State Action Plan on Climate Change (Bihar SAPCC), 2015.

The Bihar State Action Plan for Climate Change (Bihar SAPCC) has been formulated as a framework document with reference to the contours of the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) formulated in 2008. It incorporates the tenets therein viz. Sustainable development, Co-benefits to society at large, Focus on adaptation, and mitigation and scientific research. It is also aligned with the focus areas/missions of NAPCC: Sustainable Agriculture, Water Resources, Forests & Biodiversity, Energy, Sustainable Habitat and Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change. Attempts have been made to incorporate the state specific traits, aspects and factors in profiling of the climate change scenarios, the vulnerability assessments and identifying the strategic and programmatic interventions and activities for adaptation and mitigation. In formulation of SAPCC, the UNDP consultants engaged by MoEF&CC, Govt. of India were associated after the first workshop held in 2011 and they initially steered and assisted in the preparation of the document from the first framework paper in 2012 till the final version was drafted after a consultative workshop in December 2014 and adopted by State Steering Committee in January 2015. The task has been accomplished over several rounds of interactions with and inputs from the designated nodal officers of the focus sector departments and reference to the SAPCC documents of some of the States endorsed by MoEF&CC, Govt. of India
The approach and strategies of the SAPCC are oriented for reducing exposure, hazards and vulnerability, and building preparedness and capability for timely and effective response systems, augmenting capacity to cope with unforeseen events and for pooling and sharing of risks. The SAPCC also emphasizes setting up knowledge base comprising of local level climate vulnerability and risk analyses, improved scientific evidence base in this field together with documentation of people’s perceptions on climate change and its impacts, and ascertaining the perceptions for scientific bases/validity enabling well informed and participatory review of sector strategies based on the vulnerability and risk assessments. Integrating poverty, livelihood and equity issues with thrust to reduce gender inequity as well as intra-state inequity in the impacts and vulnerability have also been stated as guiding signpost in programming the interventions. The SAPCC also recognizes the need for gainful engagements with civil society, private sector, financial institutions, and international / external support agencies. This would help in pooling resources and expertise for up-scaling climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives and facilitate external support for bringing in resources, international best practices, knowledge management and networking on climate change etc.
The prominent strategic measures and interventions for the nine focus sectors enlisted here below are in consonance with the National Missions for climate change and convergent with the thrust areas for sustainable development: Agriculture; Water Resources Management; Preservation of wetlands and maintenance of optimal wetland hydrology; Forests and Biodiversity; Integrated approach- leveraging opportunities for mitigation and adaptation measures considering forests and non-forest public lands; exploring possibility of leveraging opportunities such as REDD+; Climate change effects on wildlife to be examined and preventive measures to be undertaken; Disaster Management; integration of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, and local planning and practices; Urban Development; Energy; Industry & Mining, etc.
The governance and institutional set-up envisages State Steering Committee, Nodal Department/Agency - Department of Environment & Forests, and Climate Change Cells/Units in the Focus Sector Departments and District level formations of the line departments and ultimate reach through village level institutions. This operational apparatus is to be supported by a State Centre for Climate Change for pooling of knowledge resources in the scientific and management aspects on climate change related potential impacts, vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation, together with an Advisory Panel at the apex level with association of civil society and other stakeholders at operational levels.