Following the footprints of the Delhi government, Orissa has started the exercise of formulating an action plan on climate change. The action plan is expected to be drafted by February and will be finalised in March 2010.
With the climate change issues grabbing the world attention, the Department for International Development (DFID) of the U K government has agreed to help the state government to provide the required support for formulation of the proposed action plan.
A high level meeting on climate change -Action Plan of Orissa- chaired by the Development Commissioner, S P Nanda was held recently to take stock of the situation and review the preparedness of the state for formulation of such an action plan.
DFID team representatives, Dr V Sharma, Dr Merylyn Hedger and S Vaideiswaran made presentations before the senior officials of the state government. They emphasised on 5 focal points such as energy, mining & industry, forests, agriculture, water and coasts for combating climate changes, sources said. The discussion mainly aimed at enriching green cover, adoption of clean technology for the industry, maximum utilization of renewable energy, practices with less consumption of fossil fuel, conservation and optimal use of surface and ground water. It also focussed on mitigation of and adaptation to situation arising gout of climate change.
As per the decision take in the meeting, the action plan will be completed by February and will be finalized in March 2010 to facilitate its implementation in 2010-11.
Sources said, there were as many as eight cyclones including one super cyclone, seventeen droughts and twenty floods in the state during 1965-2006. Similarly, there were marked rise in temperature, and sea level, changes in ecosystem, decrease in agricultural output, depletion of water resource, impacts on health during the last decade.
“Orissa will be the second state to formulate an action plan after Delhi. The strategy of climate change is the adaptation to cope up with this phenomenon at micro level and mitigating measures to neutralise the impact of climate change at macro level”, Bhagirathi Behera, Director, Environment of Orissa government told Business Standard.