Mumbai's adaptation strategies did not accurately assess risks or specifically consider the adaptation needs of its vulnerable inhabitants
Photo: iStock_ Coastal adaptation efforts in Mumbai, Ghoramara (Sunderbans), Puri (Odisha) and Konkan regions fall under the ‘moderate-to-high’ category, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Mumbai (urban), Konkan region (rural), Ghoramara (rural) and Puri (urban) regions scored 39, 42, 44, and 47, respectively. These regions have been given aggregate scores, which range from 0-68.
“No systematic correlation can be established between the level of adaptation effort and the level of socioeconomic development,” Alexandre K Magnan from the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations and one of the authors, told Down To Earth.
Low-lying coastal settlements face a severe risk of coastal flooding. They represent roughly 11 per cent of the global population densities and account for 14 per cent of the global gross domestic product.
Magnan and his 16 colleagues from multiple countries, including India, assessed the state of global coastal adaptation by analysing 61 coastal case studies. These included 34 urban and 28 rural regions.
They are distributed across Africa (10 cases), Asia (7), Australia and New Zealand (7), Central and South America (9), Europe (10), North America (11) and Small Islands (7).
They classified the 61 case studies into four categories: Urban areas with relatively high population and asset densities (A1), Urban areas with relatively lower population and asset densities or middle-size cities (A2), rural areas with high-value economic activities such as agriculture or tourism (A3) and rural areas with non-market high-value features like cultural or natural (A4).
Being a densely populated urban region, Mumbai is in the A1 category. Puri is in A2 as it is a moderately populated urban region, Konkan region is a rural area with high-value economic activities (A3) and Ghoramara is a rural area with non-market high-value features (A4).
In Ghoramara, adaptation plans were observed to be generic and local adaptation plans from state agencies were absent, the findings stated.
The researchers highlighted that there were no adaptation plans for the Konkan region as well. The state action plan did not specifically address all the climate hazards comprehensively as multiple coastal hazards were ignored or neglected.
Though Mumbai has a climate action plan, its adaptation strategies did not accurately assess risks and did not specifically consider the adaptation needs of its vulnerable inhabitants, the paper pointed out.
The Puri region has action plans but there have been no sector-specific adaptation strategies or identification of communities most at risk.
Globally, almost half of the 61 case studies show an adaptation gap higher than 50 per cent and more than a fifth faced a wide gap, the analysis showed.
Coastal adaptation efforts were short-sighted and focused on single hazards, the researchers noted. The initiatives have also inadequately addressed the root causes of climate exposure and vulnerability and were poorly monitored.
The median aggregated score was 39. Some 44 per cent of the case studies were classified in the low-to-moderate levels of adaptation efforts. These included Africa and Small Islands due to lower adaptive capacities, the study highlighted.
Only around 13 per cent of the case studies were placed in the high-to-very-high adaptation efforts, exclusively in Europe and North America.
Others were in the moderate category, with an aggregated score of 37-38. These included Australia and New Zealand.
These findings suggested that adaptation was happening on the ground but not at the scale that is required, according to the authors.
The researchers hope to include other socio-geographical systems such as cities, mountains, Arctic regions, and rural areas), biodiversity systems (transboundary ecosystems) and sectors (health, infrastructure, water and food security, and peace) in future studies.
“Assessing the adaptation imprints for a wider panel of key risk areas is indeed critical to inform the Global Stocktake undertaken under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and that will start this year and then occur every five years,” Magnan explained. The Global Stocktake aims to evaluate progress on climate action at the global level.
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