Kerala can claim compensation under UN convention for people hit by extreme weather events, says ecologist
The core issue in any event like the one in Wayanad is climate change, says ecologist S. Faizi
Kerala can claim compensation from a United Nations (UN) climate fund for people affected by events like the massive landslide in Wayanad triggered by an extreme weather event caused by climate change.
“The landslide in Wayanad district’s Mundakkai in the early hours of Tuesday killed around 200 people. It is the direct fallout of climate change inducing an extreme weather event,” said well-known ecologist S. Faizi, who hails from Kerala and played a prominent role in Multilateral Environmental Negotiations, including the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.
Political row breaks out over Kerala’s disaster response in the wake of Wayanad landslide 
Dr. Faizi told The Hindu on Wednesday that at the 27the meeting of the Conference Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change in Egypt in 2022, an agreement was reached to create a ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ that will help vulnerable developing countries try and balance the damage from natural disasters caused by climate change.
The 28th meeting held in Dubai has created the operational mechanism for the fund under the Democratic Control of COP, to be based in the Philippines. The support system is planned to provide crucial help for vulnerable nations facing the worst of climate-related challenges.
Dr. Faizi is of the view that the core issue in any event like the one in Wayanad or previously in other districts of the State and elsewhere in India is climate change, as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The other issues are secondary though they are important in the way disasters unfold.
Wayanad landslide bears a resemblance to a dam break, says expert
Kerala government and agencies tasked to monitor the climate change situation have been engaging the public in discourses highlighting secondary issues like loss of forest cover. These secondary issues have their place in the consideration of the overall picture but climate change is at the core of the extreme weather event that directly caused the floods, Dr. Faizi pointed out.
During the 24 hours preceding the landslide in Wayanad, the region received 298 mm rain. The epic rain is the result of climate change, which has been predicted by agencies like the UN. He recalled how it took 240 mm rain in Dubai for the entire city to be flooded in the middle of April this year.
All the water from such a mammoth spell of rain cannot be absorbed into the earth. Only about 9% to 15% of the rain is absorbed and goes into recharging ground water. The rest runs into the sea or evaporates.
So, linking the landslide directly to loss of forest cover is not related to the facts of the matter as the wider debate, beginning with the Gadgil committee report, is centred on issues like loss of forest cover, building activities and quarrying. Though these have to be factored in and unsustainable development and quarrying be stopped forthwith, the core of the issue has to be given its proper place, Dr. Faizi added.
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