KOCHI: The difficulties being faced in understanding climate change science and adapting itself to the change in the city will be a thing of past. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German development agency, is all set to launch a project in the city to understand climate change with the support of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions.
The ‘ICT-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Cities’ project aims to develop a digital solution to strengthen climate change adaptation in Kochi. It will enable the local government and authorities to integrate evidence-based climate change adaptation into urban development by drawing upon innovative solutions to collect and analyse data, ideas, proposals, opinions and decisions. The project will be launched as part of the Indo-German Development Cooperation.
To ensure replication of the ICT proposals on a larger scale, the project will apply technical solutions based on an open-source approach. This comprises the use of freely accessible open-source code that can be easily adapted to other cities or municipalities. Manuals will also be prepared to describe the methodology, along with proposals for incorporation into the municipalities’ standard processes and mechanisms for participation.
The advances of interactive visualisation using information and communication technology (ICT) are claimed to be a game-changer to communicate complex issues. The global project is working in India, Peru and Mexico with support from the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). Dr Teresa Kerber, deputy project manager of GIZ global project, shared her experience from other cities during a workshop held as a part of the project in Kochi on Monday.
“The application will collect the data through public participation, thereby increasing awareness on the issues of solid waste management linked with clogging of drains. There are various challenges and rewards for maximum contributions that encourage users to share the data which can be used for planning and decision making. The application is being developed simultaneously for Bhubaneswar also,” she said.
During the inaugural session, Mayor Soumini Jain emphasised on the importance of factoring in climate change in urban planning. She appreciated the use of digital solutions that help in minimising the adverse impact of climate change.
Scope of the venture
The project will enable the local government to integrate evidence-based climate change adaptation into urban development
To ensure replication of the ICT proposals on a larger scale, the project will apply technical solutions based on an open-source approach