Haryana Government will set up a “Strategic Knowledge Mission Centre on Climate Change”, to collect sufficient data on the impact of climate change and to ensure coordination in various concerned departments on environmental management issues.
The State Government has also proposed to establish “Centres of Excellence” throughout the state, to strengthen resilience and adaptation techniques to counter the impact of climate change.
Haryana Vision Document 2030, prepared by the State Government has pointed out that awareness levels about climate change mitigation and adaptation in Haryana are very low. This is owed to the fact that the state has not focused on generating awareness amongst cultivators and households about practices and techniques to promote environmental sustainability and mitigate environmental degradation, it stated.
As per the climate trends, the state has witnessed an increase of about 1 degree Celsius to 1.2 degrees Celsius, in maximum and minimum temperatures in the past decades. The mean annual rainfall is projected to decrease marginally by about 63 mm (3 percent) by mid-century, and increase by about 347 mm (17 percent) by end-century. Currently, Haryana emits 2 percent of national green house gases (GHGs). These variations in temperature, erratic rainfall, and emission of greenhouse gases have already had an impact on crop production, ground water, and the health of the people, stated the Vision Document.
Expressing concerns over the poor implementation of climate change response measures, the Vision Document has submitted that the lack of cohesion and convergence across different state agencies in the collection of data which can then be analysed to predict the effects of climate change, is a big stumbling block in the way of systematic integration of disjointed actions being taken as of now.
Also, there is lack of skilled and knowledgeable human resources who are able to analyse and interpret the different outcomes and impacts of climate change, and identify actions or models, it added.
“The State Government has proposed a series of collective and coordinated measures to be taken by various departments regarding different interventions for adaptation to climate change at various levels,” said a senior official of the Haryana Government.
In its Vision Document, the government has planned to set up a “Strategic Knowledge Mission Centre on Climate Change” for collecting data from various line departments in their respective areas of working. The Centre will also operationalize climate interventions across the state, said the official.
Apart from this, the government will set up numerous “Centres of Excellence” throughout the state, involving universities and the civil society in order to carry out public awareness campaigns to counter the impact of climate change.
“Climate Change Awareness Centres” would also be created in areas which are considered pinnacles of environmental conservation within Haryana, such as national parks, sanctuaries, zoos and other public places, added the official.
Notably, Haryana has already prepared its state action plan on climate change (SAPCC) with India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, and has developed this plan in consultation with relevant state line departments.
Within the SAPCC, Haryana Government has outlined 43 priority areas of intervention to promote resilience and enhance climate change adaptation, as well as adaptation measures to be implemented in the next five years within the priority areas of action.