Page 49 - Shelter - April 2023
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POLICY REVIEW
towards sustainability, cities climate change induced risks The legislative back up
need to come out with several by performing sensitivity – Disaster Management
counter measures that reduce analysis of the infrastructure Act – and institutional
the risks (or, mitigate some of systems to such climate support – National Disaster
the impacts) as well as that induced shocks and institute Management Authority –
make them prepared to meet systems to meet such climate have also prompted the cities
the challenges (or, adaptation changed induced shock to make use of them effectively
measures). Such adaptation events. Early restoration of in the large as well as wider
and mitigation measures civic infrastructure services scale natural disasters. An
can be planned through like water supply, sewerage, important component of
strategic planning by city waste management is essential this approach is pre-disaster
authorities. They need to have for avoiding any aftermath planning, which involves
infrastructure plans – both events like epidemics and monitoring of weather and
of development as well as public health. Cities need to climate information, analysis
O&M – to counter the climate make use of early warning of such data for scenario
induced challenges. Such from meteorological or generation, deployment of
plans need to forecast the weather departments in order warning systems and issue of
infrastructure requirements to plan their infrastructure advisories to citizens. During
under the scenario of systems. Durban city in South the times of disaster event,
climate change impacts Africa has demonstrated how cities are increasingly taking
and provide for meeting the early warning systems war room approach (or,
through buffering, back stop data on impending drought command centre or master
options and alternate means. can be used to persuade control room approach),
For example, to meet the citizens to reduce water which involves continuous
challenge of water supply demand significantly. feeding of data in a central
in the event of flooding or RESILIENCE PLANNING place, dashboard display
drought conditions, the cities of the current disaster
need to created adequate Cities are also increasingly status, planning of logistics,
buffer capacity for storage adopting several measures to transport and rescue
and distribution to avoid any enhance the disaster resilience operations, and coordination
water supply crisis. Cities (Gupta et al 2019). There of implementation at various
need to inculcate appropriate are a variety of approaches levels. Several cities have
behavioural response of the taken to it, but two major taken this approach during
citizens by levying additional strands of approaches worth the outbreak of Covid 19 and
tariff to finance such buffer mentioning: (i) disaster were successful in ensuring
capacity creation, penalize management approach; a coordinated and concerted
high consumption users with and (ii) risk proofing and action towards pandemic
higher tariff rate and also planning. management. However, it is
incentivize citizen actions Disaster Management an exhaustive process that
that either conserve resource Approach requires a continuous effort
(recycling or reuse) or and follow up.
complement municipal water Cities are increasingly taking Risk Proofing and Planning
supply (water harvesting this approach to counter
systems). the disaster events, whose Cities are also increasingly
incidence is increasing resorting to drawing advance
Cities can also counter the due to climate change. plans to meet the disaster
April, 2023, Volume 24. No.1 - SHELTER 47
