India Hosted International Workshop On Sustainable And Climate Resilient Urban Development

Online, September 21, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Rockefeller Foundation and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) co-hosted a national workshop on September 8-9, 2010 at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on sustainable and climate resilient urban development. This built on Rockefeller's Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) - a network of ten cities in India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam that are working to develop robust plans to address the consequences of climate change - and DFID's long standing support to urban development and urban poverty reduction across a number of Indian States.

The workshop focused on the opportunities presented by the Indian Government's new Sustainable Habitat Mission for sustainable and climate change resilient strategies in India's cities.

Key Speakers

The inaugural session on September 8, 2010 was addressed by Mr. Navin Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, HE Sir Richard Stagg, British High Commissioner to India, Mr. A K Maira, Member, Planning Commission and Mr. Ashvin Dayal, MD, Asia Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation. Other eminent speakers who presented papers at the Workshop included Mr. Mike Keegan, Transport Commissioner, London, Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Jyoti Parekh, Executive Director IRADe, Dr Cristina Rumbaitis Del Rio, Associate Director, Rockefeller Foundation and Dr. Kirit Parekh, Chairman Low Carbon Committee.

Workshop Purpose

The purpose of this workshop was to bring together key stakeholders to discuss solutions to one of the most imposing challenges of the 21st century - building urban areas that are sustainable and resilient to climate change, including identifying the most suitable practices in relation to climate resilience, low carbon-high growth, and required interventions by government.

The workshop provided a forum for dialogue between policy makers and practitioners in India, at both the national and local level, regarding practical responses to climate change and the main-streaming of climate concerns into urban flagship programmes.

Participants

The 150 participants at the workshop included urban development and climate change practitioners from across India, as well as counterparts from China, UK and USA. Senior Central and State Government officials from key ministries including the Ministries of Urban Development, Housing and Poverty Alleviation, members of the Sustainable Habitat Mission, and officials from local government also participated.

Workshop Proceedings

The two day deliberations focused on policy initiatives with reference to climate change as well as tangible entry points to climate change.

The prime focus was to study how cities are being affected by climate change and how they can respond to those effects. With around 350 million of the national population (around 30%) in the cities, there are many opportunities and risks facing India. While India is strategising for inclusive growth in the urban context, "Climate change brings a new set of challenges which locks in a new set of vulnerabilities," said Ashvin Dayal , MD ARO, Rockefeller Foundation.

According to Mr. Naveen Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, the deliberations at the workshop were of great relevance to the Ministry of Urban Development as he expected "feasible and implementable strategies" to emerge. Mitigating risk from environment related natural hazards is as (if not more) important than mitigating green house gasses. "There is a need for harnessing the synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation," Said Kumar.

In his address, Sir Richard Stagg, British High Commissioner to India, said that the issue of climate change was important to India's medium-term economic activity and India is in a position to take advantage of other successes. There is a strong correlation between planned urban development and economic growth. "Having planned and sustainable urbanisation is key to India's medium-term economic growth," said Sir Richard.

Mr. Arun Maira, Member Planning Commission, spoke about the need for environmentally and socially sustainable cities. Environment sustainability and social sustainability must go hand in hand for positive urban development. Maira posed this question to participants, "As policy makers, we need to constantly ask ourselves: Whose city is it anyway?"

Dr. Jyoti Parikh, Executive Director IRADE stated that "Fast growing Indian cities have potentially numerous opportunities to showcase clean development." "As infrastructure is developing, one needs to ask if this development is compatible with the tenets of sustainable development."

"The approach being developed under the ACCCRN program addresses a fundamental challenge for urban areas," said Mr. Marcus Moench, President of the Institute for Social & Environmental Transition, one of the key ACCCRN Partners. "Climate change is a global process but the impacts are local and must be addressed through strategies that respond to local conditions and social contexts. The ACCCRN program is unique in the way it engages municipalities in the most rapidly urbanising parts of the world in developing responses to climate change that reflect the practical realities facing their citizens."

These sentiments were echoed by Mr. Kirit Parikh, Chairman, Low Carbon Committee, "Local knowledge and the involvement of local stakeholders is critical to making cities resilient to climate change."

Other government representatives included Mr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests who provided the following practical observation, "Whether we believe that climate change is real or not, in the recent years climate variability has gone up. In the last 100 years the overall rainfall has not changed much. However, heavy rainfall events have increased and days with moderate or low rainfall have decreased."

There were presentations by the ACCCRN partners as well as by DFID Consultants who were working in the various partner cities and states. The Mayors of Gorakhpur and Howrah made a strong case for climate change adaptation techniques with local consensus. The Municipal Commissioner of Surat could not attend due to the impending floods and joined in via teleconference to present her very real and pressing case for climate change resilience through the ACCCRN project.

Hosting Organisations

DFID - UK Department for International Development, India - has been supporting partnerships in urban development in India for twenty years, including in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. More recent partnerships in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are aimed at accelerating delivery of the Jawarhalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) improving the living conditions of at least three million citizens in these two States.

RF - The Rockefeller Foundation - supporting an integrated climate resilient urban development program incorporating three core issues of urban poverty, rapid urbanisation, and response to climate change. The Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) programme was built around "building resilience to climate change in mid-sized cities in Asia with a focus on the poor and vulnerable". The goal of the ACCCRN is to measurably enhance the resilience of selected partner cities' institutions, systems and structures to the current and future climate risks, and through this, improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people.

ACCCRN Cities in India
Surat
Indore
Gorakhpur

ACCRN Partners in India
GEAG - Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group - leads ACCCRN activities in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

IRADe - Integrated Research and Action for Development - advanced research institute, involved in research and policy analysis, training and stakeholder networking.

ISET - The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition - key ACCCRN partner in India, has also played a regional role by leading on the development of methodologies and tools to build engagement and capacity in the three other ACCCRN countries, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.

TARU - Taru Leading Edge - ACCCRN India country coordinator integrates and coordinates activities at a national level and leads implementation of city interventions in Indore, Madhya Pradesh and Surat, Gujarat.

TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute - conducts training and demonstration projects in the area of sustainable development, leading to development of specific problem-based advanced technologies that help carry benefits to society at large.

Background

Climate change is a serious issue facing the world and its consequences on cities is likely to be severe. Rapid urbanisation and urban economic growth, while bringing enormous opportunities are also leading to serious sustainability challenges. In India, national and state governments and urban local bodies are working hard to transform India's cities for the better. India's cities continue to grow. The Government of India estimates that India will achieve 38% urbanization by 2026.

Unless this massive growth is planned and made sustainable, the costs will be enormous, particularly for the urban poor. Urban poverty, as a proportion of total poverty in India, has doubled from 15% in the early 1960s to nearly 30% in 2004/05. The urban poor are the most vulnerable to current climate variability, such as regular floods and water shortages. Investments in new city infrastructure offer a tremendous opportunity to build sustainable and resilient cities using less energy and water.

India, unlike other emerging economies, still has tremendous choices about how it can grow along a sustainable development path. Choices in housing, energy and public transport could reap massive local and global benefits over decades: the right choices will save water, energy and carbon, and improve health and quality of life.