Concept note
Motivation
The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has come with the alert that the Earth’s climate is warming. Since the 1950s, the rate of global warming has been unprecedented compared to previous decades and millennia. Experts have repeatedly highlighted how the rise in global temperatures is linked to increasing pressures on fertile soil, risked jeopardizing food security for the planet.
This has led to increase in land and ocean surface temperatures over time causing sea level rise and affecting rainfall pattern and water availability. The effects are felt prominently in South Asia and India being the largest part of it, and on the monsoon system unique to the sub-continent.
With a current population over 1.37 billion, India is projected to become the world’s most populous country around 2027, according to United Nations’ World Population Prospect 2019. The South Asian region is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050. The global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100.
Proportionate to the increase in population, the demand for food production and supply is bound to grow. But meeting the growing food demand would be the biggest challenge due to the impacts of climate change on agriculture. According to expert reports, India is among the countries which are at the greatest risk of food insecurity due to weather extremes caused by climate change.
Agriculture facing the worst impacts of climate change, food availability may see a cut by about a third by 2050, and lead to average per-person reductions in food availability of 3.2% (99 kcal), in fruit and vegetable intake of 4.0% (14.9g), and red meat consumption of 0.7% (0.5g) per day, projects a study by the University of Oxford.
In such a scenario, climate change would emerge to be the biggest killer causing around 529,000 extra deaths in 2050, because of reductions in food availability. Being among the worst affected countries, India would see 136,000 additional deaths due to climate change, the report highlights. Even natural food sources like forests, wetlands and ocean would be highly degraded due to temperature rise and climate change, and may fail to ensure the ecosystem services they have been offering traditionally.
The future scenario looking so dangerous, the world needs to discuss it seriously to draw wider public attention. And, the seminar, to be held at Bhubaneswar on February 29, Saturday, 2020, is a step in that direction.
Objective
The primary objective of the seminar is to sensitise political leadership, policy makers, civil society members and general people on the issue of climate change that poses such bigger threats to humanity, and to motivate them for engagement in actions to evade such a dangerous future scenario.
Envisioned outcome
The seminar envisions to promote discussion on the issue of climate change and its possible impacts, and to come out with an action plan on basis of the proceedings and recommendations.
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Topics to be discussed in the Seminar
• Impact of depletion or enhance of the capability of resources of air, water, soil, and vegetation
• Food security and global environmental change: emerging challenges
• Climate change due to changing pattern of land use and land cover
• Marine ecosystem affected by climate change, Changing behavior of ocean system due to climate change
• Monsoon dynamics, Agriculture, Agro-meteorology, Climate Change and regional climate studies
• Climate Change on Agriculture, Food and Water: Subsistence farming, climate resilient agriculture, indigenous seed conservation
• Agro-economics, sustainable food system
• Climate Change on Ecosystems and Wildlife: Forest as a source of food, nutrition and subsistence, Air pollution; climate change and forest ecosystems
• Direct and indirect risks to well being: The economic and social elements of climate change, Gender perspectives of climate change, Climate change and human health: Impacts, vulnerability and public health
• Climate model and uneven precipitation distribution, Pollution and contamination of land surface and atmosphere
Keynote Speakers & Resource Persons
Session 1:
10.30 AM – 1.30 PM
1. Prof. Uma Charan Mohanty, Visiting Professor, School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, IIT-Bhubaneswar (Expert on Tropical Meteorology, Monsoon dynamics and regional climate studies)
2. Prof. Surendranath Pasupalak, former VC, OUAT (Expert on Agriculture, Agro-meteorology, Climate Change)
3. Prof. Kabir Mohan Sethy, Geography Department, Utkal University (Expert on changing behaviour of Ocean System due to climate change .Climate change due to changing pattern of land use and land cover)
4. Shantamay Chatterjee, Regional Director, Care India(Expert on agro-economics, sustainable food system )
5.Rukmini Panda, Gender Expert, OXFAM (Expert on gender perspectives of climate change)
6. Karthik Ganeshan, Standard Chartered (P) Bank, Singapore
Session 2:
2.30 PM – 5.30 PM
- Dr. Bijay Nanda, Member, Stakeholder Advisory Network, Asia Region, World Bank
- Balam Dinesh (WASAN-Odisha Govt.’s nodal agency for State Millet Mission)
- Dr. Srijit Mishra (Director, Nabakrushna Chaudhury Centre for Development Studies)
- Debjeet Sarangi, Chief Executive, Living Farm NGO (Expert on forest as a source of food, nutrition and subsistence)
- Prashant Mohanty, Chief Executive, Nirman NGO (Expert on Subsistence farming, climate resilient agriculture, indigenous seed conservation)
- Raj Kishore Mishra, Social Worker.
- Prof. Subasini , Delhi University
Venue:
The Lohiya Academy Conference Hall
Plot No A/3, Road No. 8, Unit 9, Bhubaneswar
29th February, Saturday, 2020 10.30am to 5.30pm
Registration for the upcoming seminar [everest_form id=”573″]
Please register ON LINE for the upcoming seminar on or before 24.02.2020