Risk Reduction

Vanishing Urban Wetlands and Lakes in India

Stories from the field Author: Rohit Virmani

Pressure on water bodies in India is known to everyone, but this pressure is at its height in urban areas of India. Demand for land is rising due to high density and ever-growing population, which leads to encroachment of land surrounding a wetland/pond/lake. There are endless examples of apathy towards urban water bodies, since these natural resources are not notified and are not protected. 


Climate change resilience through mangroves, a Mumbai case study

Our cities are expanding in all directions, urbanising at a fast pace, at the cost of environmental degradation, giving way to climate change. The climate change impacts are multi dimensional , the major physical impact will be from the temperature increase and sea level rise. It is predicted that around 40 million people will be affected in India by 2050. The coastal cities will be most affected, especially when there is vast income disparities. Mumbai City is one of the most vulnerable city to sea level rise. Mangroves are the key climate change resilience component for coastal cities.


With a touch of paint, India's women slum dwellers battle extreme heat

Stories from the field Author: Rina Chandran

As summer heat becomes unbearable, simple measures can help people cope better. Meenaben used to dread the onset of summer every year. Her small two-room home in a slum in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad would get so hot that she could not sit indoors for several hours in the day, even with a ceiling fan running. Two months ago, however, she agreed to try an experiment: A non-profit organisation that works in the Ramesh Dutt Colony where she lives, on the outskirts of the city, painted her tin roof with white reflective paint, to try to reduce the heat.


Three ways of communicating to stop disasters happening

Opinion Author: Robert Glasser

"News coverage builds awareness of crises, drums up donations and connects the needy with people who can help.  But are we leveraging the full potential of media and communication to stop disasters happening in the first place?" The head of UNISDR, Robert Glasser, writes for BBC Media Action on how to leverage the media and communication to try and stop disasters happening in the first place. The media are viewed as important stakeholders in helping to reduce disaster losses as outlined in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.


Takeaway Points from the Training On Storm-Resistant Housing Design and Construction in Da Nang

Takeaways Author: Anh Tran

Da Nang is one of the cities that is most affected by climate change in Vietnam because of storm surges and typhoons that take place almost every year. For the past month, ISET and the city of Da Nang organized 11 training sessions on housing design and construction in typhoon-affected areas to explore pathways for scaling up a storm-resilient housing model to the whole city.