Climate change fund: NSCCC approves 4 projects

The National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC) under the Environment Ministry today approved four projects including management and rehabilitation of coastal habitats for climate change adaptation in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.
The NSCCC approved four projects from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Punjab and considered one project submitted by Madhya Pradesh at its eighth meeting held here, an official statement said.
The meeting was held to consider Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) submitted by Tamil Nadu and Kerala for funding under the National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC).
The meeting was also convened for demonstration projects submitted by Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu under the Climate Change Action Programme (CCAP).

The statement said that the project, titled 'Management and Rehabilitation of Coastal Habitats and Biodiversity for Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Livelihood in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu', was submitted by the Tamil Nadu government.
The total cost of the project will be Rs 24.74 crore and will cover 23 coastal villages of Tuticorin district. The four-year project has five broad objectives - conduct baseline vulnerability studies, coral rehabilitation, sea grass rehabilitation, deployment of 6,000 Artificial Reef (AR) modules, and eco-development activities in the project villages.

"The project will help in developing the much needed comprehensive plan or scheme for coral and sea grass restoration. It will augment the database on coral ecosystem, species diversity, fish catch and effort, anthropogenic pressure and migration and survival rate. The project activities will lead to economic empowerment of 15 SHGs per village and benefit about 6,900 women," the statement said.

The Ministry said that the estimated cumulative potential
for revenue generation per annum is about Rs 1.84 crore for fisherman community and Rs 1.03 crore for Women Self Help Groups (SHGs).
Another project, titled 'Promotion of Integrated Farming System of Kaipad and Pokkali in Coastal Wetlands of Kerala', was submitted by the Kerala government. The Rs 33.73-crore project envisions integrated farming methods as climate smart practices to enhance resilience of aquaculture communities to climate change especially sea-level rise.
"The proposed area for the four-year project is 600 hectares (300 hectares in Kannur District and 300 hectares in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Alappuzha districts).

"Its broad objectives are providing the main infrastructure facility of strong outer 'bunds' with sufficient height, use of tall varieties of salt tolerant paddy, integrating fishery to enhance paddy cultivation and maximise the inland fish production through sustainable aquaculture," the statement said.
The project aims at helping simultaneous cultivation of rice and shrimp or fish in low-lying wetlands where there were no cultivation earlier while it also aims to improve the quality of life for local farmers through higher disposable incomes.
"It is estimated that the cumulative potential for total annual revenue is about Rs 23.25 crore under this project," the Ministry said.

Under Climate Change Action Programme, the committee considered three projects on 'Building Resilience through Integrated Farming Systems for Enhancing Livelihood Security', submitted Madhya Pradesh, 'Technological adaptation for gainful utilisation of paddy straw as fuel to replace fossil fuels' by Punjab and 'Coastal habitat rehabilitation for climate change adaptation in the Gulf of Mannar, South-Eastern India: Improving ecosystem services and Fisherman livelihood' by Tamil Nadu.
The committee approved the projects from Punjab and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 3.54 crore and Rs 67 lakh, respectively.