International Conference on Agriculture & Climate Change

Climate change is emerging as one of the threats, which can seriously hamper crop productivity, thus threatening the food security of the world’s most economically disadvantageous section of the society. The impact of potential climatic changes include extremes of temperature, rise in temperature, sudden and early rise in temperature at the end of spring season, sea level rise, changes in the monsoon timing and intensity, possibility of flood and drought etc. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report, the poorest countries would be hardest hit, with reductions in crop yields in most tropical and sub-tropical region due to decreased water availability, and new or changes insect pest incidence. The climatologists do predict the occurrence of frequent climatic extremes as the routine events in the future, which will have its impact directly as well as indirectly on human life. With the above background, the conference would deliberate upon various issues related to agriculture sustainability under changing climatic conditions.

TERI-Rockefeller International Workshop on "Resilient Cities- Experiences from ACCCRN in Asia and Beyond”

TERI is a National Partner to the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.The Center for Research in Sustainable Urban Development and Transport Systems, Sustainable Habitat Division at TERI is organizing an International workshop on “Resilient Cities- Experiences from ACCCRN in Asia and Beyond” in association with the Rockefeller Foundation and ACCCRN partners in India.The event is being organized under the aegis of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS)-TERI’s flagship international annual event wherein TERI engages global partners to build bold visions for a development paradigm that calls for sustainability across the present and future generations. The proposed TERI-Rockefeller event would be a scheduled side event just before DSDS with the objective to; 1. Bring together the experiences from ACCCRN cities across Asia, 2. Carve out a future path for taking forward the agenda for sustainable and climate resilient cities. Expected participants: ACCCRN associates and partners from India and Asia, policy makers, academician working in the area of cities , multilateral organization with a mandate and agenda to support resilience and climate proofing of cities, stakeholders from State and city governments from ACCCRN cities.

Designing Sustainable Development Goals: A Brainstorming Session

One of the main outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, popularly known as the Rio+20 convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, was the agreement by member States to launch a process to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The SDG formation could be a useful tool for pursuing focused and coherent action on sustainable development. The goals are intended to advance sustainable development as a further integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. It is also expected to guide and contribute to transformative change as stipulated in the Rio+20 outcome document, The Future We Want, in support of rights-based, equitable and inclusive processes that enhance sustainability at global, regional, national and local levels. This brainstorming session will provide an opportunity to the participants to engage in discussions on how to develop the SDGs, in light of the relevant terms agreed within the Rio+20 outcome document. It is important to know what kind of governance, coordination mechanisms and partnerships are required to facilitate and monitor the progress towards these goals and encourage their achievement.

YUVA Meet 2013: Green Growth - Preparing Youth for Sustainable Living

The YUVA (Youth Unite for Voluntary Action) Meet 2013 is an excellent opportunity for youth to enhance their understanding on issues concerning sustainable development, network with like-minded people and to become proactive citizens to strive towards a sustainable future. Highlights:

• Interaction with the eminent leaders, thinkers, and change-makers from the area of sustainable development
• Youth Panel
• Young Achievers Session
• Group activities and presentations
• Cultural programme and social gathering
• Selected participants will get a chance to participate in DSDS

The Animals’ Climate Panel Exhibition

The Animals` Climate Panel” is an exhibition for kids from age 7 and up, as well as a family exhibition uniting generations. Experience 44 paintings by East African artists – seen from a part of the world where the climate problems appear to be hitting hardest. Through 14 chapters the animals tell the story of climate change from the human world seen through the animals` eyes. They are all concerned about the planet’s health, and Doctor Climate calls for a conference to find out what can be done. Polar Bear Doctor Climate and his messenger Bird will tell you about climate change, global warming and what needs to be done. The pictures, painted by 18 artists from Tanzania and Zanzibar, portray difficult words and concepts, such as the greenhouse effect and the photosynthesis. Best yet, they give the exhibition a figurative language from a continent and a part of the world where the climate problems probably will have the hardest impact. The goal is to reach a broad public, nationally and internationally, help initiate positive discussions, motivate children and adults to learn more, and get involved. The exhibition is developed, curated and copyrighted by Torill E. Grung©

Biomass based decentralized energy solutions

More than 400 million Indians have no electricity, affecting education, income generation and access to information. Biomass is an important energy source, contributing almost 40% of primary energy requirement of India. Gasification technology offers great potential for utilization of available biomass resources more efficiently and in a clean manner. An improvement in biomass energy production and conversion technologies is considered as one of the important potential strategy to meet the growing challenge of energy security in the country. Gasification technology offers great potential for utilization of available biomass resources more efficiently and in a clean manner. While several advancements have been made in deployment and growth of the technology, there still remain some issues that are required to be addressed. With this background, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in association with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is organizing a half day DSDS special event on “Biomass based Decentralized Energy Solutions”. The issues and challenges would be address through following approaches:

• Experience on developing and promoting biomass gasifiers for thermal and electricity applications
• The current and innovative biomass resources assessment methodology

Forest Governance in the context of FRA and PESA

The forestry sector in India has undergone a myriad of changes from state controlled to a more people centric management efforts. This was initiated with the enactment of the Forest policy in 1988, in which more emphasis was laid on alleviating poverty and addressing livelihoods of the local people. The subsequent enactment and implementation of the 1990 JFM (Joint Forest Management) circular further gave an impetus to operationalize participatory management of forests in several states of the country. Another significant effort was the passing of the

Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, in 1996. The PESA Act extends the provisions of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment 1993 to the Schedule fifth areas of the country and endows panchayats in those areas with powers to function as institutions of self-governance. The most recent change in the forestry sector in India, has been the enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and other traditional Forest Dweller (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 commonly referred to as the “Forest Right Act”. This act offers tremendous hope and has been considered as a remedy to undo historical injustice meted out to the forest dwellers. The workshop offers a platform for experts to deliberate on the changing paradigm of forest governance in the country in the context of FRA and PESA.