Madras Workshop Identifies Ways South Asians Can Respond
to Climate Change
Contrary to predictions of earlier modeling results, monsoon
rains over India are likely to lessen rather than intensify,
according to a study presented at the Madras Workshop on Impact
of Climate Change on Food and Livelihood Security: An Agenda
for Action, last December. The authors of the study, Dr. M.
Lal of the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute
of Technology, together with two collaborating German scientists,
factored the effect of aerosols produced by coal burning into
an analysis of climate change. Increasingly, aerosols over land
areas screen incoming sunlight while surrounding oceans with
little screening are likely to warm faster. This trend is expected
to decrease the temperature differential be-tween ocean and
land areas, reducing the volume of monsoon rainfall.
Climate Change Effect on Poor
Seventy Indian scientists and government leaders and officials
of international groups at this December 4 - 6 Workshop met
to hammer out an action plan to protect vulnerable Indians,
especially the poor, from climate disruption. Conference Chairman
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan noted at the opening session a growing
disparity between rich and poor among most nations. The poor,
in both rural and urban areas, are likely to be the most susceptible
to climate change, he stated, and response strategies must address
their concerns.
At an energy workshop during the conference, chaired by Prof.
R. Natarajan, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology,
Madras, participants endorsed much more aggressive efforts to
develop renewables, particularly in off-grid areas. The Indian
State of Tamil Nadu has become a leader in wind, biomass and
solar energy. Lynne Edgerton, a member of the California Air
Resources Board, described how energy, particularly wind and
geothermal, are becoming significant factors in the California
energy market. She also pointed to the Solarex photovoltaic
project in Nevada as a sign that solar technologies are likely
to become cost competitive even on an electric grid.
John Topping of the Climate Institute cited the need for a
concerted strategy to develop an international partnership to
speed renewable energy. The concept was endorsed at the 1995
Manila Asia Pacific Leaders Conference on Climate Change. One
element of this strategy would be, he urged, shifting OECD government
energy R&D, now about $6 to $7 billion annually, from its current
overwhelming concentration on fossil, fission and fusion technologies
to a much greater emphasis on renewables and end use efficiency.
A second element would be use of multilateral and bilateral
financing programs and government purchases such as municipal
buses to ramp up the scale of near competitive clean energy
systems, allowing them to displace dirtier energy technologies.
Improve Extreme Event Forecasts
Endorsing the concept of a South Asian Anticipatory Network
on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, Workshop participants
recommended that areas vulnerable to inundation, tropical cyclones,
storm surges and subsidence be delineated and that plans be
developed to protect mangroves, coastal forests, sand dunes
and areas affected by salt water intrusion. To protect food
security, the Workshop recommended improved forecasting of extreme
events such as floods and drought affecting large segments of
the population, development and identification of environmentally
friendly agro techniques, development of heat resistant crop
varieties and amendment of India's Coastal Regulatory Zone Act
to include hatcheries for coastal aquaculture as a permitted
use. Hon. K.P. Krishnan, Minister for Agriculture of Tamil Nadu,
stressed the importance of developing innovative techniques
to enable the agriculture sector to respond to climate change.
Swaminathan Cited for Global Environmental Leadership
On the first night of the meeting, conferees attended the Climate
Institute's Ninth Annual Awards Banquet held at the Madras Club
and honored Dr. M.S. Swaminathan for his "pioneering work in
fostering village and muncipal level responses to climate change."
Among those who spoke of Dr. Swaminathan's work were Dr. N.V.C.
Swamy of the Indian Institute of Technology and the four Climate
Institute Board member participants in the Madras Workshop:
Hon. Tom Roper, Former Minster of Planning and Environment of
the Australian State of Victoria; Lynne Edgerton; Institute
Vice President Dr. Ata Qureshi and Institute President John
Topping. Noting that a 1988 Climate Institute Prize Winner,
Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland, had just been awarded the Nobel Prize
in Chemistry, Topping stated that he hoped that Dr. Swaminathan
would receive a future Nobel Peace Prize for his work in sustainable
agriculture.
The Workshop was jointly organized by the M.S. Swami-nathan
Research Foundation and the Climate Institute. Sponsoring Indian
organizations included the Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research, the Department of Ocean Development, the Indian Council
for Agricultural Research, Ministry of Environment and Forests,
and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. International sponsors included
the United Nations Development Programme, the Australian Agency
for International Development, and the US Agency for International
Development. Support also came from an individual sponsor, Pat
Sarma, President of Access Methods, Inc., a Montclair, New Jersey
computer services firm. A member of the Climate Institute's
Leadership Council, Sarma was originally from Tamil Nadu, the
state in which Madras is situated.
The Indian scientific journal, Current Science, is planning
to publish the workshop proceedings. Meanwhile, information
on the workshop is available from Dr. V. Balaji, Project Director,
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, (FAX) 91-44 235 1319, Tel.
91-44 235 1229.
