Environment Protection Training & Research Institute (EPTRI) being a nodal agency on Climate Change for the State of Telangana, has developed a Knowledge portal on Climate Change for the state, under the project Strengthening of Climate Change Centre in Telangana supported by DST, Government of India. The Knowledge portal was launched by S.P. Singh, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Telangana on 11th January, 2018 in presence of B. Kalyan Chakravarhthy, IAS, DG, EPTRI and other senior Special Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and officials.
The Chief Secretary said that knowledge portal helps as a repository for storing and retrieving Climate Change information at the state level to be useful to all sectoral line departments, such as Agriculture, forestry,etc. and institutes/universities, public etc. B. Kalyan Chakravarhthy said that it is for the first time that a knowledge portal has been developed in the state and would be useful as a Tool for Climate change Knowledge Management and also to build a DATA – BANK on Climate change for Telangana. The portal can be accessed at www.eptri.com/tsccc/index.html
1. SECOND STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING FOR PREPARING STATE OF ENVIRONMENT REPORT (SoER) FOR HYDERABAD-2015
The steering Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary approved the draft report on State of Environment Report on Hyderabad-2015 prepared by EPTRI.
Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI) presented the draft of the indicators for State of Environment Report (SoER)-Hyderabad-2015. It is also a nodal center for preparing State of Environment Reports. The project is sponsored by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. Objective of the report is to document the status of the Hyderabad’s environment during the period from 2011 to 2016. The second steering committee reviewed the draft of the indicators in the report. EPTRI is in the process of compiling the final draft of the report. The Chief Secretary opined that the report is well drafted and will be bringing out the important trends of environmental indicators with regard to air pollution, urbanization, transportation, industrial development, water demand, green cover and loss of water bodies in the Hyderabad city. The committee also expressed the hope that the indicators that are being documented in the report will assist in arriving at an action plan and a road map for mitigating the pressures and threats to the environment of the city. The Chief Secretary and the steering committee appreciated EPTRI’s efforts in drafting the report and also envisaged that the outcomes of the report will definitely help in framing policies thereby improving the status/ quality of environment in the city. The meeting was attended by government functionaries (Special Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries/Secretaries) Scientists from EPTRI, ICRISAT, PJTSAU etc.
2. LOW CARBON DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY, GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Godrej Green Business Centre and EPTRI are jointly leading the project on ‘Low Carbon Development Pathway for Telangana State’. On 11 Jan 2018, State Government was updated about the status of development of the project. It was noticed that Telangana is one of the fastest growing State in India with GDP growth rate more than 14.5% and this is directly proportional to the GHG emissions in the State. GHG emission inventorization of 6 sectors viz. Energy, Waste, Agriculture, Industries, Transportation and LULUCF is in progress. Strategies, Technologies and Innovative interventions in these sectors are being designed and developed to reduce GHG emissions to the extent possible. Effective strategies and innovative interventions for successful implementation of low carbon development of the State will be put in place.
3. A project proposal on “Enhancing Climatic Resilience for HyderabadMetropolitan area by Sustainable Managementof Urban Forest Ecosystems” Under Green Climate Fund (GCF): Objective of the project is conserving, restoring and sustainable management of these urban forest ecosystems to ensure climate resilience of the forests. The Chief Secretary said the project is very important for protecting and preserving the lung spaces of Hyderabad City. The committee opined the project can be carried out in collaboration with GHMC and HMDA. Besides GCF, CAMPA from Forest Department also approached for grounding the project.