The city will soon have an action plan and adaptation strategy to surmount the impact of climate change.
Kochi is among the four cities, besides, Madurai, Howrah and Vishakhapatnam, that have been selected by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), a global body set up for implementing a project called ‘Asian Cities Adapt’, which looks at ways to reduce the risks of climate change.
As part of the project, a comprehensive action plan is being readied to address the growing issues of climate change in a city like Kochi, which has a fragile urban system.
A recent meeting of the various stakeholders including the CUSAT, National Institute of Oceanography, Cochin Port Trust and Regional Town Planning Department assessed the study reports prepared by ICLEI and IIT Delhi.
The assessment highlighted the projected changes in temperature and rainfall. The meet also discussed the indicative impact of the expected climate changes.
“The agencies have collected the data and conducted a detailed survey on the vulnerability of the city. The next step is to submit the action plan and the city’s adaptation strategy which will possibly be done by next week”, said Dr Rajan Chedambath, director of the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HeD).