The West Bengal State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) has been formulated, in alignment with India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), to address the state’s unique vulnerabilities and leverage opportunities arising from climate change. Given West Bengal's geographical diversity—from the Himalayas in the north to the Sundarbans in the south—the state experiences varied climatic conditions, rich biodiversity, and a large rural population dependent on natural resources. Climate change poses serious threats to these natural systems and economic sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry, health, and energy, as well as to vulnerable regions like Darjeeling and the Sundarbans. The SAPCC proposes adaptation and mitigation strategies for key sectors such as water, agriculture, forests, human health, habitats, energy efficiency and renewable energy, sustainable habitats, climate change studies, and two special regions Darjeeling Himalayas and Sundarbans. Key strategies include enhancing water storage through rainwater harvesting and reservoir creation, promoting climate-resilient agriculture and indigenous crop varieties, afforestation and carbon sequestration, integrated disease surveillance, and renewable energy adoption. Infrastructure resilience is a major theme, with recommendations on climate-resilient urban planning, flood forecasting systems, efficient transport, and energy-saving technologies. The Plan recommends establishing an Institute for Climate Change Studies to support scientific decision-making and capacity building. Special attention is given to sectors with both developmental challenges and climate vulnerabilities. These include agriculture (with small landholdings and overdependence on groundwater), forestry (declining forest quality), health (rising vector-borne diseases), and energy (reliance on coal and low rural electrification). The SAPCC recognizes climate change as both a risk and an opportunity to steer development onto a low-carbon, climate-resilient path.
India · 2012-04-01