IIHS leads $3 million research programme on Climate adaptation for semi-arid areas of India

BANGALORE: Climate change is one of the defining developmental challenges of our time. Indian cities and villages are amongst the most vulnerable in the world, with hundreds of millions of people at increased risk of exposure to climate change impacts, especially in drought prone semi-arid areas. There is however, considerable local experience of how to adapt and respond to these challenges, which needs to be better understood and then translated and scaled across regions, towns and cities at risk. This can be enabled via institutional innovation, appropriate development practices and technologies, supportive public programmes and policies and advanced scientific research. To facilitate this the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) is hosting an international consultation on Climate Change Adaptation in India and Africa from 6-10th October, 2014 at its Bangalore City Campus, with a focus on Climate Change in India on 9th October.
The consultation marks the launch of a 5-year international ASSAR research programme on Climate Change Adaptation in the semi-arid regions of India and ten major countries in Africa. A$3 million segment of an $11 million IDRC/DFID funded CARIAA research programme is led by IIHS in South Asia, and by the University of Cape Town in Africa. It includes leading scientific partners such as the University of East Anglia, UK; the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), ATREE and WOTR from India.

At the consultation, over 50 leading researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives and practitioners from India, Africa, Europe and North America will engaged in a dialogue to deepen understanding of climate vulnerability and adaptation. They will explore what is needed to transform current development practices to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of people, across rural and urban areas.

Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) is building cutting-edge scientific, policy and implementation capacity to address climate challenges faced by governments, enterprises, and communities in India, South Asia and across the globe; building on seminal research, practice and policy engagement by its faculty.