Building City Resilience to Climate Change Disasters

Lately, unusual weather conditions are being experienced due to the climate change phenomenon, and their frequent occurrence is affecting the cities. Basically, in some regions of India, patterns of cyclonic activity, rainfall, and temperature are reportedly undergoing a change. There is concern that the civic agencies are unable to respond properly to the emerging situation because the city-level functionaries are less aware of the actions required and are insufficiently prepared. Generally, these lack abilities to handle the situation, and are mainly dependent on state and national administration.

The aim of the roundtable discussion is to generate ideas for policy makers and the administration on building resilience of cities to climate change-induced disasters. In this respect, the following fundamental questions will be discussed:

• How significant is the role of climate change phenomenon in causing disasters, and based on climate trends, which type of weather patterns can be expected in future?
• Is urban India sufficiently prepared for disaster management?
• What are the main features of existing disaster management approaches? How can the shortcomings be overcome?
• What lessons can be learnt from successful disaster management initiatives? Which practices can be applied in Indian cities for efficient management of cyclonic storms, rainfall, landslides, flooding, and heat?

Programme