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The climate justice is the concept of ensuring fair treatment and freedom from any kind of discrimination against the negative impacts of climate change
. Both individually and collectively, in the form of adaptation and mitigation strategies, we are building our capacity to respond to the climate change, but the dimensions of environmental justice, equal treatment in the policy making and even the clear definition of vulnerable groups are often neglected. The climate justice is an evidence-based response to the environmental injustice and helpful in creation of fair policies and strategies to address the impacts of global warming by empowering the vulnerable groups with required legal resources, provision to ensuring necessary funding and capability to deal existing discrimination in the society. Historically, the journey of climate justice had begun with its recognition by the international bodies and legal frameworks. In the year 1992, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change insisted the member states to work together to reduce the greenhouse gases emission and also emphasized on the equity dimension of climate justice by mentioning the ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ in the charter. It specifies the need of proactive participation of the developed countries to resolve the issue of global warming, which was fueled by their ambitions, and they should help the developing countries with technological advances and finance to respond to climate change. The dimension of climate justice for the individuals and the vulnerable groups is to achieve a fair, equitable and sustainable legal solution to deal with the existing injustice in the society. It is a new kind of environmental movement, which is advocating for achieving a socially responsible, scientifically sound and economically fairly distributed legal framework. Climate justice offers a fair treatment and equal platform to deal with the inconsistencies in the recognition of different vulnerable groups and lack of opportunities for involving in decision-making system. The paper discusses the sustainable approach to respond to the climate injustice, where the vulnerable groups, disadvantaged individuals and the least developed states, who contributed least in global warming, but likely to be most affected by its impacts. The paper explores the current research gaps and recommends the policies to prepare climate justice legal framework
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This study examines snow covered area (SCA) and associated geohazards in the Bhilangna watershed using the Normalized Difference Snow Index
. Two Landsat images from 1990 and 2010 were analyzed. In order to estimate the average elevation of the snowline, a digital elevation model from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was used. In 1990, 124 km2 (9 % of the watershed) was snow covered. In 2010, 96 km2 (7 %) was snow covered. Therefore, during the study period (i.e., 1990–2010) SCA decreased by 28 km2 (2 %). Four snow types were identified and mapped: frost, fine, medium and coarse snow. In 1990, 38 km2 (30 % of SCA) was covered by frost snow, 86 km2 (69 %) was covered by fine snow, < 1 km2 (<1 %) was covered by medium granular snow, and an insignificant area was covered by coarse snow. In 2010, frost and fine snow covered 19 km2 (20 %) and 76 km2 (79 %) respectively, medium snow covered 1 km2 (1 %), and coarse snow was not traced. The snowline shifted from 4611 m in 1990 to 4698 m in 2010. These observations show the variability of snow cover in the Bhilangna watershed
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This study examines snow covered area (SCA) and associated geohazards in the Bhilangna watershed using the Normalized Difference Snow Index
. Two Landsat images from 1990 and 2010 were analyzed. In order to estimate the average elevation of the snowline, a digital elevation model from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission was used. In 1990, 124 km2 (9 % of the watershed) was snow covered. In 2010, 96 km2 (7 %) was snow covered. Therefore, during the study period (i.e., 1990“2010) SCA decreased by 28 km2 (2 %). Four snow types were identified and mapped: frost, fine, medium and coarse snow. In 1990, 38 km2 (30 % of SCA) was covered by frost snow, 86 km2 (69 %) was covered by fine snow, < 1 km2 (<1 %) was covered by medium granular snow, and an insignificant area was covered by coarse snow. In 2010, frost and fine snow covered 19 km2 (20 %) and 76 km2 (79 %) respectively, medium snow covered 1 km2 (1 %), and coarse snow was not traced. The snowline shifted from 4611 m in 1990 to 4698 m in 2010. These observations show the variability of snow cover in the Bhilangna watershed
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Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the process of extraction of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial and energy related sources, transport to storage locations and long-term isolation from the atmosphere
. It is being considered as a bridging technology, with significant carbon mitigation potential, especially for large point sources such as coal power plants. The present study looks at the technical feasibility and economic viability of any such initiative in the Indian context by means of case studies of individual power plants. The incremental cost of electricity (COE) of the plants retrofitted with CCS has been estimated using the cost data on CCS components from literature as well as using the IECM (Integrated Environmental Control Model) software. The values of incremental COE and the cost of CO2 avoidance have been estimated as INR 2.2-2.6/kWh and INR 2600-3200 per tCO2, respectively. The costs are highly sensitive to the boiler efficiency and the heat rate of the base plant. The retrofitting of the CCS units in the existing coal plants in India is expected to reduce the net power output of the already inadequate power sector and increase the electricity generation cost substantially. Thus, it would be worthwhile to investigate the necessary and sufficient conditions under which the Indian power plants could graduate to the CCS technologies
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Accurate estimation of the spatiotemporal surface dynamics is very important for natural resource planning
. This paper discusses a novel approach for the study of the surface patterns of a particular glacier Rimo located at 35°21′21″N77°22′05″E, about 20 km northeast of the snout of Siachen. Change detection in multiple images of the same location taken at different time intervals are of widely circulated use due to a large number of applications in various disciplines such as climate change, remote sensing and so on. The proposed technique uses image processing to derive regression models of selected glacier segments, these models are then used to measure area under the curve to estimate the surface area changes of the glacier. The surface area changes thus obtained have also been validated by standard method of pixel counting. With the rise in the global warming, the net change in the surface area of the concerned glacier is estimated using statistical analysis from 1998 to 2011. The results obtained show a fair degree of accuracy as compared to the standard method of pixel counting. We also discuss important pre-processing methods used in extracting the final concerned region of interest from a large satellite imagery of fairly average resolution
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Nervilia pangteyana J
. S. Jalal, Kumar & G. S. Rawat (Orchidaceae), a new species from western Himalaya (Uttarakhand), India is described, illustrated and compared with its closest relative. In addition, a key is given to distinguish between species of Nervilia in the western Himalayas
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For people in developed countries, burning fuel wood in an open hearth evokes nostalgia and romance
. But in developing countries, the harsh reality is that several billion people, mainly women and children, face long hours collecting fuel wood, which is burned inefficiently in traditional biomass stoves. The smoke emitted into their homes exposes them to pollution levels 10-20 times higher than the maximum standards considered safe in developed countries. And the problem is not out of the ordinary. The majority of people in developing countries at present cannot afford the transition to modern fuels. Today, close to one half of the world's people still depend on biomass energy to meet their cooking and heating needs. This book should be of interest to policymakers and scientists across a broad spectrum of disciplines from health, environment, and economics to sociology, anthropology, and physics. Indeed, the hands of many specialists are required to ensure successful stove programs, which call for social marketing, stove engineering, development of standards, promotion of private and commercial enterprises, and appropriate subsidy schemes. That the book's authors represent diverse disciplines sociology, physics, and forest economics underscores the range of perspectives needed to tackle the issues involved in the commercial promotion of improved stoves. The impetus for writing this book started at the end of a World Bank project on the health implications of indoor air pollution, which coincided with the Government of India's (GoI) cancellation of its 20-year program on improved stoves. The government's decision came as no surprise, given the program's mixed result
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In a largely globalized world, characterized by immense technological advancements in many sectors, many developing countries depend on biomass energy for sustenance even today
. Much of the Government of India's projects related to the improved stove programme have been branded a "failure". However, they appear to have promising features. Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes draws on case studies from the Indian states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, and other stove programmes around the globe. The book describes India's best improved biomass stove programmes, and recommends ways in which the international community can promote the use of more affordable stoves as against the traditional cookstoves. These new stoves are energy efficient as well as easy to use, thereby leading to a significant reduction in indoor air pollution and health risks. The findings of the Indian government's stove programmes are translated into a set of recommendations in this book that could prove beneficial for half the world's population that depends on biomass energy for their livelihoods
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Moors, E. J.; Groot, A.; Biemans, H.; Van Scheltinga, C. T.; Siderius, C.; Stoffel, M.; Huggel, C.; Wiltshire, A.; Mathison, C.; Ridley, J.; Jacob, D.; Kumar, P.; Bhadwal, S.; Gosain, A.; Collins, D. N.
An ensemble of regional climate model (RCM) runs from the EU HighNoon project are used to project future air temperatures and precipitation on a 25 km grid for the Ganges basin in northern India, with a view to assessing impact of climate change on water resources and determining what multi-sector adaptation measures and policies might be adopted at different spatial scales
. The RCM results suggest an increase in mean annual temperature, averaged over the Ganges basin, in the range 1–4 °C over the period from 2000 to 2050, using the SRES A1B forcing scenario. Projections of precipitation indicate that natural variability dominates the climate change signal and there is considerable uncertainty concerning change in regional annual mean precipitation by 2050. The RCMs do suggest an increase in annual mean precipitation in this region to 2050, but lack significant trend. Glaciers in headwater tributary basins of the Ganges appear to be continuing to decline but it is not clear whether meltwater runoff continues to increase. The predicted changes in precipitation and temperature will probably not lead to significant increase in water availability to 2050, but the timing of runoff from snowmelt will likely occur earlier in spring and summer. Water availability is subject to decadal variability, with much uncertainty in the contribution from climate change. Although global social-economic scenarios show trends to urbanization, locally these trends are less evident and in some districts rural population is increasing. Falling groundwater levels in the Ganges plain may prevent expansion of irrigated areas for food supply. Changes in socio-economic development in combination with projected changes in timing of runoff outside the monsoon period will make difficult choices for water managers. Because of the uncertainty in future water availability trends, decreasing vulnerability by augmenting resilience is the preferred way to adapt to climate change. Adaptive policies are required to increase society's capacity to adapt to both anticipated and unanticipated conditions. Integrated solutions are needed, consistent at various spatial scales, to assure robust and sustainable future use of resources. For water resources this is at the river basin scale. At present adaptation measures in India are planned at national and state level, not taking into account the physical boundaries of water systems. To increase resilience adaptation plans should be made locally specific. However, as it is expected that the partitioning of water over the different sectors and regions will be the biggest constraint, a consistent water use plan at catchment and river basin scale may be the best solution. A policy enabling such river basin planning is essential
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For any country, the forest policy is an important guideline to maintain forest resources and their interaction with other land uses
. India devised its first National Forest Policy (NFP) back in 1894. There has been a paradigm shift from timber production to forest conservation followed by community-based agroforestry and social forestry bringing a change in perspective towards forest resources. This change has been socio-economic, cultural and ecological. Since the 1952 NFP, there has been an advocacy for 33% forest cover with a 60% forest cover in mountainous and hilly regions. This objective was reiterated in the NFP 1988 and also confirmed in the National Forestry Commission report in 2006. This paper reviews the probable reasons for these targets. This paper also analyzes forest cover trends at state level and assesses the likelihood of meeting the prescribed policy targets under present perspective of land use practices. Only three Indian states meet the prescribed policy, while three more have the potential to do so, if their state wasteland area is afforested. Among the rest, a few states may achieve the 33% goal provided land conversion to tree cover is not hindered, and adequate resources are available at state level. The Planning Commission (XI Five-year Plan, 2007–12) has emphasized inclusion of other natural ecosystems (including treeless areas and trees outside forests) to forest cover. The paper also examines the above prescribed targets in light of the Planning Commission recommendations. It is argued that that the NFP should be re-visited and revised to meet the targets, along with setting a more realistic and attainable target for Indian forest and tree cover
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