Impact of Climate Change on the Retreat of Himalayan Glaciers and Its Impact on Major River Hydrology

Himalayan Glaciers are the largest freshwater resource on earth and the rivers originating from them are an important source of water. They significantly modify stream flow both in quantity and timing as annual basin run-off is enhanced or decreased in years of negative or positive glacier mass balance respectively. Although glacial advances and retreats are a part of its natural cyclic phenomenon, the rate of de-glaciations has accelerated in recent times due to climatic changes and global warming caused by anthropogenic activities. Some of the important glaciers of Himalayas are receding at an alarming rate, which could have dire consequences on river hydrology of the main rivers of this region namely, Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, initially causing floods and the paradoxically, scarcity of water later. This chapter is an attempt to summarize some of the studies on Himalayan glacier retreats and also to assess its impact on the availability of freshwater in the sub-continent.

Role of Water-Energy-Waste Inter-Relatedness to Drive Sustainability amid Climate Concerns

The Sustainability value parity framework is proposed to deepen the understanding of the importance of ‘inter-relatedness' of water-energy-waste with the goal of balancing water usage, aligning energy intensity and optimizing waste utilization. Generic waste that is burgeoning is a deterrent to the practice of sustainability that aligns water, energy, infrastructure, health, food, and lifestyle (Sachs, 2007). This chapter delineates the gap between globalization at the macro-level and global citizenry at the grassroots-base and posits a value bridge assessed by appropriate thresholds of water - energy - waste. The emergent need to strengthen climate resilience and to usher into the sustainable pathway of climate-proofed development needs tuning of processes, lifestyle, hazardous substances and consumption. Climate change manifests as an over-arching risk that is strewn with unpredictability, multiple dimensions, uncertainties, spikes, imbalances leading to inequity.

Issues of Climate Change, Impact, and Adaptation Strategies in Nigeria

Climate change is a global problem affecting agricultural production, a good adaptation strategy for this phenomena should be sought for increase agricultural production. The study was conducted in Nigeria to assess the Impact of Climate Change on root and tuber crops production among farmers in Nigeria. Secondary data were used for the study, they were collected from NRCRI Umudike and other individual publications. The result shows that climate change had negative impact on root and tubers crops production including potato. Adaptation of Agriculture to climate change in the areas of crop and animal production, post harvest activities and capacity building, divers friction of livelihood sources through the use of different farming methods and improved agricultural practices will help to reduce the impact of climate change. Examples are establishment of forestry, generation of improved and disease resistance crop varieties addition of value into agricultural products and post harvest activities for climate change adaptation and sustainable development.

A CGE Analysis of the Effects of Global Climate Change Mitigation Policies on India

This paper compares the effects of a global carbon tax and a global emissions trading regime on India using a dynamic CGE framework. The sensitivity of the results to the value of a crucial elasticity parameter is also analysed. The results suggest that the choice of the mitigation policy is relatively unimportant from an efficiency perspective. However, the choice of the mitigation policy and the value of the substitution elasticity between value added and energy were found to be important determinants of welfare effects. Global climate change mitigation policies have the potential for promoting low carbon and inclusive growth in India.

Waterborne Diseases and Climate Change: Impact and Implications

Waterborne diseases are caused by a multitude of pathogens and associated with a significant burden in both developed and developing countries. While the assessment of the adverse impacts of climate change on human heath from infectious diseases has mainly focused on vector-borne diseases, waterborne diseases prevalence and transmission patterns are also likely to be impacted by environmental change. This chapter will outline relevant waterborne pathogens, summarise the impact of climate change on disease transmission and explore climate change adaptation options in order to reduce the increased burden of waterborne diseases.

Airborne Particulate Matter

Airborne particulate matter is considered to be most challenging environmental issues in the world today due to its impact on various atmospheric processes like regional and global climate change, ecosystem, agriculture and most importantly on human health in recent times. Analysis reveals that particulate matter contains various inorganic and organic compounds and biological entities and their secretions and toxic trace metals. The main regions affected are urban centers due to an increasing population, number of diverse industries, fossil fuel driven vehicles and various construction activities. The present chapter deals with the scenario of particulate matter, their sources of generation, size and their impact on human health and environment mainly in urban dwellings.

Common Duckweeds as a Model System for Climate Change Impact Assessment

Common duckweeds – Lemna – are free-floating aquatic macrophytes belonging to Lemnaceae family. They occur universally, in tropical and temperate zones and are enabled to grow in stagnant, slow-flowing, nutrient-enriched waters. They have an ability to grow over a wide range of temperatures (6 – 33 0C) and pH (optimum 5.5 – 7.5). Lemna species also manifest a characteristic macrophyte community in association with plants functioning as a dominant primary producer. Asexual mode of reproduction is exclusive and therefore, all resources are directed towards vegetative growth. Structure wise they show leaflets (frond) and root-like diffuse form. This simple morphological and physiological form offers special scientific and engineering properties – reflected in easy handling and manipulation under laboratory conditions. As a result they are regarded as a model plant system for a number of chemical and biogeochemical studies. Climate change affects plant growth and physiology. For example, increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) or increase in ultraviolet (UV) radiation (due to the thinning of the ozone layer) can have pronounced effects on the growth and development of plants. In many instances the decrease in growth rate can create disturbances in photosynthetic processes. In the recent past there has been a surge in the interest in looking for alternative remediation technologies to meet formidable demands of polluting materials and situations. One such approach is phytoremediation – the use of plants and associated microbes for environmental cleanup. Cardinal points in favour of such an approach are – cost-effectiveness, natural energy-driven and minimal capital and running costs. Potency of Lemna spp. as a phytoremediation agent as well as its limitations haven dealt with in details in literature. Moreover, Lemna spp. are accepted and highly standardized as test organisms in aquatic ecotoxicology. The authors have shown earlier that Lemna spp. can play a vital role in combating pollution burden in a glaring local situation of river pollution. However, the recent trend in research indicates that Lemna spp (duckweeds at large) can play a critical and sensitive role in being an indicator of overt and subtle climate change. The following is an attempt to take a review of such recent trends.

Impact of Climate Change on a Key Agricultural Pest

The world population is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050 and most of this growth will occur in developing countries. As population increases, more arable lands will be used to construct cities and these activities increase CO2 in the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Climate assessments have shown rising sea levels and increase in the frequency of droughts in many dry areas. Prolonged droughts can decrease the relative amounts of water available for human consumption and agriculture. In developing countries agriculture contributes to more than 15% of GDP and when crops and livestock are deprived of water they become more susceptible to pests and diseases. As climate change continues to occur there is a need to develop strategies to manage key invasive pest and disease species that threaten agricultural production. Thrips are major agricultural pests with the majority of species in tropical regions. They are cosmopolitan in nature and damage crops when they feed and lay eggs in many parts of the plant. Thrips are also vectors for spreading plant diseases. They disperse quickly into new areas where susceptible hosts exist. This chapter focuses on a few important thrips species that threatens agricultural production in the Americas including Central and South America and the Caribbean. The chapter discusses the ecology and pest management strategies for key invasive thrips species and examines the potential effects of climate change on these troublesome species.

Indian National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

India is a growing economy and has to sustain its economic growth, despite challenges of climate change. India's vision is to create a prosperous, self-sustaining economy, mindful of responsibilities to both present and future generations. It is committed to engage in multilateral negotiations in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in a positive, constructive and forward looking manner. India needed to formulate a national strategy to adapt to climate change and to further enhance the ecological sustainability of its development path based on its unique resource endowments, overriding priority of economic and social development and poverty eradication. This chapter explains the principles on which the National Action Plan on Climate Change is based, the approach adopted and provides details of eight missions, which form the core of the National Action Plan. The status of actions taken on each of the eight missions and other initiatives and the way forward has also been elaborated.

Towards a More Gender-Inclusive Climate Change Policy

Climate change is a reality, and poses a serious long term threat to society and to the environment. Much has been written on the negative effects of climate change across the globe focusing on the greater vulnerability of least developed countries and developing countries. Numerous studies back up the argument that “countries that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change tend to be poorer with a wider gender gap. In contrast, countries that rank high in environmental performance and gender equality, are among the richest nations of the world” (Samy, 2011, p. 100). Women are often denied of their basic rights due to discriminatory social practices and gender blind policies. Impacts of climate change affect life and livelihood of women, and diverse work responsibilities of women augment their exposure to climate hazards. Due to less access or rights to financial and productive resources, information and services that may help them cope with impacts of stresses and shocks, are not present as a result of the gaps in policies, development agendas, thus leaving women in a greater vulnerable condition. Primarily, these are the reasons slowing the progress on achieving overall gender equality. The objective of this paper is to look at the Post 2015 Arrangements. These are numerous international frameworks and agreements ie SFDRR, SDG and the Paris Agreement, that will determine sustainable development for humanitarian response and climate politics as well as policies for the next fifteen years. They focus on development from a climate change and gender equality point of view, in particular how the policies are enabling ‘gender equality', taking common but differentiated responsibilities, and equity, justice and fairness as principles.