Climate Change

PREPARING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: CORRECTING ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION DEFICIT Dr.Thrivikramji.K.P. [email protected] Abstract Perhaps in tune with the intangible climate seesaw during the Pleistocene (i.e., glacials and inter-glacials of Pleistocene), a large segment of the climate scientists did not approve or accept the stationarity of earth s current climate as they aggregated evidences on a changing climate by the warming of earth s lower troposphere due to continued accumulation of large volumes of CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases (GG) primarily originating from burning of fossil fuels (like petroleum and coal) and in ever rising quantities in the decades after the industrial revolution. The award of 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to Inconvenient Truth (a Hollywood documentary by Mr. Al Gore, the US Vice President) and Dr.R.K.Pachauri (Chairman IPCC: an initiative of WMO and UNEP) brought the issue of Climate Change (CC) to the center stage. As a result of continued accumulation of Greenhouse Gases, the planet earth will be on a steadily warming track in the next several decades and in future (IPCC, 2007). Publication of an instructive and thought provoking book on Climate Change and Sealevel Rise (Barth and Titus, 1984) in the late 80 s and its grabbing the attention of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, led to a brain storming session (1989) in the NIO, Goa and subsequent approval of several research projects by the MoEF, GOI (90-92), to examine the impact of sea level rise (SLR) on the littoral states of India. However, no great follow up efforts seemed to originate from the National Administration in the form of legislation/s or executive orders on programs and action plans (for e.g., climate change literacy workshops, mitigation and adaptation strategies, reduction of GG emissions, energy efficient transport systems, homes and appliances etc.), focusing to educate managers of the bureaucracy, elected members of the legislators and PRIs, members of the civil society including high-schoolers etc. in adapting and mitigating the impact of CC or SLR on the coastal land zone of India. In spite of the CC threats, instead of launching a decision support system (Anonymous, 2009) in the development agenda of the nation, till date the National and State administrations seem to follow a business-as-usual approach in the CC vs. development process. The CC impacts warrant building in of appropriate weightages in respect of all development programs (in public-, private- or joint-sectors, in the industry or in the commercial farming, in infrastructure or social development or in healthcare). Yet, suitable decision support tools (i.e., processes and systems) designed to face up the challenges and opportunities posed by CC are unavailable with the distributed administration. Table 1 Foundation of Effective Decision support Item User centric Process over product priority Connect producers & users

Bridging disciplines & organizations Ensure institutional stability Basis of learning

Attributes User first - needs not known first- identified by a 2-way iterative process (of producers & decision makers) Correct process to right product interaction of DS producers and users for better result Culture and incentives of science and practice fifernetworking, intermediaries and boundary organizations make durable relations Services & products based on data/knowledge of multidisciplinary nature Stature, viability longevity and efficacy Flexible, adaptable and designed on experience

Abstract of paper in Seminar on Climate Change: Causes, Measures and Preparedness, Aug 24-26, 09, University of Hyderabad, India.

Decision support (DS) comprises of a program to produce, collect, disseminate and facilitate use of data, information or knowledge in relation to climate change related decisions. Wilson and Arvai, (2006) identified a set five essential items in superior decision making process, viz., problem definition, clarity of objectives, objectives linked alternatives, assessing of consequences and opposing trade offs. An effective DS has the synergy of certain fundamentals (Table 1). We live in an exciting age and century where change is the norm- the climate is changing so are we in the world. Indeed, there is a need for an initiative by the National Government to formulate a program and build an institution for climate change related decision making to support the activities at the national and state levels. This institution, the National Center for Climate Change Issues (structured like the NIDM) will be in charge of developing DS systems to address the CC impact issues in various domains as well as a clearing house for integrated knowledge and information on climate change and future climatic and socioeconomic changes and challenges. ----------

Anonymous (2009) Informing Decisions In A Changing Climate: National Academies Press, Washington DC, 198p. Barth,MC and Titus, JG, (1984) Green House Effect and Sea Level Rise: New York, Van Norstrand Reinhold, 313p. Wilson,RS, and Arvai,JL, (2006)`Evaluating quality of structured management decisions: Environmental Science and Technology:40, 831-847

Abstract of paper in Seminar on Climate Change: Causes, Measures and Preparedness, Aug 24-26, 09, University of Hyderabad, India.