CPCRI director stresses on interdisciplinary tie-up to respond to impacts of climate change

Director of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, Kerala, K. Balachandra Hebbar said on Thursday that interdisciplinary collaboration is required to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Director of the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod, Kerala, K. Balachandra Hebbar said on Thursday that interdisciplinary collaboration is required to adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change.

He was speaking after inaugurating a three-day national conference on ‘Climate Resilience and Environmentally Sustainable Technologies’ at the National Institute of Technology – Karnataka at Surathkal.

“If we want to address climate resilience, we must first understand its impact. In today’s context, digitisation is critical. Simulation models, remote sensing, IoT, and AI are essential tools, but data availability remains a major challenge, especially from the plant side. We lack the requisite equipment to measure this data. While biologists conduct research from their perspective, quality data requires collaboration with engineers from institutions like NITs and IITs. Without collective effort, progress will be difficult,” Mr. Hebbar said.

“From soil and plant perspectives, precision agriculture is key. We need to develop sensors for nutrients. There is huge potential for collaboration here,” he said.

Mr. Hebbar said that reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, and sulfuric oxide from plants and soil would be a significant contribution.

The conference focuses on six key themes: sustainable water management and conservation; sustainable materials and waste management; air quality and pollution control; renewable energy and sustainable technologies; climate change and its global impact, and Artificial Intelligence: Leveraging AI for environmental solutions, a release from NIT-K said.

The NIT-K has organised the conference in association with Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Anusudhan National Research Foundation of the Union government.