Dr. Falendra K. Sudan
The Shivaliks in the north-west Himalaya is a region of great diversity and disparity in terms of socio-cultural, economic and environmental conditions in the context of climate change and adaptation capacity. The region is facing the following major challenges confronting the goal of sustainable development in the context of climate change.
Sustainable development challenges
Some districts of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir State experienced extreme poverty, low school enrollment and widespread illiteracy especially among those exposed to ongoing armed conflicts. The extreme poverty and food insecurity is threatening at least one-fourth of the population due to impact of climate change, poor post-harvest practices and inadequate distribution systems. The goals of the universal primary education and gender equality and women empowerment are required to be met for inclusive growth.
The high malnutrition and child mortality as well as maternal mortality are other challenges faced by the hill population of the region. A significant proportion of the population is exposed to poor health and diseases.
Environmental sustainability is a major issue due to heavy dependence on watershed resources to meet livelihood needs. The heavy use of biomass like wood increases pressures on local natural resources and contributes to climate change through the emissions of greenhouse gases. Inadequate access to cleaner energy is hampering the health of the women and the children especially in the hills and mountains.
The rising living standards and consumption in urban areas and cities will further strain the environmental sustainability of the region. The growing deforestation, carbon dioxide emissions and water and air pollution has been affecting the health and well-being of the population. The tourism potential of the region is hampered due to inadequate infrastructure and marketing strategies, which can be a boon to the livelihoods of the hills population.
The wetlands are not protected against degradation and exposed to climate hazards, which threatens their sustainability; otherwise, the wetlands of the region have high tourism potential for livelihood amelioration. Land grabbing and forest encroachments are also emerging threats for sustainable development of the region. Moreover, the region is particularly exposed to natural disasters. The risk of landslides, avalanches, floods as well as draughts is high in the region.
In brief, the main issues and challenges for sustainable development in Jammu region include ecological fragile common property resource management, environmental degradation and forest management, watershed development and management, wetland management, ecosystem and biodiversity valuation, sustainable agriculture and rural livelihoods, sustainable farming and food security, climate change and livelihoods, land grabbing and forest encroachments, climate change and community based coping mechanisms and adaptation, rural livelihood diversification and migration, sustainable agriculture, environment and poverty reduction, inclusive growth and sustainable development, social, economic and environmental sustainability, pastoral population and sustainable pasture management, eco-tourism and sustainable development, transboundary water cooperation and conflict resolution, environmental hazards, climate change and slums, pollution and waste management, municipal and hospital waste disposal and management, urbanization and sustainable energy use, sustainable urbanization and consumption, urbanization and traffic management, sustainable cities and planning, water scarcity and governance, sanitation and diseases, carbon emission and pollution abatement.
Above all, the quality education for sustainable development is a major challenge in the region for which there is need to assign high priority to curriculum reform, teacher training, teaching methods and textbooks. Therefore, the suggested strategies will contribute to the promotion of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and inter-cultural dialogue through education, the science, culture, communication and information.
Sustainable development strategies
With rapid globalization and spread of information and communication technologies, the cultural traditions, religious beliefs and social structures are changing rapidly. The climate change is likely to impact and shape the future of environment dependent fragile societies in Shivaliks hills and mountains of Jammu region in the north-west Himalaya. This will influence the pattern of education and the way people learn and behave. Therefore, the future education for sustainable development strategy and actions in Jammu region need to be conceived and implemented in culturally sensitive and socially and environmentally relevant ways.
There are five universities and hundreds of colleges and higher secondary and high schools in the Jammu region. Out of the five universities, two universities are focusing on humanities, social science, management and science education and research, other two universities are providing science and engineering education, and one universities is engaged in education and research on agriculture, animal husbandry, and horticulture.
The use of science, technology and innovation, quality education and lifelong learning focusing on sustainable development are being used to protect the fragile environmental resources. The future progress and prosperity of the region will depend on the availability of a well educated labour force with the skills and capacities to promote sustainable development. Therefore, there is a pressing need to redefine priorities, policies and strategies for education in the context of climate change and goal of sustainable development.
The application of science, technology and innovation along with information, communication and education will help understand their cause and effect correctly. There is need to evolve adaptation policies towards sustainable development and the building of knowledge societies supported through lifelong learning. Better adapted and dynamic education and training is needed for education for sustainable development in Jammu region. Therefore, there is need to develop strategies in a multi-stakeholder environment for promotion of sustainable development using up-to-date field research and databases. The involvement of relevant stakeholders in sustainable development strategies will help capture the process and share learning about sustainable innovations in education and trainings.
The universities in the region are needed to provide and share knowledge through publicizing research reports and organizing academic and research events and also design and conduct tailor made short-term local need specific trainings and other innovative and futuristic academic programmes on climate change and livelihood aspects and facilitate government and non-governmental efforts in sustainable development and livelihood issues.
There is need to use learning by doing option to accelerate the impact and scale of research, education and training focusing on education for sustainable development. The action research is needed to be used to formulate recommendations for the decision makers. There is also need to conduct mapping studies on topics such as food security, drinking water and rural electrification, sector analysis, and engage in matchmaking activities in order to improve the enabling environment. Besides, there is need to focus on relevant research related to themes of local sustainable food systems, access to sustainable and safe energy sources, and water and sanitation.
The role of science, technology and innovation in promotion of sustainable and inclusive development is a vital area of activity for speedier regional development in the Shivaliks by focusing on issues such as access to new and appropriate technologies for improvements in living conditions of the most vulnerable populations, productivity gains and rising incomes, environmental protection, the containment of health epidemics, and mitigating climate change.
(The author is teacher at Department of Economics, University of Jammu)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel