Climate friendly lifestyle practices in India

"The environmental consequences of unsustainable lifestyles and patterns of production and consumption are now widely acknowledged. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are mainly driven by population size, economic activity, lifestyle, energy use, land use patterns, technology and climate policy." "Prepared for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) by WWF-India, with contributions from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Sahapedia and Development Alternatives (DA).

Rapid assessment of the physiological impacts caused by catch-and-release angling on blue-finned mahseer (Tor sp.) of the Cauvery River, India

Forty-nine blue-finned mahseer (Tor sp.; mean total length 458 ± 20 mm) were angled using a range of bait/lure types, angling and air exposure times in water that averaged 27 ± 2 °C over the course of the assessment. No cases of mortality were observed, and rates of moderate and major injury were low, with 91% of mahseer hooked in the mouth. More extreme physiological disturbances (i.e. blood lactate, glucose, pH) in mahseer were associated with longer angling times. Sixteen fish (33%) exhibited at least one form of reflex impairment. Moreover, longer air exposures and angling times resulted in significant likelihood of reflex impairment. Findings suggest that blue-finned mahseer are robust to catch-and-release, but that anglers should avoid unnecessarily long fight times and minimise air exposure to decrease the likelihood of sub-lethal effects that could contribute to post-release mortality

Involving recreational fisheries stakeholders in development of research and conservation priorities for mahseer (Tor spp.) of India through collaborative workshops

The mahseer (Tor spp.) of India are a group of potamodromous cyprinids currently facing numerous challenges in their native ranges including overfishing, pollution, and hydropower development. As a result of such challenges, four of the seven Indian species of Tor have been listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List, including two of the most popular recreationally fished species, Tor khudree and Tor putitora. Stakeholders in the mahseer recreational fishery may serve as an ally for this group of iconic fishes, fostering aquatic stewardship and providing livelihood alternatives for poachers. Yet, information regarding species-specific responses to recreational fishing practices is lacking and a 2009 decree equating fishing with hunting in the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) has since 2011 effectively banned angling within protected areas and rendered the future of mahseer recreational fisheries elsewhere uncertain. In 2014, our team collaborated with local organizations, fisheries professionals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and anglers to conduct two stakeholder workshops designed to develop a research agenda for various species of Indian mahseer. General knowledge gaps identified in the two workshops were very similar and included biological, sociological, and economic considerations. The resulting research priorities in both locations strongly highlighted local context, indicating that while opportunities for addressing knowledge gaps through collaboration exist at the national scale, there is a need for regional- or fishery-specific governance strategies and approaches to mahseer research and conservatio

A framework for identifying and selecting long term adaptation policy directions for deltas

Deltas are precarious environments experiencing significant biophysical, and socio-economic changes with the ebb and flow of seasons (including with floods and drought), with infrastructural developments (such as dikes and polders), with the movement of people, and as a result of climate and environmental variability and change. Decisions are being taken about the future of deltas and about the provision of adaptation investment to enable people and the environment to respond to the changing climate and related changes. The paper presents a framework to identify options for, and trade-offs between, long term adaptation strategies in deltas. Using a three step process, we: (1) identify current policy-led adaptations actions in deltas by conducting literature searches on current observable adaptations, potential transformational adaptations and government policy; (2) develop narratives of future adaptation policy directions that take into account investment cost of adaptation and the extent to which significant policy change/political effort is required; and (3) explore trade-offs that occur within each policy direction using a subjective weighting process developed during a collaborative expert workshop. We conclude that the process of developing policy directions for adaptation can assist policy makers in scoping the spectrum of options that exist, while enabling them to consider their own willingness to make significant policy changes within the delta and to initiate transformative change.</p

Climate friendly lifestyle practices in India

"The environmental consequences of unsustainable lifestyles and patterns of production and consumption are now widely acknowledged. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are mainly driven by population size, economic activity, lifestyle, energy use, land use patterns, technology and climate policy." "Prepared for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) by WWF-India, with contributions from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Sahapedia and Development Alternatives (DA).