Climate change and urbanisation are two of the most important phenomena facing the world today and they are inextricably linked, observed Fulbright fellow in Environmental Studies at Yale University (USA) Suman Chandra.
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She participated in the discussions during the national webinar on ‘Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Wisdom and Cross-Scale Understanding,’ jointly organised by GITAM School of Gandhian Studies and United States India Education Forum (USIEF), here on Monday.
She pointed that India ranks fourth in the list of countries that produce highest greenhouse emissions and this could be a result of massive urbanisation.
Ms. Chandra, who earlier served as District Collector of Buldhana district in Maharashtra, emphasised that we are on the cusp of a rapidly changing world and we need to prioritise sustainable living and make it a part of our lifestyle in order to protect the planet. She suggested that a planned urbanisation in countries such as India could serve as a great adaptation method.
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A. Rama Mohan Reddy, former forest service officer, who extended his services in the Himalayan region, focussed on the impact of climate change on forests which include frequent fires, unforeseen floods, untimely flowering of various plant species and the likes. He also spoke about various measures taken by the Forest Department to mitigate the long-term effects and to improve forest cover.
Visakha Society for Protection and Care of Animals (VSPCA) member Priya Tallam spoke about resilience in coastal communities and various activities undertaken by the VSPCA towards the betterment of the ocean and the marine life along the coast of Visakhapatnam.
The panel of speakers included IIM (Ahmedabad) Professor Rama Mohan Turaga, Samata Executive Director Ravi Rebbapragada, Ashoka Trust post doctoral research associate Vikram Aditya, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) researcher Bijayashree Satapathy and Stanford University researcher Krti Tallam.