Involve communities by focusing on traditional knowledge: Experts

Disasters cannot be stopped fully but suitable measures and planning are needed to mitigate risk. These were among the several expert views expressed during the technical session on ‘Strengthening Resilience and Adaptive Capacity of Himalayan communities to Climate-Related Disasters’ during the three-day HIMSamwaad: Trans-Himalayan Conference on Localised Solutions and Implementation Strategy. The event is being held at Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, in association with Sewa International and Indian Ecological Society.

Professor A. K Mahajan from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh called for a check and stop on the unscientific widening of roads and said such constructions needed to be stopped to mitigate disaster before occurrence. Professor Mahajan focused on developing earthquake resistance buildings and suggested a minimum gap of 3-5 meters between houses and the construction of multistory buildings on only heavy rocks.

Prof. Ravindra S. Gavali¸ Head, Centre for Natural Resources Management, Climate Change and Disaster Mitigation, Hyderabad said that climate change in the future will lead to the probability of a decrease in groundwater, landslides, and flood risk. Prof. Gavali said drinking water services, agriculture, health and people with disabilities, sanitation and hygiene are vulnerable sectors and suggested afforestation and ecosystem-based allocation.

Dr. Shobha Shrestha from Tribhuvan University, Nepal said that there is a need to focus on the local and ground level and put a plan in place for the near and long term to adapt to climate-related hazards. She suggested that as there are varied income levels, therefore a vulnerability test should be done with the help of different cost-effective measures for different places with localized disaster management techniques. Abhishek Kumar, Executive Director, Sewa International highlighted the need for community development through community-based lead institutions and community-based livelihood.

In the second session on Diaspora and Trans-Himalayan Region, Anup Mudgal, Former Ambassador to Mauritius, who joined the discussions virtually, expressed his views on sustainable development in Himalayas and Climate Change. He said that the people in the villages as well as in cities want a good and better life where good life means how much one consumes: in terms of education, luxuries and all the facilities, etc. He emphasized on growth and wealth creation as it increases the living standards.

“The reason we cannot grow in the field of sustainability is that earth's carrying capacity is over-utilized. Today’s technology has produced human power and given solutions to the problems but has exploited natural resources and their capacity. Therefore, we need to pay attention to sustainable development and should optimally utilize resources”, said Mudgal.

He urged to scan the capacity of the ecosystem and rearrange it for the Himalayan sustainable development. He also spoke about the demand for organic and natural products and suggested that the Himalayan region can be a wonderful source of production. Mudgal said the diaspora will be a good source of influence and explained the importance of the Himalayan ecosystem and called for involving communities by focusing on traditional knowledge instead of totally relying on scientific knowledge.

Nihar Ranjan, Research Fellow, IDSA addressing the climatic change impact and the massive migration in the Himalayan Region said that livelihood resources and rivers originating from the Himalayan region  are being affected due to climate change. He further added that the key issue of the Himalayan region is migration due to lack of facilities, infrastructure, education, and economic opportunities which can be solved if people don’t migrate from their places. Ranjan called on the diaspora to come back and maintain the heritage and mobilize resources for sustainability.

Robinder Sachadev, President, The Imagindia Institute suggested cultural exchange programmes from different countries to India and other Himalayan countries to showcase the Himalayan regions and educate people about its culture.

Founder of SIDH Pawan Gupta was of the view that in order to advance society and preserve our culture and history, people's perceptions of development must be altered. He also urged people to be proud of their legacy and to integrate scientific and ancient traditional ways. Gupta said that in order to communicate with the traditional members of a certain culture, everyone needs to alter their communication style.

Experts called for studies for establishing the frequency of the disasters and for a check on non-scientific infrastructures such as dams, bridges, hydropower, and non-farm activities that may have an impact on the base of the Himalayas for economic gain.  During the conference, there was a consensus on the need to protect the Himalayas and hence cooperation with other organizations is the need of the hour. Additionally, the Himalayan region needs to start special programmes and address some economic issues because, despite Bhutan and Nepal's efforts to do so, their small size prevented them from having a significant impact.