‘Climate resilient planning essential for Kerala’

With the global sea level rising by between 0.5 metres and 1.1 metres by the end of the century, resilience against tsunamis, hurricanes, and monsoon seasons needs to be increased, suggested David Simon, Professor, Royal Holloway, London.

Speaking at a session on ‘Climate-resilient urbanisation’ at the Kerala Urban Conclave here on Friday, Dr. Simon noted that building resilience could not happen at any one scale, and that coalitions needed to be built in the political landscape to address the issue collectively. Mr. Simon is one of the lead authors of IPCC AR7 Special Report on Climate Change and Cities.

M.G. Rajamanickam, Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, who inaugurated the session, noted that climate-resilient planning was essential for Kerala.

The State has very limited developable land. Departmentalisation is one of the biggest hurdles for any form of integrated planning. Kerala needs integrated planning and nature-based solutions, he suggested.

Y.V.N. Krishnamurthy, lead member of the Kerala Urban Policy Commission, chaired the event.

David White, Director, Advocacy and Communications, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure; Joy Elamon, Member, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority; Abhilash S., Director, Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cochin University of Science and Technology, and Suraj Shaji, Director, Urban, Local Self Government department, spoke.

Mr. White noted that by 2050, eighty percent of Kerala would be urbanised. The rapid rate of urbanisation is expected to see around 70% of the world’s population living in urban areas by 2050.