One of horrifying repercussion of human induced climate change is the rise in global sea level due to melting of glaciers. There are numerous evidences, which echo’s that not only is there an rise in sea level, but the rate of seal level rise is also accelerating.
However, the impact of sea level rise is not equally felt around the globe. Some areas are more vulnerable to sea level rise, due to its terrain, wind patterns, and ocean currents. This global warming related repercussion is more threatening to coastlines and the cities located along them. Life of hundreds of millions of people around the world who live in low lying areas near the coast is at stake due to this rise.
Report on Mediterranean region by ENEA
The report released on March 1, in Quarternary International (The Journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research on climate change by Italian National agency for New Technologies, Energies and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) says that the floating city Venice, which stretches across 116 small islands along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy is vulnerable to climate change and could very well sink in just a 100 years. According to this Report, as the Mediterranean Sea rises up to five feet in the year 2100 the queen of Adriatic is on risk of disappearing under water.
The Mediterranean Sea region, which is the largest semi enclosed sea in Europe, is home to 480 million people living across the continents like Europe in north, Africa in south and Asia in east, surrounded by 22 countries which together share the coastline of 46,000 kilometre. About one third of Mediterranean population is concentrated along its coastal region. Around 75 per cent of the Italian populations are estimated to live within 10km of the coast.
Who are the most vulnerable?
As we are indeed aware, most of the large cities around the world such as New York, London, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata are located along the coast and so are more vulnerable to sea level rise.
It is important to note that transgression of sea by rise in its level leads to eroding of beaches and damaging coastal wetlands. Many weather anomalies like intense tropical cyclones are more frequent now largely because of warmer sea due to global warming.
What is at stake?
- Rising sea level is threat to people who lives near the coast as this area will have more frequent flooding.
- Wetlands or swamps around the world, which provide natural habitat for plant and animal species and act as natural barrier and protects shore during flood, are already facing habitat loss.
- Mangroves are also at greater risk of being badly affected. These mangroves played a crucial role in safeguarding many locations the Indian coast during the 2004 tsunami.
Effect of climate change on Indian Ocean
- A World Bank study in Jan 2014, also found that there is a progressive salinization of water in world heritage site of Sundarbans in Bay of Bengal due to transgression of sea triggered by climate change, which will significantly affect the aquatic species, and could alter the rich ecosystem of Sundarban.
- As per IPCC assessment report March 1, Maldives may face serious threat of permanent inundation from sea level rise .Maldives which is an exquisite island in Indian Ocean is also on threshold of submergence, due to rise in sea level by warming of Indian Ocean. India’s financial capital Mumbai which is drowned every year also narrates transgression of sea due to climate change.
Endnote –
As global warming is already a well established phenomenon and will be experienced in future with a greater intensity, it is our responsibility to work to overcome this reality, so that the livelihood of millions are not jeopardized
Receive Daily Updates
Recent Posts
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]2021 WEF Global Gender Gap report, which confirmed its 2016 finding of a decline in worldwide progress towards gender parity.
Over 2.8 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. As many as 104 countries still have laws preventing women from working in specific jobs, 59 countries have no laws on sexual harassment in the workplace, and it is astonishing that a handful of countries still allow husbands to legally stop their wives from working.
Globally, women’s participation in the labour force is estimated at 63% (as against 94% of men who participate), but India’s is at a dismal 25% or so currently. Most women are in informal and vulnerable employment—domestic help, agriculture, etc—and are always paid less than men.
Recent reports from Assam suggest that women workers in plantations are paid much less than men and never promoted to supervisory roles. The gender wage gap is about 24% globally, and women have lost far more jobs than men during lockdowns.
The problem of gender disparity is compounded by hurdles put up by governments, society and businesses: unequal access to social security schemes, banking services, education, digital services and so on, even as a glass ceiling has kept leadership roles out of women’s reach.
Yes, many governments and businesses had been working on parity before the pandemic struck. But the global gender gap, defined by differences reflected in the social, political, intellectual, cultural and economic attainments or attitudes of men and women, will not narrow in the near future without all major stakeholders working together on a clear agenda—that of economic growth by inclusion.
The WEF report estimates 135 years to close the gap at our current rate of progress based on four pillars: educational attainment, health, economic participation and political empowerment.
India has slipped from rank 112 to 140 in a single year, confirming how hard women were hit by the pandemic. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two Asian countries that fared worse.
Here are a few things we must do:
One, frame policies for equal-opportunity employment. Use technology and artificial intelligence to eliminate biases of gender, caste, etc, and select candidates at all levels on merit. Numerous surveys indicate that women in general have a better chance of landing jobs if their gender is not known to recruiters.
Two, foster a culture of gender sensitivity. Take a review of current policies and move from gender-neutral to gender-sensitive. Encourage and insist on diversity and inclusion at all levels, and promote more women internally to leadership roles. Demolish silos to let women grab potential opportunities in hitherto male-dominant roles. Work-from-home has taught us how efficiently women can manage flex-timings and productivity.
Three, deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the education and skilling of women and girls at the bottom of the pyramid. CSR allocations to toilet building, the PM-Cares fund and firms’ own trusts could be re-channelled for this.
Four, get more women into research and development (R&D) roles. A study of over 4,000 companies found that more women in R&D jobs resulted in radical innovation. It appears women score far higher than men in championing change. If you seek growth from affordable products and services for low-income groups, women often have the best ideas.
Five, break barriers to allow progress. Cultural and structural issues must be fixed. Unconscious biases and discrimination are rampant even in highly-esteemed organizations. Establish fair and transparent human resource policies.
Six, get involved in local communities to engage them. As Michael Porter said, it is not possible for businesses to sustain long-term shareholder value without ensuring the welfare of the communities they exist in. It is in the best interest of enterprises to engage with local communities to understand and work towards lowering cultural and other barriers in society. It will also help connect with potential customers, employees and special interest groups driving the gender-equity agenda and achieve better diversity.