Earth observation: Empowering youth for climate actions in the Himalayas
Climate change is a critical global concern for this generation, and the youth of the region will face enormous challenges in the future. Raising awareness among young people and engaging them in action on the ground will be an important factor in addressing climate change in the Himalayas. Although young people are increasingly adding their voices globally to the call for action on climate change, awareness among the youth of the region is limited. It is important to actively engage young people in areas of preparedness, risk reduction, adaptation, and mitigation. Young people have innovative ideas and abundant energy to undertake local actions. They can play the role of ’agents for change‘ and act as effective communicators in their communities, and be involved in regional and international arenas.
Earth observation is proving to be a vital tool to improve our understanding of the climate change phenomenon by providing information on the changes in various indicator attributes. Earth observation combined with geographic information systems provides a powerful platform and a visual and interactive aid to help educate people on various issues related to environmental change.
Educating and exposing young people to these innovative tools and technologies will help them to understand climate change situations better, and to use a scientifi c approach in advocacy. A Youth Forum ’Benefiting from Earth Observation: Empowering Youth for Climate Actions‘ is being organised to coincide with the Bhutan Climate Summit by ICIMOD in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Royal Government of Bhutan and Bhutanese Youth for Climate Action (BYCA) under the framework of the SERVIR-Himalaya Initiative, and supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and USAID.
Aim
The aim of the Youth Forum is to educate and raise awareness among young people about climate change in the Himalayan region. They will be exposed to visual and interactive modern geospatial information and tools in order to enable them to make informed decisions for climate actions in the region. More specifically, the Forum aims to:
• Familiarise young people with the potential benefits of information derived from Earth observation;
• Help them learn basic GIS/RS skills through hands-on exercises and a case study approach for understanding climate change related issues;
• Inspire young people through interaction with prominent environmentalists and resource persons from the region and beyond;
• Create a youth network under the theme ’Earth observation and climate change‘; and
• Provide a platform for mutual sharing and learning of experiences among young people, including online resources.
Expected outcomes
The event is expected to lead to:
• Better understanding of climate change in the Himalayan region;
• Awareness among young people of the benefits of Earth observation for climate change related issues;
• Basic skills and knowledge in using modern geospatial tools and social media;
• Exposure of the young people to the Bhutan Summit and poster presentations; and
• Formation of a youth network on Earth observation and climate change in the region and
beyond.
Programme
• Geospatial tools for mountain climate change studies
• Too much water too little water – video
• Getting started with GIS: Hands on exercise
• Motivational talk: Space technology for the benefit of human society and conservation of the environment
• Understanding Earth observation systems and remote sensing tools
• Understanding RS data – Hands on exercise
• Exploring spatial information using web resources
• Impact of climate change – case studies
• Bhutanese Youth for Climate Actions (BYCA)
• Impact of climate change (land use/cover) – Hands on exercise
• Impact of climate change (melting glaciers and snow cover) – Hands on exercise