Projects

Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world’s children and young people, this fact is known for some time. UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index reveals that 1 billion children are at ‘extremely high risk’ of the impacts of climate change. That is nearly half of all children, and it is happening today. Children bear the greatest burden of climate change. Not only are they more vulnerable than adults to the extreme weather, toxic hazards and diseases it causes, but the planet is becoming a more dangerous place to live. The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and flooding, and a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade. Important food and water systems will fail and entire cities are expected to succumb to destructive floods. Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world’s children and young people.

Disasters and Climate Change are severely impacting the effectiveness of developmental efforts. The impacts on agriculture and allied activities (including horticulture and livestock)- the major livelihood option for majority of Indian population, availability of potable water, natural ecosystem services, health, infrastructure disrupt the quality of life of people esp those who are poor and marginalised. Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction needs to be mainstreamed in developmental efforts.

Gram Panchayats, being the basic unit of governance and development, are most important institutions to be addressed and capacitated for CCA-DRR mainstreaming.

GEAG, in collaboration with Mission Samriddhi, UNICEF and IIT Gandhinagar is implementing a project that aims at strengthening informed decision making by the government departments in risk-informed development programming on the basis of local climate risks. The project is being implemented in 5 Aspirations Districts of India – Bahraich (UP), Begusarai (Bihar), Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu), Osmanabad (Maharashtra) and Baran (Rajasthan).

Key activities include – developing District Climate Risk Analysis on the basis of available secondary data, conducting District Level Thematic Workshops, and providing handholding support in implementation of risk-informed development plans in the districts.