HICAP conference on Climate Change adaptation

Guwahati, Assam, India :Sharing knowledge on climate change-related policy, research, and practice within and beyond the research and development community is of utmost importance.

This was the central theme of the two-day ‘HICAP Conference on Climate Change Adaptation: Priorities for Research, Policy, and Practices in Northeast India’ organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in partnership with Aaranyak, Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and the National Institute of Administrative Research (NIAR) at the NEDFi Centre in Dispur, Assam, India.

The event served to explore the institutionalization of a formal platform for sharing of knowledge on climate-related policy, research, and practice in Northeast India, and identify gaps and priorities for action at local, national, and regional levels.

More than 80 experts, researchers, policymakers, journalists, and practitioners dealing with climate change policies and livelihoods in the Northeast region attended the Conference. Sessions focused on research related to climate change, alternative livelihood options, disaster resilience, migration, and gender. Panels discussed gaps and priorities for action on key issues like Water Demand, Disaster Risks and Vulnerabilities, Community-based and Ecosystem-based Adaptation, and Gender issues. Effective and timely flow of information and knowledge was highlighted as a critical challenge for policymakers in ensuring informed decision making.

In his keynote address during the inaugural session, Joint Secretary A.M. Singh of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region emphasized that there is an urgent need to synergize developments of the different State Action Plans on Climate Change with the National Action Plans on Climate Change after taking into consideration respective areas of priorities.

R.P. Agarwalla of Indian Forestry Service, PCCF (Wildlife) Assam, said all government development programmes must incorporate climate concerns and climate-related knowledge into their design so that adaptation to climate change gets mainstreamed in development planning.

Presentations were made on collaborative work carried out in the region by ICIMOD, Aaranyak, GRID-Arendal, and CICERO under HICAP, supported by the government of Norway and the Swedish International Development Agency, and GIZ’s Climate Change Adaptation in the North Eastern Region of India (CCA-NER) Program.

The presentations highlighted the importance of strategic partnership-based activities, anchored through the prioritized strategies outlined in the State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), especially in climate change and water availability, disaster resilience, migration and remittance, gender integration, ecosystem-based adaptation, and knowledge sharing.

The Conference was preceded by a week-long training workshop for journalists in Tinsukia district, Assam, to improve creative thinking and effective communication on adaptation to climate change in a local context.- ICIMOD

Feb. 27. 2014