COP 27: Changed Destinies in the Eastern Himalayan Region

Rituraj Phukan

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The National Highway connecting my hometown to Guwahati was home to thousands of marooned families for several weeks this year. Men, women and children were forced to live on the road for weeks, sharing their space with livestock and companion animals, the shacks clearly insufficient to provide any protection from the periodic thunderstorms.

One side of the highway was barricaded after a person was run down while he was having dinner. I was dismayed by the helplessness of these poor people and their unimaginable indignities in this modern era.

Studies have shown that such natural disasters have long-lasting effects on mental health and consequences including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and general anxiety. The American Psychological Association has described climate anxiety or eco-anxiety as “a chronic fear of environmental doom” and as “a fairly recent psychological disorder afflicting an increasing number of individuals who worry about the environmental crisis.”

Floods are expected annual occurrences, but I have seen the frequency and intensity increase since my childhood.

This year, the first wave of floods in May was unexpected, with the heavy rains and landslides devastating the hill district of Dima Hasao district and other areas with the loss of over hundred lives. For millions of children at the frontlines of the climate crisis, floods, landslides and erosion means the end of schooling, and dreams of better lives.

COP 27: Changed Destinies in the Eastern Himalayan Region — Haflong Railway Station after Landslides

A Climate and Health Assessment study in the USA found that specific groups like children, the elderly, women, people with preexisting mental illness, the economically disadvantaged, and the homeless are at higher risk for distress and other adverse mental health consequences from exposure to climate-related or weather-related disasters. As climate change undermines children’s mental health, it disrupts educational and occupational opportunities, with increased stigma, discrimination, and social marginalization.

The forecasted loss of over a third of glaciers in the Eastern Himalayas by 2100 even if warming is contained to 1.5 C degrees will be equally disastrous for montane and riparian communities. Residents of highland regions, mostly indigenous people, will be the affected by the future decline of glacial runoff in terms of the effects on agriculture.

People in the lowland regions affected by floods and erosions also suffer long-term consequences undermining resources and resilience, compromising health choices like poor diet, inadequate physical activity, reduced or no access to health services, adding to the mental distress. These aspects are further aggravated in the underdeveloped and remote villages of the Eastern Himalayan region.

Within the northeast, Assam is the among the worst flood affected regions of the world. Last year, Assam was listed among the 8 most vulnerable states by the ‘Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework.’ The national climate vulnerability assessment report from the Department of Science and Technology placed 60 percent of districts in Assam under the highly vulnerable category. Another recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water revealed that six of India’s eight most flood-prone districts during the last decade are in Assam.

The Climate and Health Assessment also found that communities that rely on the natural environment for sustenance and livelihood, as well as populations living in areas most susceptible to specific climate change events, are at increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes. As per the assessment, people will experience adverse mental health outcomes and social impacts from the threat of climate change, the perceived direct experience of climate change, and changes to one’s local environment.

The Eastern Himalayas are home to numerous indigenous communities, who are at a higher risk of hardship from impacts like flooding because of pre-existing socioeconomic vulnerability. Despite insignificant contribution to the accumulation of greenhouse gases, indigenous people are among the first to face the direct impacts of warming. These communities are proudly connected to the natural world and the biological diversity is celebrated in art and music.

The latest State of Forest Report showed further decrease of the area under forest cover across the northeast region, despite an overall increase for India, in continuation of a declining trend since 2009. Compounding the problem is rampant encroachment with 60% of India’s encroached forest areas located in the northeast, and Assam again being the worst affected.

Loss of forest cover, decline of native biodiversity and proliferation of invasive vegetation, and the consequent loss of indigenous food sources have emerged as direct threats to the food security of forest or fringe forest dwellers dependent on natural resources for sustenance. Personally, I believe that ensuring indigenous people can access traditional foods in the face of warming impacts is climate justice.

These are important to their cultural identity and societal fabric, but also vital for health and wellbeing, affecting personal immunity, community resilience and fulfillment.

Indigenous peoples are vital to the creating a dynamic adaptation and mitigation pathway and there are many examples of how different communities interpret and react to the impacts of climate change, drawing on traditional knowledge and other technologies to find creative solutions which may help society at large to cope with impending changes.

Planning for the future should include enhancement and support for the adaptive capacity of indigenous peoples integrated with disaster preparation, land-use planning, environmental conservation, physical and mental health support and sustainable development strategies.

At the camps for the flood affected, the elderly people are despondent about a lifetime fighting poverty and hunger, but the children must be mentally readied to fight a system that fails to address the basic human development aspirations. There is a clear need for more research on the connection between mental health and climate change impacts in the region. Considering the vulnerabilities of the Eastern Himalayas, it is imperative for policy makers to integrate mental health in the agenda for proactive mitigation responses during climate induced disasters.

Developed countries like the USA and Japan have incorporated mental health elements like deployment of psychiatric teams, nutritional advisories and help centers into the protocol for emergency responses. Countries of the Global South could leverage their experiences in crisis preparedness for an integrated global system in highly vulnerable areas like the Eastern Himalayas.

At global climate negotiations, indigenous elders and youth leaders are always at the forefront. Dressed in traditional finery, they are informed, passionate and articulate. Conspicuously absent are indigenous people representatives from India, particularly from the Eastern Himalayas despite being among the worst affected. The empowerment of community leaders is important and hopefully these marooned children growing up on the roads will someday represent India on global forums to negotiate the allocation of climate funds for the region.

The government must strive to ensure that the opportunity to overcome the protracted effect of climate change on mental health for an equitable and sustainable future. Finally, the deliverance of climate justice, like all other aspects, is tied to climate finance, and it should be our endeavor to have representation from the affected indigenous communities at these negotiations for allocation of funds to the region.

[Biography : Rituraj Phukan is an environmental writer, TEDx Speaker, adventurer & naturalist from Assam. Founder of the Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum, he also serves as National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India. He has personally experienced the impacts of climate change in the polar frontiers of the Arctic and Antarctic, in the Himalayas and across India.]

References

Mohanty, Abinash. 2020. Preparing India for Extreme Climate Events: Mapping Hotspots and Response Mechanisms. New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

Phukan, R. and Nayak, M. (2022), People’s Response to the Climate Emergency in India. Am J Econ Sociol, 81: 321-337. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12462

Alam, Md. Osaid & Kumar, Gaurav & Roy, Agnivesh & Kumar, Navin & Shilpi,. (2021). Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework

Farinosi F, Giupponi C, Reynaud A, Ceccherini G, Carmona-Moreno C, De Roo A, Gonzalez-Sanchez D, Bidoglio G. An innovative approach to the assessment of hydro-political risk: A spatially explicit, data driven indicator of hydro-political issues. Glob Environ Change. 2018 Sep;52:286-313. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.07.001. PMID: 30679888; PMCID: PMC6333297.

Vergunst F, Berry HL. Climate Change and Children’s Mental Health: A Developmental Perspective. Clinical Psychological Science. 2022;10(4):767-785. doi:10.1177/21677026211040787

Rajah, Dharrnesha Inbah. 2021. Climate-vulnerable populations are suffering a mental health crisis. World Economic Forum.

[Images from different sources. Headline Image from PTI]

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