World Bank cautions State on climate change

The Hindu , Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Correspondent : Staff Reporter
BHUBANESWAR: If policymakers in Orissa are contemplating taking normal recourse to tackling floods, they might be making mistakes. It is time to shed the traditional approach as the State braces for worse under climate change scenario.

World Bank has cautioned that the climate projection suggested a substantial shift in pattern of rainfall towards the flood-prone coastal regions with dramatic increase in the incidence of flooding in Orissa. Sample this: the probability that the discharge of flood water might exceed 25,000 cubic meters per second (cusecs) (at the measuring station at Naraj on the Mahanadi river in Orissa), is currently low – about 2 per cent. But under climate change, this is projected to rise dramatically to over 10 per cent.

World Bank has projected 23 per cent increase in annual mean rainfall in delta region. Similarly, at district level average annual maximum temperatures are expected to increase between 2.4 degree Celsius and 3.7 degree Celsius. The study predicts that the minimum temperature was expected to increase by greater amount.

In Puri and Jagatsinghpur, Work Bank assessment finds that rice yields could decline by 5 per cent to 12 per cent and profits by 6 per cent to 8 per cent under climate change.

The projections on possible magnitude and impact of floods under climate change were made by World Bank in its report “Climate Change Impacts in Drought-and Flood-Affected Areas: Case Studies in India,” which was released on Monday.

Researchers have conducted household survey in three villages each under Jagatsinghpur and Puri districts to assess present damage and possible impacts of floods on economy and life of people.

“Education is disrupted by floods in two ways: children are either forced out of school to engage in work to supplement the household income or they cannot attend because school facilities suffer damages. Of surveyed, 27 per cent reported that their children drop out of school following a flood event,” says the WB report.

It says though economically viable solutions remain elusive a greater emphasis on rabi cultivation could be further facilitated by improving irrigation access in the drier months.

Moreover, World Bank has laid emphasis on income diversification for minimisation of flood impacts. With the escalating demand for fish in India, and across the world, there is scope to increase aquaculture production in flood-prone areas.

Regarding Orissa, the report finds out that the State is utilizing more funds by over-emphasising relief and restoration but there is not much spending to build flood resilience.

The study also recommends that the policymakers build climate risk assessment for long-lived infrastructure projects and explore new and innovative financial instruments to promote income diversification in rural areas. Moreover, it underlines the need for greater support for agricultural research.

 
SOURCE : Wednesday, 27 May 2009
 


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