Odisha Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Department has signed three significant agreements to enhance the state’s climate resilience and sustainable development efforts.
These collaborations aim to tackle climate change challenges, promote sustainable livelihoods, and protect Odisha’s rich biodiversity and coastal ecosystems.
The department has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Bhubaneswar under the Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities (ECRICC) project. The collaboration focuses on restoring critical coastal ecosystems, including seagrass beds and salt marshes, which are vital for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and coastal protection. Designated as the Technical Support Agency (TSA) for the restoration, protection, and sustainable management of Sea Grass and Salt Marsh ecosystems along the Odisha coast.
The department also inked a Letter of Understanding (LoU) with the World Food Programme (WFP) for a regional adaptation project between India and Sri Lanka called Adaptation for Resilience (ADAT4R) to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable farming communities facing increased impacts of climate change. Focused on Nuapada district, this five-year initiative aims to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable farming communities, particularly women farmers, against the impacts of climate change.
The Govt signed another MoU with Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), to develop a Net-Zero Roadmap for the state. The initiative will chart decarburization strategies across key sectors such as industry, power, transport, and agriculture. Minister, FE&CC Ganesh Ram SinghKhuntia emphasized that the collaboration with IIT Bhubaneswar would pave the way for enhanced research opportunities and community engagement initiatives to promote sustainable coastal management practices. Satyabrata Sahu, ACS, FE&CC elaborated on the people-centric climate resilient and sustainable practices for ecosystems and livelihood. PCCF Debidutta Biswal was present on this occasion.
The MoUs were signed by Prem Kumar Jha, Director, Environment, Govt of Odisha; Prof. Dinakar Pasla, Dean Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy on behalf of IIT, Dr Vaibhav Chaturvedi from Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) and Ms Nozomi Hashimoto, Deputy Country Director for WFP in India. Prominent persons attending the signing ceremony included Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director- IIT Bhubaneswar, Prof. Syed Hilal Farooq, Head, School of Earth, Ocean, and Climate Sciences; Dr. Amrit Kumar Mishra, Senior Scientist at James Cook University, Australia; and Dr. Prasannajit Acharya, Researcher at the School of Earth, Ocean, and Climate Sciences. Ms Pradnya Paithankar, Head, Climate Change & DRR Unit; Himanshu Bal, Head of the WFP Field Office in Odisha; Ms Rajashree Purohit, Agronomist for WFP Odisha, Ms. Niti Gupta, Odisha State Coordinator, CEEW.
