WELCOME to Gird

Climate change or Global warming and Sustainable Development are hot subjects among scientists and development planners and governments both at international and at the national level. There is near unanimity of opinion and concern that man’s continued exploitation of nature and natural resources is leading to a situation of irrevocable change in the atmosphere and ecology of man’s existence. Burning of coal, oil, gas, vehicular emissions, intense cutting of forests are polluting the atmosphere with gases that are heating up the atmosphere to an alarming level.

The foreboding future being predicted by environmental scientists is that if this situation of ever continuing global warming and other climate change is allowed to continue unabated, the very existence of the human and the very ecology that sustains his life which include other animals and vegetation would be in grave danger of extinction. If the Global average temperature rises unchecked, there will be more flash floods in many parts of the world because of melting of glaciers, storms, heat waves, mudslides or droughts, causing catastrophic social, environmental and economic losses to millions of people. Rising sea levels will wipe the whole countries off the Globe.

If we think that the word “extinction” and disappearance of whole countries should not bother us as a cause for immediate concern, we may just think of the problems and difficulties that the process of climate change and global warming has already started producing: Vast tracts of land, which earlier used to get plenty of rainfall are now experiencing no rain fall or even severe drought due to deforestation. The summer months are increasingly becoming hotter leading to increased use of air conditioners and generators, which in turn cause more alteration to our atmosphere. The water resources are becoming scarce and poisonous. Land for cultivation is becoming unfertile, dry and even poisonous due to continued exploitation of ground water and deposit of industrial effluents. Haphazard ways of construction activities, industrialization, commerce are all the factors contributing to these ill effects. Large scale release of poisonous effluents into natural water reservoirs like rivers and lakes have led to virtual death of such rivers and lakes as life sustaining bounties of our nature God, which sustained civilizations through the ages. We have the example of River Yamuna in the heart of the capital city of India, which has now been reduced to an emaciated, dirty, stinking channel. The rot is affecting all major rivers of India, jeopardizing many socio-economic groups and communities which depended on these natural water resources for their means of life like the fisher people, farmers and cultivators in the catchment areas and flora and fauna in the surrounding geographical locales.

It is very sad and deplorable that the Governments are not giving due priority to preventive measures to arrest the foreboding scenario. Environmental concerns are being limited to Conferences and discussions. Governmental action is sluggish if not lacking, as the Governements all over the world are more concerned with increasing the production of industrial goods to meet the growing needs and whims of human desire. In the modern technological era, human desire is satisfied not merely with the basic necessities of food and shelter, clothing and health, but with new modes and styles of consumption, luxurious dwellings, flaunting bizarre attires and exorbitantly costly recreations.

It these circumstances, NGOs, particularly NGOs working in rural areas, can play a significant role. They can effectively intervene in various ways in the cause of protection and preservation of human ecology in its pristine form. One of the important area for action is promotion of sustainable forms of agriculture in the light of climate change. NGOs can seek guidance and consultation from agricultural scientists in identifying problems specific to each region and arriving at appropriate forms of sustainable agriculture in each region, at the same time taking into account the specific needs of the local people, not only in terms of self-sufficient in food but also other economic needs.

Other important work that rural NGOs can take up is in the field of sustaining energy efficiency in agriculture. For, it is for the energy that we the human beings exploit the nature continuously and vigorously. Due to various factors, including increase in population and expansion of human consumption and his seeking of more comfort and luxury, the energy sources in our nature are fast depleting which cause structural changes to the mother earth leading to climate change and global warming. Therefore, conservation of energy and more efficient use of exploited energy is of paramount importance. Agriculture being the most important activity of the vast majority of the people of India, it should be the foremost concern for NGOs working in rural areas to sustain energy efficiency in the field of agriculture.

Alternative sources of energy for augmenting irrigation facilities need to be created. Rural NGOs should seek the help and collaboration of scientists working in the field of alternative energy sources in evolving appropriate action plans. The rural areas are endowed with many natural resources that could be used in developing alternative and renewable energy sources. Therefore, rural NGOs can turn their attention to research on, and promotion, development and increased use of, new and renewable forms of energy in the rural areas.

Another area of action for rural NGOs is to work on introduction and encouragement of minor irrigation projects using check dams, lift irrigation, community wells, tubewells, rain-water harvest etc. to cover large tracts of agricultural land is one area of scope for action. Encouragement of such means of small-scale projects of irrigation will have be benefit of less dependency on exploitation of natural energy resources.

Ozone Depletion: Stratospheric zone absorbs part of sun’s incoming Ultra Violet radiation, including much of the UVB radiation and all of the highest energy UVC radiation. Sustained exposure to UVB radiation harms humans and many other organisms. It can damage the genetic (DNA) material of living cells and can induce skin cancer in experimental animals. UVB is implicated in causing human skin cancer and lesions of the conjunctiva, cholera and lens; it may also impair the body’s immune system. Solar radiation has been consistently implicated in causing non-melanocytic skin cancer in fair skinned humans. Malignant melanoma arises from the pigment producing cells of skin. Although solar radiation is substantially involved in melanoma causation, the relationship is less straightforward than for non melano-cytic skin cancer, exposure in early life appears to be a major source of increased risk. The marked increase in the incidence of melanoma in industrialized countries over the past two decades reflect increase in personal exposure to solar radiation caused by changes in patterns of recreation, clothing and occupation and not necessarily increases in background UV radiation.

Rural NGOs can work in the reduction of emission of Greeenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Human activities are releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in the following ways:

Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels are used to generate energy and when forests are cut down and burned.
Methane and nitrous oxide are emitted form agricultural activities, changes in land use and other sources.
Chemicals called halocarbons (CFCs, HFCs, PFCs) and other long-lived gases such as sulphur hexafluoride (SFc) are released by industrial processes.
Ozone in the lower atmosphere is generated indirectly by automobile exhaust fumes.

To avoid continuously absorbing energy and overheating, the earth exits part of the absorbed solar energy back to space in the form of infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation in certain wavebands of the infrared electromagnetic spectrum, and remit this heat energy in all directions, i.e. including the atmosphere and cloths surface. In doing so, Greenhouse Gases maintain low-level atmospheric temperature at a level 350C higher than would be the case otherwise. In the absence of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, the earth would be about 18 degree Celsius on average. Greenhouse Gases are therefore life sustaining. They represent less than 3% of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere. Significant effect on climate has also been anticipated because of the strong absorption of infrared radiation by ozone, thereby contributing to green house. Formation of ozone is a complex phenomenon that involve physical and chemical processes in the lower troposphere and exchange of air with stratosphere. As a secondary pollutant, ozone is not emitted directly into the atmosphere but formed as the photochemical reaction product of Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Among the anthropogenic sources of ozone formation, transportation sector contribute 55%, industry 15% and organic solvents 10%.

There is already established guidance and norms in the form of “Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change” and there is also “Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, adopted in Montreal on 16 September 1987. Measures suggested for parties (countries) in these protocols can be used by rural NGOs as guidelines in evolving programmes of action, suitably choosing suggested measures and evolving action projects in accordance with the circumstances availing in each rural localities.

Our organization Green Institute for Research and Development (GIRD) has been working for the last 15 years in the field of protection of our environment and promotion of healthy products and practices. Climate change and global warming has been an important concern of our activists. In each year, we used to organize national level seminars and conferences involving environmental scholars and activists. The deliberations in them have provided us with insight into the specific problems existing in different parts of the country and we have taken up action programmes on our own as well as through collaboration with local NGOs in some States. We are looking forward to association from more NGOs from all States for more collaborative work on the burning issue of climate change and global warming.