Pachauri warns Goa of rising sea levels (Herald)

Says development in coastal areas needs to be planned

By TEAM HERALD | 19 Oct, 2014, 12:27AM IST

PANJIM: Warning that rising sea levels would affect the State, Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute, Nobel Peace prize winner and Padma Vibhushan said development in the State’s coastal areas needs to be carefully orchestrated and debated. He also said natural resources in their purest form need to be kept so that they are available for generations to come. 

He was speaking as the keynote speaker at the first Matanhy Saldanha memorial lecture.

Reminding his audience, where Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’ Souza were also present, he said the average sea rise till 2010 was 19 cms, and if green house gasses are not controlled then we could see a rise of 98 cm….  And this will have a great effect on Goa,” he said. He also warned that every time there is a storm surge due to the rising seas levels, damage would be disproportionate.

Pachauri gave the example of the Netherlands, their dykes and land reclamation and their building up of even bigger dykes on which work is going on at present. He also called for enforcing of laws against CRZ violations saying that those who are violating these rules are taking on a great risk not only for themselves but for those living in those structures within CRZ areas.

“Enforcement is needed,” he said. “Goa is vulnerable to climate change. If we want to pursue we cannot possibly change the environment.”

“We have enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Goa. Surely our children and grandchildren should have the same benefit,” he said pushing for the State to develop a model of sustainable development.

He also called for innovative solutions for mining involving all stakeholders.

Saying that air pollution a problem faced by the State was due to mining and transportation, he called for innovative means by which tourism can be diversified.

Calling Goa’s high level of urbanization both good and bad, he said there has been a rise in social evils, of which some are due to tourism.

“Temperature rise has been 0.85 degrees till now. But by the end of the century it will be 4.8 degrees,” he said. “We have to cut down on emissions of green house gasses,” he said arguing that though all are adapting at present, once you cross the tipping point then adaption will have no effect.

He said the future held heat waves and extreme precipitation of events like for example if it rains heavily in then the rain will become even heavier as time goes by. Or on the other hand there is a drought in some areas, the drought will only get worse.

Saying that we were living in a world of enormous disparity, between rich and poor and had adapted a materialistic lifestyle… abandoned our values, he added that those in position of power are able to amass enormous wealth.

 http://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Pachauri-warns-Goa-of-rising-sea-levels/79943.html

 

 

Goa ‘very vulnerable to climate-change impacts’: Pachauri

TNN | Oct 19, 2014, 01.22 AM IST PANAJI: While Goa is "very vulnerable" to a large number of climate-change impacts, it must lead the way in sustainable development and with vision and innovation emerge as a model not only for India but also for the rest of the world, said Nobel peace prize laureate Rajendra Kumar Pachauri on Saturday.

Pachauri was delivering the keynote address at the first Matanhy Saldanha memorial lecture on the subject 'Environment: A gift to mankind to be sustainably used and conserved for future generations'.

Pachauri said Goa, being a coastal state, is vulnerable to the impact of climate change which is leading to sea level rise as a result of the melting of ice bodies across the globe. There is also thermal expansion of the oceans.

The inter-governmental panel on climate change, which Pachauri chairs and which won the Nobel peace prize in 2007 along with former US vice-president Al Gore, has in its fifth assessment report found that average sea level rise across the globe has been 19cm since the beginning of the last century up to 2010.

Said Pachauri, "Now that's a substantial amount and if we don't mitigate the emissions of the greenhouse gases, then on the basis of this scenario that does not take into account any mitigation activity, we could get sea level rise up to 98cm. That would be a very serious outcome for a state like Goa."

He added that before submergence can take place, every time there is a storm surge and coastal flooding, because of the higher level of the sea, the extent of damage would be disproportionately higher.

Pachauri said that we need to be concerned about the beauty of Goa. "We have enjoyed the beautiful landscape and the sea in Goa. Surely, children and grandchildren who are yet to come, should also have the same benefit and that would be sustainable development," he said.

Pachauri said that Goa must develop as a model of sustainable development not only as an example to India but to the whole world. There are challenges like high population density, but places like Japan, which have higher population density, have excelled in sustainable development, he said.

Pachauri described the late Matanhy Saldanha as a "Titan" who will always be immortal because of his values, ideals, thoughts and deeds. "What he was able to do in Goa will certainly be respected, remembered and revered throughout the world. It is our primary duty to see that we uphold his values and ideals and spread them far and wide," said Pachauri.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar was the chief guest of the function organized by the Matanhy Saldanha memorial foundation. Saldanha's spouse, environment and forest minister Alina is the managing trustee of the foundation. 

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Goa-very-vulnerable-to-climate-change-impacts-Pachauri/articleshow/44872403.cms