Kohima, Dec. 30 (EMN): Understanding the imminent effects of climate change which was felt in the form of extreme weather events, unseasonal rains etc., state government is said to have identified the key sectors that are likely to be most vulnerable to climate change and require additional efforts over and above its existing programmes and policies.

The sectors identified are integrated agriculture, water resources, forest and biodiversity, urban habitat and transport, health, energy and cross cutting issues. Accordingly, the Nagaland State Action Plan on Climate Change (NSAPCC) ‘achieving a low carbon development trajectory’ was constituted and approved by the Government of India towards the end of 2014.

This was informed by Supongnukshi, chief conservator of forests and state nodal officer for climate change, while presenting an overview of the state climate action plan in Kohima.

Altogether 25 government departments are said to have been involved in preparation of the State Action Plan on Climate Change and operationalisation started with the support of GIZ (German Development Corporation) as identified by the MEFCC.

Accordingly, the technical working committee has prioritised the given sectors for developing proposals viz. agri and allied sector vis-à-vis food security, water and forest vis-à-vis biodiversity. In the agri sector proposal, the committee has agreed to put up a proposal on ‘Conservation of indigenous rice varieties of Nagaland’ with technical assistance from GIZ who hired a consultant to prepare the DPR and submitted the same on June 9, 2017.

Putting across some projected impacts, issues and challenges in the integrated agriculture, it outlined on the need to enhance soil and moisture conservation works, developing of drought resistant high yielding varieties of seeds and promotion of indigenous cultivars, developing a detailed land use map and database of the state, promotion of drip irrigation for horticultural crops, enhanced vaccination of live-stocks and improvement of genetic varieties, creation of fodder banks and enhanced production of fished resistant to higher temperatures.

While sensing on the need to promote research to understand the impacts of climate change on local forest eco-systems, the overview report also stressed on the need for strengthening community managed areas, sustainable shifting cultivation, forest-based product climate resilient value chains, intensification of departmental afforestation programmes, promoting usage of alternate sources of energy, sustainable exploitation of biodiversity resources and enhance soil and water conservation practices as strategies and action plan for adaptation in forest and biodiversity

Some of the adaptation strategies for water resources as presented are storing excess water received through heavier precipitation and increase in extreme events, action efficient demand side management, averting disasters due to heavy precipitation and increase in extreme events and action for adapting to the impact of higher average annual temperature.

Besides, it has also come with adaptation strategies for energy sector to up scaling of current energy efficiency and conservation programmes, decentralising of renewable energy solutions, increased generation capacity to reduce dependence on the central grid and reduced dependency on traditional biomass energy.

The strategies and action plan for urban habitats and transportation includes storing excess water in urban localities, enhancing efficiency in the demand side management, create/strengthen sewerage and sanitation system in Nagaland: Comprehensive Plan for Rain Water Drains and Drainage Zone, landslip management and zoning plan identifying vulnerable zones, comprehensive solid waste management plan, improve public transport systems in all urban centres, promote alternative transportation in all towns, plan self-sufficient satellite townships, implement strict pollution control norms and decentralization of urban functions to local bodies.

The committee has also pointed out some tentative research areas on assessing the impacts of climate change on agriculture, identification of species tolerant to climate change, assessing impacts of climate change on water availability, study the status of major perennial springs, their recharge sources and assessment of current groundwater resources.

It has also recommended research on assessment of the impacts of climate change and C sequestration potentials of tree species, detailed assessment of the impacts of climate change on short, medium and long term time scales on the health sector, knowledge management repository, carbon mitigation potential and integrating climate change concerns in planning and implementation.