New Delhi: India on Monday proposed cooperation between institutions under its Ministry of Earth Sciences and German scientific/research agencies in the areas of tsunami hazards and various ocean science and exploration-related projects.
“For bilateral cooperation (with Germany) in Ocean Exploration, Blue Economy is an important dimension of ‘Vision New India’. We need joint collaboration in areas such as coastal marine spatial planning and tourism, marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing, coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy,” India’s Science & Technology & Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh said on the second day of his Germany tour.
As part of the India-Germany Inter-Governmental Commission, Singh held a delegation level talk with German Federal Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection Steffi Lemke with the agenda of ‘Adaptation to Climate Change, Biological Diversity, Oceans and Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Protection’.
The meeting discussed subjects including tsunami hazard assessments, early detection of tsunamis, including ‘typical tsunami’ generated by the under-sea landslides triggered by earthquakes, geodynamic modelling of Earth’s subsurface for submarine landslides and crustal deformation monitoring using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, tectonic settings of subduction zones in the Indian Ocean (more emphasis on Makran Subduction Zone)and integrating machine learning methods.
The two also discussed capacity building activities to strengthen pre-disaster preparedness and risk reduction programmes such as tsunami readiness, cooperation in the area of long term Arctic (Polar) observations & studies and cooperation in the field of gas hydrates and underwater drills.
Singh also noted that German experts and institutions are part of the initiative wherein India is working towards Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) in the Makran region through United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC) and funded by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia & Pacific (UNESCAP).
“German Environment Minister Lemke reciprocated the proposal and briefed on German advancement in these areas and agreed to work out new collaboration,” officials said.
