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INTRODUCTION ABOUT THIS ISSUE India’s NDCs – An Opportunity for Co-creation of Green Technologies his issue of T Southasiadisasters.net is titled 'Enriching The Asia Regional Plan ndia’s much awaited NDCs The main features of India’s NDCs Inputs from India.' It highlights the I (Nationally Determined are: importance of what India can, Contributions) are out – and to 1. Calls for the transfer of green should, and will do in order to widespread acclaim. This is a firm technology and low-cost develop a Disaster Resilient leap forward for the country; not only international finance including Society. towards a robust INDCs policy funding from the Green Climate framework, but also in terms of a Fund (GCF). The various aspects highlighted in bold and clear public stand on 2. Enhancing a wide range of this issue serve to depict the making India’s NDCs work! adaptation policies by investing manner in which India has in sectors vulnerable to climate developed their NDCs by The entire team at the Ministry of change, such as agriculture, accepting the need of investing in Environment, Forest and Climate water resources and the Green Technologies. Also it will be Change must be congratulated for Himalayan and coastal regions. discussed the importance of making the process open and Health and disaster making safer cities. They are transparent. A far more balanced management have also found a comprised of systems, which approach on adaptation and place on INDC agenda. include human, economic, physical, mitigation in the context of India and 3. Unconditional emissions political and social systems that are a wide range of ideas and insights intensity reduction of 33-35% by impacted by internal and external have been included in this process 2030 based on 2005 levels. 'disturbances' which provide an of finalising the INDCs. What India 4. Creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to opportunity to adapt, transform or can, should, and will do has been 3 billion tonnes of CO2 decline and therefore there is a reviewed over the past several equivalent through additional need to make them safer spaces for months with great care and caution. forest and tree cover by 2030. the population. This could be done India’s rapid economic growth 5. A target of 40% of production by taking actions to re-shape the efforts, steps to lift citizens out of of electricity from non-fossil humanitarian response through poverty and need for better based energy sources by 2030 following the Core Humanitarian livelihoods and income generation with expanding focus on solar Standard. is addressed in INDCs. energy. In addition, India compromises to give especial attention to the future Structural Mitigation Plan by promoting the construction of safe buildings and smart cities where the Urban Ecosystem ensures a healthy humane habitat. Other aspects this issue takes into account are the need to develop a Disaster Preparedness Plan, giving especial attention to Select Religious Places in India, due to the large amount of population that attend these places every year; and the need to build resilience Child Sensitive Social Protection with Technology in the country. – AIDMI Team Vijayawada. Photo: cdkn.org 2 southasiadisasters.net September 2016 India’s INDCs join a select number Change made a strong point recently range of green technologies that will of country initiatives which aim to at the Observer Research Foundation not only benefit India, but also those integrate Disaster Risk Reduction (ORF) Round Table about ‘Co- countries fighting poverty and with Climate Change Adaptation. creation’ of green technologies to looking towards accelerated The National Disaster Management Ms. Amber Rudd, MP, Secretary of economic growth. Authority (NDMA) actively pursued State for Energy and Climate this inclusion and the Climate & Change of UK when she was in Time has come to focus the energies Development Knowledge Network Delhi. His comments were positive of India’s scientists, technocrats, (CDKN) played its role by offering and forward looking, emphasising business, bankers, industry, inputs into the process of integration that India must ask for access to researchers, and common citizens in at two major events – The National green technologies not available to this direction of co-creating Green Consultation on Adaptation and it so far, that it should not rest or Technologies. Opportunities exist for Disaster Resilience in India’s depend on these technologies alone, India to work with global actors for Nationally Determined Contribution but develop its own technologies to the sharing of ideas and technical (INDC), July 23-24, 2015 held at IIC address the challenges of climate know how and for the development by Climate Action Network South change. Ms. Rudd was open and of ‘co-creation of green technologies’ Asia (CANSA) and AADRR, and at cooperative to finding ways to jointly between India and UK. the 2nd Annual South Asian Cities transform the debate on technology Bringing in global knowledge on Summit, New Delhi at IHC May 22- towards a joint action. green technologies will also help in 23, 2015, organised by CDKN and making knowledge the leading Cities Network Campaign and All India has stood on its own feet in ingredient to ‘co-creation’ in India. India Institute of Local Self developing its own Space and When implemented well India’s Government. Nuclear Technology; it should now INDCs will reduce emission, reduce work towards developing its own poverty, increase jobs and co-create Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Green Technology. Given the chance, knowledge based green Environment, Forest & Climate India can and will make a wide technologies. – Mihir R. Bhatt URBAN RESILIENCE Urban Disasters and the Core Humanitarian Standard hen cities are not well appropriate and relevant – is highly Commission Humanitarian Aid and W managed they can be seen as debated in an urban context. Civil Protection Department crucibles of hazards, generating (ECHO) and the Global Shelter vulnerability and risk for large Urban humanitarian response Cluster (GSC) to assist entire populations. When a disaster strikes becomes appropriate and relevant neighbourhoods, rather than a city, how do humanitarians get it when it considers three key individual households. In other right, considering the aid sector's approaches, among others. The first words, the humanitarian sector is roots in rural traditions? is that of an Area Based Approach, retrofitting a proven development which can be described as approach to suit urban contexts in a The Core Humanitarian Standard, a geographically based, multi–sectoral way that promotes collaboration framework that supports quality and participatory in nature. over coordination and factors in the and accountability within aid Presently, there is a call for a shift need for timely relief response. agency response, is a step in the in paradigm in humanitarian right direction, having been assistance by agencies like the Inter– The second is using a complex developed in consultation with Agency Standing Committee (ISAC), adaptive systems approach to hundreds of humanitarian actors. United States Agency for understand the city. Such an While there are nine standards, the International Development (USAID), approach recognises that cities are first one – ensuring that Office for US Foreign Disaster complex, and views the city as a humanitarian responses must be Assistance (OFDA), European combination of inter–dependent September 2016 southasiadisasters.net 3 Photo Credit: Crislyn Felisilda, World Vision 2013. Due to high levels of diversity in cities, urban approaches require extraordinary levels of contextualization because each household, each neighborhood and each city can be dramatically different from the next. parts working together at a social systems that bypass the voices effectively and reliably provide multitude of scales that shapes its of more vulnerable people in order centralised services. Such multi– overall behaviour. Cities are also to share power more equitably. stakeholders include planners, adaptive because their systems – for engineers, architects and universities, example, neighbourhoods, and the The third approach is to use a among others. Part of embracing the component parts of the resilience lens. Resilience is most new role of a facilitator requires neighbourhoods, for example, helpful when resilience for whom is taking steps that build self-reliance individual households or the rules defined alongside resilience to what. within neighbourhoods on the one that govern them, adapt to changing Due to high levels of diversity in hand while assisting governments to contexts such as the need to elevate cities, urban approaches require develop policy and legal frameworks houses over flood prone areas. Cities extraordinary levels of that protect people from disaster risk, are comprised of systems, which contextualisation because each especially the most vulnerable on the include human, economic, physical, household, each neighbourhood and other. Urban disaster resilience political and social systems that are each city can be dramatically might be able to achieve an entry impacted by internal and external different from the next. The point for the kind of integrated 'disturbances' which provide an opportunity to contextualise the programming humanitarians are opportunity for systems to adapt, term resilience can be seen as a key seeking to achieve. transform or decline. This conceptual strength of the concept. Moreover shift in thinking means that for when humanitarians