Workshop on climate change & biodiversity begins
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network

Imphal, September 29 2011: A two-day national workshop on "Impact of Climate Change on biodiversity management in northeast India with particular reference to Manipur" got under way at Classic Hotel here today.

Speaking as a Chief Guest, Manipur Chief Secretary and chairman of Manipur Biodiversity Board DS Poonia presented a general overview and flagged off four working groups of the workshop through an agenda note.

The four working groups which will be the general agendas of the two-day workshop are, inter alia, sectoral issues on forestry, wildlife, eco-tourism, shifting cultivation and other indigenous agricultural practices, wetlands and fisheries, biodiversity and livelihood supports etc.

While highlighting the rich biodiversity of the region, Mr.Poonia ran the participants through a parallel issue of threat to biodiversity because of the impact of climate change.

He said in northeast region the surface air temperature is projected to rise by 25.8 degree Celsius to 26.8 degree Celsius by 2030 with a standard deviation ranging from 0.8 degree Celsius to 0.9 degree Celsius.

He said that the minimum temperatures are likely to rise from 1 degree Celsius to 2.5 degree Celsius and the number of rainy days is like to decrease by 1-10 days.

If the trend continues, by 2030 mankind and ecosystem would be in a tight spot.

"Therefore, to prevent adverse changes in biodiversity we need to improvise our method of adaptation," DS Poonia said.

Delivering a key note address, the state Principal Chief Conservator of Forests A Kharshi-ing highlighted the biodiversity of Manipur and said the state falls under one of the 18 biodiversity hot spots of the world and is well known for its biological and genetic diversity.

Forests in Manipur constitute about 78% of total geographical area of the state out of which about 28% is dense forest and remaining area involves open forests with temperate and sub-tropical climate, making the forests rich in fauna and flora, he said.

Mr.Kharshi-ing quoted a 2000 Botanical Survey of India that says the state is home to over 3,000 species of higher plants and contribute important source of germplasm.

Manipur harbors as many as 41 primitive flowering plants under 11 families and 75 species of endemic plants have been listed so far.

Over 20 species of gymnosperms of endemic and exotic taxa have been reported in the state, he added.

Manipur with its 0.7% of India's land mass produces more than 22% animal resources and is home to world famous endangered sangai, hornbills, hoolock gibbons, slow loris etc., he said.

The key note address noted that the forests in northeast including Manipur underpins social and economic wellbeing by providing economic, social and environmental benefits, including serving as a key reservoir of biodiversity which will become increasingly indispensible resource in the battle against climate change.

Despite the rich resources, forests of northeast states, particularly in the hills, are under stress because of the practice of shifting cultivation and illegal felling.

This has led to change in local climatic conditions and resulted in frequent landslides, soil erosions and seismic activities, he said.

Observing that the primary vegetation in extensive areas of the northeast India has been disturbed and modified and in some cases destroyed, Mr.Kharshi-ing added that while these natural cause have contributed only marginally, the real culprit is human induced activities that have led to irreversible transformation in the landscapes and resulted in colossal loss of biodiversity in the entire region.

Regretting that the impacts of climate change on northeast India have not been sufficiently explored making future scenario more uncertain for vulnerability assessment and risk management, he highlighted the need to recognize the impact on biodiversity due to direct human-induced land use changes.

Climate change increases the risk of extinction of species that have narrow geographical and climatic range thereby making endemic and threatened species all that more vulnerable, he added.

While acknowledging such risk involved, he said it is however extremely difficult to assess the impact of climate change on plants in the presence of other pressures.

This is a big challenge mainly due to limited availability of data and uncertainties associated with the climate scenarios, he added.

Dr, SK Kaul, advisor, Ministry of Environment and Forest, noted that Manipur contributes 2-3 percent to the national biodiversity and natural resources which are the sources of livelihood to may people.

He said Manipur should exploit its traditional knowledge along with modern technology to upset the impact of climate change.

RK Srivastava, member secretary, Manipur Biodiversity Board, Dr.NC Talukdar, Director, Institute of Development of Biodiversity Resources and Sustainable Development, Dr.Anil Kumar, Addl.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Manipur, Dr.Rohini Kumar Singh, ex-Director, IBSD, Dr.Nitasha Sharma, IISc.

Bangalore, Dr.PK Singh, Manipur University, Dr.Asha Gupta, Manipur University, Kh.

Shamungou, G Hariram Murthy, FRLHT, Bangalore, Kamesh Salam, ex-Director World Bamboo Organization etc.

also participated in today's workshop.

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