‘Nilgiris among districts aiming to become carbon-neutral shortly’

The Nilgiris aims to become carbon-neutral, emphasizing public transport and ecosystem restoration to combat climate change impacts.

The Nilgiris is working towards becoming one of the first districts in Tamil Nadu and in the country to become “carbon-neutral,” said District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru on Thursday.

Speaking at a workshop on climate change organised by the Forest Department for the press on the occasion of The International Day of Climate Action, Ms. Tanneeru said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests had devised a National Action Plan on Climate Change and that meetings were being held every month with the participation of Divisional Forest Officers in the Nilgiris to discuss measures to mitigate climate change impact in the district.

The Collector added that while the Nilgiris was already “almost” carbon-neutral due to its expansive forest cover and reliance on renewable energy sources such as hydroelectricity, steps were being taken to turn it into a “carbon-negative” district, which would mean that the amount of carbon being removed from the atmosphere within the geographical confines of the district would exceed the amount of greenhouse gas emissions within it.

She appealed to residents to adopt lifestyle changes that would entail using more public transport. “Each of us has at least two vehicles, and this leads to problems with air pollution, parking and traffic issues. If we adopt public transport and make our towns more pedestrian-friendly, it would go a long way in reaching our goal of becoming carbon-neutral and eventually carbon-negative,” she said.

Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris), S. Gowtham, when asked about restoration efforts to restore native Sholas and grasslands in the Nilgiris, said that the Forest Department was identifying areas suitable for the restoration of Shola and grassland ecosystems. “Through the Tamil Nadu Green Mission, we hope to encourage community participation in restoring these ecosystems to their former glory,” he said.

Also present at the event was K. Kalidasan, President of OSAI, an environmental organisation. Mr. Kalidasan explained that rising global temperatures due to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, were driving extreme weather events. He said that these events were being witnessed in the Nilgiris too.

“In 2019, more than 800 millimetres of rain was recorded in just 24 hours in Avalanche, just 30 kilometres from Udhagamandalam. It is almost unfathomable the amount of devastation such rains could have caused if they had occurred in Ooty town. I say “almost” as we did witness the devastation this year in Wayanad,” said Mr. Kalidasan, adding that not just heavy rains, but high temperatures too were becoming more common, as evidenced by Udhagamandalam recording the highest temperature in its history this year.