDF, Size: 104 KB)

CHI primarily focuses on climate change adaptation in Himalayan region, and is focusing on four major thematic areas:

  • Himalayan ecosystem
  • Water
  • Forest
  • Livelihoods

In the last one year, using scientific evidence and interaction with people, CHI has been able to raise concerns regarding institutional collaboration, communicating science and research, training of media, holding discussions on mountain issues, mountain voices at CoP16 etc. Some of the concerns have already been addressed by respective agencies in the region; however, additional efforts are required by stakeholders to really tackle the challenges ahead.

The present efforts of CHI center around ‘knowledge, innovations and adaptation’ in Himalayan region with a focus on networking for knowledge sharing and forging new partnerships. The CHI knowledge platform presently has over 2,000 posts and articles in about 70 categories, covering major heads including countries, sectors, downloads and resources. In the last one year over 62,000 hits were recorded on the portal.

We are continuously trying to improve the platform and as a part of that effort we are requesting members to kindly provide inputs on the following questions:

  1. What steps do you think we need to take to make the existing knowledge platform (http://chimalaya.org) more interactive to encourage more knowledge sharing? Can you recommend any portals you think effectively encourage interaction, which we can look at for ideas?
  2. What additional themes/resources/activities do you think should be added to the portal to enhance its reach? For example, do you think it will be useful to add opinion polls, articles by experts or new scientific findings?

We appreciate the support and encouragement provided by the members of the Climate Change Community in facilitating institutional partnerships, providing press releases, articles, research findings, best practices, details of upcoming event, etc. for uploading on the CHI knowledge platform.

The inputs provided by members have been immensely helpful and would also be utilized in evolving a more interactive platform and further strengthening CHI.

The contribution of members will be suitably acknowledged through the CHI knowledge platform.

You may like to send the response to se-clmt@solutionexchange-un.net.in or ramesh.jalan@one.un.org

You can also copy them at info@climatehimalaya.net

Thank you so much for your support!

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Responses Recorded from Climate Change Community of UN Solution Exchange India

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Promode Kant, Institute of Green Economy, New Delhi

Regarding the questions my brief response is as follows:

I do not think interactive platforms prove more effective except when dealing with students. It might be useful to have a youth section which can be based solely on interaction. But for the rest interactive parts must be confined to sidelines – like seeking an opinion poll.

The site is too much activist oriented at present which means it is seen to be giving a colored opinion. This does not attract scientists and lowers its impact.

It might be useful to have two sections of the site, one purely science based with articles published from reputed journals as also invited articles from scientific community and working papers etc.

The other section may be based on news items and opinions of activists.

Hope these suggestions are of some use.

Shubhangi Kitchloo, New Delhi

This is an important step taken by CHI for knowledge sharing in the Himalayan Region which is one of the most vulnerable and fragile eco-systems in the world and climate change impacts are likely to exacerbate the current scenario.

In order to improve the effectiveness of the knowledge platform launched by CHI, I suggest collaboration with a renowned Media Partner with a strong presence in both electronic and television media. This is essential for enhancing the reach and utility of the platform.  For example, the success of ‘Lighting a Billion Lives’ (LaBL) project of TERI that aims at providing solar power to villages without electricity could be attributed to the awareness created about the project through NDTV’s “GREENATHON”. Launched in April 2008, the NDTV-Toyota Green campaign is aimed at creating awareness about environmental issues by involving the people. NDTV organized India’s first Telethon in 2009 – THE GREENATHON, a fund-raising event that brings in people to donate money to support TERI’s LaBL initiative. The Greenathon, a 24 hour live telethon for the environment simulcast across the NDTV network, is a combination of musical extravaganza, live chats with celebrities, simultaneous green activities across India, reports on environment and green pledges by celebrities, politicians and the others. The joint initiative has raised INR 11,607,242 from viewers and additional resources from sponsors for supporting the LaBL project. Engaging with a variety of media and the support of prominent personalities to the initiatives increases awareness of the project and helps in mobilizing resources. People take greater interest after they are made aware about the initiative through multiple forms of media as exemplified by the LaBL project. The details of TERI and NDTV’s joint initiative for LaBL are available at: http://green.ndtv.com/.

A similar example is that of the National Geographic Channel’s ‘The Energy Action Atlas’ that enables individuals to get involved in supporting sustainable energy solutions at home and in communities around the world  through donations, volunteer action, advocacy etc. The details are available at: http://www.actionatlas.org/energy. It is evident that these web based platforms are getting enormous public attention because of the awareness created about them through electronic media.

In addition to increasing its reach by engaging with the media I suggest including successful case studies of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in Himalayas on the platform for enhancing its effectiveness. For outreach to the common public videos and short films on the impacts to various individuals, industries, tourism and communities within the region could be included on the website. Research reports that summarize the findings of scientific studies could be useful to practitioners in the Himalayan region. Successful initiatives undertaken elsewhere could be replicated by practitioners. Adding a section with contact details of experts and inviting experts to respond to queries from practitioners, share their views, latest findings on a regular basis will help in making the platform interactive and informative.

As capacity building is one of the focus areas of the platform I recommend providing access to training materials from different capacity building programs, including video and audio recordings of trainings to increasing the effectiveness of the platform.

Mustafa Ali Khan,  Climate Connect, New Delhi

Himalayas are known to be a fragile ecosystem at the same time the diversity of eco-regions, climates, organisms and cultures encompassed by them is unrivalled.

In this context it is of paramount importance to preserve these mountain systems from impacts of climate change and initiatives such as chimalaya.org are required.

According to my understanding the platform may gain by the following:

  • Representing the voices from the ground: the voice of the people from the Himalayas is one of the most underrepresented one in the national debate
  • Showcasing innovation on the ground specifically to issues such as disaster risk reduction: a good example may be disaggregated location of fields at different altitude
  • Highlighting traditional knowledge and practices which are relevant in context of climate change: water mills (garhat) of Garhwal region are an example, their numbers have been dwindling very rapidly in the recent past

Nripendra Kumar Sarma, Public Health Engineering Department, Guwahati, Assam

At the outset, I would like to extend my thanks to the Climate Himalaya Initiative (CHI) for their exhaustive efforts to build the Knowledge Platform by including different issues and responses / concerns / voices into its Archive. However, still there is enough scope to upgrade different sectors particularly Forest and Water in the mountainous regions of India. Therefore, more and more Articles, Research findings, Scientific evidences, Case Studies and Interaction with all Stakeholders would be helpful to facilitate efforts to build suitable approaches to bridge the “Knowledge – Practice” Gap in connection with the following:

(I) Under the Forest Sector -

  • Stop tree felling leading to destruction of forest cover.
  • Mere distribution of tree samplings by the celebrities on the occasion of World Environment Day or International Year of Forest or to increase green cover is not likely to serve the real purpose. Survival of such tree saplings should be prioritized through Government or the Community involvement. As of now, reportedly there are no efforts for their upkeep to ensure the survival of the tree samplings planted.
  • Loss of habitats for wild animals due to rampant tree felling and loss of forest cover has eventually resulted in Man – Animal conflict which will be accentuated in the future.
  • The ineffectiveness of Wildlife Protection to check poaching of animals in the forests.
  • The dwindling forest cover is being considered as a notable factor responsible for Climate Change as well as water scarcity by different schools of thought. One school of thought describes that there is a substantial reduction in water retaining capacity in the mountains.

(II) Under the Water Sector –

  • Every year there is seasonal water crisis in the hills due to drying up of a large number of springs in the mountains. The problem of water scarcity has been aggravated due to the recent phenomenon of Climate Change leading to erratic rainfall pattern in the mountains. In the recent past, the rainfall pattern seems to have changed creating an even greater impact on water availability and sometimes some of the small perennial rivers also need to strive for water.
  • Ever increasing pollution level leading to contamination of Water.
  • Inter-basin water-related conflicts are also particularly evident in the North Eastern Region. Plans are in place to develop over 100 hydroelectric power plants along the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries in Arunachal Pradesh. The dams may bring valuable income to Arunachal Pradesh, but at the same time would put many traditional water related livelihoods and other riparian regions downstream at risks.
  • Inter – basin conflict due to release of excess water causing flood downstream.
  • Mapping of vulnerable zones and evolving appropriate warning systems.

Apart from the above, other important points that need to be incorporated are:

  • Capacity Building / training initiatives
  • Community Awareness generation on importance of the ecosystem.
  • Conservation of area specific conventional approach / activities and their impacts.
  • Preparation of an exclusive database on the Himalayan Ecosystem.
  • Formation of a Regional Task Force on Forest and Water Resources with the involvement of all stakeholders to act as Regulatory Authority to ensure scientific conservation and proper utilization of all Resources and also to avoid the adverse situation arisen out of Climate Change and other regional problems.

Atul Rawat, DMV Business and Market Research Pvt. Ltd.Hyderabad

In a quest to enhance the reach and effectiveness of the forum, I would suggest the following:

  •  Include NGOs which are working on the same subsector of climate change and share their experiences with the rest of the group. It may help to understand the region specific problems and steps taken to mitigate the risks.
  • Invite eminent personalities from the field to share their experience on relevant topics.
  • To provide information about the latest activities of The  Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA); The  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) and other relevant flagship schemes of  the Government of India which could help  in formulating or developing projects and strategies  for the Himalayan region.
  • Details on the present activities of IRDEA are available at: http://www.ireda.gov.in/
  • Details about MNREGA are available at: http://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx
  • Salient features of the recently launched NRLM are available at :

http://www.newsnetindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73683:smt-sonia-gandhi-launches-nrlm-from-banswara&catid=8:national&Itemid=41

Subhadra Channa, Delhi University, Delhi

A large number of issues and sub-themes have already been raised in response to the earlier query. Most of us are fully aware of most of the problem areas concerned with climate change in the Himalayas, so I think it is more prudent now to talk about action and finding solutions.

As of now I find that there is little action to counter the large scale felling of forests for dam building, the replacement of subsistence livelihood with cash cropping, the widespread use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that are threatening the natural sources of water.

For solutions we need to concentrate on the following areas at least:

  1.  Educating the local communities about the hazards of modern technology that many of them are using indiscriminately.
  2. To involve local communities, especially women in taking care of natural resources and resisting external invasions.
  3. Introduce environmental education at school level in the mountains.
  4. Involve local practitioners of indigenous knowledge and empower them so that they can educate others.
  5. Put online, available journals and papers about climate change and environment in the Himalayas.
  6. Involve the local panchayats and Mahila Mandalis in ecologically important activities including educating local people about their own environment and the value of their own knowledge.
  7. To involve more NGOs in organizing people to save their own environment.

It is now time to think in terms of concrete actions and not just data and issues.

We are rapidly going downhill in the Himalayas and concerted action is required to save what is left.

Mohinder Slariya Chamba Himachal Pradesh

I think both the Himalayan water and youth are in danger. Water level is going down day by day and as it has been predicted by researchers that next world war would be fought over the issue of water. Water is being used for so many purposes, in absence of which life may be unsustainable on earth.

However, today the Himalayas are being irreversibly damaged in the name of development. Undoubtedly, its prime use is for drinking and for household needs but today these have become secondary and electricity generation from water has become most important.

The available water has been assessed by the policy makers and it has been concluded that in the Himalayan region more than 100,000 MW of hydro-electricity can be generated which could lead to the achievement of 9-10 % economic growth in the country.

Rivers in Himalayan region are under threat and are being either re-routed or dammed (reservoirs) and which are responsible for the extinction of ecosystem services which are being imparted by the local ecosystem. Further, it is threatening civilization, as it is well known that most of the world’s civilization flourished and also became extinct due to rivers.

I think in this effort of CHI, we all should come together to save our rivers from the so called development or we should do advocacy amongst all stakeholders to decide the optimum limit.

The second issue is of youth, which in the Himalayan region are directionless, unemployed, frustrated, un-energetic and contributing very little to national development. The prime age of their life is 25-35 which is today emboldened with innumerable pressures.

It is imperative that we all come together to check these two most important assets of Himalayas (water & youth). In my view, in the absence of both water and youth in the Himalayas the future appears to be bleak and totally different from what we all expected for not only those who live in this region but also for billions who live downstream.

Kulen Chandra Das, Nowgong Girls’ College Assam

I would like to Congratulate and thank the effort of the Climate Himalaya Initiative.

According to me the following issues should get due importance in the light of the present state of the world environment.

Firstly, what can be done is to reach out to the grass root level people through some action research programme, apart from organizing awareness camps, lectures, etc. for such people.

Secondly, the following may be some important issues that could be taken up:

Agro-forestry Practices:

The potentiality of agro-forestry can be explored which has tremendous beneficial effects for the people of this part of the country. Agro-forestry practices are very old in the region and one can see it inbuilt in the Jhum cultivation, where, in one small plot of land different varieties of food grains along with trees are planted. Jhum is not just a simple agricultural practice but also it is very much intertwined with the very culture of the tribal people indulging in it. Despite all its beneficial aspects, Jhum has been regarded as one of the principal factors of deforestation across the world.

However, it’s interesting to note here that the impact of Alder-based Jhum and terrace cultivation, which has been being practiced by the Angami Tribe of Nagaland for centuries, on the environment is significantly low. It’s indeed a sustainable agricultural practice.

Apart from this, the NEPED (Nagaland Environment Protection through Economic Development) is also doing a commendable job in promoting the environmental sustainability in the state of Nagaland. One can try and emulate such practices in other similar areas also. Two books on the activities of the NEPED can be of utmost importance:

1.       Adding Value to Shifting Cultivation in Nagaland, India. Nagaland Environmental Protection through Economic Development (NEPED), Nagaland, India and

2.       Building Upon Traditional Agriculture in Nagaland, India. Nagaland Environmental Protection through Economic Development (NEPED), Nagaland, India and International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Silang, Cavite, 4118 Philippines.

Wetland Conservation:

It’s a well known fact that the wetlands possess tremendous biodiversity and provides different ecosystem services. The wetlands and rivers of Assam are, apart from giving other ecological services, repositories of many rare and endangered fish species. These wetlands and rivers also harbors many ornamental fishes having a very high market value.

Conservation of River Islands as Animal Corridor:

The river islands, those which are situated in between/among the Wildlife Sanctuaries, act as important animal corridor. Especially, the river islands of the central Assam districts of Sonitpur and Darrang, which are amidst the mighty river Brahmaputra and (some) fall inside the boundary of the Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, act as animal corridor among the Kaziranga and Orang National Park and Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the irony is that almost all these islands are witnessing tremendous anthropogenic pressure for past several years almost breaking down the animal corridor. Some settlements are old and most of them are comparatively new, i.e., established human settlement for last 3 – 4 years. The islands where human settlements are not there are occupied by the Khuti (cattle and buffalo camp) dwellers. Hundreds of buffalos and thousands of cattle have been grazing openly without any restriction causing great damage to the habitat of the wild animals and birds. Some of these islands were the grazing grounds of the endangered Bengal Florican even two/three years back.

Apart from these, the following issues can be taken up:

1.      Restoration of degraded forest landscape

2.      Documentation of the traditional knowledge in conserving natural resources

3.      NTFP collection and value addition

4.      Awareness generation among the forest fringe community

5.      Clean and renewable energy in the grass root level

6.      Changing Agricultural Practices

Prakash Kumar, DFID SWATCH Project, Patna Bihar

The Climate Himalaya group needs a big round of applause for the way they have grown in the last one year.

My comments to the Himalaya query are very simple:

  1. Lots of knowledge is being created, disseminated but for whom! Is the knowledge going to the right target group who have capacity to change and who will be affected by the change.
  1. I see a weakening link between knowledge and action. The knowledge must be translated in to action; knowledge must create an island of evidence for further scaling up. Knowledge must encompass the community who will suffer most from it. How to do it is the biggest challenge?
  1. There is no quick fix answer to this but one has to dwell deep to find answers. How to reach the main target population? How to involve them?
  2.  Knowledge and awareness to those who are not directly suffering will act as a channel to raise resources to reach the main target group.
  1. Whom to reach? In my opinion schools are the right vehicle to disseminate this knowledge for long term sustenance and for implementing ones needs to reach the panchayats. A medium needs to be created through Human resource department and panchayati raj institutions to reach these important stakeholders in the Himalayan region.

I am certain if we are able to reach even 10 % of the target population, it will make a drastic change.

C R Dutta Biswas, IRADe Delhi

I have following comments to add to the mail of Mr. Vajpai and the web-site (http://chimalaya.org):

  •  In the major themes, they can add Eco-tourism. The focus is to use eco-tourism commercially and use revenue generation for sustainable development of Himalayan region.
  • The Socio-economic issues should be emphasized, in view of energy availability for rural house-hold, gender issues and Livelihood opportunities.
  • IRADe has been actively pursuing analytically study on Impact of Climate Change that includes Himalayan region. Our work can be viewed at (www.irade.org) web-site.
  • We have observed that there are mention on geo-engineering, however issue of Hydrology should be given more emphasis, as economy of northern India is linked to rivers emanating from Himalayas.

Toki BlahICARE  Shillong Meghalaya

Not much has been done in Meghalaya as far as Climate Change initiatives are concerned , but what ever little there is it is an eye opener. Meghalaya like all other upland states of the Himalaya region lies in a sensitive geographical area in which most of the agricultural activities are rain-fed. It is a situation where livelihoods and even food security is dependent on the pattern and intensity of the monsoon. In 2009 a Participative Community Dialogue on Climate Change was carried out by UNDP, Martin Luther Christian University and ICARE (the NGO I head). The area studied was the southern slopes of Meghalaya.  I mention this because I believe that here has been more than adequate interaction and knowledge sharing on the subject among the scientific community, activists and those who are generally concerned. What is missing is the views of the man on the ground; the person whom Climate Change has had an impact. Perhaps we need to listen what such people also have to say about Climate Change.

During interaction with the villagers, the study team were shocked to hear that Climate Change and its impact on the fragile geographical slopes of Meghalaya was noticed by the locals as far back as the 1960’s when their traditional agricultural products (arecanut, oranges , citrus etc.)  began to fail and when they had to resort to exotic but  hardy commercial crops such as broom grass for survival . It had a profound affect on the environment of the area. The pictures are available at: ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/clmt/cr/res10061101.pdf

You can see how the broom grass has wiped out traditional forms of sustainable farming and also the traditional biosphere preservation methods such as the famed ‘scared groves’ of the state.

The point I’m trying to make is that as far as knowledge sharing is concerned perhaps we need to extend the knowledge platform to cover more grass-root communities such as the communities mentioned above.  Perhaps we need to bring in the concerns of the common man before we can really come up with meaningful and practical solutions to the problem. The issue of Climate Change and its impact needs to be understood not only in seminars and workshops but more importantly by people who till the fields and hew the woods.  Just a thought!!

By all means! Opinion polls, media coverage, talk shows, debates (at all levels especially at the policy making level and not only at the school and college level. We have to admit that children have little or nothing to do with causes of global warming and climate change. Their generation can only address tomorrow’s problems. We however need to create awareness, consciousness and awake the conscience of policy makers of our generation- the culprits who triggered the Climate Change crisis in the first place!) articles etc. will help.

How about thoughts on ‘Reach out programmes on Climate Change’ to grass-root institutions such as the gram panchayats. Some funding for such programmes can help. For instance, 12th Finance Commission financial provisions for Climate Change initiatives has provoked the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council ( Institutions under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution) to come up with a plan for scared forests for each village under its jurisdiction. It’s a sustainable Climate Change mitigation initiative as such efforts can then be subsequently linked to environmental service programmes such as REDD+ etc.  Again just trying to come up with examples where local initiatives, however small, if shared with other likeminded people, communities or institutions can snowball into significant national / international movements. Worth a try really!!

Veena Khanduri, India Water Partnership (IWP), Institute for Human Development (IHD) New Delhi

With regard to enhancing the reach and effectiveness of Climate Himalaya initiative (CHI) knowledge Sharing platform, first of all we need to introspect that who needs knowledge (community, scientist, policy makers)  and what kind of Knowledge (general, specific, scientific and validated) and what is the medium (local small brief notes in local daily print media, blog, e-groups, etc).

As our focus is on Himalaya initiative, general public awareness and their engagement in Knowledge generation as well as sharing is equally important. Through CHI portal lot of scientific as well as Climate change related information already exists, but how this information is benefiting to indigenous and local communities in their own simple language, is a challenging task. Hence for translating lot of scientific knowledge and sharing of research findings, CHI portal need to engage the  local media so awareness and knowledge among stakeholders about the impacts of global warming and threat to ecosystem can be shared by them in the local print media. Why I am emphasizing on print media because a common community member is not e-savy but local print media stories/coverage is normally shared by those members who can at least read and comprehend the knowledge to their relatives & neighbors. Second important step is to include students and teachers in CHI initiative.

With regard to other platforms, last year (2010), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi has established “Knowledge Hub” for Water and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia (for more information you can visit www.teriin.org or www.waterknowledgehub.org). The knowledge hub enables knowledge creation and dissemination amongst government agencies, non-governmental organizations, regional organizations, grass root level organization, civil society organizations, corporations and media through various strategies. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been endorsed as the Regional Knowledge Hub for Water and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia by Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF)—supported by Public Utilities Board (PUB) Singapore, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Regional Knowledge Hub aims to generate, promote, and share knowledge, as well as to provide feasible solutions in various water related domains by collaborating and building capacities in relevant areas. This Knowledge Hub will act as the main facilitator for exchanging knowledge, sharing resources, and providing solutions with the help of a network of partners. The main objective is to work together with water and climate change experts and planners to create a more sustainable approach and system, which can adapt to changing external pressures, taking small steps resulting in major outcomes.

The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) has endorsed various knowledge hubs in the Asia-Pacific region. There are 17 Regional Knowledge Hubs, each serving as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) promoting knowledge exchange and capacity development on cross cutting issues and priority topics as determined by ADB. These Hubs will provide decision-makers and the development community in the respective regions with up-to-date knowledge products and services tailored to various clients’ or regional needs.

Recognizing the synergy that takes place when knowledge is shared and not merely transferred, APWF ensures inclusiveness, openness, and flexibility through a highly participatory bottom-up approach. All governments, local and municipal authorities, knowledge institutions, civil society organizations, and lastly, the role of different actors or stakeholder media with an interest in water will be part of the Knowledge Hub.

Lastly, the role of different actors or stakeholders in contributing to resolving scientific uncertainty by scientific research sharing, adaptation, mitigation and public engagement through sharing knowledge from outsiders to locals and locals to outsiders by CHI Knowledge platform would be helpful for sharing more knowledge.

L.M.S. Palni, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development,  Almora Uttarakhand

We visited the website (http://chimalaya.org) and found it useful for those interested on climate change issues in general and the Himalayan region in particular.  Further, with reference to your questions, following points may be considered.

  • A profile of the various institutions/organizations/NGOs/individuals (including their website, thrust areas, etc.) working on climate change in the Himalayan region may be developed.  Information in this regard about this Institute may be obtained from folders and publication hosted on the Institute website (http://www.gbpihed.gov.in/main.htm).
  • Virtual conferencing for promoting interaction among the institutions/individuals/stakeholders concerned with climate change issues may be organized periodically through the Climate Himalaya Initiative knowledge platform.
  • A dedicated link for publications (research findings, articles, press releases, annual reports, etc.) related to climate change and Mountains may be provided on the website.  This may be done by seeking information from members/different users and accessing the article alert service of various libraries.
  • It will be more interactive if the website is made dynamic so that members/other users can also upload information.

Following categories may be considered for inclusion under thematic areas:

  • Climate Change and Natural Hazards
  • Land use/land cover change vis-à-vis climate change.

Suviena Bagrodia, Due North Gurgaon

Solution Exchange is a great knowledge pool. My limited interaction with the team from Solution Exchange was also on the dissemination of information. Such vast knowledge pool should definitely reach a large section of population as climate change is everyone’s problem.

Using a media partner for outreach by organizing large scale contests, something like a “Lead India” for a climate change/ solutions. The face-book page has only 449 members. Social networking is great outreach channel but needs continuous updates and that too non theoretical interesting ones. Such as on beautiful tourist destinations on Himalayas which have been less effected of climate change or showing before and after pictures or covering stories of glacier man. To attract youth and children, it has to be made fun.

The site could also have a collation of climate change videogames. I am sure a lot of them have been created and just having a section of them with links could be interesting.

The classification of data according to reader’s interest is something that can be useful ranging from

  • Simple solution to the affect of climate change in daily life
  • Grass-root initiatives on climate change (linking this to volunteering opportunities would also help increase outreach)

Max Martin, Mail Today Bangalore

Climate Himalaya looks like a very useful, interesting platform. Good to see that you are looking at grassroots information too. While how-to tips can be useful, there’s also scope for some reportage.  Like field stories, photos, video grabs or sound bites – at least links to relevant stories from the media or community radio stations.

It could help in sustaining reader interest and gaining some emotional appeal as the climate change debate in general tends to be a bit abstract – all about particle concentrations, projected outcomes and aggregate figures like 100,000 people’s livelihood or enhanced disaster risk in 100 hill hamlets and so on. Stories of people with faces, who might be facing these threats in their real life can make a lot of difference to perceptions. Though, it’s advisable to resist the temptation to blame it all on climate change – as people on field might narrate it often.

There are international sites for climate stories such as National Public Radio’s (http://www.npr.org/series/9657621/climate-connections) and Reuters Alertnet’s

(www.trust.org/alertnet/climate-change/). In the Indian context some such stories – mostly old, including from the Himalayas – can be found at www.climatalk.in

Several other outlets like Infochange (www.infochangeindia.org/) and Inter Press Service ( http://ipsnews.net/climate_change/) carry climate change related  stories . Still it is hard to get an idea about what exactly is going on, on the ground, especially in the Himalayan context.

Field stories do make a difference. There is very compelling academic paper that traces the distinction between risky decisions made from personal experience and from statistical description. The same information can lead to different choices, says Elke Weber of Columbia University.  This is the link:

http://yyy.rsmas.miami.edu/groups/agriculture/pubs/papers/Full_versions/Weber_2006.pdf

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