With climate change emerging as a serious environmental challenge, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) brought stakeholders on a common platform here on Wednesday to draw out their propositions on alleviating the phenomenon and adding the same to the Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change (KSAPCC) for deriving at a “people-centric” and “inclusive” policy.
Over a hundred participants attended the consultation meet at the Institution of Engineers here.
The KSPCB plans to hold similar consultations with stakeholders in 11 other cities where its regional offices are located, in the coming days.
KSPCB Member Secretary Vijay Kumar, who inaugurated the meet, urged the participants to offer their valuable suggestions for the action plan. Stakeholders had been requested to submit their perspectives on topics such as water and nature; solid waste management; air quality; transport; industries; energy; agriculture and horticulture; forest and bio-diversity, and urbanisation.
Energy expert Shankar Sharma, who was appointed by the KSPCB as the consultant and coordinator for the exercise, said the views aired at the session would be piled up and presented to the government for appropriate action.
“Adapting to this phenomenon and mitigating the effects of climate change is our focus,” he said.
According to KSPCB, Karnataka has many serious issues to contend with on climate change.
About 77 per cent of the total geographical area is officially identified as arid or semi-arid; and drought is a threat to reckon with as two thirds of the State receives less than 750 mm rainfall per annum.
