Urban Risks and Resilience in India

Abstract

Urban risk needs to be understood in the context of all socioeconomic , political and environmental processes that manifest risks in urban areas, and not simply in the context of natural hazards. Indian policy and programmatic priorities are currently focused only on hazard-prone areas, and not on areas where vulnerabilities or exposure are higher or capacities to cope lower.  Specific urban risks are not understood as well as those experienced or perceived in rural areas, e.g., climatic risks such as droughts still focus on rural areas and agricultural productivity 1 and not on access to water or water quality in urban areas.  Emergency response is preferred over pre-emptive risk reduction. A case in point is the existence of a National Disaster Response Fund as against a National Disaster Mitigation Fund.  All hazards are dealt with individually by distinct departments at different levels of governance, and there is a lack of a multi-hazard approach. Development Sector agencies (e.g., those working on poverty reduction, housing, water and sanitation, etc.) are still not integrating a risk reduction agenda sufficiently in their planning practices.  There is a dearth of a diversity of and access to financial systems (e.g., low insurance penetration due to lack of comparable data) to cope with disaster conditions that could help rebuild better.  There is a need to understand the distinct components of risk-hazard, vulnerabilities, exposure and lack of capacity to respond-as drivers of risk concentration in specific geographies, in order to direct relevant policy and risk reduction practices, and for risk reduction to be understood as an integral aspect to achieve sustainable development.  Synergies need to be found between the four International frameworks for a consolidated Post-2015 Agenda for Resilient and Sustainable Development, and multiple actors need to work in partnership to achieve this.  Data collection, monitoring and long-term evaluation systems need to build at the local government level for long-term sustainability outcomes of the various interventions made. Background