Climate Change Cell to keep tabs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ockhi cyclone that hit the state’s shores during November last was a reminder that the state is exposed to extreme climatic moods.  The curse of the pre-monsoon drought and post-monsoon floods that befall the state almost every year is once again a pointer that things could go wrong any moment.  A Climate Change Cell — which can keep constant tabs on climatic variables like temperature, rainfall, humidity, and atmospheric pressure and suggest ways to keep these at sustainable levels — is now seen as the best bet to stall climate change.

The CC Cell has been constituted in the Dire-ctorate of Environment and Climate Change in the last week of February for the management, impl-ementation, coordination and monitoring of climate change activities in the state. The Cell will have Environment and Climate Change Department director (Padma Mahanti IFS holds the post now) as its head. An environment scientist, environmental engineer and environment programme manager of the Department of Environment and Climate Change will function as supporting staff. Senior officials, two or three, have been appointed as climate change nodal officers in each state government department.

“Climate change adaptation techniques or mitigation measures to be carried out by each department will be passed through these nodal officers,” a top Environment Directorate official said.  The Cell has already begun restructuring projects put up by local bodies in such a way that they are responsive to climate change. This is being done in partnership with Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA). For instance, if any major road or other construction project is seen to affect local water resources or a fragile ecosystem like mangroves, the Cell will suggest ways to make the project adaptive to these natural resources.

“The state’s high dependency of climate sensitive sectors like agriculture, fisheries, forest, water resource and health, make the state vulnerable to climate change,” the official said.  Initially, the Cell will focus on development work in the four major climate change hotspot districts in the state (Alappuzha, Palakkad, and hilly districts of Wayanad and Idukki.) The Cell will also submit proposals related to climate change to secure a share of the ‘green fund’ set up by the Centre for ‘climate change’-resilient projects.