By: N. Munal Meitei
The 24th October is the United Nations day which is responsible world peace, development and security with 193 member nations worldwide. Now for maintaining peace and security, our most challenging task has become the climate action. In this vast universe, the earth is the only planet where living beings can survive. If we do not take action right now, then the beautiful hills, lakes, fields, meadows, forests and all living beings on this blue planet will be perished. Therefore, the celebration of International Day for Climate action on this UN day itself has the greatest meaning.
This day is celebrated to promote action against global warming and its effects. From 6 to 18 November, 2022the member states and negotiators, along with climate activists will meet at COP27in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the largest annual gathering on climate action under the slogan “a radical turning point in international climate efforts in coordination with all parties, for the benefit of Africa and the entire world”. But in reality are we actually getting the benefits and improvement from such International Meets?
Hope that COP27will surely build an outcome after COP26, Glasgow Climate Pact to deliver action on an array of critical issues to tackle the climate emergency – from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience, adapting and mitigation to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to deliver on the commitments to climate finance in developing countries. Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentration and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 need to deliver a firm decision for the people and planet.
We cannot let passivity condemn the planet to a path of no return. To ensure temperature not to exceed 1.5ºC at the end of the century, it is essential to generate agile and sustained large scale GHG reductions, a scenario from which we are still far from. Climate action failure is also perceived as one of the most important risks globally, in terms of severity and probability. IPCC proposed to cap global temperature to 1.5°C to 2°C by 2100 but as per IPCC WGI Fourth Assessment Report, the climate change predictions are not encouraging; a further increase in temperatures may be 2.8°C to 6°C by 2100. This risk, together with the exponential increased world population and industrialization in almost every countries, it’s essential to adopt without any alternatives to combat the effects of climate change.
Tropical coral reefs which contribute about 52% of all oxygen on the earth are leading to mass extinction due to bleaching effects. Climate change also affect the terrestrial biodiversity, food production, health, education and every aspects of life. As predicted, the climate change will affect the security of nations as conflicts brew over competition for resources, water, food and land. The climate refugees migrating across borders is also a concern for many governments provoking the civil wars. Climate change will also have tremendous impact on social and cultural aspects of life.
Caring for the planet is the moral issue. Countries have recognized that climate change presents an ever growing threat to development, poverty and the welfare of the citizens. The impacts of climate change are already being felt everywhere across the glove. We have felt the increase in temperature and of the extreme climates like flood, drought, cyclone, earthquakes very frequently as compare to the before years. And non- planting and non harvesting of crops due to scanty rainfall were also not happened in the past.
Climate change is impacting on all aspects of life and Eco-systems. More than 80% of Indians live in districts vulnerable to climate risks. 17 of 20 people in the country are vulnerable and out of which every 5 Indians live in areas that are extremely vulnerable. Manipur ranks fourth in climate vulnerability index in the country and Chandel is most vulnerable district in the state. The state is facing with climate disasters in all aspects such as temperature, rainfall, pollution, heat waves, fog intensity, cyclones, soil erosion, flash flood, insects and pets in the agricultural fields, diseases to poultry and animals husbandry and many more.
The Loktak Lake being the largest fresh water lake in North-east is deteriorating. The Lake has its own cultural legacy. The great epic of Khamba-Thoibi still echoed in the wave of Loktak Lake. This is not the poetic of Shri Hijam Anganghal but it really nestled deep in our culture. But due to the environmental degradation and climate change, everything seems to be emerging in the cloud. Huge volumes of plastics are carried down by the Nambul River and due to indiscriminate felling in the catchments, huge siltation is going on in the lake. The Lake is now swallowing with the highest speed that the current generation may also not be able see the present Loktak Lake in the next 20 years.
In a land-lock state, about 36,000 vehicles are registered every year producing huge GHG challenging the overall climate of Manipur. Without a snow-fed but only rain-fed Rivers, the state is very prone to severe draught. Now the state has experienced all the adverse climatic effects in the recent past. Forests being natural capital in a green economy provide benefits to life on earth and benefits to people providing subsistence to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
In Manipur, the rate of deforestation is overwhelming and is a serious issue. Maximum felling of trees are going on for mass poppy plantation in the hill districts. If the Govt. does not find out an alternative solution, then this deadly menace will diminish all our rich forests. Selling of firewood become a big business to supply the mushrooming brick kilns in the state. Many of the households and small scale industries such as blacksmith, goldsmith, hotels and dhobi depend on charcoals that are produced by uprooting the trees mostly of coppicing species. Thus a total area of about 400 sq.km of rich forests are lost annually in the state.
It is an undisputed fact that climate change is always interconnected with all environmental challenges. Climate changes everything including the human well-being. Therefore for a better tomorrow, we have to combat climate change for the mother earth and the future generations.
(The author is a Environmentalist, email- nmunall@yahoo.in)