Abstract: This talk aims to discuss the multifaceted impacts of climate change and also of climate action, focusing on forests, individuals and communities. Tejal will provide an overview of global climate change policy implications for India, referencing key discussions from the Conference of the Parties (COP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and other recent global political shifts. SV Pasha will investigate recent case studies highlighting climate and human-induced forest biodiversity threats. Examples include the devastating events in the biodiversity hotspots of India and the most recent wildfires in Los Angeles. These remote sensing-based studies will demonstrate the causes, future challenges, and opportunities for biodiversity conservation. Chetan will discuss the dominant discourse on climate change and human migration and will temper it with evidence on migration decisions, drivers and patterns. This discussion will cover the socio-economic and environmental factors that compel people to migrate, challenges facing migrant communities, and the broader implications for climate migration research and practice. Binoy will explore the impact of climate change induced environmental modifications on the behaviours, mindset and wellbeing of the people. He will also highlight the importance of integrating the knowledge of the psychology of focal populations into climate change mitigation strategies to gain public acceptance. Addressing the climate crisis requires a comprehensive approach integrating global policies, forest conservation, community resilience, and adaptive migration strategies.
About the speaker: Tejal is an Associate Professor in the Energy Environment and Climate Change Program and has been a member of the Indian Delegation to multiple meetings of the UNFCCC and IPCC. Vazeed Pasha, a Post-doctoral Associate at NIAS and BRICS Young Scientist awardee, specializes in geospatial applications for forest biodiversity, invasion, and carbon studies. His research areas are geospatial applications on forest biodiversity and carbon studies. Binoy is an Associate Professor and in charge of the Science Communication Programme of the NIAS. He coordinates the activities of ‘Student-Scientist’—a unique student-centric initiative that monitors climate change-induced modifications in the coastal environment and societies of Kerala and Karnataka. Chetan Choithani is an Assistant Professor in the Inequality and Human Development Programme, and a co-investigator on a Columbia University President's Global Innovation Fund supported project on climate change, agrarian distress and labour migration in India.