Climate Change: Implications for Human Resources in Informal Sector of Eastern India

Abstract

India, home to one-sixth of the global population, has 39.1% citizens constituting the working population; about 92% of the latter belong to unorganized sector. Hence, the unorganized sector plays a pivotal role in man-days generation and contribution to the national economy, despite the earning per person in unorganized sector being about one-eighth of his/her counter-part in organized sector. On the other hand, Climate Change phenomenon caused inter alia due to Global Warming, because of increased emission of GHGs, has been responsible for about 0.6 ° C rise in ambient temperature during the 20th century and at present the rate of increase is 0.2° C per decade. It is projected that 1.8 - 4.0 (average 3.0) ° Cincrease will take place by 2100 AD depending on actions taken to limit GHG emissions and future developmental scenario. There will be obvious adverse impacts on health. The human resources belonging to the industrial sector, particularly the unorganized/informal sector for its increased obvious vulnerability, in a tropical country like India neither can remain insulated from the problem. A further rise in ambient temperature, which is taking place, in our tropical environment will definitely aggravate the situation, especially for individuals occupationally exposed to high temperature. The paper elaborates further with occupational health biomarkers and environmental data, of industrial sectors in West Bengal, having high occupational heat exposures, as well as initiatives with potential for being bench marked, for addressing the problem.