Odisha bears brunt of climate change, experts call for resilience initiatives
By D. Subudhi
Bhubaneswar, March 28: The eastern Indian state of Odisha is bearing the brunt of climate change. This fact is evident from the fact that the state has witnessed as many as 16 natural calamities in the past 12 years.
On Tuesday, experts suggested that there are needs to create hental (mangroves) forests, shelters and other infrastructure, prepare people for disaster management and support local people in earning livelihoods in high soil erosion areas in coastal areas of the state.
Attending a seminar titled ‘Role of Civil Society in the changing climate risk landscape in Odisha’ organised jointly by Regional Centre for Development Co-operation (RCDC) and Care India, the guests and critics expressed concern about the soil erosion due to tidal waves in six coastal districts of the state.
The experts emphasized that civil society should come forward in developing resilience before waiting for disasters to occur.
Dr. Ambika Nanda, Head of Tata Steel Foundation, moderated the seminar which was attended by Dipamala Mahal, Vice-president, Care You, USA, Omkar Khare, Programme Specialist -Risk and Resilience, UNICEF, Dr Abha Mishra, Head, UNDP Odisha, Dr (Prof) Jayakrushna Panigrahi, Secretary, Odisha Environment Congress, Dr Kabir Mohan Sethi, HOD Geography Department, Utkal University, Kailash Chandra Dash, RCDC executive director and others.
