Adaptation and mitigation are two keys that need to be turned on to maintain the type of stability that will help nations in tackling climate change, said the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) director general Dr Ashwani Kumar. Speaking at the inaugural session of a five-day training programme on climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies for scientists and technologists working in the government sector, Kumar said that India is a developing economy most vulnerable to climate change because it is more prone to the adverse impacts from climate change.
Mitigation measures alone are insufficient. Even with an immediate end to emissions of greenhouse gases, climate change will occur and there is need to adapt to these changes. India is likely to be affected very adversely by impact of climate change as food and water security of the country is also likely to be affected adversely.
Climate change mitigation can be attained at cheaper cost through forestry activities like afforestation and reforestation, however, adaptation is going to be the key for stability of natural resources. He urged scientists across the sectors to join hands to ensure climate change mitigation and adaptation in various agroclimatic zones of the country.
Globally 30 per cent of land is covered with forest. India is the tenth largest forested country in the world. Forests in India contribute a lot towards climate change mitigation. With its focus on sustainable management of forests, afforestation and reforestation programmes, India has been successful in improving carbon stock in its forests by as much as 10 per cent amounting to about 600 million tons of carbon for the decade ending in 2004, said Kumar.
ICFRE deputy director general (Administration) SP Singh said that climate change is one of the few issues that have received tremendous global attention in recent years. He stressed on need for identifying the vulnerabilities of climate change. Adaptation is a major challenge for developing countries like India, he added. ICFRE, Biodiversity and Climate Change division scientist VRS Rawat and DDG (Education) Dr Savita also addressed the gathering.
The five-day training course is being attended by 20 scientists from different government scientific organisations and universities of the country. The training programme is sponsored by Department of Science and Technology under the national programme for training of scientists and technologists working in government sector.