Committee on Climate Change approves projects for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab

The eighth National Steering Committee on Climate Change approved four projects from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Punjab at a meeting held here Monday.

The projects will be funded under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change. Kerala’s project is for ‘Promotion of Integrated Farming System of Kaipad and Pokkali in Coastal Wetlands of Kerala’ at a cost of Rs. 33.73 crore. It envisions integrated farming methods, as climate smart practices to enhance resilience of aquaculture communities to climate change especially sea-level rise that results in severe intrusion of salinity.

The proposed area for the four-year project is 600 hectares (300 hectares in Kannur District and 300 hectares in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Alappuzha districts). Its broad objectives are providing the main infrastructure facility of strong outer ‘bunds’ with sufficient height; use of tall varieties of salt tolerant paddy; integrating fishery to enhance paddy cultivation and maximize the inland fish production through sustainable aquaculture.

The Agency for Development of Aquaculture, Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala, will be the Executing Entity for the project. The project will help simultaneous cultivation of rice and shrimp / fish in low-lying wetlands where there were no cultivation earlier. It will also improve the quality of life for local farmers through higher disposable incomes.

The will improve access to fresh water, as peripheral ‘bunds’ will prevent seepage of sea water to fresh water sources, capacity building of farmers and will reduce displacement of labourers from nearby areas and provide employment to women. It will also check carbon emission, as wetlands have good potential to act as carbon sink. It is estimated that the cumulative potential for total annual revenue is about Rs. 23.25 crore under this project, an official release said.

Tamil Nadu is undertaking a project titled “Management and Rehabilitation of Coastal Habitats and Biodiversity for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Livelihood in Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu. The total cost of the project will be Rs. 24.74 crore and will cover 23 coastal villages of Tuticorin district. The 4-year project has five broad objectives: conduct baseline vulnerability studies, coral rehabilitation, sea grass rehabilitation, deployment of 6,000 Artificial Reef modules, and eco-development activities in the project villages.

The project will help in developing the much needed “Comprehensive Plan or Scheme for Coral and Sea Grass Restoration”. It will augment the database on coral ecosystem, species diversity, fish catch/effort, anthropogenic pressure, and migration and survival rate. The project activities will lead to economic empowerment of 15 SHGs per village and benefit about 6,900 women, the release said.

The project will create a platform for knowledge development through regular meeting amongst departments like fisheries, forest, TNSCCC, GOMBRT, IIT, Chennai, Anna University and facilitate planning of roadmap for future conservation efforts. It is estimated that the cumulative potential for revenue generation per annum is about Rs. 1.84 crore for fisherman community and Rs. 1.03 crore for the Women Self Help Groups. The Department of Environment and State Steering Committee of Tamil Nadu will be responsible for facilitating overall project implementation.

Under Climate Change Action Programme, the Committee considered three projects on “Building Resilience through Integrated Farming Systems for Enhancing Livelihood Security” submitted by Government of Madhya Pradesh, “Technological adaptation for gainful utilisation of paddy straw (presently burnt on-site) as fuel to replace fossil fuels” submitted by Government of Punjab and ‘Coastal habitat rehabilitation for climate change adaptation in Gulf of Mannar, South-Eastern India: Improving ecosystem services and Fisherman livelihood” by Government of Tamil Nadu. The committee approved the projects from Government of Punjab and Government of Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.54 crore and Rs. 67 lakh respectively. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Ashok Lavasa, Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.