Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Climate change playing havoc with livelihoods of the poor

Climate change playing havoc with livelihoods of the poor

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Nov 14, 2009   modified Modified on Nov 14, 2009


Tulsi Devi, an adivasi from Uttar Pradesh, is neither an expert on climate change nor has the know-how of dealing with its consequence. All she knows is that if the government hands over the forest land to her and her community, they would take care of its eco-system like their own children.

Tulsi Devi is perturbed that as more and more forest land is being given to “companies”, there would be little left for her community to earn their livelihood from. Her anxiety is shared by Neville D’Souza from Mumbai who is fighting for the survival of mangrove forests on the Dharavi Bet where trees are being cut to make way for a special economic zone planned by the Maharashtra Government.

“There is a cluster of five to six villages inhabited by fishermen on Dharavi Island, which has a thick, vast mangrove forest. But the government wants to replace it with a special economic zone and we have been fighting them in courts. The forests help us in innumerable ways. The fish grow in the water bodies here and travel to the sea, which we catch and earn our living from. If the forests go, how will we survive?” he questioned.

Citing the impact of climate change felt by fishermen, he said: “In the past we used to count the silver pompfret we got on a single fishing trip in the sea in tonnes. Today we count them in kilograms. Earlier we used to earn an income of Rs.50,000 to Rs.70,000 during the main fishing season of about four months, today it has dropped by nearly 50 per cent. Several varieties of fish have disappeared from the sea in the past few years.”

Govt. role questioned

Testimonies like these were part of a three-day public hearing on climate change that concluded in the Capital on Friday. Organised by the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Justice and Equitable Development, the event was aimed at offering administrators a peek into the issue of climate change and how it is affecting the country’s poor ahead of the 15th Conference of the Parties meet in Copenhagen in December.

Representatives from various parts of the country, who are dependent on various eco-systems for livelihood, put forth the impact of climate change on their lives. While some pointed out to the dwindling forests, others talked of how decreasing rainfall was affecting the crops and farming practices.

A roundtable on labour and climate change was also organised by the trade unions during the event. Leaders from various trade unions accused the government of depicting a highly “technocratic and market oriented approach” to the issue. They called upon the government to espouse the negotiating strategy guided by the axiom of “common but differentiated responsibility” in achieving reduction in emission levels in line with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.


The Hindu, 14 November, 2009, http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/14/stories/2009111454570500.htm
 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close