INTRODUCTION
Our planet thrives on a delicate balance between biotic & abiotic components of nature. Us humans
are the instrument of change and with the major transformations we are causing across all
ecological domains, this balance is being disturbed. With large scale urbanisation cities today occupy
only 2% of the land and yet consumes 75% of the world's natural resources. Due to the burning of
fossil fuels, and using non-renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions has increased causing Global
Warming, Climate Change and also loss of Biodiversity.
The world urban population is expected to rise by 72 per cent by 2050, from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3
billion in 2050 and consequently the pressure on land and the pace of degradation of environment.
Climate change is now acknowledged across the world, and since the 1972 Stockholm Conference
there has been regular efforts to underline this issue and take measures like the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals to outline the vision for a sustainable future by 2030 and the Paris Agreement
(2016) to limit the average global temperature rise to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels and
pursue efforts to limit this increase to 1.5°C and become climate neutral by 2050.
India 1.38 billion people, and an urban population of 471 million people, is urbanizing at 2.33% per
annum. Our urban population has increased from 27.81% in 2001 Census to 31.16% in 2011 Census
while the proportion of rural population declined from 72.19% to 68.84%. Today the CO2 Emission
levels globally are at 36 billion tonnes & with 2.62 billion tonnes, India ranks 3rd in the carbon
emissions which alludes to the grave impacts of climate change which comes with rampant
urbanisation and population growth.
We are a country with an abundance of natural resources, both biotic & abiotic- with only 2.20% of
the world’s land area, we contribute around 12% of the global biota. Today, this biodiversity is also
at risk with enormous pressure on land for housing and infrastructure and we are witnessing the
advent of climate change and environmental degradation with an increase in air & water pollution,
increasing frequency & severity of natural disasters, rapid loss of flora and fauna and an overall
decline in the quality of life.
India is committed to protect and conserve the environment through various policies, conventions,
and frameworks. We have been a party to all global initiatives focused on combating climate change
and saving our planet. India’s constitution defines environmental conservation as our fundamental
duty with Article 51-A (g), saying that “It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and to have
compassion for living creatures.”
In the current exercise, the second semester students of Department of Environmental Planning
have undertaken a study of a Mountain Ecosystem in the country situated in the Indian Himalayan
Region.
IHR is one of the 4 biodiversity hotspots in India, which is only about 13% of the Indian landmass, but
harbors about half of India’s total biodiversity, most of which is endemic to the country with many
endangered species. With its many glaciers, and around 17% area under permanent snow cover, it is
a store house of fresh water and rivers like Indus originates here. This region is however vulnerable
being seismically active, having a rough, rugged and undulating topography, being prone to
landslides, and due to the impacts of climate change like glacial melt and flash floods. With the
increasing burden of hill agriculture, tourism & other anthropogenic causes, along with the surge in
activities involving fossil fuels, and a dearth of vegetation acting as carbon sink, the situation
becomes further critical and requires an urgent reduction and replacement of GHG producing
activities.
Therefore, protecting the settlement growth trajectory and responsible planning around human
settlements is important to counter climate change, ensure water security and conservation of the
environment its unique biodiversity. The solution is adoption of a Low carbon approach which
underlines the need to lower the dependence on fossil fuels, expanding the use and distribution of
clean energy, and reducing greenhouse gases to an appropriate or lower level by expanding carbon
sinks. Inclusion of Green growth principles focusing on saving and using energy and resources
efficiently to reduce climate change and damage to the environment, development of green
technology, creating new job opportunities, and achieving harmony between the economy and
environment. Thus, helping in achieving a Low carbon settlement that comprises of societies using
sustainable green technology, does green practices and emit relatively low carbon or GHG to avoid
the adverse impacts on climate change.
The studio exercise, thus focusses on developing a low carbon economy for Ladakh which is located
in the Trans Himalayan Region of the Indian Himalayas and is ecologically fragile. And through this
low carbon development with increasing carbon sinks more than its sources & using renewable
sources of energy, we intend to become carbon neutral in future.