Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS)
Photographs: Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS) during the halt at New Bongaingaon Railway Station
Science Express is a unique science exhibition mounted on a 16-coach AC train. It has been travelling across India successfully for the past seven years. The unique train flagged off on 30 October 2007 by the then Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, the exhibition train has since then covered over 1,22,000 km across the country, receiving more than 1.33 crore visitors at its 391 halts, in 1404 days. Science Express has thus become the largest, the longest running and the most visited mobile science exhibition in India and has created six Limca Book of Records in its journey so far.
After 7 successful tours across India, ‘’Science Express’’ has been redesigned on the theme ‘Climate Change’ and from 15 October 2015, it is running as 'Science Express – Climate Action Special (SECAS)'. It is a unique collaborative initiative of Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and Ministry of Railway, Government of India. The SECAS in its current phase is scheduled to travel across the country for about 7 months, halting at 64 locations in 20 States, covering 19,800 km.
Science Express was halted at New Bongaigaon Railway Station during 1-2 Jan. 2016. The Divisional Railway Manager, New Bongaigaon railway division inaugurated the exhibition in the presence of students, teachers and guardians. The timing of the exhibition was from 10 AM to 5 PM. The state-of-the-art exhibition aims to create widespread awareness on unique climate change and related issues among various sections of society, especially the students as to how Climate Change can be combated through mitigation and adaptation.
For Climate Change, 2015 could be a decisive year, with leaders of 190 nations gathering in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on Climate Change during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 11) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Thus, “Science Express”, redesigned as SECAS, intends to contribute towards increasing understanding of the science of climate change, the observed and anticipated impacts, and different possible responses. The previous 3 phases/runs of ‘’Science Express’’ were rolled out as a joint initiative of DST and MoEFCC as Biodiversity Special and showcased the myriad ‘Biodiversity of India’.
After successful tours from New Jalpaiguri, Science Express with the theme ‘Climate Change’ has entered new bongaigaon. Known as ‘Science Express Climate Action Special’, it is an innovative mobile science exhibition mounted on a 16 coach AC train. It is a unique collaborative initiative of Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), and Ministry of Railway, Government of India. The SECAS in its current phase is scheduled to travel across the country for about 7 months, halting at 64 locations in 20 States, covering 19,800 km.
The coaches of SECAS, exhibition in coaches developed exclusively devoted to information, case studies and material related to various aspect of Climate change, the underlying science, impacts, adaptation activities, mitigation solutions and policy approaches in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting for not just school students but also the masses.
At each halt of SECAS, activities are planned to engage visitors across different age groups to reinforce its message. An exciting and much sought-after Outreach Programme is also conducted in local schools/institutions along with activities on the railway platforms. In addition, informative take-away material is made available for wider distribution amongst schools and visitors.
The coaches of Science Express were thematically represented on the the broad theme covered in each exhibition coach is as follows:
· Coach 1: Understanding Climate Change - Insights in the climate as a system, the greenhouse gas effect and the underlying reasons for climate change with key message that the current change in the climate is due to human activities.
· Coach 2: Impact of Climate Change - How temperature rise, monsoon variations, sea level rise are predicted to affect vital sectors like water, agriculture, forests and biodiversity, and human health and ways to reduce these.
· Coach 3 & 4: Adaptation - Concepts of adaptation and examples from day to day life, adaptation strategies and stories from field. Adaptation options in urban and rural contexts and the adaptation actions India is taking.
· Coach 5 & 6: Mitigation - Concept and definition with examples, emphasis on restoring balance, enhancing sinks and reducing emission through Renewable Energy (RE) technologies. Various programmes implemented by India and low carbon strategies and ambitious goal to increase RE footprint.
· Coach 7: International Negotiations on Climate Change - Introduction to UNFCCC, IPCC and internationally agreed action & targets. Explaining concept of equity and common but differential responsibility, Kyoto protocol & other key outcomes of major COP, etc.
· Coach 8: Handprint - What can one do at school, on roads, at home and in offices and focus on concept of lifestyle choices with the key message ‘Increase your Handprint. Decrease your Footprint’.
· Coach 9 & 10: Exhibition put up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt of India, covering themes like Biotechnology for bio-resources and nature conservation with emphasis on Tiger Conservation and Chemical Ecology and India’s research and development initiatives in field of Biotechnology.
· Coach 11: Exhibition put up by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) showcasing select innovations, demonstrating the ingenuity of common people and an innovative project which uses augmented reality techniques. Exhibition on themes like Innovations in S&T, Science Education, DST Scholarships & Schemes, Careers in S&T, etc.
It was a retreat for the visitors especially for the students to know about cutting-edge science and technology through exhibits, models and audio-visual displays put up in the coaches of Science Express. The Express will also halt at Marioni and New Tinsukia railway station respectively. Thus express has entered Marioni Railway Station’s of Jorhat district and will stay for the next 2 days.
Source: www.sciencexpress.in