Climate Action & Disaster management

Climate Action and Disaster Management

The 2018 floods served as a wake-up call, prompting the State Government to recognise the crucial role local governments play in disaster management. That experience led to all the local governments in the state doing a situation analysis of the history of disasters, the proneness of certain regions to disasters, the vulnerable communities in this regard, and the interventions that could be taken ranging from preventive to mitigative, to reduce the impact of disasters when they strike.. The resource inventory prepared by local governments was put to great use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI), a Disaster and Climate Action Tracking (DCAT) tool, and Risk-Informed Master Plan (RIMP) framework have been developed.

The State along with its local governments is attempting to build a model of climate adaptive governance at the local level using DCAT and LAP CC (Local Action Plans for Climate Change Adaptation) mechanisms. Actions to mitigate the effects of climate change and achieve carbon balance as part of the Net Zero Carbon Keralam campaign are underway at selected local government levels in all districts by identifying and analysing carbon emission and carbon storage measurements.

Disaster and Climate Action Tracking (DCAT)

The Disaster and Climate Action Tracking (DCAT) tool was developed as part of the RKI Programme for Results initiative. Its intent is to gauge the impact of local governments interventions – for development, for governance and for community action – for disaster management and for climate action. Whether the projects prepared by local governments would reduce the risk of disasters, or the impact of disasters when they struck, whether there were resilience interventions that would strengthen natural resources, or bring about more responsible behaviour towards protecting and maintaining ecological balance, whether there were actions taken that would advertently or inadvertently increase climate risks – these were some of the questions that the DCAT tool forced Local governments to confront. The assessment of the score on DCAT, which was a combination of participatory, peer evaluation and technical assessment would give the Local government a clear picture where it stood on the climate scale, taking a holistic birds eye view of all its activities. The tool is also intended over time to work as an incentive tool and nudge towards outcome oriented action by local governments.

Risk Informed Master Plan (RIMP)

All Urban local governments have to prepare master plans. An important initiative of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI) is to incorporate risk information and planning into the master plans. Spatial information on weather patterns, specific disaster risks like extent of flooding, proneness to landslide, drought risks, human animal conflicts etc, as well as information on status of infrastructure, scope for growth, greening needs and opportunities, water conservation which when layered on the topographical map of the ULB helps in the development of master plans that can prioritise climate adaptive development over time. The master plan thus becomes more than a zoning regulator, but also tool for strategic and sustainable growth. A detailed framework for the content and the process of the risk informed master plan has been developed, and is currently being put to use for the ULBs of the Pamba basin.

Urban Observatory

Challenges posed by the 2018 and 2019 Floods have spurred significant investments by the Local Self Government Department in urban planning and place-based development. Our commitment to local-level risk management and resilience plans has resulted in the formulation of Risk-informed Master Plans (RiMP), the proposed State Urban Policy (featured in the State Budget 2023), and the establishment of the State Urban Observatory. We aim to implement the ‘Urban Observatory’ for advanced input-based and responsive decision-making for the efficient working of all important urban facilities and services and for planning, implementation, administration and development of urban areas.