SHORT TERM COURSE

A Short Term Course on “Climate Change, Disaster Management and Sustainable Development” was conducted by NITTTR Chandigarh during January 11th 2016 to January 15 2016 with an objective to highlight some of the major issues of climate change, natural disasters, techniques and strategies for sustainable development mitigating the disasters successfully. The workshop was organized at Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon through ICT. The workshop was attended by the HODs and faculty members of all the departments.

Day 1 : January 11 , 2016

The event was inaugurated by Prof. Upendra Nath Roy, Professor,Rural Development, NITTTR, Chandigarh on January 11 2016. Prof. M P Poonia, Director, NITTTR, Chandigarh gave an introduction to NITTTR, Chandigarh. He stated the objectives and achievements of the organization. Dr Roy continued the session with the objectives of the event.

Dr. Roy discussed the problem of pollution, global morning and quality of water in the various parts of the country. 90% of the total amount of water is not suitable even for bath. There was a discussion on the cleaning of rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Then there was a discussion on the causes of global warming especially the anthropogenic activities like mining, quarrying, deforestation, industrialization, landscape development, increase in transport facility and creation of dams at the cost of natural degradation. He discussed the threatening environmental issues in context of India like vulnerable Himalayan ecology, loss of bio-diversity, climate change and food security, groundwater depletion, drinking water and sanitation, drought/famine in India and river water pollution. He further discussed the vulnerability in South-Asian Countries. The mean temperature in South Eastern region has increased at 0.1-0.30 per decade between 1951 and 2000. Heat waves, droughts, floods and tropical cyclones have been more intense and frequent, causing extensive damage to property, assets and human life. Dr Roy discussed the impact of natural hazards in India. 60% of landmass is affected with earthquake and floods cover 40 million hectare of landmass.

Dr. Roy further continued his presentation with the discussion on India Climatic Disasters Risk Map. The Himalaya is the source of eight great rivers holding 40% of fresh water. The Himalayan glaciers are at great risks as they are melting with an increased rate due to global warming. He stated that the Tibetan plateau has been warming at a rate of 0.16 degree centigrade per decade. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data shows that from 2003 to 2009 the average ice depletion has doubled. Between 2003 and 2009 Himalayan glaciers lost 174 giga tonnes of water. He then stated the view points of the Indian scientists on Gangotri glaciers. According to the research by Dr. Rameshwar Bali, Lucknow University, Gangotri glaciers will not affect the perennial status of river Ganga. He then discussed the impact of climate change on food. The world has lost 75 percent of all known food crops. Then there was a discussion on National Action Plan on Climate Change. Climate change is overseen by the Prime Minister.

Dr. Roy defined disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope its own resources. He grouped disasters as natural disaster and man-made disaster. Natural disaster can be sudden or rapid onset disasters like earthquakes, landslides, forest fire, avalanche and many more. Natural disaster can be slow onset disaster like drought, deforestation, desertification, land degradation and many more. An epidemic is an outbreak of a contractible disease that spreads at a rapid rate . Black Death or the Black Plaque , was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. It had killed 30% to 60% of Europe’s population. Dr Roy stated that the manmade hazards can be sociological hazard, technological hazard or transportation related hazards. Dr Roy concluded the session by answering the queries of the participants.

Day 2 : January 12 , 2016

Dr. U N Roy initiated the session with a discussion on the natural hazards arising from the seas and oceans. He defined maelstrom as a large tidal whirlpool. The largest maelstrom is Moskstraumen off the Lofoten islands in Norway. A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. The key requirement for formation of a seiche is that the body of water be at least partially bounded. Tsunami can be caused by undersea earthquakes as in the 2004 Indian Ocean. He then discussed about Ulka-pind and solar flare. In 2000, the United Nations launched the International Early Warning Programme to address the underlying causes of vulnerability and to build disaster-resilient communities by promoting increased awareness of Disaster Risk Reduction as an integral component of sustainable development. The International Early Warning Programme developed increasing importance in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed over 200,000 lives and injured over half a million people. In January 2005, the UN launched plans to create a global warning system at World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan. Dr. Roy discussed the Disaster Management Cycle. He talked about the preparations that can be made during pre-disaster, during the disaster and during the post-disaster. He particularly focused on the rescue and relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

The next part of the event was a presentation on conservation of the habitats and species of global interest by Dr. S P Mehra, Environmentalist. He discussed the climate, traditions and eco-centric culture of Rajasthan. He then discussed the conservation practices for sustainable livelihood. He further discussed Abu Model and Chak Ramnagar Model and the Nature Based Community Owned Sustainable Tourism of Rajasthan. He then talked about the animal fares and nature camps organized in Rajasthan each year. Dr Mehra said that even small animals like butterflies matter a lot to the environment as they are indicators of the environmental health. He discussed the case study of Rajputana’s Shakuntalam which is a step towards low-cost and eco-friendly construction. It has measures for energy conservation, clean and potable drinking water from ground water sources and effective disposal of solid and liquid wastes. He showed pictures of traditional resources and material and design and Laurie Baker design.

The afternoon session was a case study on Abu hills. Dr Mehra discussed the floral and faunal species extinct from Abu. He then talked about the conservation issues in Abu. He further discussed the provisions for collecting surface run-off water. He then showed the pictures of artefacts prepared by Banjara women from local grasses and waste materials. He then talked about Rajputana Rural Enviro-preneurship Development Centre. Dr. Mehra concluded the session by answering the queries of the participants.

Day 3 : January 13 , 2016

Dr. U N Roy initiated the session with a presentation on the Appropriate Technologies for Sustainable Development. He started the presentation with the discussion on transfer of technology. The technologies developed in the labs need to be transferred to villages as per the need of the local people and local environment. He said we need to transfer technology to increase the productivity and to improve the quality of life. This concept was introduced by E F Schumacher, a German economist who worked for UK government. The technology needs to low-cost, based on local materials and indigenous technology. It can be locally maintained and sustained. Dr. Roy defined sustainable development as a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To extend the benefits of science and technology to rural, poor and weak sections of the society, Community Polytechnic Scheme 1978 was launched. The role of the scheme is to provide technical services, transfer of technology, manpower development and technical support services. Each polytechnic has a target to train 600 persons. The scheme also conducts various courses in various trades like data entry, wiring, refrigerator, TV repair and many more. He then discussed ten areas of interventions including rural sanitation, water pollution check, soil health management, renewable energy, agriculture, rural housing, forestry and herbal products.

Next part of the session was a presentation on Watershed Management by Dr. A K Tiwari, Head of Indian Institute of Soil & Water Conservation, Chandigarh. He stated that India has 16% of the world’s population on merely 2.5% of world’s geographical area and over exploitation has degraded the natural resources. He discussed the various problems of Shivalik region like erratic rainfall pattern, torrential erosion, heavy biotic pressure and hilly terrain broken up with steep slopes. He then discussed the water use in agriculture. Agriculture is providing employment to 57% of the workforce. The national mission for sustainable agriculture under National action plan on climate change. Watershed is an area over a given point that contributes its runoff to a stream or river which passes through a single outlet. Dr. Tiwari described watershed management as preservation and maintenance of land and water. He discussed the terrace farming, contour farming and ridge & furrow sowing method. Then there was a discussion on soil & water conservation measures like forestation, vegetative barriers, landslide treatments, pasture development, etc. Dr. Tiwari stated that people’s participation must be ensured in natural resource conservation and watershed management programmes.

The next presentation was by Dr. Surya Prakash, World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Risk Reduction, National Institute of Disaster Management on Landslide Mitigation. He showed a map of the distribution of landslides in India. He discussed avoidance of landslide risk like avoiding slide prone areas, concrete sheds, over-bridges to allow landslide to pass above or below the road level without any impact on highway. He discussed various slope covering technologies and physical mitigation methods for slides & slumps. He then talked about physical mitigation methods for debris flows and debris avalanches.

Prof. Baljinder Kaur from Lovely Professional University initiated the afternoon session with an introduction to emergency operation system. She discussed about the coordination problems faced during the Chennai floods. She talked about the roles of EOC before, during and after disaster. She further discussed the Emergency Support System which is the grouping of governmental and certain private sector capabilities. ISRONET, NICNET and POLNET are the networks through which communication is done during a disaster. The disaster is communicated to all connected authorities. She further talked about the amenities to be available in EOC. Shri Jagat Singh Janglee, environmentalist and Green Ambassador, Uttarakhand gave his views on disaster management. He talked about the responsibilities humans have towards the nature. The afternoon session concluded with questions from the participants to the experts : Prof. S P Mehra , Prof. Surya Prakash, Prof. Baljinder Kaur and Shri Jagat Singh Janglee.

Day 4 : January 14 , 2016

Dr. U N Roy initiated the session with a discussion on the ten areas for interventions and the parameters for formulating development projects. He stated that a project should be socially acceptable, economically feasible, technically practical, environmentally sound and sustainable with disasters. He then discussed the various methods of rural sanitation. Then there was a presentation on Role of mixed forest in restoring biodiversity by Shri Jagat Singh Janglee. He talked about various endangered species of flora and fauna in the Himalayas. He then talked about the problems of deforestation, landslides, forest fire and deficiency of water in the Himalayan region. In the end Shri Jagat Singh interacted with the participants.

The next part of the session was a presentation on Sustainable Development through Renewable Energy : Case of Bio-gas technologies by Dr. Meena Krishnia, Centre of Innovation and Applied Bioprocessing, Mohali. She stated that the per capita energy consumption in India is 700 kWh per annum. She discussed about the status of renewable energy sources and natural resources available in India. She talked about the relevance of bio - fuel in India. India has rich agricultural base and produces over 200 MMTA of grains. She further discussed the various applications of bio-gas. Dr Krishnia concluded her presentation by interacting with the participants from various institutes.

Dr. Shiva Chidambram, Faculty, Thapar University, Patiala initiated the afternoon session with a presentation on Earthquake Disaster and its Migration. Pacific Plate, North American Plate, South American Plate, Eurasian Plate, Antarctic Plate and Australian Plate are the continental tectonic plates of the earth. He defined earthquake as the result of a sudden release of energy on Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. He talked about the aftermaths of earthquake like flash floods, tsunami, landslides and road ruptures. He then discussed various earthquake resistant measures. He further discussed how to construct earthquake resistant structure. He talked about strong column weak beam design and weak column strong beam design. He further discussed the alternative construction techniques like fiber reinforce concrete. Dr Shiva concluded the lecture by answering the queries of the participants.

Day 5 : January 15 , 2016

Dr. U N Roy initiated the session with a recap of the sessions of the previous days. He then talked about the schedule of the day. He further discussed the case studies of sustainable development from various parts of the country. He quoted a statement by Shri Jagat Singh Janglee “ A seed of oak gives me hope”. He discussed about the various professions like bee-keeping, nursery raising, organic farming, mushroom cultivation. He further discussed the emergency demands of rural India. He motivated the participants to take up bio - gas technology for homes. He talked about micro-hydel project and solar technologies. Online education, information networking, health solutions and suggestions, application of remote sensing for mapping and planning of natural resources are the areas of networking and communications . He talked about the various projects developed at NITTTR Chandigarh like bio-gas plant, organic farming.

The next part of the session was a presentation on Technologies and Strategies for Sustainable Develpoment by Prof. M P Poonia, Director, NITTTR, Chandigarh. He talked about the huge socio-economic divide in India. The most crucial task India faces is equipping its burgeoning youth with education and skills training. He discussed about the lack of cleanliness and wastage of resources by the people of India. He further discussed the issue of global warming and its impact on the climate. He said that the temperature of the earth is going to rise which will have a very grave impact on the life on earth. He further discussed the top six adverse effects of Global Warming including melting of glaciers, climate change, droughts and diseases. He stated the five major pollutants of air. He then talked about the polluted air of New Delhi and the problem smog in winters. HE discussed the technologies of Magenn Power Air Rotor Power, Magnetically Levitated Wind Turbine and Bahrain World Trade Centre Turbines. Dr Poonia concluded his presentation with a question and answer session. A quiz on environmental issues and sustainable development was organized by NITTTR. The participants from all the participating institutions were provided with some multiple choice questions that they were supposed to answer in thirty minutes.

After the quiz there was a valedictory session hosted by Prof. U N Roy. Shri Jagat Singh Janglee was invited as guest. The participants gave their suggestions and feedback of the workshop. The session concluded with vote of thanks from Dr. U N Roy. All the sessions of the workshop had been very fruitful and interest-arousing.