Climate change hits Bay of Bengal coastal communities hard

Dear all

I was in Bhubneshwar from 12th July to 14th July,2012 evening to attend the workshop.onCommunity resilience to climate change in the Bay of Bengal 2012” .I enclose the news published in the Bhubneshwar edition of "The Pioneer "for your perusal

Yours

SudhirMishra

Pioneer/Balangir(Odisha)  Climate change hits Bay of Bengal coastal communities hard

Climate change hits Bay of Bengal coastal communities hard

THURSDAY, 12 JULY 2012 22:52

PNS | BHUBANESWAR

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Climate change and its impact on the communities living on the Bay of Bengal coastline require concerted efforts of all sections of people of different nations to tackle the challenge effectively.

This was observed by speakers at a workshop on “Community resilience to climate change in the Bay of Bengal 2012” organised here on Thursday by the Regional Centre for Development and Cooperation (RCDC) and the Utkal University in partnership with the Concern Worldwide and the UNDP. The meeting was attended by representatives of from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

Four decades ago, Schumacher had warned of the climate change and stressed the need for appropriate technology to meet it. The technology should be eco-friendly and should not “infringe on the right of future generation,” observed Vishaka Hidellage from Sri Lanka. As people beyond the countries’ boundaries are feeling the impact and the communities living on the Bay of Bengal coastline are worst-affected, the situation calls for multi-country cooperation to tackle the challenges in an effective manner, she said.

The Bay of Bengal coastal parts have been identified among the places most vulnerable to climate change-led disasters. These regions house the world’s most poor population, she pointed out.

Saroj Dash of Concern Worldwide said the climate change has resulted in rise in the temperature level and rise in the sea level threatening displacement of Bay of Bengal cost communities. A multi-sectoral effort involving Governments, civil society organisations, coastal communities and knowledge hubs like universities is necessary to tackle the challenge, he added.

Odisha’s Minister of Environment and Forests Debi Prasad Mishra said the State has a long coastline, on which a large number of people depends for their livelihoods. But the rising temperature and sea level threaten the livelihoods of these millions of poor people. Besides, the communities living on riversides are also affected. Concerted efforts are required to meet the challenges, he said, adding that the inputs of the workshop would be included in the Odisha Climate Change Action Plan.

Nepal representative Achyut Luitel observed that climate change’s impacts are not confined to a single nation as a landslide in Nepal has its impact in India too. Heavy rain in Nepal create floods in India as different rivers originating in Nepal flow down to the Bay of Bengal through different States of India. People of Nepal also depend a lot on the Bay of Bengal. Hence, concerted cross-country efforts are required to tackle the situation.

Among others, Dr Ambika Nanda of the UNDP and RCDC executive director Kailash Chandra Dash also spoke on the occasion.