climate action plan

KOLKATA: The Centre has approved the state's plan to take immediate steps against climate change. It will be executed by the state government once the funds are released. The funding agency, however, is yet to be decided.

A senior environment department official said that West Bengal was one of the few states that had submitted the plan of action for the climate change draft plan at the earliest. The Union ministry of environment and forest has given its nod and it will take a year for the state to implement the measures, the official said.

Once the funding agency is decided, the state government departments that are directly or indirectly linked to the environment, namely irrigation, power, water resources, environment and urban development, will draw their respective course of action to put into action the recommendations in the plan.

Some of these recommendations that find mention are taking immediate measures to cut down emission of greenhouse gases in Sunderbans, Dooars and Darjeeling. These areas are vulnerable to global warming and climate change and are plagued by soil erosion, scarcity of water and shifting of agricultural production centres to higher altitudes.

The environment department had earlier prepared a study which gave an alarming picture of the climate change in the state if adequate steps weren't taken.

The report states that changes in the climate may begin as early as 2021 with average temperature soaring up, lesser occurrence of rainfall, a sharp rise in sea water level and frequency of tropical country diseases like malaria. A majority of mangrove forests in Sunderbans may go under water, it had warned.

A World Bank study had also identified Kolkata as among the most vulnerable cities in the country to climate change and global warming. The study had cast a grim forecast for the city by 2050. The areas that were likely to be hit were Tiljala, Topsia, Tangra, Baisnabghata and Patuli due to their unplanned urban growth.

The state government will start executing the plan after it starts getting the fund. It is yet to be decided as to from which funding agency -World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) or any other agency - the funds will be sanctioned for executing the plan.

The state government was already working on the integrated coastal zone development plan for the coastal areas of Digha, Sankarpur and Mandarmani, being executed with ADB funds.

A senior environment department official said that the plan that was earlier submitted by the state has been approved by the union ministry of environment and forest and it will take about an year for the state to start executing the plans. All the other states have also been preparing the draft plan and West Bengal was one of the states that had submitted the plan at the earliest.

Once the funding agency is decided, the various state government departments like environment, water resources, irrigation, power, urban development etc that are related to environment directly or indirectly will chalk up their respective course of action to implement the recommendations of the action plan.

The study that the environment department had earlier prepared gives an alarming picture of things to come if immediate action is not being taken. The report says that changes in the climate may begin as early as 2021 with average temperature soaring up, less occurrence of rainfall, a sharp rise in sea water level and tropical country diseases like Malaria to create more impact. The study also gives a very alarming warning that the majority of the mangrove forests in Sunderbans may go down under water.

The recommendations that have been mentioned in the action plan includes immediately launching measures to cut down greenhouse gas emission for areas like Sunderbans, Dooars and Darjeeling that are most vulnerable to global warming and climate change. The main concerns for these areas are heavy soil erosion, water availability and shifting of agricultural production centres to higher altitudes.

Earlier a World Bank study had identified Kolkata among the most vulnerable cities of the country to climate change and global warming. The study had cast a grim forecast for the city by 2050 unless immediate steps are taken. The areas that were mentioned to be worst hit in the city were Tiljala, Topsia, Tangra, Baisnabghata and Patuli due to its unplanned urban growth without improving and upgrading the civic amenities.