Climate Witness

In order to spur real action to stop climate change and prepare for its effects, we will need to obtain meaningful commitments. However, many people are simply unaware of the high stakes that climate change poses and the potential affects that climate change could have on their day-to-day lives. Climate Witness seeks to raise this awareness by providing a public forum through which the experiences of people impacted directly by climate change are broadcast to audiences across the country and the world. This outreach initiative has helped to bring a “real-life” perspective to what many view as a somewhat ambiguous and distant threat.

Climate Witness results in two critical outcomes: First, by identifying how climate change is affecting a community, responses can be developed that help key, at risk places and communities adapt to the effects, while promoting actions that address the causes. Second, by learning how climate change is affecting other people around the planet, people can identify how climate change is or will be affecting their own lives, livelihoods and cultures. Creating such a global understanding will result in people taking action to stop climate change. Climate Witnesses are not victims, they are leaders. And, the impact is societal inasmuch as environmental: climate witness, when linked to solutions, will inspire hope that there are indeed answers.

To date WWF had worked with only a handful of voices. To really address the magnitude of the climate change problem, we need a global network of voices, achieved through a global network of climate witnesses. The best way to achieve such a network is through electronic media and technology, which in effect creates a virtual global network of climate witnesses.

India Climate Witness Programme
The over-arching goal of the India Climate Witness program is to raise awareness of climate change, by involving Indian communities most impacted in broadcasting the impacts they’ve witnessed, in order to inspire increased action and proactive solutions. This goal will achieved through the clear emotional and creative appeal of the website, which will allow for broad engagement and empower those most affected by climate change to tell their stories. Through the India Climate Witness program, we will engage Indian citizens from all backgrounds who have witnessed the impacts of climate change, record and share their observations and engage them in climate solutions. By learning about the impacts of climate change, communities will be able to identify how climate change is or will be affecting their lives, livelihoods, and cultures; learn how to adapt to climate change; and promote actions to address the causes and consequences of climate change. Most importantly, when linked to proactive solutions, Climate Witness will inspire hope that there are indeed answers for the climate change challenge.

India Climate Witness programme at present covers two regions – Sundarbans and Ladakh.


Sundarbans
Initial pilots on Climate Witness were initiated in Sundarbans in 2005. In 2007, WWF India initiated the first pilot in Sunderbans under the global WWF and HP partnership for the people of 36 villages who have faced climate change to share their stories. A special emphasis was placed on engaging those whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by rising sea level changes. In 2008, WWF will design and launch a cutting edge web site in partnership with HP, which will provide an online platform for the people to document their stories and enhance the scope by engaging those who have been impacted by receding glaciers, storm surges and other climate variability. The programme is seeking to expand the scope of work on climate witness by undertaking initiatives in different parts of the country where impacts of climate change are being seen and felt. Future work under HP support will look at documenting people’s perception in critical ecosystems like Tropical forests in the Western ghats and island ecosystems (Andamans and Lakshadweep).

Ladakh
Climate Witness programme in Ladakh is part of the WWF’s regional programme on Climate Change and Freshwater linkages. As part of the Climate Witness programme in Ladakh, a massive awareness campaign has been launched. The local communities have been asked to come forward and share their observations related to climate change in Ladakh, in order to validate scientific data for the same. The major focus is to work with local communities and to find out their perception on climate change in Ladakh. These stories from the communities will be compiled and will be shared with policy makers and planners.

The overall goal of the project is to build a movement of people to save the unique environment of Ladakh from climate change. The awareness level of the people will be raised to the extent that they can initiate policy advocacy on climate change.