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Climate change studies yet to come of age
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Testing waters
Epidemiologists avoid hill areas like the plague
Anuj best speaker at inter-school debate
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Climate change studies yet to come of age
Dehradun, August 24 While the country’s efforts towards climate change, particularly in reference to forestry, has gained some ground, studies linked to the subject are still in the introductory phase. Dr NH Ravindranath, Centre of Ecological Science, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, says the country lacks the manpower and infrastructure to study climate change. He is concerned over the poor academic support to the subject at higher levels of education. “There is so far no institution offering Ph D in climate change and it was only recently that the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, managed to start a doctoral-level course in climate change,” says Dr Ravindranath, who is a on the panel of the UN Framework on Climate Change. He was in town recently to address senior foresters at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy. Experts drawn from forestry and allied sectors so far form part of climate change studies. It may take another four to five years before specific climate change studies come to the fore. Describing climate change as a slow, long-drawn culminating process needing decades of study, Dr Ravindranath says it will need a team comprising hundreds of scientists adequately supported by high technology computers with round-the-clock backup to make a climate change model. He describes these models important for climate change studies. Tacking millions of equations coupled with data linked to climate can only be handled with a super computer and the nation is still to tread a long way before reaching somewhere near it. This will involve a huge expenditure. Even efforts at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology are yet to yield the desired results. On the other hand, climate change sensitisation continues to be a far cry. “There is very little awareness on the changes being witnessed in the forestry sector due to climate change’, says Dr Arvind Anil Boaz, an Indian Forest Service officer from Chhattisgarh. Another senior forest officer RD Jakati admits that few forest officers keenly observe changes in forests as climate change effect. Little consultation between states and the Centre speaks volumes of the sorry state of affairs. The forest sub-committee set up by the Centre met last time 10 months back. But forestry certainly continues to be centre-stage in the climate change scenario. While deforestation, degradation and change in land use result in 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions, forestry have a large potential to mitigate the problem of climate change. While forest-predominant countries like Sweden, Brazil and Indonesia can make a major impact on their economies, in India too 200 million people directly or indirectly depend on forests to eke out a living and climate change is a cause of concern. India is the world’s fourth largest economy and the fifth greenhouse gas emitter accounting for approximately 5 per cent of global emissions. The country’s emissions increased 65 per cent between 1990 and 2005 and are now projected to grow by another 70 per cent by 2020. The sole solace has been the fact that the country’s emissions are low compared to those of other countries in the West. The nation accounts for only 2 per cent of cumulative energy-related emissions. While there have been policies contributing to climate mitigation in the country, a recent analysis by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) concludes that in the absence of a number of energy policies, carbon dioxide emission will be nearly 20 per cent higher compared to business in 2021 and 2031. The first national action plan on climate change in the country was released on June 30 last year. It dwelt at length on existing and future policies and programmes linked to climate mitigation and adaptation. The plan has come with national missions on enhancing energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water mission and sustaining of the Himalayan eco-system. It gives priority to the much-publicised Green India Programme aimed at afforestation of six million hectares of degraded forest land and expanding the forest cover from 23 to 33 per cent. But then implementation is all the more important. “While every top-ranking official on a visit to India talks of climate change, the latter remains a subject of little interest to most people in the country,” observes Dr
Ravindranath.
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Testing waters Dehradun, August 24 As a part of its Water Technology Initiative programme, the exercise would entail, physical and chemical analysis and testing of potable water at all the prominent water sources in the state. Conceptualised on March 17 this year the exercise is to be completed by March 16, 2012 and would be undertaken in assistance with Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan (UJS) and DAV College, Dehradun. It will also include training and awareness campaigns to educate the masses about the quality of water and benefits of safe drinking water. “This is certainly a milestone as it is for the first time that a water quality map will be prepared in Uttarakhand. “This map will go a long way in ensuri ng safe drinking water by aiding in development of air specific filters,” said HP Uniyal, chief general manager (CGM), Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan (UJS). Elaborating on the significance of the project, director, UCOST Dr Rajendra Dobhal, said that water quality mapping of different sources of water would help in ascertaining the water sources contaminated and polluted due to wastes, pesticides and other
factors. “All the 13 districts of the state will be taken up for physical and chemical analysis of domestic water supply thus helping in identification of status of water pollutions in the state,” said Dr DP Uniyal, scientific officer, UCOST. As of technology, GIS based water quality mapping would be pressed into service to get authentic results. Apart from procuring equipment, state level water quality lab will be set up with the assistance of DAV (PG) College, Dehradun and Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan. Further, selection of water sample collection sites and selection of water parameters to be analysed would be done jointly by UCOST and UJS. Physico-chemical and biological analysis of water samples and training to users and community by the DAV (PG) College and UCOST are other major thrust areas of the project. “We have a team of experienced engineers in the field of instrumentation from Water and Analytical Lab, Pollution Control Research Institute Haridwar and will get further expertise in water testing from National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee and also Central Soil and Material Research Station (CSMRS), New Delhi,” said Dr Prashant Singh, a principal investigator of the project. “With the setting up of water testing lab, UJS will be able to take corrective measures for the purity of water based on the outcome of the study, which otherwise was impossible till date,” concluded Dr Kusum Arunachalam, co-investigator of the project.
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Epidemiologists avoid hill areas like the plague Dehradun, August 24 A few weeks back, three persons from a village in Duggada block, 15 km from Kotdwar, died of a mysterious disease that was said to be encephalitis. The authorities are still awaiting the results of the samples that were sent to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Notably the village, where the outbreak of the disease was reported, falls under Pauri district, which has no epidemiologist. In fact among 13 districts only Chamoli, Pitthoragarh, Nainital, Hardwar, Dehradun districts have the services of an epidemiologist under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project. The interviews for all epidemiologists were held in New Delhi by the NCDC but none of the selected candidates reported on duty. Displaying reluctance to work in the hilly area, so much so, that an epidemiologist selected for Rudraprayag managed to get himself posted to Dehradun and is now attached with the Chief Medical Office. “In lower hills of the sate, cases of vector and water-borne diseases usually take place as there is no check on the water quality, tanks are not cleaned and no
regular chlorination undertaken here,” said Dr Pankaj Jain, epidemiologist and state nodal officer. The condition in most of these districts turn serious whenever there is a sudden outbreak of disease. As the villages are located several kilometres away from nearest medical centre the incidents catch the attention of the health authorities very late. In the absence of trained epidemiologist the proper tracking of the disease cannot be undertaken. Besides the appointment of epidemiologists, the state health authorities have not been able to run the IDSP laboratory which was added at the Coronation hospital after the World Bank team had visited the state and recommended setting of a laboratory for carrying out tests for communicable diseases for all districts. As per sources, the laboratory is now waiting for reagents and testing kits that have to be procured to make it testing fit.
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Anuj best speaker at inter-school debate Dehradun, August 24 The participants spoke on the topic ‘The world will never be able to speak the same language’ and enthralled the audiences with their wit and confidence. Along with students and teachers of St Joseph’s School, present at the auditorium were I Lahiri, head of department Social Services Welham boy’s School, Ritu Chateerjee, an eminent environmentalist and F Pandhi, founder member of Doon Society as the honoured guest for the occasion. Amid tough competition participants tried to convince each other, however at the same time also believed that common language of the world is the language of our hearts which is above boundaries of caste, colour and creed. However, winning the hearts of the judges Anuj Gupta from Frank Anthony School was adjudged as best speaker of the day. Shomit Sirohi of Frank Anthony School was adjudged as the first runner-up speaker, along with Vidushi Kala of St Mary’s School bagging the second runner-up speaker. The running trophy of the competition was won by Frank Anthony Public School.
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A water quality map of Uttarakhand is in the making. The Uttarakhand Council of Science and Technology
(UCOST) as part of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Uttarakhand government joint
endeavour, has come out with an action plan to measure water pollution and subsequently ensure safe drinking water to the people of the state by formulating a water quality map.
Dehradun, August 24
