management to the new climate conditions. This requires policy formulation,
research, technology transfer, financing and enhancing adaptive capacity of the
poor at national, regional as well as local level.
3 How Will India Be Affected by Climate Change?
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014), India is
likely to suffer from an increased frequency of extreme temperature and precipitation events. Already in the past decades, a higher return frequency of extreme rain
events and of disastrous flooding has been observed (e.g. Goswami et al. 2006;
Guhathakurta et al. 2011). The Indian monsoon system has been identified as one
tipping element of the global climate system meaning that a strong climate change
might drastically change atmospheric circulation patterns (Lenton et al. 2008). In
case of such a systemic shift, India’s agricultural sector would be dramatically
affected. Change in rainfall patterns would put millions of lives at stake. With a
more erratic and extreme monsoon, the IPCC (2014) states that by 2030 India
would face an agricultural loss of over US $7 billion, affecting the income of 10 %
of the people. Without effective adaptation measures, this development would make
it difficult for India to achieve a pathway of sustainable development consistent
with the SDGs. Only with the successful implementation of climate resilience
measures in the form adaptation strategies, 80 % of the losses could be averted, the
report adds. Several missions and strategies (Green India Mission, REDD+ etc.)
have been implemented at various levels under International initiatives. These
initiatives are crucial in addressing the need for climate change adaptation and
sustainable development at local level. UNFCCC also emphasises the need for
national coordinated adaptation strategies and their support by regional centres;
which endows a platform for a bottom-up approach to confer and adapt with climate
change impacts at regional level. Strengthening livelihoods, developing sustainable
land-use policy etc., have been increasingly seen as a critical strategy for supporting
adaptation.
4 The Need for Integrated Scientific Approaches
From the authors’ perspective scientists face two main challenges when they are
aiming at providing valuable contributions to the climate change challenge. The
first challenge is to better understand current and future vulnerabilities of
human-environment systems under a changing climate. The second challenge
includes the development of effective instruments to link their research efforts to the
arena of societal, economic and political actors and decision makers.
Mastering the first challenge requires the development of a holistic understanding of the structure and the functioning of human-environment systems.
4
S. Nautiyal et al.
research, technology transfer, financing and enhancing adaptive capacity of the
poor at national, regional as well as local level.
3 How Will India Be Affected by Climate Change?
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014), India is
likely to suffer from an increased frequency of extreme temperature and precipitation events. Already in the past decades, a higher return frequency of extreme rain
events and of disastrous flooding has been observed (e.g. Goswami et al. 2006;
Guhathakurta et al. 2011). The Indian monsoon system has been identified as one
tipping element of the global climate system meaning that a strong climate change
might drastically change atmospheric circulation patterns (Lenton et al. 2008). In
case of such a systemic shift, India’s agricultural sector would be dramatically
affected. Change in rainfall patterns would put millions of lives at stake. With a
more erratic and extreme monsoon, the IPCC (2014) states that by 2030 India
would face an agricultural loss of over US $7 billion, affecting the income of 10 %
of the people. Without effective adaptation measures, this development would make
it difficult for India to achieve a pathway of sustainable development consistent
with the SDGs. Only with the successful implementation of climate resilience
measures in the form adaptation strategies, 80 % of the losses could be averted, the
report adds. Several missions and strategies (Green India Mission, REDD+ etc.)
have been implemented at various levels under International initiatives. These
initiatives are crucial in addressing the need for climate change adaptation and
sustainable development at local level. UNFCCC also emphasises the need for
national coordinated adaptation strategies and their support by regional centres;
which endows a platform for a bottom-up approach to confer and adapt with climate
change impacts at regional level. Strengthening livelihoods, developing sustainable
land-use policy etc., have been increasingly seen as a critical strategy for supporting
adaptation.
4 The Need for Integrated Scientific Approaches
From the authors’ perspective scientists face two main challenges when they are
aiming at providing valuable contributions to the climate change challenge. The
first challenge is to better understand current and future vulnerabilities of
human-environment systems under a changing climate. The second challenge
includes the development of effective instruments to link their research efforts to the
arena of societal, economic and political actors and decision makers.
Mastering the first challenge requires the development of a holistic understanding of the structure and the functioning of human-environment systems.
4
S. Nautiyal et al.