Bengaluru conference on climate change, sustainability raises questions on conservation efforts, gaps in policy

Pune-based conservator S Girikumar said there was an immediate need for a holistic approach to conservation efforts in India at a international conference at Mount Carmel College.

Bengaluru: With environmental degradation becoming more apparent than ever, both in rural and urban India, words like conservation and sustainability are being misused, said Pune-based conservator S Girikumar on Saturday.

He was speaking at a two-day international conference on biodiversity, climate change and sustainability held at Mount Carmel College, addressing the immediate need for a holistic approach to conservation efforts in India.

Speaking about the conflicts within conservation networks, such as the use of air conditioning in museums, Girikumar explained there were alternative methods to control room and atmospheric temperatures.

“Alternative cooling options like installing humid porous medium on the roof or geothermal heat exchange systems, industrial air circulators alongside having greenery around like vertical greenery system, it is possible to balance indoor and outdoor temperatures,” he said adding that porous terracotta air conditioning systems are also a viable option.

Arundhati Das, a conservationist with the World Conservation Society spoke about Karnataka’s biodiversity hotspot – the Western Ghats – and the extensive conversion of native grasslands to exotic tree plantations.

Referring to a 2019 study, she said that despite over 80% loss of grasslands in shola, there has been no information on its impact on shola forests.

Speaking about the gap in traditional conservation efforts, Faisal Rehman, Archiving and Research Programme Coordinator at the Keystone Foundation, said: "By laying excessive focus on charismatic species like tiger traditional conservationists have missed out on addressing the problems faced by smaller species like riverine fish, which is as important as big cats in keeping the balance of the planet."

Environmental photographer Ramu Aravindan spoke about the significance of archiving climate change in rural India including parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts.

Fencing, hats and carriers made of dried palm leaves were a common alternative to protect from extreme heat in the east and west coasts of India in Ramu’s photographs, which he displayed during his presentation. For Ramu, photography is a significant way of archiving the lives of people in the margins who bear the brunt of climate change.

The conference also had paper presentations on the Indian Knowledge System, climate justice and the future of conservation.