Duration: 2012- 2018
Climate Change, Climate Resilience, Peri-Urban, Ecosystems, Agriculture, Ecosystem Services, Flood Buffer, Common Property Resources, Floods, Small and Marginal Farmers
The peri-urban areas of Gorakhpur are particularly prone to recurring floods and waterlogging for two to three months every year, as a result of which small and marginal farmers suffer crop losses. Climate change projections have indicated that the intensity of extreme rainfall in Gorakhpur is likely to increase in the coming years, which will cause significant flooding in the city. Rapid urbanisation occurring in Gorakhpur is putting pressure on the natural resources and is absorbing the existing agricultural land in the city peripheries. Large-scale conversion of agriculture land for non- agricultural uses is exacerbating the risks of climate change.
With this backdrop, GEAG undertook an initiative to reduce the flood risks in Gorakhpur city through promoting maintenance of open spaces in the form of Peri-urban Agriculture (PUA). Resilient PUA not only plays an important role in maintaining the food and nutritional security for the urban areas but it also offers opportunities for new thinking about urban resilience. Maintenance of open green areas surrounding a city in the form of PUA provides flood buffering capacity to the city. It is also capable of replenishing groundwater which is a major source of fresh water for drinking and agricultural purposes.
The project was a part of the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation.
The key activities of the project include::
Following are the major impacts of GEAG’s interventions: