The rise in temperature is triggering melting of the glaciers at an alarming rate. The melting glaciers mean floods and fast run-offs in the rivers in the short term and droughts and water scarcity in the long term. Furthermore, rising temperature affects soil moisture and making it drier, which directly impacts on the food production, increasing food insecurity particularly for the marginalized population. The loss of biodiversity, forest cover and natural resources will further exacerbate the situation. Climate change combined with other variables is aggravating the susceptibility of Himalayas to natural calamities. Intensity and frequency of extreme weather events like Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), flash floods, landslides, mudflow and cloudburst has increased exponentially. Extreme weather events combining with exacerbating vulnerabilities and limited capacities of the Himalayan communities have given rise to catastrophes in the Himalayas. The pressing need of the hour is to empower mountain communities to respond to disaster and climate change risks through improved systems, resources and skills. CEE Himalaya (Himalaya Initiative of the Centre for Environment Education, India) has been working in the IHR for more than past 15 years with the aim to increase awareness and understanding to mountain communities about environmental issues in the IHR and to build climate smart and disaster resilient mountain communities. CEE Himalaya focuses on DRR, conservation and management of natural resources, sustainable livelihoods, and capacity building through education for sustainable development (ESD). Under the Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), CEE Himalaya was awarded two mandates for capacity building of mountain communities and other related stakeholders on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in IHR. Under IHCAP CEE Himalaya with TTP (The Third Pole) organized four workshops for the media – print, television and radio to be held at Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Namchi in Sikkim, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir and Jorhat and Majuli in Assam. These media workshops provided the participants with an opportunity to interact with experts on climate change, science communication, government and media to help them understand the science and social aspects of climate change, existing policy framework and scope for implementation and the ways for effective reporting. The objectives of the media capacity building workshops were:- • to sensitize journalists on climate change issues globally viz-a-viz Himalayan region • apprise them on existing policies and programmes for climate change mitigation and adaptation • orient them to effective reporting on climate change issues, case studies and sustainable development for the mountain communities. The attempt was made to cover the entire Himalayan Range-Western, Central and the Eastern. Sikkim being strategically important for India lying astride the shortest route from India to Tibet, it was decided to conduct a workshop in Sikkim also. The first workshop took place in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh from 30 July to 1 August 2014 themed on biodiversity conservation; the second in Namchi, South Sikkim from 18 to 20 November 2014 focused on watershed management in Sikkim; the third in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir from 6 to 8 Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the 337 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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