A vicious cycle of people, property and potential damage

It is alarming that climate and environmental risks have dominated the results of World Economic Forum’s (WEFs) annual Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS). In fact, these risks accounted for three of the top five risks by likelihood—extreme weather events; failure of climate change adaptation and mitigation; natural disasters and four by impact—water crises. Although extreme weather was the risk of greatest concern, the survey highlighted the worries about environmental policy failure due to inaction on ground. The results of climate inaction are becoming increasingly clear. The accelerating pace of biodiversity loss is of particular concern. Species abundance has dropped by 60 per cent since 1970. In the human food chain, biodiversity loss is affecting health and socioeconomic development, with implications for well-being, agriculture and fish productivity etc. Rapidly growing cities and ongoing effects of climate change are making more people vulnerable to accelerated rising sea levels in the recent past. Two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in cities by 2050 due to recent urbanisation trends. Already an estimated 800 million people live in more than 570 coastal cities vulnerable to a sea-level rise of 0.5 m by 2050. In a vicious circle, urbanisation not only concentrates people and property in areas of potential damage it also causes disruption by putting pressure on natural and socio-economic resources. For instance natural sources of resilience such as coastal mangroves are destroyed increasing strain on surface and groundwater reserves. Intensifying impacts will render an increasing amount of land uninhabitable. Prioritised strategic actions such as appropriately adapting to various coastal hazards through grounding structural engineering options to minimise flooding and inundation; strengthening natural defenses such as shelter belt plantations, geomorphological coastal features, etc.; and people-centric actions ensuring risk proofing of households and businesses so as to ensure multi-hazard resilience across communities.

India is according high priority to the implementation of disaster risk reduction and climate resilience through building appropriate early warning systems linked to emergency actions—linking weather, climate, water, air quality and environment to help ensure sustainability of natural resources.