Building Flood-Resilient Cities

-

Building Flood-Resilient Cities
According to a news report recently released by IRIN news agency, there are about 3,000 low-lying cities vulnerable to frequent floods in the world. Asia accounts for more than half of the developing world's cities most vulnerable to flooding, according to UN-HABITAT. Nine of the top 10 coastal flood-prone cities by 2070, including Bangkok, are in Asia, according to a recent World Bank report. As per UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), since the 1980s, the risk of economic loss due to floods in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries has increased by more than 160 percent, outstripping the growth of GDP per capita. Adri Verwey, an urban flood expert at Deltares, a Netherlands-based water management think-tank, has opined: “A master plan capturing the city's development visions, priorities and vulnerability is the first step. Cities need to decide the levels of security that they want and which areas need more protection."
The private sector should be directly involved in flood management, said Jerry Velasquez, senior regional coordinator for UNISDR Asia Pacific.
"What we need from them is not only corporate social responsibility and money, but their active involvement. It can be as simple as building a dyke around their factories, choosing the right locations to build factories and coming up with disaster contingency plans." According to Takeya Kimio, a visiting senior adviser at the Bangkok office of Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), “Investing in flood prevention is a calculated choice. There are only two options, either reduce the speed of development or invest more in flood control."

#Resilient #BuildingFood #UNISDR #FloodPrevention #Development #FloodControl #CorporateSocialResponsibility #Priorities

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Avoid Plastic and Save Environment

-
Image
Avoid Plastic and Save Environment Plastic is like a common commodity which is essential in our daily lives. Bakelite, nylon and rubber are some examples of synthetic plastics. Almost everything is made of plastic! They are very convenient to use because of their malleability and plasticity. They can be easily moulded by heating. Plastic product may be non-toxic, but some small amounts of the chemicals remain trapped in the product. As a result, when these plastics come in contact with food stuffs, the chemicals mix with the food which we subsequently consume. Plastics are non-biodegradable solids. When we burnt, they release some toxic fumes which cause ozone depletion and pollution; many chemicals are released into the air as well as into water. All these bear hazardous environmental consequences. Plastics are made of crude oil and can be used as fuel. One litter of hydrocarbon is produced from one kilogram of plastic waste. Over 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year w...
Read more

Sustaining Renewable Energy

-
Image
Sustaining Renewable Energy By Dr Arvind Kumar T he success, thus far, of fossil fuels in meeting energy demand any time required has led to a belief that whatever we want we can always have whenever we want it. This of course is leading to problems as it patently can no longer be maintained. It also has lead to the development of quite unrealistic expectations as to how far renewables can replace fossil fuels. Renewable energy is being tagged on to a massive existing demand led fossil fuelled energy system that has historically recorded tremendous growth. Efforts at demand reduction and increased efficiency have seemingly resulted in slight savings and these are often deferred by people opting for higher comfort levels. Viewed in a broad spectrum, almost all the renewable technology presently installed has only made us 96% fossil fuel dependent rather than 100%! This is a cause of worry as to the very extreme degree of energy descent that may be experienced as we move further in...
Read more

‘Vanguards of Change’: Simple yet Extraordinary thinking

-
Image
By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation Congratulations on winning the #Padmaawards for the year 2020. We, at India Water Foundation is elated to hear individual’s diverse and momentous endeavors. The award is a reflection of the endless dedication and sincere efforts towards their work which they truly deserve. Their innovative and out-of-box solutions make them distinguished as true Champions of Change. On the eve of 71st Republic Day 2020, Padma awards were given to citizens of India in recognition of their contribution to the society in spheres such as education, literature, science, medicine, social service, etc. Eminent personalities like George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Kannada spiritual icon Sri Vishveshateertha Swami of Pejavar Matt were chosen for the second-highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan posthumously. We have individuals like Harekala Hajabba, who understood the importance of education in today's time and put in eff...
Read more