The vulnerable coastal village of Chellanam came to the fore once again on Tuesday at a session on climate change and its impact organised by Green Peace India.
Jackson Pollayil, State president of Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation; Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden; Lalit Babar of Ambedkar Ksheti Vikas Sansodan Sansta; and Shankar Haldar, director of MUKTI Sundarbans, working to alleviate the sufferings of people in the Sundarbans, were among those who spoke at a round-table on Tuesday.
Members of Green Peace India and fishermen’s representatives under the banner of United for Climate Justice also unfolded a 27 x 60 foot banner in the sea off Chellanam highlighting the issue.
A communication from the organisers of the round-table and allied activities on Tuesday said the events in Kochi were organised in conjunction with the COP 27 Global Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
They also said that the past few decades had seen various parts of the country being hit by extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, and droughts and, in recent years, cold waves and heatwaves.
According to the IPCC AR(6) report, rising temperatures will continue to increase the likelihood of the threat of heatwaves and droughts across Asia and cause delay and weakening of the monsoon circulation in South Asia.
But through all these setbacks, there have been tales of hope and resilience as various communities take up measures to counter the effects of the events. Fishers from coastal Kerala who ventured out in their boats to save people trapped in the 2018 floods and technical innovations by Mukti in the village of Purva Shridharpur, Sundarbans, West Bengal, such as cyclone shelters and salt water adaptive farming practices are some of them.
As vulnerable and developing nations come together to make their climate justice demands at COP 27, “we have all gathered together in this event standing in solidarity with the climate-affected vulnerable communities around the world,” said the organisers of the Kochi event.
“We demand that the Indian government implement a stronger National Climate Adaptation Plan which helps all affected communities and has strong goals in building climate adaptive solutions for the nation,” the statement said.
