The goal of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 is to “end hunger, achieve food security, enhance nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.”

However, the goal of SDG2 is under threat, and food security is challenged due to climate change. Unchecked population growth is an emerging threat that is further adding to the growing problem of feeding the masses.

Environmental degradation is having a major impact on food security challenges and is affecting food production, costs, and security.

The world is grappling with an environmental emergency due to the reliance on fossil fuels. Natural resources continue to be depleted at an alarming rate, and this is accelerating climate change and environmental degradation.

Some developed countries have adopted aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets, but continue to drag their feet. There have been wild swings in weather patterns leading to global warming and water scarcity. Crop production is impeded and yields continue to drop. In effect, global warming caused by climate change continues to have a major impact on the ecosystem on which agriculture depends. Natural calamities further exacerbate the food security risk.

The Effects of Climate Change on Agricultural Development in India

Indian Initiatives to Tackle Climate Change

Climate change is a phenomenon that has global dimensions. Therefore, an effective framework requires a cooperative effort from all the world nations. Moreover, these responsibilities should be built on “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities.” India has been an active contributor to multilateral efforts to tackle climate change. On the other hand, India is actively pursuing climate initiatives independently on a national level. India follows consistent climate policies. There is an emphasis on adaptation to climate change, keeping in mind the need for domestic growth and economic development.

India maintains its goal to install 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. India has promised to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070.

India Shows the Way Forward to SDG2

The agriculture sector contributes almost 15% to India’s $2.7 trillion economy. Enabling government policies will lead to the growth of this sector and create further opportunities.

India has undertaken crucial steps to enhance food security that include:

Besides, several national schemes on horticulture, agricultural development technology, and livestock are targeted at improving India’s agriculture.

The Way Forward

Climate change is a global issue that should be viewed with a perspective that is a mix of immediate solutions and a long-term strategy to tackle the effects of changing weather patterns. Adaptation strategies in agriculture like crop intensification, temperature tolerant crop varieties, and use of green manures/biofertilizers can be a way forward. On the macro front, a focus on creating adaptive measures with investment in areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change should be a part of a long-term mitigation strategy. Priority research aimed at the effects of climate change will help to overcome the looming threat of malnutrition and food security in India.

S M Sehgal Foundation: Contributing to Food Security In India

S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation), a sustainable rural development NGO in India, has been working since 1999 to improve the quality of life in rural communities in India. Established as a public, charitable trust, S M Sehgal Foundation creates sustainable programs to address rural India’s most pressing needs: Sehgal Foundation’s main program areas are: Water Management, Agricultural Development, Local Participation, and Sustainability, Transform Lives one school at a time, and Outreach for Development.

S M Sehgal Foundation’s Agricultural Development Program promotes sustainable livelihoods in India by building the capacities of farmers, including women farmers, on improved agricultural practices and new technologies that increase crop yields, conserve water, and improve soil fertility.

Sustainable Guar Project

S M Sehgal Foundation is implementing a Sustainable Guar Project in Sriganganagar, Rajasthan, with its partner organization, Ashland LLC, with the aim is to improve and replicate its agriculture and water management innovations to enhance the quality of life of the farming community.

The project commenced with 250 farmers in 2021–22 in ten villages of Sriganganagar. After the farmers’ overwhelming response, the project was extended for three years to add 1,600 farmers every year. By 2025, the project will cover 5,000 farmers.

The project aims to train farmers about the benefits of regenerative and climate-smart agriculture through a Package of Practices (PoP) of guar and other crops. PoP will help farmers understand the importance of balanced nutrition for their crops. PoP also helps to reduce the cost of cultivation and increases overall profitability.

Cluster bean (guar) is a crop that requires less water, fewer fertilizers, and less labor compared to crops like cotton and soybean. It also helps in nitrogen fixation, which further provides nitrogen to next year’s crop. Thus, the project is promoting guar sowing for crop rotation to maintain soil health and promote crop diversity.

Farmers are now using guar for their consumption. They also sell seeds of guar directly in the market. The promotion of guar is beneficial in the food chain as it has high nutritive value. Due to rate hikes in recent years, farmers can manage the cost economics of this crop and increase areas under guar cultivation. Farmers have shown a good response and are motivated to join the program. This initiative will not only deliver inputs and training but will promote innovative farm technologies and better agronomic practices, which will bring holistic and sustainable development to the farming community.

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“Litany of broken promises”~ UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on global warming

The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), painted a rather grim picture. The UN secretary general was scathing in his observations and stated that the report was “a file of shame cataloging empty pledges.”

Experts are of the opinion that we are on way to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree Celsius limit agreed upon in Paris in 2015. The scientific proof of this rather shocking assessment, brought forth by the IPCC report, says that greenhouse gas emissions have been on a continuous rise since 2010 “across all major sectors globally.” Given the situation, it seems we are well on our way to a climate catastrophe that could result in large areas of land underwater, unprecedented heat waves, devastating storms, and water shortages that would be widespread. It could mark the end of existence for a major number of species, and a threat to human civilization. Mr. Guterres said that the world needs to “triple the speed” of the shift to renewable energy, a radical shift involving investment and subsidies to be focused in that area.

Increasing global temperatures led by climate change have already started affecting water availability in several parts of the world. With increased frequency of severe droughts and floods, water shortages are here to stay unless drastic action is taken. Climate change has the potential to impact the water cycle with erratic precipitation and severe weather events. As the earth warms up, water evaporation will increase, leading to more frequency and intense rainfall. This would in turn cause floods and contamination of water bodies due to polluted runoff.

At the moment however, rainfall is in a declining phase, and water resources are stretched, something that is exacerbated by ballooning population growth. Flows into the country’s key freshwater resources are dwindling as a result of human activity and overexploitation. If global warming continues unabated, the World Health Organization estimates that by 2025 nearly half of the world’s population will be water-stressed.

Hydrologist Steven Gorelick, director of the Global Freshwater Initiative at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment, noted that “Rainfall is somewhere between beautiful and a nuisance . . . It’s not something you immediately drink.” In effect, the water crisis continues to build up slowly over time. We tend to forget when rainfall seems normal. The truth, however, is that this time the buildup continues and unless drastic corrective action is taken, we are headed for catastrophic consequences.

Today, a change in climate is felt primarily through a change in water, and it is necessary to tackle this emerging problem on an immediate basis.

How To Correct The Course

Scientists have been brainstorming and come up with several ways to correct the course. This calls for a revolution in how we produce energy and energize our world. Action needs to be taken by managing carbon emissions that should peak within three years, and fall rapidly thereafter. In addition, scrubbing the atmosphere of carbon dioxide emissions is required to bring temperatures under control.

While it is abundantly clear that we have the wherewithal in terms of technology and policy to address climate change, the ONLY major obstacles exist due to interests of the fossil fuel industry and the politics around it.

Some of the interventions that could be critical to contain global warming are:

One of the big differences with this report from previous releases is that social science features heavily.

Agricultural Development – Cause And Effect

As global warming spreads its tentacles, water systems are increasingly stressed, and some rivers, lakes, and aquifers are drying up. In the past, humans have managed to harness natural waterways through dams, wells, irrigation systems, etc., an effort that has allowed civilizations to thrive.

Agriculture consumes almost 70 percent of the world’s available freshwater. Almost 90 percent of this goes to waste due to irrigation systems that are inefficient or nonexistent. Cultivation of crops that are water intensive for the particular region also place undue stress on the water ecosystem. This inefficient use of water is leading to depleting water levels in rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers. Added to these is the fact that erratic and deficient rainfall leads to a situation where these water sources are not adequately recharged.

The pressing need is to address institutional challenges to manage water resources as the worst impact of climate change unfolds. It is also important to work toward promoting climate change adaptation with the help of community participation. It is a given that people from lower socioeconomic status from rural areas are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change on water. To prepare the vulnerable to tackle climate change, water management in agriculture needs to take an approach that builds capacities and resilience in the ecosystem and communities.

In effect, water management in agricultural development needs a fresh look as we look toward a future that could place increased stress on the freshwater sources.

Tackling Water Management In Agriculture And Sustainable Development At Grassroots

S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation), a rural development NGO in India has been working since 1999 to improve the quality of life of the rural communities in India. Established as a public, charitable trust, S M Sehgal Foundation creates sustainable programs to address rural India’s most pressing needs. Two of the major areas that S M Sehgal Foundation works on are Agricultural Development and Water Management.

The Water Management program works with communities to harvest and store rainwater for direct use, and/ or replenish groundwater by building and restoring infrastructure in villages. It supports revival of traditional water bodies, construction of water storage infrastructure, and safe disposal of wastewater. It promotes safe drinking water for all with innovative low-cost, sustainable technologies, and WASH behavior. It creates awareness about the need for water conservation and builds capacities of local communities for better management and long-term sustainability of their water resources. The program seeks opportunities to collaborate for continuous improvement and replication of low-cost water management interventions.

Guwada Success Of Check Dam

Guwada is one of the six villages of Chula panchayat, in Alwar district, Rajasthan. The 350 families who live here are entirely dependent on agriculture for livelihood.

During monsoon, a rainwater stream flows through Guwada’s panchayati land in the form of a rainy river with a depth of about eleven feet. In Sodawas village, the stream merges with the Sabi River. The rainwater stream flowed straight across and out of Guwada without any benefit to the villagers.

In December 2020, the team under a CSR-supported partnership project implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation proposed to construct a check dam across this stream, so that rainwater would accumulate in it and recharge the groundwater.

The check dam construction began in December 2020 and was completed in April 2021. The check dam was of a capacity of 33 million liters (about 5 feet in depth). During the monsoon, the villagers observed that it filled up and emptied four times, implying that about 132 million liters of water had percolated into the ground. The three farmers whose homes are close to the check dam reported that the water level in their wells had come up by about thirty feet. The water level at a depth of about 125 feet earlier came down to about 95 feet.

The villagers were enthused upon observing these results, which has led to a positive change due to harnessing of the water runoff.

Conclusion

The World Economic Forum has identified the water crisis as the major global risk that has the potential to derail economies and societies. Living with climate change will mean adapting to the vagaries of the water ecosystem and taking the necessary steps to reduce the vulnerabilities of communities and economies. The role and action of policy and polity have to go in unison with change agents with a vision to realize the dream of a harmonious future.

The post Water And The Global Climate Crisis appeared first on S M Sehgal Foundation.

At this time of the year, South Florida is often threatened with either blue-green algae or red algae blooms or both, collectively known as harmful algal bloom (HAB). We have been spared the wrath of both so far this year.

Although they are lumped together under HAB, the two are not technically algae. The blue-green organism is a single-cell bacterium called cyanobacteria, whereas the red tide organism is a single-cell dinoflagellate called Karenia brevis (K.brevis). The former has chlorophyll and can synthesize its own food, and the latter has flagella that help it to be mobile and swim around. This misnomer will perhaps be corrected by the scientific community someday.

Between May and June of this year, 330 elephants were reported dead in Botswana, a land-locked country in southern Africa, according to wildlife officials there. The cause of their death has been attributed to the ingestion of cyanobacterial neurotoxins through drinking water from a lake loaded with cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). This news raises a red flag for those of us who live on the islands and get our water supply from Lake Okeechobee, which is laden with cyanobacteria.

The cyanobacteria flourish in polluted water rich in excess phosphorous and nitrogen. The lake has plenty of both. The lake is fed by water from the Kissimmee River from the north that is laden with organic and inorganic nutrients from ranches, farms, and septic tanks along its basin; and, during the wet season, back-pumping of the chemically polluted excess water from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) in the south.

Just a century ago, water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south to the Everglades marsh into the flats of Florida Bay. These days, there is very little southerly flow of water from Lake Okeechobee. More than two-thirds of the rainwater that used to flow south into Florida Bay is instead being flushed untreated into the St Lucie estuary on the east and Caloosahatchee River estuary on the west. Unfortunately, these releases devastate the downstream Caloosahatchee River, estuary, and coastal ecosystems by spreading toxic blue-green algae. The excess nutrients fuel the growth of blue-green algae, impacting our drinking water supplies, and making the local beaches unsafe for swimming and fishing. Last week the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was scheduled to announce discharges from Lake Okeechobee in order to bring down the water level in the lake to protect the Herbert Hoover Dike. Hopefully the discharge will not affect the water quality as the lake is mostly free of blue green algae this year.

Unlike cyanobacteria, the red tide organisms prefer saltwater and do not do well in lower salinity waters. They multiply rapidly in the open ocean and reach epidemic proportions about 10 miles to 40 miles offshore where there are limited nutrients. The high tides or other events bring them to the shore where the toxin is released, wreaking havoc with marine life and human health. The polluted waters along the coast probably have an effect on their multiplication, but more research is needed to determine the impact of nutrients on their multiplication and growth.

From 2017-2019, toxic red tide was a lot in the news because of its severity, long duration, large-scale kill of marine life, respiratory problems in humans, and the financial loss from the decline in tourism.

Dr. Cynthia Heil, director of the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, has discovered “helper” type saltwater cyanobacteria that show up as a precursor to red tide. This can fix atmospheric nitrogen into digestible food for the red tide in the open ocean.

Both blue-green algae and red tide organisms produce toxins that are harmful to humans and wildlife. The blue-green toxins are called microcystins, and BMAA. The ingestion of microsystins in significant amounts can lead to skin irritations, trigger allergies, vomiting, and even liver failure. People and animals can become sick by drinking or bathing in water contaminated with cyanobacteria. Apparently this is what happened to the elephants in Botswana, as an elephant can drink an average of 50 gallons of water per day.

The ingestion of BMAA can lead to neurological diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s (ALS), Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, as per Howard Simon, a Sanibel resident and the president of the Clean Okeechobee Waters Foundation, and Dr. Walter Bradley, former chairman of the University of Miami’s Department of Neurology.

Red tide produces toxin called brevetoxins. In high concentrations, it affects the central nervous system of fish and other marine wildlife. This toxin also causes fish kills. When there is red tide, one can see dead fish littered on the beaches. In 2018, many dolphins died from red tide poison, and as a result their sightings have become infrequent while boating in the estuaries. Their populations have yet to come back to pre-2018 levels.

More research on HABs is needed to develop polices to mitigate their impact. Considering the seriousness of the problem, researchers at various institutes, such as Mote Laboratory, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Institute are developing technologies to mitigate it. But none of the controls suggested so far, whether biological, chemical, or mechanical, are economically feasible. The only feasible strategy is to maintain a balanced salinity level with a minimum flow level of water from the lake all year around and decreasing the number of high discharge flood control events in the wet season. Also, it is more important that nitrogen and phosphate levels stay within acceptable limits for good estuary health.

Recognizing the problem, Gov. Ron DeSantis reactivated the dormant Blue-Green Algae Task Force in 2019 to prioritize actions and make recommendations to reduce impacts of HABs in Florida waters. Florida legislators incorporated some but not all recommendations of the task force in Senate Bill 712. The governor signed SB712 “The Clean Waterways Act” earlier this year. Professor Mike Parsons, of the FGCU, calls this a good first step in addressing water quality problems, but a lot more needs to be done considering the severity of the problem.

Captiva resident Dr. Suri Sehgal has a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur and leading expert in the global hybrid seed industry and now operates two nonprofit organizations with his wife, Edda. He is a member of the Captiva Sea Level Rise Committee and chairs the Captiva Island Yacht Club’s Environmental Awareness Committee.

Source: Sanibel Captiva https://www.captivasanibel.com/opinion/

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Those of us who live on islands realize the threat of sea level rise (SLR) to our homes. We also know that a healthy mangrove ecosystem is the first line of defense as they protect coasts against erosion and protect coastal inhabitants against storm surges, high winds, and high tides. For visitors to the islands, mangroves are a striking attraction. We admire their beauty as we peddle through estuaries or visit the Everglades and see how they nurture rich biodiversity.

A mangrove tree has a rich underwater component that harbors a large variety of fish, crab, shrimp, and mollusk species; a surface component and a tangled root system that prevents coastal erosion from storm surges and high tides; and an aerial component that moderates wind flow and serves as a nesting and roosting site for birds. Of the three types of mangroves found in Florida, red mangroves thrive closest to the shore (mostly seaward). Black mangroves grow immediately inland of red mangroves in sites that may periodically be inundated. White mangroves grow inland as well and are found above the high tide line. They range in height from 2 to 10 meters depending upon the species. Defending against storm surges and high tides, mangroves act as a natural barrier, mitigating flooding by reducing wave energy, slowing down storm surges, and providing stabilization. A healthy deep and wide mangrove forest can help significantly in breaking up wave energy and decreasing storm surges, thus protecting property and people. A mangrove forest can considerably reduce wind velocity of hurricane. It is estimated that a healthy forest can reduce the effects of a Category 5 hurricane to a Category 3 hurricane. Further study is required to determine to what extent wind velocity decreases with the health and depth of the mangrove forest. Florida has 469,000 acres of mangrove forest, making it a stable ecosystem of coastal zones. Mangroves are adapted to shallow brackish water and have other special adaptations that allow them to live in sediment with high salinity and low oxygen. If the water becomes too deep or too high in salt content, they can’t survive. Mangroves have coexisted for centuries with the sea level rise. Dr. Erica Ashe, a researcher at Rutgers University, states that SLR has been modest historically (1.2 mm per year) as compared to now (3.4 mm per year), and mangroves have kept up with the SLR and are still growing upward. The SLR rate that has accelerated in recent years is likely to go much higher, causing a concern as to whether mangroves will be able to cope if it goes above 5 mm per year. The threshold for their growth is 7 mm or less per year, according to Dr. Neil Saintilan, a professor at the Macquaire University in Sydney, Australia.

For mangroves to keep pace with rising sea levels, they rely on buildup of organic sediments, according to Jeremy Conrad of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Sediment buildup is largely attributed to root growth, decomposition of leaf litter, and deposition of mineral sediments from tides and waves. To maximize the buildup of sediments, the mangrove forest must be healthy, protected, and restored wherever possible. Root production and leaf decomposition rates are altered in stressed mangrove forests, reducing the ability to build up sediments and keep pace with rising sea levels. Eventually, these stressed forests can begin to die off and result in a loss of sediment and the conversion of forest to open water.With projected SLR, the question being asked is if mangroves will move inward if there are no barriers in the way? Or will they simply die off if the water becomes too deep or too acidic? Further study of the entire subject is needed.Mangroves are an excellent carbon sink. Recent studies have found that the sequestration rate of carbon dioxide is several times that of terrestrial plants — as much as four times more than a tropical rainforest. Their ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their roots and sediment for centuries is sizable and makes mangroves important for mitigating climate change. However, when mangrove trees die, the carbon trapped in their roots and in the sediments is released back into atmosphere creating a new carbon source which has a negative impact on climate.Mangrove forests can play an important role in carbon removals because they are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world, and if kept undisturbed, mangrove forest soils act as long-term carbon sinks.More comparative data on carbon sequestration efficiency of mangroves is essential to make the most of their important role in climate mitigation. We would do well to learn as much as possible about this scientific wonder so that we do not lose this vital coastal relationship.Captiva resident Dr. Suri Sehgal is an India-born American philanthropist with a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur and leading expert in the global hybrid seed industry. Along with his wife, Edda, he now operates two nonprofit organizations that focus on water security, food security and social justice. He is a member of the Captiva Sea Level Rise Committee and chairs the Captiva Island Yacht Club’s Environmental Awareness Committee.

Source: Sanibel Captiva https://www.captivasanibel.com/2020/09/29/mangroves-the-first-line-of-defense/

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As the ocean water warms, the sea level rises, and the water from melted glaciers leads to further rising. These global phenomena are occurring here in the Gulf, in our own backyard.

Sea levels around the globe have fallen and risen dramatically over millions of years, driven primarily by glacial advance and retreat. Sea level changes in the distant past were often substantial and occurred faster than the incremental increases we see now. The sea level rise (SLR) has been modest historically (1.2 mm per year) whereas now it is 3.4 mm/year. The rate of increase is likely to go higher due to the steady rise in average global temperature. The pace of SLR has recently accelerated primarily due to ice caps melting into the ocean, warming seawaters, which expand when warm. The slowing Gulf Stream and sinking land contribute to SLR in some areas. Global warming is the culprit.

The average global temperatures have already risen by 1 to 1.2 Celsius since the preindustrial era (PIE) and continue to rise, driven by increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and atmospheric concentrations of GHG. As the globe warms, so does the ocean water. The decade ending in 2020 was a time of extremes — the warmest decade on record. The year 2016 was the hottest year, but per the latest data compiled by Zeke Hausfather for CarbonBrief, 2020 is more likely even hotter. Greenland lost a record amount of ice in 2019 — more than twice the annual average since 2003 according to Alfred Wegener of Germany. Several publications on climate change report that the South Pole warmed at three times the global rate over the past 30 years. As a result, parts of coastal Antarctica are losing ice, which contributes to SLR. The rising seawater is affecting the tidal system, raising the height of the tides higher than before and extending further inland. One can see this happening over time as the beach becomes narrow, and a modest surge or tidal waves take water right into coastal vegetation.

Beaches need periodic nourishment to mitigate erosion and maintain their character. This is being done periodically by the Captiva Erosion Prevention District, fully recognizing that it is not a long-term solution to coastal erosion. But it buys time before renourishment or replenishment is needed again to increase beach width and mitigate erosion.

How high the sea will rise is anybody’s guess and is a subject of debate by scientists. Whether it will be a few inches or a few feet depends on the assumptions made on temperature rise. A rise in the global mean temperature by 3 degrees Celsius (or more since PIE) could trigger a rise of a few feet by the end of this century. One can’t say with certainty how fast the ocean will warm and the ice will melt. One certainty is that water levels will continue to rise faster, we just don’t know how fast. Therefore scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have made predictions based on ranges from low to high.

The world’s oceans are the clearest measure of the climate emergency because they absorb more than 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuel burning, forest destruction, and other human activities. The other adverse effects of SLR are ocean acidification, species extinction, coral reef die-offs, and huge economic disruption from massive relocation to higher grounds.

The mitigation of SLR requires a holistic, long-term approach with robust and meticulous long-term planning and informed investment in resilient infrastructure. The soft structures that can protect the coast from SLR include mangrove forests, dense coastal vegetation, salt marshes, et cetera. The hard structures include sea walls, bulkheads, revetment, et cetera. If significant mitigation steps are not taken, the current sea level trends can lead to island and lowland submergence.

To ensure long-term resilience, a comprehensive plan is being developed by the Captiva Community Panel and the city of Sanibel. Some scientists have projected that with one meter rise, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge could be 95 percent underwater, and parts of Sanibel may not be habitable. The majority of Captiva may be severely impacted with many of the structures inundated north of central Captiva and in southern sections of Captiva. In fact, except for a strip in the middle, starting at the south end of Tween Waters and ending a half-mile before the Blind Pass bridge, everything else is likely to be underwater. The road access to the central strip may become impassable and therefore not habitable either. This means we will need to abandon Captiva unless mitigation structures are put in place. The time to act is now, before it is too late.

Captiva resident Dr. Suri Sehgal has a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur and leading expert in the global hybrid seed industry and now operates two nonprofit organizations with his wife, Edda. He is a member of the Captiva Sea Level Rise Committee and chairs the Captiva Island Yacht Club’s Environmental Awareness Committee.

Source: Sanibel Captiva https://www.captivasanibel.com/2020/11/03/sea-level-rise-warming-seas-melting-glaciers/

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“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles with it”
— Winston Churchill

Continuing from the last blog entry, Living with Climate Change (LCC) Project at Sehgal Foundation has made progress in terms of site selection. I visited the Bundelkhand region in Central India in mid August 2013. Bundelkhand, a semi-arid geographical region lies between the Indo-Gangetic plain to the north and the Vindhyachal range to the south and is divided into 6 districts of Madhya Pradesh & 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh. It is a hard rock area with limited or inadequate ground water resources. The geo-physical condition is significantly sensitive to climate change. For example, Bundelkhand had 12 drought years during the 19th and 20th centuries. On an average, drought occurred once in 16 years. However with the changing climate, frequency of droughts has increased. In the period from 1968-1992, drought frequency has increased from one – three in 16 years.

This blog entry is not about the impact of droughts in Bundelkhand but about a local change agent who has developed local adaptation strategies to cope with the impact of the changing climate.

During my recent visit to Bundelkhand, I got an opportunity to meet a young, dynamic and highly motivated farmer. Prakash Kushwaha of Rajawar village in Tikamgarh district has initiated a local movement that emphasizes organic methods of agriculture. This 25 year old has learnt about organic farming techniques from the Shubh Kal program broadcast on Radio Bundelkhand – a community radio based in Orchha and promoted by Development Alternatives, a civil society organization working to empower rural communities. Prakash believes that the climate has been very unpredictable recently, especially with the heavy rains this year and continuous droughts from 2004 to 2009.

Having seen cracked fields during the drought years, Prakash understands the significance of agriculture adaptation strategies. He took steps towards preserving fertility of the soil and enhancing agricultural productivity by adopting organic farming techniques such as vermi composting and amrit mitti (a type of organic fertilizer). He has also been advocating the use of kitchen gardens and rainwater harvesting.

With these practices in place, Prakash grows several kinds of crops in Kharif (monsoon) and Rabi (winter) cropping cycles and has recently started cultivating a crop of medicinal importance called Chlorophytum borivilianum (common name: Safed Musli). It is sold for Rs 600-800 per kg. Many women in his village have taken up the kitchen garden activity since he started advocating for the same. Women grow tomatoes, eggplants, bitter gourds and other seasonal vegetables. Communities feel that kitchen gardens not only ensure steady source of food for household consumption but also increase the aesthetic value of the households.

Prakash has been spreading his message using various communication channels that include participation in radio shows and making demonstrations at the local agriculture line department offices to promote organic farming as a climate adaptive strategy. He has been demonstrating the use of amrit mitti in neighboring villages and districts. The constituents required to make amrit mittiare one kilogram of cow dung, one liter of cow urine, 50 grams jaggery, 25 kilograms of dried leaves and 100 liters of water. He has even made field demonstrations of amrit mitti at the local Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs i.e. agriculture extension centers of the Government of India) in Jhansi, Datia and Shivpuri districts.

With the potential impact of climate change bearing down on the drought prone region of Bundelkhand, organic farming practices can ensure high soil fertility and a good crop yield for the future.

The post Living with Climate Change (Blog series: Write-up 2) appeared first on S M Sehgal Foundation.

This blog series is a part of assorted writings for a two-year research project titled “Living with Climate Change” (LCC) funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canada. Following is the first blog in the series. It briefly outlines the research project, the challenges in conceptualizing the research study and the literature gaps in the discourse of climate change. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change in the fourth assessment report suggests that the climate system of our planet when compared with the pre-industrial era has changed at both global and regional levels. Recognizing these scientific facts, countries often attempt for two potential responses, ‘mitigation’ and ‘adaptation’. Mitigation involves reducing the magnitude of climate change itself while adaptation attempts to limit our vulnerability to climate change impacts through various development strategies. Adaptation is gaining significance in climate change academia as it can operate like a policy option such as the National Action Plans on Climate Change in India. Moreover, it works as a complementary response strategy to ‘mitigation’. Adaptation studies are also contributing to characterization of natural and socio-economic attributes of a particular locale in distinct development contexts such as rural, coastal, tribal and urban.

The LCC project envisages understanding the perception of rural and tribal communities regarding the changing climate and their adaptation strategies. The research study currently in the design stage will be conducted in different countries with different geological features such as Nepal (Himalayan belt), India (semi-arid and coastal belts) and New Brunswick, Canada (coastal region). Semi-arid areas in India under consideration include Mewat (Haryana) and Bundelkhand (13 districts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh). Each area has its own distinct climate, economy and culture. Hence, these locations are bound to use different climate change adaptation strategies. The climatic conditions in these locations may illustrate the characteristics of climate variability in the form of extreme patterns in rainfall, occurrence of drought events or any extreme climate event that affects local communities. For example, Bundelkhand had 12 drought years during the 19th and 20th centuries i.e. on an average – once in 16 years. However with the changing climate, the frequency of drought has increased. In the period from 1968-1992, drought frequency has increased from one – three in 16 years.

The uniqueness of the LCC project lies in the feature of ‘knowledge mobilization’ and the involvement of various stakeholders to augment the trust between Global North and Global South. The researchers based at universities in Canada and NGOs in India and Nepal plan to share research outcomes (mobilize knowledge) through various types of writings, photographs and videos. Involvement of stakeholders will be through participation of graduate students, community leaders and local NGO representatives in all the chosen site locations. The research study has the potential to prompt coordination of regional efforts to share successful adaptation strategies and to promote integration of local, regional and global actions and policies relating to climate change.

Challenges in Climate Change Research

Site selection is a very vital step in social science research as it is imperative for grounding a theory or for studying a grounded theory in a definite context. Failure to provide rationale for selection of fieldwork sites is a major gap in the literature of climate change research. Moreover, research studies are not able to comprehend the empirical differentiation in the research between the impacts of biophysical factors (such as changes in temperature, rainfall and precipitation), social (pull and push factors of migration), institutional (weak panchayats/ village councils) and policy concerns (such as agriculture policy concerns on subsidies). LCC research study methodology would make necessary efforts to capture these linkages between the biophysical, social, institutional and policy concerns.

Further literature suggests that communities are adaptive and in the past they have adapted to extreme environmental situations. In studies of the socio-economic consequences of climate change; research blends the social, political and institutional factors with the biophysical factors that influence the adaptation strategies of the communities. This unclear linkage between the social, political and institutional factors with the biophysical factors is a research gap. Thus, with the realization of this concern, many social scientists have started using terms like ‘climate variability’ or ‘climate induced impacts’ instead of the much debated term, ‘climate change’. Social scientists use the term frequently to explain the changing socio-economic patterns; however it is very difficult to prove climate change as a phenomenon at the local village level. The LCC study would make an attempt to understand the phenomenon of climate change at the local level using perceptions and community understanding on adaptation and resilience.

There are specific groups within the community that are more vulnerable to risks posed by climate change. Rural women in India, for example are disproportionately affected by climate variability. They are more likely to be marginal in terms of participation in decision-making for defining roles and responsibility, and equity in terms of cost and benefits. A very relevant example is the provision of drinking water for rural households in semi-arid areas. Along with this responsibility of fetching water, women are also involved in primary caring of their family members. With increase in climate variabilities, the adverse impact on the health and well being of families could also increase. This could increase women’s caring responsibilities. These examples reflect the theoretical discourse of ‘feminist environmentalism’, which talks about women being affected more due to the changing climate. Research studies in climate change keeps these women under unitary category. These studies fail to bring understanding on the class, caste and ethnicity among women and neglect the interrelated dominance on resources affected by climate change. It would be an interesting hypothesis for LCC study to explore this discourse. It is essential to emphasize on the social discourse such as gender in the study where climate change induced biophysical factors influence the socio-economic consequences.

Largely it is the responsibility of the social scientists researching in the space of climate change adaptation to explore the nature of risks and vulnerabilities that the local communities and specific groups are exposed to. With the above mentioned different challenging discourses of community based climate change research, the fundamental feature to be preserved is that the LCC research project should be able to weave together the entire social constructed meanings of climate change impacts and adaptation strategies along with the biophysical patterns of climate change.

The post Living with Climate Change appeared first on S M Sehgal Foundation.

In the semi-arid region of Mewat, Haryana, over 75% of villagers work in agriculture. Climatic fluctuations in rainfall and temperature have been significantly impacting crop yields, which in turn are affecting many of these farmers’ livelihoods. Policymakers and researchers are calling for new farming strategies that can help farmers adapt to climate changes. Sehgal Foundation was interested in determining how much climate has changed in Mewat over the past 10 years.

On December 26, 2012, we surrounded a small bonfire fueled by upla (dung cakes) as a grey sky overshadowed us. We had driven one and a half hours from Gurgaon in order to talk to villagers in the region of Mewat. We hastily began talking to two groups—one was a group of a dozen senior males and the other included several of the village’s senior females. Many of the groups’ members were over 60 years old. We asked them what climatic changes they had experienced in the last 50 years and how these changes had impacted their agricultural practices.

During the discussions, villagers said that average rainfall had been reducing, but that when it did rain, it was more intense than it used to be. Villagers conveyed climatic changes consistent with reports on regional climatic changes in India[1]. Villagers reported that in the winter, it used to freeze and that during the monsoon, the temperature was lower[2]. Surprisingly, in the summer, they used to experience heat waves for two months, but this no longer occurs. They also noted that sunshine had become more intense and that soil became sandy due to brackish groundwater.

Over the years, villagers have found that the condition and availability of groundwater has changed. Now, villagers have to dig deep down to reach groundwater, and this water is increasingly saline. As a result, they often buy water from private tankers. One villager said, “The poor have been asking the rich for water for the past 15 years.” The overuse of groundwater and limited freshwater recharging are primary causes of increasing groundwater salinity, but decreasing rainfall is exacerbating the issue.

The villagers also talked about how their agricultural practices have changed over the years. They now cultivate fewer crops due to increased groundwater salinity and lack of rainfall and deforestation has also been a problem. One villager said that, “People destroyed the medicinal herbs and cultivated the land. The land was not uniform then, but now it is uniform in shape.”

Smallholder farmers in poverty-stricken regions like Mewat are most vulnerable to climate changes. Socially, technologically, and financially, these farmers have fewer resources to help them adapt to new conditions. Regardless of their hardships, villagers were cheerful throughout the discussions.

To read more blogs by Aditya, please see the link: http://adityabastola.blogspot.in/

[1] Mewat, located in the Aravallis range, belongs to northern plains, which is one of the semi arid agro-ecological regions in India. Anna Bruderle et al reported that the semi-arid areas in Rajasthan, a state adjacent to Mewat, Haryana, “will likely face the difficulty of yet more concentrated and variable rainfalls, and higher frequency of dry spells occurring even during the rainy season” citing the work of Kumar et al in 2006. “Climate Change: Vulnerability and Adaptation: Experiences from Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh: Water Resource Management, Case Study India.” The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). 2009. (Page 4).

Similarly, Anna Ranuzzi and S. Richa reported that in the North Indian semi arid regions, the average mean surface temperature is predicted to rise between 3.5°C and 5 °C by the end of this century. The Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations (ICRIER). “Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Food Security” ICRIER Policy Series. No. 16. May 2012. (Page 1).

[2] According to the same report by ICRIER, the temperature rise during the winter and post-monsoon was the main contributor to the warming, which has risen by 0.80°C and 0.82°C in the last hundred years, respectively. Ibid.

The post Climate Change and Its Impacts: Observations by the Villagers in Mewat appeared first on S M Sehgal Foundation.