Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena presided over the orientation workshop for Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) for preparing the State Human Development Report (SHDR) to examine the impact of climate change and variability on human development in the State, organized the Department of Environment, Science Technology & Climate Change in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) here today.
He said that Himachal Pradesh will be the first state in the country to have this type of study. He said that the report would be helpful to analyze how changing climate patterns are affecting key human development indicators like health, agriculture and allied sectors like water and forestry, tourism and construction and access to basic necessities across the state, particularly in youth, women and vulnerable population groups, highlighting the need for targeted adaptation strategies to mitigate these impacts.
The Chief Secretary said that the report will propose strategies for climate smart development and construction and identify opportunities to accelerate progress with focus on climate finance, decentralization and accountable and inclusive climate action. This report will not be a document but a roadmap for sustainable development of the state, said he emphasizing on the fact that the climate change has become a bigger problem than unemployment and malnutrition etc.
The Chief Secretary said that the Thematic Working Groups are the experts in their fields and have the best knowledge about the impact of climate change on their respective sectors. Prabodh Saxena stressed on inclusive field studies with community participation in decision-making as the overall purpose is not the report but planning, to utilize existing climate data, socio-economic surveys, and local knowledge to assess the impacts of climate change on human development across different regions of Himachal Pradesh, examine variations in climate change impacts and vulnerability across different districts within the state and to propose evidence-based policy interventions to address the challenges posed by climate change and build resilience in human development.
Director, Environment, Science Technology & Climate Change Department D.C. Rana said that the state is experiencing a drastic climate change which has changed the livelihood of the people alongwith their health and agriculture sector to a large extent. Chief Economist, UNDP Amee Mishra facilitated the Thematic Working Groups in preparing presentations of their groups.
Head of the Forest Department Sameer Rastogi, Director Tourism Vivek Bhatia and Chief Scientist EST& CC department Dr. Suresh Attri were also present in the workshop along with representatives of stakeholder departments.