Integrating Climate and Biodiversity into Urban Planning in Assam, India

Challenge

Assam, India, is highly vulnerable to climate change, with land prone to floods and severe annual losses, worsened by forest degradation.

Solution

Urban planners and forest officials collaborate in training and workshops to integrate climate and biodiversity into urban planning.

Overview

An ongoing Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)-supported project led by Himangana Gupta (United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, India) focuses on capacity building in Assam, India.

The project aims to empower urban planners and forest officials in a region where 40% of the land is flood-prone, causing average annual losses of INR2 billion (approx. US$24 million). It recognizes that mitigating flood risk requires addressing forest landscape degradation and bridging the gap between urban planning and forest conservation.

Urban planners shape the built environment and influence resilience, while forest officials safeguard ecosystems vital for climate regulation and biodiversity. The project employs a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, non-governmental organizations, and academia to foster collaboration.

Training programs and workshops will support co-designing tools to mainstream climate and biodiversity into urban planning, aligning urbanization goals with forest conservation and societal well-being. Lessons from Assam are intended to provide reference points for similar regions.

Project details

Acknowledgements

This project is supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) under its Scientific Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE).