Increasing climate risk and environment degradation affecting urban poor communities at in cities says study

Increasing climate risk and environment degradation affecting urban poor communities at in Cities says study

Inadequate basic services, Contaminated Water, Waterlogging, Industrial Pollution combined with behavioral practices amongst reasons says AKAHI Study

A recent study conducted by the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India (AKAHI) a not-for-profit network agency has found that lack of basis services combined with environmental changes including global warming is applying tremendous pressure on living conditions, health and livelihoods of the ever-increasing population in urban slums in cities. 

These are the findings from a pilot study conducted selecting two vulnerable slums in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat.

As per the findings communities are majorly exposed to environmental risks from Floods & Flash Floods, Heatwave, Air Pollution, Fire.

People living in over-populated slums like conditions are vulnerable and affected by dehydration, heat stroke, respiratory disorders, cardio-respiratory issues such as eye burning, skin related problems, asthma.

In addition, lack of basic amenities such as disposal of waste, release of polluted water from the industries, overflow of water in sewage, industrial waste, open drainage, infrastructural structures, lack of waste management leading to deteriorating quality of water and water-borne diseases.

Addressing a workshop in Ahmedabad said Prerana Langa, CEO AKAHI said, "With the aim to reduce the vulnerabilities of urban communities susceptible to climate risk and to improve their quality of life, AKAH India commissioned research on "Urban Risk Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation". This is in line with Prime Minister's 10-point agenda to imbibe disaster management principles in every development process including urban planning and risk reduction. Using this research and multi-stakeholder participation, the goal is to provide a holistic framework for sustainable and resilient urban ecosystems and to actualize India's commitment of net zero by 2070 on the city level."

The reason for selecting Ahmedabad is primarily in conjunction with local Government & Municipal bodies since the state and city has been in the forefront of development and urban growth. 

Tuned out as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission, the city according to the Urban Climate Vulnerability Assessment (UCVA) Index conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is also the most vulnerable in three aspects- in "Physical Factors" where the residents are directly or indirectly more exposed to weather effects, "hazard factors" where a city's geographical location makes it more vulnerable to various hazards, and "demographic factors" which is a vulnerability factor based on population density.