Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Disaster Planning in India

ISET-International recently entered an MoU with the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI). ISET will collaborate with ADRI to research the impact of climate change on water, agriculture, health, air quality, and economic productivity as well as climate finance.

Our collaboration will begin in Bihar, India, a state where water crisis may be a reality by the year 2030, explained Prof. A K Ghosh, Chairman of the Bihar State Pollution Control Board. Bihar is a strategic starting point for research because of its location in Eastern India, an area where people rely heavily on environmental resources, and where climate change threatens unrelenting heat in the decades to come. The combination of these two factors suggests planning for climate change adaptation, especially adaptive water management, is crucial for the resilience of local populations. Mr. Shashikant Chopde, an ISET Senior Research Associate, reports that collaborative research will focus on developing a risk atlas and approaches for water auditing. Together with ADRI, ISET aspires to generate research that is relevant not only in Bihar and India, but across Asia. During the signing of the MoU, Dr. Shaibal Gupta, Member Secretary of ADRI, reported that “Bihar has the potential to become the model for other (Indian) states on Climate Change Adaptation”.