PNS|Vijayawada
Climate change poses a challenge to the sustainability of social and economic development and livelihoods of communities and environmental management in Andhra Pradesh.
An official release here on Tuesday said that building capacities for climate change actions (mitigation and adaptation) to make Andhra Pradesh a climate-resilient State through improved climate change governance and services linking climate science, policies and people are very important in the present context.
As part of green initiatives of the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, a ‘Climate Change Cell’ has been created in the Department of Govt of Andhra Pradesh to address climate change issues through an Ecosystem-based Approach (EbA) on par with India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change and paving the way to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change.
The Climate Change Cell focuses on the mitigation of climate change (CC) and protecting the vulnerable sections of society through an inclusive and sustainable development strategy that also enhances ecological sustainability.
The “Climate Change Cell” in the Department would undertake the functions including coordination of the preparation of the Climate Change State Action plan (being undertaken by APPCB through NCSCM) and thereafter, take focussed steps to implement the Climate Change State Action Plan, liaising with the Government of India, external funding agencies and different departments of State government to identify projects and schemes for implementation of the Climate Change State Action Plan.
As part of the implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan, the ongoing schemes in the department viz., Green Climate Fund (GCF), and Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) would be transferred to be implemented and monitored through the Climate Change cell.
The Climate Change Cell in the department would develop a mechanism for Inter-Departmental coordination so as to have periodic interactions with the stakeholder line departments (e.g. Agriculture, Health, Industry, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Animal Resources Development, Commerce and Transport, Water Resources, Revenue and Disaster Management, Mining.
The Climate Change Cell will also interact and coordinate with other state governments, different regulatory authorities, institutions, non-government organizations, etc. including interaction with international institutions for the exchange of information on climate change issues and develop in-depth knowledge on Climate Change issues impacting the State and bring best practices to the State, the release added.
