THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Climate is a rabid dog – nobody knows how it would behave, says a character in The Searcher by Irish writer Tana French.
Set in Ireland, the story includes an extraordinary heat wave that has the media up and running. Farmers of the region, however, wonder why there is a sudden hullabaloo. They knew the dry spell was on its way two decades ago.
Though billed as an investigative thriller, book reviewers term it an “atmospheric mystery” due to the poignant treatment it gives to climate change.
Though we live in times of ‘atmospheric mysteries’, pressing issues such as environmental degradation and climate change seldom get the attention they deserve in politics, policies, and polls.
Environmental and agri researchers say this neglect towards nature – likely because it is not an emotive or sensational topic – has been a point of discussion in their circles for long.
“Check the manifestos of the parties. The part on environment comes towards the last, almost as an appendage. While other issues are laid out with strategy, this vital subject gets a rough look-over,” laments Sreeja K G, research director of Equinoct, a tech startup that provides science-based solutions for addressing the impacts of climate change.
“Not just climate change, even disaster management is not discussed properly. Emission mitigation and impact mitigation are glossed over.”
Sreeja and her team have been working on putting together a document that could be presented to all mainstream parties, with the aim of persuading them to include environmental issues in their grand scheme of things.
“A similar exercise was done by the NGO Poovulagin Nanbargal during the last assembly election in Tamil Nadu. They compiled a report covering a gamut of issues, and presented it to all the parties,” Sreeja said.
“Such exercises help parties to first study the issues. Moreover, the subject ought to be highlighted in the public sphere during times such as elections.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Prof Sabu Joseph, head of the department of environment sciences at Kerala University, stressed that climate change issues should get “local level” attention, especially in tropical regions like Kerala.
“This has to be dealt with politically, with leaders urging their cadres to join hands with people and undertake mitigation measures,” he said.
Nature’s signals such as floods, disruption of weather patterns and the recent heat wave should serve as a “warning for Kerala”, pointed out a senior scientist with the Kerala Agriculture University.
“The rise in temperature has a terrible impact on agriculture, and farmers have been suffering huge losses,” he said, requesting anonymity.
“For example, the watermelon crop loss this season in Kerala is almost 100 per cent. Annually, the yield fetches profit for the farmers during the summer months.”
Similarly, Prof Sabu highlighted the issue of water scarcity in several parts of Kerala. The state should take lessons from the recent water crisis in Bengaluru.
“Some colleges in Thiruvananthapuram had to close down ahead of schedule due to water shortage. Hostel residents were asked to vacate,” he noted.
“Such incidents have to be foreseen, and prompt action has to be initiated. This has to be part of a political agenda, and has to emerge as talking points during elections. I have not seen concrete mitigation procedures or action plans featuring in the election agendas of parties.”
Coastal erosion and man-animal conflict have got relatively better media coverage. “However, I wonder how many politicians in the fray have a thorough understanding of the issues,” he said.
“For instance, an Environmental Management Plan was prepared as part of the impact assessment of the Vizhinjam harbour project. How many politicians would have read it in detail?”
The same issue of superficiality is apparent in the issue of man-animal conflict, said Sreeja. “The core problem of why animals are increasingly entering human habitations has to be addressed. We, as a society, seem to be more interested in giving the elephants nicknames, or trapping the animals and relocating them,” she added.
Lack of scientific awareness is a huge lacunae, according to environmental experts. The least the candidates in fray could do is to bring the subject under the spotlight during campaigns, they said.
“Localised strategies to tackle weather issues, green architecture, water conservation/ management, etc., should also ideally be part of poll planks. Sadly, that’s not the case,” said Prof Sabu.
Chithra Grace A, who heads the Centre for Climate and Environmental Health, stressed that politicians and the people should realise that “today’s environmental issues will have a profound influence tomorrow on politically hot subjects such as employment, economy, poverty, health, etc”. “Addressing the root causes, hence, is crucial. Development is not merely about economics; it has to be sustainable,” she said.
Sustainability has, in fact, emerged as an unavoidable part of political discussions in the west. It is just a matter of time for that to happen here, said Sreevalsan J Menon, associate director (central zone) of Kerala Agriculture University.
“Addressing key issues such as how green is your energy consumption, what’s being done to enhance soil productivity, and how efficiently water resources are managed require fundamental policy shifts,” he said.
“They will have to be spoken about in about two years’ time. Until then, ‘routine’ issues will continue to dominate the political discourse.”