BENGALURU: Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Eshwar B Khandre highlighted the importance of coordination between agencies in addressing the issues pertaining to climate change.
Speaking at the inauguration of the two-day policy dialogue on ‘Sub-National Climate Action and Monitoring- Developing Policy Insights for Karnataka State Action Plan on Climate Change (KSAPCC)” on Thursday, he said global warming and climate change are issues that can be addressed with coordination from various government departments.
He stated that the government is working with agencies on undertaking research to find ways to mitigate it and emphasised that research undertaken to address these issues must not only be comprehensive but also made accessible to the general public for effective implementation.
The policy was prepared by the Centre for Environmental Education, Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) and Hans Seidel Stiftung to gather inputs from stakeholders for implementing the KSAPCC.
Explaining the policy, BP Ravi, director general of EMPRI said each department has been given a list of tasks to do, on the basis of the Central government’s climate change action plan. Under the policy a dashboard has also been developed to monitor progress at both state and district levels.
Another official from EMPRI said, the policy is flexible. “This year the policy is stressing on coordination between horticulture, agriculture, animal husbandry, revenue and forest departments. While afforestation efforts in regions like the Western Ghats and surrounding areas are easier, in other areas like Ballari, Kalaburgi, Raichur and Kalyana Karnataka require greater attention.,” the official explained.