SAFE : News Letter Volume IX

Focused Group Discussion with East Kolkata Wetland Community.

At the grassroots level, with East Kolkata Wetlands community, a Focused Group Discussion, participatory SWOT and awareness program was organized by SAFE with Earthwatch Institute on 22nd September 2015.

The activity aimed at sensitizing the fisher community member towards better understanding of the ecosystem and the Ecosystem Services provided by the East Kolkata Wetland. The programme was totally participatory and interactive in nature.

FGD aimed at sensitizing the community members towards better understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) as well as validating and categorizing the present ecosystem services. The FGD also aimed at evaluating the degree of the impact of the drivers which influence the provisioning ecosystem services adversely.

FGD methodology:

FGD aimed at sensitizing the community members towards better understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) as well as validating and categorizing the present ecosystem services. The FGD also aimed at evaluating the degree of the impact of the drivers which influence the provisioning ecosystem services adversely. Following steps were followed to conduct the FGD.

1.At the very beginning the scientific team from SAFE thanked all the community members to allow SAFE and EarthWatch to work at Sukantanagar fishing cooperative and also for presence of the community members at the programme.

2.It was followed by a short introductory address on the importance of ecosystem services and the ecosystem services provided by the EKW.

3.The community members were then asked to share their perception regarding the ecosystem services they enjoy from the surrounding wetlands.

4.On the basis of the response a list of ecosystem services were prepared.

5.Each of the listed ecosystem services were discussed individually and the community members were asked to rank the ecosystem services according to the level of benefits they get from the particular ecosystem service.

6.To get better feedback, an interactive tool was prepared. A five point scale was conceived indicating very high, high, moderate, low and very low benefit from the ecosystem services. Five sheets of papers were taken and each of the scale divisions was written on each of the five papers. The papers were then placed on the ground according to the order. The individual community members were then given single pebbles collected from the surroundings and were requested to place the pebbles on the sheets paper indicating the scale which would convey the rating.

7.As all the participants finished the rating procedure, the pebbles accumulated on each of the sheet of papers were counted which showed the cumulative rating of the particular ecosystem service. The result was conveyed to the community members.

8.The same procedure was followed to evaluate the importance of the ecosystem services as perceived by the community members. 

9.On the basis of the rating given by the community members a priority list of the ecosystem services were prepared.

10.The same procedure was also followed to assess the degree of the impact of the drivers which influence the provisioning ecosystem services adversely.

The FGD revealed a clear idea regarding the community’s perception towards the importance of ecosystem services. Aquaculture, Agriculture, tourism, aesthetic aspiration, and habitat for species are the prominent ecosystem services as perceived by the Sukantanagar fishing community members.

Of the two main provisioning services namely aquaculture and agriculture, aquaculture is of very high to moderate importance as the livelihood of the fishing community depends on it. Whereas agriculture has moderate to very low importance to them as in spite of having scopes to develop kitchen gardens, agriculture is not regularly practiced by the community due to the lack of infrastructure. 

Tourism is of very high to moderate importance as ecotourism is the supplementary livelihood support for the community. The community members were also aware of the aesthetic aspiration of the wetland and they themselves also enjoy the environment where they work. 

Importance of the species  specially the biota of the surrounding wetland were of very high to moderate importance to the community as they are supplementary source for food and medicine.

The focused group discussion with the community reveals that there are two major drivers namely climate variability and constant siltation in the wetland which have their negative influence on aquaculture, the main provisioning service. Of these two drivers, siltation has high to very high impact on the production of the fishes. 

Constant siltation leads to constant reduction in the water depth of the fishing tanks for last five to seven years which has its adverse effects on fish production. The fishing community has adopted various coping strategy to increase the resilience. 

Climatic variability has high to moderate impact on the aquaculture practice. The effect of the climate variability is inconsistent, short-lived, drastic and unpredictable in nature. As a result the community still could not come across any coping strategy to increase the resilience towards climate variability. 

International symposium on combating climate in C40 megacities

The South Asian Forum for Environment-SAFE, The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata in collaboration with Kennesaw State University & National Council on Climate Change and Sustainable Development NCCSD organized an international symposium on combating the impacts of climate change in urban settings to present an opportunity for Indian cities to develop unified city-level goals in climate mitigation on 22nd April 2015.

This global and local knowledge conference on climate change was held simultaneously in Kolkata, Guwahati and Patna and encouraged these cities to develop their own goals to find a place among the C40 group of cities.‪
It was a one day even in Kolkata with Guwahati and Patna connected electronically.

C40 is a global network of large mega cities taking action to address climate change by developing and implementing policies and program that generate measurable reductions in green house gas emissions and climate risk.

The key speakers of the Symposium were Dr. Govind Hariharan, Dr.Dipayan Dey,  Samuel Kotis,Helen La Fave Prof. Joyashree Roy, Dr. Kawser Ahmed, Dr. S P Gonchoudhuri, Dr. Anup Das, Mr. N. M. Patel, Prof. K V Raju, Dr. Mandar Prabhune and a host of globally recognized speakers who spoke for combating the impacts of climate change.

The core objective of the C40 was to frame the economics of climate change in the mega cities, conservation of wetlands and urban biodiversity and sustainable water solutions.

Kolkata : Snippets of recommendations

Kolkata is a wondrous city with its colossal heritage steeped both in history and modernity. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India.

It has a population density of 24760/ sq.km. The city is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country. In 2001, 1.5 million people, or one third of Kolkata's population, lived in 2011 registered and 3500 unregistered slums. As of 2003, the majority of households in slums were engaged in occupations belonging to the informal sector; 36.5% were involved in servicing the urban middle class (as maids, drivers, etc.), and 22.2% were casual laborers.

Kolkata faces substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.

1. The city of Kolkata having its roots in the medieval era has a complex urban ecology while its location and developmental needs makes it very vulnerable to climate change issues. Having said that the panel of authors opined on the climate resilient actions and development goals from lessons learnt in New Jersey and New York.

2.In suggesting the climate resilient model few concerns that were prioritized includes water resource, solid waste, drainage and disposal, rapid transport and traffic congestion along with loss of urban biodiversity and habitat. The concerns mainly focused on the emission footprints of urban Kolkata, pollution and health security, loss of natural habitat etc and recommended an increase of ecological hand prints through effective partnership of public and private organizations in consortium.

3. Community governance of natural resources and climate smart policy implications in developing municipal guidelines to mitigate climate impacts where debated in the forum. In the milieu of COP 21, where negotiations on climate financing are due, a policy preparedness for achieving co benefits of favorable negotiations in planning the city of Kolkata as climate smart city was highly recommended. The forum advised for a bottom up approach with immediate, medium and long-term goals for a time bound delivery of climate smart adaptive action plan.

4. The forum strongly recommended integrated planning on urban landscape, equitable distribution of traffic load and communication network. Partnership endeavours in energy management and entrepreneurial efforts for poverty alleviation in the peri-urban fringes of Kolkata, received an emphasis to recommend  anthropogenic pressure on the cities socio-ecological metabolism.

Guwahati : Snippets of recommendations 

Guwahati is the leading commercial and educational nucleus of Assam and Northeast India. The city is the foremost center for cultural activities and sporting events, as well as a center for administrative and political activities of Assam.

In terms of population it is the fastest growing city in North East India, with a population of 8.04 lakh and a growth rate of 38.6 percent according to 2001 census. The population density in Guwahati is 2695.43 persons per sq km. The rapid growth in population has resulted in the state proposing a rapid transit system having 3 corridors in the city.

The city is the cauldron where all the hopes, aspiration and dreams of North East of the country gather and diverge into different directions like education, transport, commerce, and politics. Guwahati is precariously positioned such that an increased awareness and adoption of sustainable practices would go a long way in combating climate change whereas an indifference to sustainable livelihood adoption would degrade quality of life for its ever growing population.

1. Emphasis was placed upon three water diversion in Guwahati for enhancing water resources for the city. Increase of water harvest potential is important for the city and importance to waste water problem must be given priority.

2. Periurban wetlands need to be conserved through community based interventions.

3. The present state of greenhouse gas emission in and around Guwahati needs to be assessed along with present carbon sequestration potential of Guwahati. There can be an intensive plantation program including bio-remedial plantation for pollution control.

4. There should be an association with 30 NGO'S who are already active but playing the hands on role and the focus should be on their capacity building.

Patna: Snippets of recommendations

Patna is one of the most ancient continuously inhabited places in the world. A characteristic of the geography of Patna is its confluence of rivers. Patna is located on the south bank of the Ganges River in Eastern India. It has an entirely alluvial and flat region. The land in the district is too fertile to be left for wild growth.

Patna has emerged as the second largest city in eastern India with an estimated population of 1.68 million in 2011. It is considered to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Patna has long been a major agricultural center of trade, its most active exports being grain, sugarcane, sesame, and medium-grained Patna rice.

1. The recycling of municipal solid wastes in developing megacities is imperative to reduce urban landfill emissions.

2. The recycling of waste water is to be done through several technologies like bio remediation, coagulation, filtration, oxidation, encapsulation and evaporation to a quality high enough to use in irrigation, flushing and washing purpose. For this very purpose public education and involvement is required.

3.There needs to be more agro-forestry enterprises. Agro-Forestry is a sustainable production system integrating trees on farms and in the agricultural landscape.

4. There is a need for smart leadership for effective urban governance and mitigating challenges like providing transparent administration and strict monitoring of contracts raising resources etc. The capacity building South Asian Forum for Environment 22 International symposium on Combating Climate in C40 Megacities programs for elected and non elected members of urban governance should be a core component of the planning program.

Conclusion:

The symposium was held in Kolkata, Guwahati and Patna aiming to encourage these cities towards a policy shift directed towards sustainable urban development and find a place among the C40 group of cities. The recommendations made for these three cities would be available to policymakers of these cities as a road map for effective policy making directed towards climate change adaptations in the urban scenario.

However it should be seen as a common platform for all cities aspiring to be a part of the C40 cities movement. A sustainable city should meet the needs of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Urban sustainability is the idea that a city can be structured without unnecessary reliance on the surrounding countryside and be able to power itself with renewable sources of energy.

The aim of this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land, compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and to make the city's overall contribution to climate change minimal. This is the most crucial agenda for all aspiring C40 megacities.

South Asian Forum for Environment

South Asian Forum for Environment-SAFE works at the science-society interface towards sustainable environment development and poverty alleviation through community based interventions in the Indian eco region. 

SAFE catalyzes climate adaptive conservation efforts in the grassroots through sustainable agricultural practices and wise-use of natural resources. It strongly advocates community governance of the natural capital and restoration of 'nature services' by endorsing commons 'Biorights'- a neo-economic conservation paradigm. 

With its proactive presence in four south Asian nations of the Indian ecoregion, SAFE has the mandate to address climate change implications on smallholders and rural commons through technology cooperation, capacity building and decision support research.

SAFE has been accredited as a standing member to the United Nation Environment Assemble by UNEP. It enjoys consultative status with ECOSOC (UN), Natural Resource Management working group of Planning Commission of India and CSO wing of the Global Environmental Facility of the World Bank. 

SAFE has been awarded the Earthcare Award in 2011, UN-HABITAT award in 2013, Light House Academy 2104, Best Performance Award 2014 NABARD, Development Market Place Award 2014 by World Bank, IYF Award 2013, Asia Green Award 2003 and many more.