Technical Assistance Support to Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group

Program Locations: Gorakhpur, India
Project Duration: December 2012–June 2015
Project Lead: Kate Hawley, LEED AP. Economics Research Associate

Project Overview

This project is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation under the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) program and is an initiative by the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG) in collaboration with the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET-International). Three major project efforts are undertaken to enhance climate change resilience in Gorakhpur, India:

Micro-resilience in Mehava Ward: The project works to develop a model for ward-level climate change resilience planning in Gorakhpur. The project aims to move community-based resilience actions forward, and conducts state-level consultation workshops. Workshops focus on themes around climate resilient agriculture, drainage, water and sanitation, community health, risk resistant housing, and women’s livelihood development.
Peri-urban agriculture: The project demonstrates flood risk mitigation through the research and advocacy of peri-urban agriculture maintenance of open space. Extension services are provided in the expansion of agricultural farm models. Project tasks include the education in and practice of participatory vulnerability assessments, resilience strategy development, flood resilient agricultural systems, and climate information use. Further implementation of this project includes holding urban climate change resilience (UCCR) workshops and other advocacy meetings, along with fostering the up-scaling of UCCR in the region.
Capacity building: The project builds the capacity of GEAG so they may lead UCCR initiatives in eastern India. The project focuses on capacity building and assisting three cities in developing climate resilience strategies. Furthermore, advocacy for UCCR is undertaken at state, national, and international levels for replication. Project outcomes focus on improving GEAG’s capacity by expanding their network, knowledge, and access to resources. GEAG will improve its ability to plan, implement, and monitor climate change resilience in urban, peri-urban, and agricultural areas of East India, and in doing so, will develop material that can be mobilized and diversified at national and international levels.

Core Program Activities

Provision of concepts, methods, and tools for urban climate resilience planning: Provide expertise in urban climate resilience planning, tools, and methods.
Capacity building: Provide UCCR capacity development through training, exposure, and learning linkages.
Targeted technical assistance: Provide targeted technical assistance to support studies, stakeholder analysis, climate related flood risk, and awareness analysis and reports as well as policy analysis that focuses on climate change information, hydrology, urban planning, and cost-benefit analysis.
Development and dissemination of knowledge products: Support in developing joint research and knowledge products, including publications in peer-review journals and accessible publications.
Institutional networking: Provide support to project climatologists, including fostering linkages with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Sustainable Environmental & Ecological Development Society (SEEDS).
Review and feedback: Provide review and feedback in GEAG’s development, refinement, and consolidation of tools and methodology for adoption in project cities.