Oped»
Call for adaptation
MAR 30 -
Ever since industrialisation, humans have augmented the concentration of greenhouse gases causing climate change. Current changes in climate cannot be totally avoided. Yet better adaptation can minimise threats and confer immediate benefits.
Adaptation is a reaction to the threats of climate change that encompass changes in social and institutional structures and technology. Improving our capacity to adapt is crucial to adjust to climatic extremes like drought and floods. Climate changes rapidly. So approaches like better adaptation is imperative. The greatest impact is on food security.
Adaptation strategies can be adopted at different levels: more localised within one farm or community or on a bigger scale of an enitre nation. A farmer who grows drought resistant plant varieties in increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation minimises risk of crop failure. A nation with better forecasting tools for extreme events can prevent huge losses of human life. But adaptation at the right juncture is crucial. If used in a suitable amount of time, it heals your wound. But the more you neglect your wound, the worse it gets. It is rational to use adaptation strategies beforehand rather than at the last moment. Aditionally, it is less expensive and more rewarding. Two different modes to adapt are planned adaptation and autonomous adaptation. Planned adaptation functions at a large scale and often requires huge investments: like the construction of dams to reduce flood damage, change in land use and breeding new varieties of crops. Autonomous adaptation works over a small range. It includes strategies like changing sowing dates and the harvesting time of crops according to changing weather conditions, insuring crops and livestock, and changing cropping patterns of farms. Diversification of farms reduces the risk of crop losses and confers complementary advantages.
A state should be responsible enough to design sound adaptation strategies, and should render capital in all forms: physical, financial and human. An even greater need is the government’s investment in research. Research activities in Nepal are limited. Huge loss of produce from farms every year due to catastrophic events is eminent and recent changes in the climate have further exacerbated the situation. So, sustainable management and utilisation of resources like soil and water is of overriding importance. It all depends on the mainstreaming of climate change into policies and the promulgation of adaptation strategies through extension, research and education. It is advantageous to promote locally adopted strategies in policies linked with science and technology. Local knowledge and innovations are important to promote the resilience of agricultural systems.
Adaptation is vital for Nepal. Hunger will continue to increase at an alarming rate if strategies are not adopted. Apart from that, it is impossible to bring back the losses to humanity. Undeniably, prevention is better than cure.
Posted on: 2010-03-31 08:06
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