Living Lab

When Climate Changes, but we do not...

Climate Change is global. Developing nations too have an essential role to play in reducing the risk. More than that as developing countries expand their economies their GHG emissions. The Bali Action Plan, part of the agreed 'roadmap' that is guiding the UN negotiations on a global climate agreement for the post-2012 period, recognizes the need for developing countries to enhance their action to mitigate emissions in the context of sustainable development. Deforestation in developing countries generates 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all forms of transport combined. These emissions need to be stopped and then reversed within two decades. This would also have important benefits for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. It is important to understand these actions as perfectly feasible without jeopardizing economic growth and poverty reduction. What is needed is awareness and ground study to deeply understand the intensity of vulnerability. Why not combat climate change challenges in-situ and conjointly with the climate victim community?

CRACK the Climate Threat...Why a living lab?

CRACK (Center for Community Resilience Adaptation and Climate Knowledge) is integral to the community climate-change adaptability programme of SAFE.

The main theme behind developing CRACK is to augment community resilience and disaster preparedness being within climate vulnerable coastal areas of Sunderbans. The guiding roadmap for CRACK activities is :

• Developing Germplasm Conservation Unit and Endemic Seed Bank for natural resource management
• Installing Referral Agricultural Cyber Center for post disaster agroenvironmental crisis management
• Extending Capacity building facility for climate adaptive alternative livelihood
• Specialized training centre (on alternative livelihood, SHG, financial inclusion, first-aid etc. for community members)
• Gender friendly agricultural tool bank for women farmers to ensure strain relief and ensures increased efficiency
• Polyhouse-stack farming for organic vegetables
• Crab fattening pond
• Rain Water Harvesting & Agricultural interventions area combating soil salinity

Features of Living Lab

Some of the features integrated to the living lab :

1) Resource facility for local community, participants and partners.
2) Entirely driven by Green Energy with nearing Zero carbon footprints.
3) Facility for Climate Change Eco-learning through living among community.
4) Greenhouse, mangrove nursery and Field testing facility for Climate Resistant Crops,
5) Small Ecology Field Station with GIS-RS and hazard zone mapping facility
6) Disaster trauma assistance Infirmary and First-Aid facility
7) Renewable Energy solutions in providing safe drinking water to community.

Location :

CRACK Centre or Living Lab is located in Sunderban

Village : Tipligheri, Block : GOSABA,

Dist : 24 Parganas

P.S. : Choto Mollakhali

New Knowledge scope

• A real time in-situ experimental hub for socio-ecological impact of community
• Interpretation Centre for adaptive learning, knowledge education towards Change Management in climatic situation.
• Nucleus of shared values in Alternative Education and action shared values in research at science-society interface.
• Venue for interactive research, seminars, workshops, Focused Group Discussions
• Socioeconomic modeling on scenario planning and analysis
• Strategic IA Tools, drivers of change
• Change Management
• Community level knowledge exchange mapping
• Field for Ethnography and pseudo-ethnography studies
• Anthropometric research
• Seasonal calendar mapping climate change vulnerability index.