01 Dec 2014|Noida | F1 Seminar Hall
Environmentalists deliberate upon International Climate Conventions and REDD+ Issues during One-Week Training Course for Indian Forest Officers at Amity University
Amity Instituteof Global Warming and Ecological Studies (AIGWES) started with One-WeekTraining Course for Indian Forest Officers on “International ClimateConventions and REDD+ Issues: India’s Concern & Responses” sponsored by theMinistry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt of India at AmityCampus, Sector 125, Noida.
The aim of thetraining is to update the knowledge and skills of the officers and initiate thechange in their attitude for managing the natural resources of the country.More than 25 IFS officers will be attending the course.
The trainingcourse was inaugurated by Chief Guest Dr Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser and Head,Strategic Programmes, Large Initiatives and Coordinated Action Enabler (SPLICE)and Climate Change Programme, Department of Science and Technology; Dr. WSelvamurthy, President, Amity Science Technology and InnovationFoundation; Prof. (Dr.) Devendra Pandey, IFS ( Retd.) Director, AIGWES; Mr J CKalra, IFS (Retd.), Honorary Advisor, AIGWES and Prof. BKP Sinha, Advisor, ASNRSD.
Welcoming theparticipants, Dr. Devendra Pandey said that climate change is an issueof global concern and the course is designed for in-depth study about variousaspects of climate change, its uncertainties, impact of climate change inIndian context and India’s National Action Plan. He further added that thecourse has lot of potential as participants would be theoretically enriched andwould enhance the knowledge further by practical applications. Expressing hisconcern on ‘Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation’(REDD+), Dr. Pandey said that REDD+ has been in discussion for long and forestplay a very important role in climate change litigation aspect. He mentionedthat the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests andenhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries are importantelements of the international climate change regime and the foresters’responsibility is to simplify the issue by practically managing the activitieswhich they will be taught theoretically by veteran speakers during the courseat Amity.
Sharing hisviews on biosphere conservation, Dr J C Kala said that Earth is the onlyplanet known to sustain life yet human actions are progressively reducing itslife supporting capacity. He further talked about the humidity relationshipwith biosphere which is expected to be deteriorating unless sustainable modesof development are practiced as conservation of natural resource is perquisiteto be sustainable. Dr Kala apprised the participants that humans own theirexistence to the blanket of greenhouse gases without which humans would havecontinued to live in ice age but with time, this blanket is becoming thickerand predictions are that the temperature is likely to rise from 1.5 to 5 degreeCelsius within century which may cause tremendous effect on sustainability.
Addressing thegathering, Dr. W Selvamurthy said that climate change is a globalproblem that requires a global solution and the training course is a greatopportunity where distinguished Government officials would deliberate uponmeasures to achieve emission reduction. Praising the efforts of ForestOfficials, he further added that Indian Forest Service is rendering a veryimportant service to nation through scientific management of forests. Heexpressed his hope that during the course participants will discuss and suggestvarious policies that will be shared with concerned authorities of Governmentof India.
During firsttechnical session, Dr. Akhilesh Gupta shared his thoughts on science ofclimate change and uncertainties. He said that Scientists across globe haveresearched on various changes that can take place including Sun’s output,earth’s orbit, drifting continent, volcanic eruptions and greenhouse gases andeffect of greenhouses gases is closely observed. He further added that asgreenhouse gases increase they tend to trap more heat. Dr. Gupta stated tomention that carbon dioxide level today is higher than over past 65,000 yearsand the rising trend of temperature caused carbon dioxide to rise. He apprisedthat increase of sea level is due to thermal expansion which is again an effectof increase in temperature; hence, temperature plays a pivotal role in climatesystem.
During the oneweek training course, various modules will be taught including Creation ofUNFCC, Kyoto protocol and overview of COP meetings as well as current status ofnegotiations; Relevance of REDD+ Concept to India. Current status ofParticipations of Countries in REDD+ Programme and financial support byUN-REDD, FCPF etc.; Background of Climate Change Conventions, India’s Stand andfuture of REDD+; Carbon Flow in forests how accounted, Carbon pools, Globalforest Carbon and deforestation. Assessment of carbon Stock of India’s Forests;REDD+ Approach for Sustainable Forest Management: case studies of India andDevelopment of National Forest Monitoring System& methodological approachesfor Forest References Level by senior government officials, academiciansand environmentalists.