TERI ENVIS in partner with Lakshadweep ENVIS E-hub is organizing one day annual user interaction workshop cum seminar to generate awareness, keep user updated about the centre activity and also seek suggestion for strengthening future data collection area on 6th February, 2020.
Theme: Climate Change in Lakshadweep: Vulnerabilities, Mitigation and Energy.
Background:
One of the most significant impacts of climate change has been on the oceans. Impacts of anthropogenic activities—both directly and indirectly, have contributed towards increasing sea level rise, acidification of oceans, drastic reduction of several specifies of flora and fauna, and introduction of new materials such as plastics and micro-plastics across the world. These various changes in the worlds’ oceans are isolated neither in origin, nor in impacts, and continually affect each other in different ways to further enhance oceanic changes. One of the most important and common changes is understood to be increasing sea levels and the impacts that these changes are likely to have on the billions of people all across the world that reside in human habitats ranging from tiny fishing hamlets, to major metropolitan cities.
· Lakshadweep, the only coral island chain in India, has clearly started showing the impacts of climate change the waves during the southwest monsoon are much higher today than they were before.
· The degraded condition of the coral ecosystem in Lakshadweep is not encouraging. As per scientists the water temperatures are increasing faster in the Arabian Sea than elsewhere in the world’s oceans. More worryingly, there are often spikes in the sea temperatures that lead to mass bleaching of corals.
· Between 80-100% of coral reef deaths can be attributed to the phenomenon of ‘bleaching’. Low-lying islands are at greater risk from sea-level rise. Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy lie in a cyclone belt.
· The remaining islands are subject to the Southwest and Northeast monsoons causing heavy damages to coconut crops, seashore land, sheds and dwelling houses that are not able to withstand cyclonic winds or in areas subject to flooding.
Date: 6 February 2020.
Venue: Lakshadweep.
Agenda
Date: 6 February 2020
Venue: Lakshadweep
| 9:00-10:00 | Registration |
| 10:00-11:00 | Welcome Address | |
| Special Address | |
| Inaugural Address | |
| Relevance of the seminar & Vote of Thanks | |
| 11:00-11:30 | High Tea |
| 11:30 - 12:15 | Presentation by ENVIS Centres | TERI ENVIS Resource Partner - Dr P. K Bhattacharya, Area Convenor, Fellow and Coordinator, TERI ENVIS,TERI Lakshadweep ENVIS E-hub – Dr. K. Syed Ali, Range Forest Officer & ENVIS Coordinator Department of Environment & Forests – Kavaratti, Lakshadweep |
| 12:15-12:45 | Plenary Talk-I | Impacts and Vulnerability of Climate Change in Lakshadweep |
| 12:45-13:15 | Plenary Talk-II | Energy scenario and mitigation measures Discussion on current energy scenario of Lakshadweep and how renewables are playing vital role in meeting energy demand. |
| 13:15-14:00 | Lunch |
| 14:00-15:00 | Panel Discussion I | Blue Economy- Sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihood and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem. |
| 15:00-15:15 | Tea |
| 15:15 – 16:15 | Panel Discussion-II | Natural Disasters: Impact and Vulnerability Storms and cyclones are the main natural hazards occurring in UTL (union territory Lakshadweep). Effective adaptive and disaster mitigation efforts are of prime importance considering predictions on global climate change and rising sea levels. |
| 16:15- 16:45 | Open Discussion & Feedback Major Issues may be raised by the participants Chair: MoEFCC Represenatative |
| | Summing up |