This publication of the Sustainable Environmental and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) underscores the several risks which Indian cities are exposed to. It makes a set of recommendations to effectively address these risks. India is currently undergoing a rather rapid urbanization process, to the extent that the urban population is estimated to nearly double over the next twenty years. With this exponential urban population growth, there have been proportionate increases in the pressures on physical infrastructures and the natural environment, increasing risks within Indian cities, and concentrating many citizens in high-risk areas. In addition to the risks caused by its rapid urbanization, India is also facing risks associated with climate change. While arguing that there is a clear relationship between climate hazards and urban disasters, the publication also asserts that climate change represents a direct threat to Indian cities in terms of the disastrous climatic events related to the phenomena, and also an indirect threat to the sustainability of Indian cities because of the massive migratory movements from rural areas that such disasters also often produce. To address the underlying risks facing Indian cities, the publication recommends a set of measures that include comprehensive risk assessment, a bottom-up risk reduction strategy, and the full implementation of the measures recommended by the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) in terms of risk reduction and resilience building.
Disaster Risk Management / Climate Change