26 June 2013
The India Climate Justice collective notes with deep anguish the
devastating loss of life, livelihoods, and homes in Uttarakhand and
Himachal. The death toll is likely in the thousands, way beyond
current official figures. We extend our deep condolences to the
families and friends of those killed, and our support to those still
fighting for survival, and to local populations whose livelihoods will
take years to rebuild.
This tragedy was triggered by extreme unseasonal rains in North India,
2-3 weeks in advance of what is normal for this region. The Director
of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Dehradun, said that 340
mm fell in a single day at Dehradun, a record not seen for five
decades. Such extreme and unseasonal rainfall seems to us to indicate
a global warming induced climate change phenomenon. Warmer air due to
global warming has the capacity to hold more moisture, leading to more
intense bursts of rainfall. The natural monsoon cycle in India has
already been badly disrupted, and a new cycle of extreme rainfall
events and prolonged droughts have been reported from all over the
country in the recent past. Thus, contrary to statements by senior
politicians, the Uttarakhand disaster is not natural: it is no less
man-made than the other contributors to the tragedy. And if it is
indeed induced by global warming, similar catastrophes could recur
with increasing frequency and intensity anywhere in the country in the
coming years.
In western Himalayas particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal a chaotic
process of ‘development’ that goes back many years exacerbated the
effects of this extreme rain. Extensive deforestation of mountain
tracts, by the state and more recently due to ‘development’ projects,
led to soil erosion and water run-of, thus destabilizing mountain
slopes and contributing to more intense and frequent landslides and
floods. Unchecked hill tourism has resulted in the huge growth of
vehicular traffic, spread of roads not suitable to this mountainous
terrain, and the construction of poorly designed and unregulated
hotels and structures, many near rivers. Sand mining along river banks
has intensified water flows into rivers.
Most of all, the construction and planning of hundreds of small,
medium and large dams across the Himalayan states from Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the northern Himalayas to Sikkim and
Arunachal Pradesh in the east, have destabilized an already fragile
ecosystem and threatened biodiversity. A staggering 680 dams are in
various stages of planning, or construction in Uttarakhand and 650
Hydro project in Himachal ! These dams have a direct connection with
the extent of the damage that can be caused in such flooding events,
in that the tunnelling and excavation in the so-called
run-of-the-river projects cause huge and unregulated dumping of
excavated debris into river basins, leading to increased siltation,
and in turn aggravating the flood situation. The electrical power
generated by these dams will be consumed by urban elites elsewhere. It
is ironic that these dam projects, while adversely impacting people’s
access to their river commons, claim to be climate change solutions in
the guise of renewable and green energy, and have already made huge
profits by fraudulently claiming CDM (clean development mechanism)
status. In 2009, the CAG had warned the government of Uttarakhand that
the “potential cumulative effect of multiple run-of-the-river projects
can turn out to be environmentally damaging”. Like many other warnings
by environmentalists and local community groups in the past, this was
also ignored. And now we are facing one of the biggest disasters that
the country has seen in decades.
The central government of India and various state governments,
including the govt of Uttarakhand and Himachal, have prepared action
plans for combating climate change. Any such plan ought to include the
establishment of a disaster-prediction and warning mechanism. The
Uttarakhand government has taken no measures to prepare for this kind
of eventuality, though it has paid lip service to climate action plans
over the last three years. In the present case, the IMD issued
inadequate warning, which was disregarded by the state government. An
urgent prior warning could have ensured that pilgrims don’t move
forward and retreat to relative safety, that locals reduce their
exposure to risk to the extent possible. Thousands of pilgrims from
different states, locals, workers in hotels and dharamshalas, and
transport animals have been killed. Cars with people inside them were
washed away. Those who have survived had to go without food for
several days. Thousands are still stranded at different points, or in
forests, and we are still counting the dead.
There has also been extensive devastation of local lives and the
regional economy. Serious devastation has been reported from over 200
villages, so far. Innumerable locals, including agricultural workers,
drowned in the raging waters or were submerged under mud and debris.
Houses have collapsed or been washed away. Tourism and the local
employment it generates have been hit indefinitely at the peak of the
tourist season. Floods, landslides and debris have devastated
agriculture along the rivers. Irrespective of whether these extreme
rains are due to climate change or not, this is what a climate change
world in the Himalayas looks like. This devastation is a glimpse into
a climate uncertain future.
The impacts of disaster have been more savoir on marginalised
communities particularly mountain Dalits and women. Mountain Dalits
who have lost their house in the catastrophe are unable to find rented
accommodations to shelter due to caste discrimination and casteist
mind set of local government functionaries.
Paltry amounts of compensation are being offered is unrealistic. The
relief should be sufficient for rebuilding a safe dwelling and
restoration and reclaiming of the agriculture land.
Violence against women in the after math of the catastrophe has been
reported and was particularly targeted at Dalit and vulnerable
communities. We condemn this human rights abuse.
We see this tragedy as a result of cumulative and widespread injustice
and wrongdoing: not only against the Himalayan environment, but also
against mountain communities whose survival depends on that
environment. This tragedy is also a crime, because our policy makers
and administrators are also part of the larger climate injustice at a
global scale that threatens, displaces and kills the marginal and the
poor everywhere. On another plane, they simply let it happen. We
believe that adaptation to disasters does not just mean desperate
rescue work during and after the event, but also reducing
vulnerability and risk before. Effective adaptation involves a series
of measures that need to be adopted on a war footing. The sustainable
development of a hill economy, and equity – not profit for a few –
should be at its core.
India Climate Justice demands:
• That the governments at the central and state level retreat
to a low carbon pathway of development that has equity, decent
employment, and sustainability at its core.
• That the planning and construction of dams in the entire
Indian Himalayas be reviewed, and all construction be halted until
such a review is carried out.
• That the use of explosives in all such infrastructure
development works is completely stopped.
• That, given the likelihood of extreme rainfall events and
other climate extremes in the future, extensive and sub-regional
warning systems are put in place urgently across all the Himalayan
states, the coastal areas and beyond.
• That the rehabilitation should focus on the vulnerable and mountain
Dalits who are most severely affected in keep the view the principle
of equity and their participation in planning and monitoring of relief
and rehabilitation process should be ensured.
• That a proper assessment of the carrying capacity of
specific ecosystems is carried out.
• Paltry amounts of compensation are being offered is unrealistic. The
relief should be sufficient for rebuilding a safe dwelling and
restoration and reclaiming of the agriculture land.
• Violence against women including rapes in the after math of the
catastrophe has been reported and was particularly targeted at Dalit
and vulnerable communities. We condemn this human rights abuse demand
enquiry.
• That the eco-sensitive zone measures be implemented from
Gaumukh to Uttarkashi and eco-sensitive zones be established in other
river valleys. The eco-sensitive Zone shall be identified through
consultation and negotiation with local communities and the provision
for the same shall be to safeguard the interest of the local community
particularly marginalised section and regional ecology.
• That a river regulation zone be enforced such that no
permanent structures are allowed to be constructed within 100 metres
of any river.
• That the residents and their organizations, including the
landless are thoroughly consulted in a democratic plan on climate
change, in the revival of the local hill economy, and the generation
of decent employment.
• That all working people be compensated for the loss of life
and livelihood, and that urgent plans are put in place for the revival
of local livelihoods and agriculture including artisans and forest
dependent communities .
• That the central government learn from the Uttarakhand and
Himachal catastrophe to put in place prior adaptation measures not
just for the mountainous regions but beyond, for coastal and the
drought-prone interiors as well.
Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, People,s Campaign for Socio-Economic Equity in
the Himalayas, Gujjar Kaliyan Sabha Chamba, Sankalp Chamba, Dalit
Vikas Manch Chamba, Kisan Sabha Baijnath, Dalit Gaddi Pichada Varg
Sangathan, Awas adhikar Sangharsh samiti Mandi, Visthapit kaliyan
Samiti Pandoh, Parvatiya Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch HP, Himat Chamba.
The India Climate Justice collective notes with deep anguish the
devastating loss of life, livelihoods, and homes in Uttarakhand and
Himachal. The death toll is likely in the thousands, way beyond
current official figures. We extend our deep condolences to the
families and friends of those killed, and our support to those still
fighting for survival, and to local populations whose livelihoods will
take years to rebuild.
This tragedy was triggered by extreme unseasonal rains in North India,
2-3 weeks in advance of what is normal for this region. The Director
of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Dehradun, said that 340
mm fell in a single day at Dehradun, a record not seen for five
decades. Such extreme and unseasonal rainfall seems to us to indicate
a global warming induced climate change phenomenon. Warmer air due to
global warming has the capacity to hold more moisture, leading to more
intense bursts of rainfall. The natural monsoon cycle in India has
already been badly disrupted, and a new cycle of extreme rainfall
events and prolonged droughts have been reported from all over the
country in the recent past. Thus, contrary to statements by senior
politicians, the Uttarakhand disaster is not natural: it is no less
man-made than the other contributors to the tragedy. And if it is
indeed induced by global warming, similar catastrophes could recur
with increasing frequency and intensity anywhere in the country in the
coming years.
In western Himalayas particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal a chaotic
process of ‘development’ that goes back many years exacerbated the
effects of this extreme rain. Extensive deforestation of mountain
tracts, by the state and more recently due to ‘development’ projects,
led to soil erosion and water run-of, thus destabilizing mountain
slopes and contributing to more intense and frequent landslides and
floods. Unchecked hill tourism has resulted in the huge growth of
vehicular traffic, spread of roads not suitable to this mountainous
terrain, and the construction of poorly designed and unregulated
hotels and structures, many near rivers. Sand mining along river banks
has intensified water flows into rivers.
Most of all, the construction and planning of hundreds of small,
medium and large dams across the Himalayan states from Himachal
Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the northern Himalayas to Sikkim and
Arunachal Pradesh in the east, have destabilized an already fragile
ecosystem and threatened biodiversity. A staggering 680 dams are in
various stages of planning, or construction in Uttarakhand and 650
Hydro project in Himachal ! These dams have a direct connection with
the extent of the damage that can be caused in such flooding events,
in that the tunnelling and excavation in the so-called
run-of-the-river projects cause huge and unregulated dumping of
excavated debris into river basins, leading to increased siltation,
and in turn aggravating the flood situation. The electrical power
generated by these dams will be consumed by urban elites elsewhere. It
is ironic that these dam projects, while adversely impacting people’s
access to their river commons, claim to be climate change solutions in
the guise of renewable and green energy, and have already made huge
profits by fraudulently claiming CDM (clean development mechanism)
status. In 2009, the CAG had warned the government of Uttarakhand that
the “potential cumulative effect of multiple run-of-the-river projects
can turn out to be environmentally damaging”. Like many other warnings
by environmentalists and local community groups in the past, this was
also ignored. And now we are facing one of the biggest disasters that
the country has seen in decades.
The central government of India and various state governments,
including the govt of Uttarakhand and Himachal, have prepared action
plans for combating climate change. Any such plan ought to include the
establishment of a disaster-prediction and warning mechanism. The
Uttarakhand government has taken no measures to prepare for this kind
of eventuality, though it has paid lip service to climate action plans
over the last three years. In the present case, the IMD issued
inadequate warning, which was disregarded by the state government. An
urgent prior warning could have ensured that pilgrims don’t move
forward and retreat to relative safety, that locals reduce their
exposure to risk to the extent possible. Thousands of pilgrims from
different states, locals, workers in hotels and dharamshalas, and
transport animals have been killed. Cars with people inside them were
washed away. Those who have survived had to go without food for
several days. Thousands are still stranded at different points, or in
forests, and we are still counting the dead.
There has also been extensive devastation of local lives and the
regional economy. Serious devastation has been reported from over 200
villages, so far. Innumerable locals, including agricultural workers,
drowned in the raging waters or were submerged under mud and debris.
Houses have collapsed or been washed away. Tourism and the local
employment it generates have been hit indefinitely at the peak of the
tourist season. Floods, landslides and debris have devastated
agriculture along the rivers. Irrespective of whether these extreme
rains are due to climate change or not, this is what a climate change
world in the Himalayas looks like. This devastation is a glimpse into
a climate uncertain future.
The impacts of disaster have been more savoir on marginalised
communities particularly mountain Dalits and women. Mountain Dalits
who have lost their house in the catastrophe are unable to find rented
accommodations to shelter due to caste discrimination and casteist
mind set of local government functionaries.
Paltry amounts of compensation are being offered is unrealistic. The
relief should be sufficient for rebuilding a safe dwelling and
restoration and reclaiming of the agriculture land.
Violence against women in the after math of the catastrophe has been
reported and was particularly targeted at Dalit and vulnerable
communities. We condemn this human rights abuse.
We see this tragedy as a result of cumulative and widespread injustice
and wrongdoing: not only against the Himalayan environment, but also
against mountain communities whose survival depends on that
environment. This tragedy is also a crime, because our policy makers
and administrators are also part of the larger climate injustice at a
global scale that threatens, displaces and kills the marginal and the
poor everywhere. On another plane, they simply let it happen. We
believe that adaptation to disasters does not just mean desperate
rescue work during and after the event, but also reducing
vulnerability and risk before. Effective adaptation involves a series
of measures that need to be adopted on a war footing. The sustainable
development of a hill economy, and equity – not profit for a few –
should be at its core.
India Climate Justice demands:
• That the governments at the central and state level retreat
to a low carbon pathway of development that has equity, decent
employment, and sustainability at its core.
• That the planning and construction of dams in the entire
Indian Himalayas be reviewed, and all construction be halted until
such a review is carried out.
• That the use of explosives in all such infrastructure
development works is completely stopped.
• That, given the likelihood of extreme rainfall events and
other climate extremes in the future, extensive and sub-regional
warning systems are put in place urgently across all the Himalayan
states, the coastal areas and beyond.
• That the rehabilitation should focus on the vulnerable and mountain
Dalits who are most severely affected in keep the view the principle
of equity and their participation in planning and monitoring of relief
and rehabilitation process should be ensured.
• That a proper assessment of the carrying capacity of
specific ecosystems is carried out.
• Paltry amounts of compensation are being offered is unrealistic. The
relief should be sufficient for rebuilding a safe dwelling and
restoration and reclaiming of the agriculture land.
• Violence against women including rapes in the after math of the
catastrophe has been reported and was particularly targeted at Dalit
and vulnerable communities. We condemn this human rights abuse demand
enquiry.
• That the eco-sensitive zone measures be implemented from
Gaumukh to Uttarkashi and eco-sensitive zones be established in other
river valleys. The eco-sensitive Zone shall be identified through
consultation and negotiation with local communities and the provision
for the same shall be to safeguard the interest of the local community
particularly marginalised section and regional ecology.
• That a river regulation zone be enforced such that no
permanent structures are allowed to be constructed within 100 metres
of any river.
• That the residents and their organizations, including the
landless are thoroughly consulted in a democratic plan on climate
change, in the revival of the local hill economy, and the generation
of decent employment.
• That all working people be compensated for the loss of life
and livelihood, and that urgent plans are put in place for the revival
of local livelihoods and agriculture including artisans and forest
dependent communities .
• That the central government learn from the Uttarakhand and
Himachal catastrophe to put in place prior adaptation measures not
just for the mountainous regions but beyond, for coastal and the
drought-prone interiors as well.
Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, People,s Campaign for Socio-Economic Equity in
the Himalayas, Gujjar Kaliyan Sabha Chamba, Sankalp Chamba, Dalit
Vikas Manch Chamba, Kisan Sabha Baijnath, Dalit Gaddi Pichada Varg
Sangathan, Awas adhikar Sangharsh samiti Mandi, Visthapit kaliyan
Samiti Pandoh, Parvatiya Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch HP, Himat Chamba.
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