Work begins on State Development Report on Climate Change

Himachal has taken the lead by initiating the process for the preparation of the State Development Report on Climate Change in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to assess its impact. The state has suffered more than Rs 40,000 crore losses due to disasters triggered by flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides.

“Himachal’s high dependence on natural resources and its fragile ecosystem make it highly vulnerable. Hence, we need to have a report to address issues arising from the very visible impacts of climate change,” said DC Rana, Director, Environment and State Disaster Management Authority.

The report to be prepared by experts in consultation with local communities will assess the human impact of climate change on four key sectors of health, agriculture, including forestry and water, tourism and construction. It is based on these findings that strategies will be proposed for climate smart development in the report, which will be ready by the year end.

Amee Mishra, UNDP Director and Chief Economist, said that rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events negatively affected health, education, gender equality and food security. “The hill state’s dependence on agriculture and natural resources exacerbates its vulnerability to deforestation, landslides and water scarcity, impacting both lives and livelihoods,” she added.

She said that the concerns of women, orchardists, youth, apple orchard workers and those working on the ground must be reflected in the policy formulation. It was important that their voices were heard and their priorities were reflected in climate change planning. “The government will prepare the road map for sustainable development with our technical support. It will reflect on how to balance the challenges of growth with human development and the growth trajectory is taking everyone along,” she said.

With signs of climate change like erratic rains, heat waves and reduced snowfall becoming more and more visible in Himachal, there is growing concern over the need for initiating mitigation steps. The State Development Report on Climate Change will help in identifying the most critical hazards, vulnerable regions and population groups.

It is amidst growing concern on the issue of climate change that the report will help identify opportunities to accelerate growth with focus on climate change, decentralisation and accountable and inclusive growth. “In the recent past, deforestation on account of road construction, hydroelectric power generation, cement plants, tourism projects and other such initiatives have contributed to environmental degradation, which can worsen with the impact of climate change becoming more visible,” said experts.

Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxean said that the report would be helpful in analysing how changing climate patterns were affecting key human development indicators like health, agriculture and allied sectors like water and forestry.