DSpace Collection: EP

Planning for heat resilience, a case of NCT Delhi/

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Planning for heat resilience, a case of NCT Delhi/ Authors: Chaudhary, Ashi. Abstract: This study explores the impact of heat on urban and peri-urban populations in Delhi, India, focusing on planned and unplanned settlements. Heat impact leading to heat stress has emerged as a critical public health and urban planning challenge with the increasing frequency of heat waves exacerbated by urbanization and climate change. The research utilizes a mixed-method approach, combining GIS-based mapping, predictive modeling, and community surveys to assess vulnerabilities and evaluate existing resilience measures. Findings highlight the disparities between planned and unplanned settlements regarding heat impacts on health, socio-economic disparities, and infrastructure. While planned areas benefit from better infrastructure, they face higher energy costs, whereas unplanned settlements are more vulnerable due to overcrowding and inadequate access to basic services. The study emphasizes the need for localized strategies that address these inequalities, such as affordable cooling solutions, expanded green infrastructure, and community engagement. The study proposes a comprehensive framework for enhancing heat resilience in Delhi by drawing from global best practices, including Ahmedabad's heat action plan and Singapore's urban greening initiatives. This research aims to contribute to sustainable urban development by promoting equitable, climate-resilient solutions that can mitigate heat impact and protect vulnerable populations. Heat impact and the heat island effect have become major urban challenges in Delhi, exacerbating temperature extremes and posing serious risks to public health, infrastructure, and urban sustainability. This research aims to develop comprehensive strategies to enhance heat resilience across the diverse landscapes of NCT Delhi, including formal, informal, and peri-urban settlements. Using a multi-method approach—GIS mapping, remote sensing, community surveys, and policy analysis—the study identifies key UHI parameters, maps heat hotspots, and proposes tailored mitigation strategies. This research underscores the need for micro-level climate-adaptive urban planning, enhanced community engagement, and integrated policy approaches to combat heat impact effectively.

Spatial planning strategies to address health cost implications of stubble burning/

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Spatial planning strategies to address health cost implications of stubble burning/ Authors: Shekhawat, Bhavya. Abstract: This study investigates the critical issue of stubble burning in Bathinda district, Punjab, a region with high fire activity—6954 fire counts in 2023 over 167.2 thousand hectares, leading to a fire density of 41.09 per 1000 hectares. The research commenced with an extensive literature review to identify key indicators across environmental, health, and economic domains. These indicators included pollutant concentrations (PM 2.5, PM 10, SO₂, CO) and fire count data, alongside associated health conditions such as breathing issues, asthma, heart disease, and pneumonia, and socioeconomic burdens incurred due to pollution-related illnesses. Subsequently, the health impacts were analyzed using correlation and regression models, revealing that active fire count, PM 2.5, and PM 10 are significantly correlated with increased cases of breathing problems, asthma, and pneumonia (p < 0.05), especially during the stubble burning season (October–November). This seasonal trend underlines a temporal health vulnerability linked directly to agricultural residue burning. Heart disease, however, did not show a statistically significant correlation. To assess the healthcare cost burden, both direct and indirect costs were calculated through field data in Rampura Block. The average direct cost per household was Rs. 2600/month, covering doctor consultations, medication, and travel. The indirect cost, including wage loss, absenteeism, caregiving duties, and farm operation delays, amounted to Rs. 2100/month, indicating a high financial toll on low- and middle-income households during burn months. A primary household survey was conducted to contextualize and quantify health risks on the ground. Using a defined scoring matrix, an exposure index was calculated to assess risk levels across multiple criteria such as proximity to fire events, pollutant levels, and pre-existing health conditions. This enabled the identification of high-risk communities, offering a framework for spatially targeted interventions and prioritization of resources. Based on these results, the study proposes a series of spatial planning strategies. These include biochar trenches for SO₂ capture, CO₂ sequestration and utilization in agriculture (CCUS), development of clean air corridors, and enhanced natural ventilation systems to reduce indoor air pollution. In tandem, stubble management interventions such as green village certification, pre- and post-harvest incentives, reverse auction systems, and carbon credit markets were formulated to disincentivize residue burning while promoting sustainable alternatives Finally, these strategies were subjected to a detailed evaluation using cost-benefit analysis and exposure-response functions. The analysis demonstrated the economic feasibility and health effectiveness of these interventions, offering measurable returns in both environmental and public health terms. The study underscores the importance of integrating scientific evidence, local data, and spatial planning tools to design resilient, scalable, and equitable policy interventions that directly address the health and economic implications of stubble burning in high-risk agrarian regions like Bathinda.

Mitigating cascading impacts for cyclone disaster recovery/

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Mitigating cascading impacts for cyclone disaster recovery/ Authors: Gohil, Himadri K. Abstract: The escalating cyclone activity in India's cyclone-prone regions is placing unprecedented stress on critical infrastructure (CI) systems, a situation exacerbated by the escalating impacts of climate change. While the Bay of Bengal historically experienced more cyclones, recent studies reveal a staggering 52% surge in cyclone activity in the Arabian Sea, with storms enduring 80% longer and displaying rapid intensification. This alarming trend poses an imminent threat to India's western coast, particularly to multi-hazard-prone states like Gujarat. Hence, there is an urgent need for disaster recovery and preparedness planning to incorporate pre- and post-disaster measures to create more resilient CIs by integrating preparedness strategies. This study meticulously addresses the critical disaster preparedness and recovery needs at a regional level, specifically focusing on power supply disruption during cyclones in the coastal cyclone-prone Somnath district of Gujarat, India. The research comprehensively analyzes the interdependencies of the power sector, a crucial CI, with other essential CIs (water supply, cyclone shelters, and road networks) across 40 coastal villages, considering local priorities and challenges. It delves explicitly into the district's power supply system, which is divided into two management divisions controlled by separate transmission power supply circles, revealing one division as more vulnerable due to factors such as greater distance from control centers, inadequate management, and maintenance gaps, highlighting a critical fragility in disaster response and recovery. This study uses primary and secondary data to investigate the vulnerabilities in the power sector and its cascading impacts on three key CI sectors. Network analysis assesses connectivity to understand infrastructure interdependencies, and a Climate Vulnerability Index evaluates sectoral risks. Notably, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method analyzes cascading impacts and maps cause-and-effect relationships at the parameter level, explicitly assessing interrelationships with the power sector as a primary driver. Building on experiences from past cyclonic events, Vayu (2019), Biparjoy(2021), and Tauktae(2023), the findings aim to provide actionable spatial strategy recommendations that directly support both pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster disaster recovery planning. By identifying high-risk zones and critical interdependencies among infrastructure sectors, the findings enable targeted interventions to mitigate cascading failures. Keywords: Critical Infrastructure (CI); Cyclone Resilience; Power Sector Vulnerability; Cascading Impacts; Disaster Preparedness; Disaster Recovery

Restration strategies for mangrove ecosystems in Kerala/

Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Restration strategies for mangrove ecosystems in Kerala/ Authors: R, Nirmal. Abstract: Mangroves are irreplaceable coastal buffers that trap carbon, blunt storm surges, and sustain fisheries, yet Kerala’s cover has plummeted—from roughly 700 km² a century ago to scattered fragments—under pressures of land reclamation, pollution, and weak governance. Centering on Munroe Island in Kollam district, where households depend on mangroves for fishing, tourism, and aquaculture, this thesis asks how governance quality and community action converge with on-the-ground Environmental change to determine restoration success. A mixed-methods design links island-scale ethnography to state-wide spatial analysis. Stratified-random surveys, key-informant interviews, and field observations of 100 residents across thirteen wards capture livelihoods, policy awareness, and perceptions of mangrove decline. These site-level data are embedded in a broader GIS screening of Kannur, Ernakulam, and Kollam districts that flagged Munroe Island as the most representative restoration hotspot. The full data set feeds a Bayesian Network constructed in GeNIE, enabling causal mapping, “what-if” policy scenarios, and sensitivity tests across governance, behaviour, and ecological nodes. Results isolate the variables that most strongly hinder or advance recovery: ambiguous land tenure, chronic enforcement gaps, and eroding trust in institutions on the one hand; place-based knowledge, livelihood incentives, and participatory ward committees on the other. Scenario analysis shows that coupling tighter CRZ enforcement with revenue-sharing eco-tourism schemes and community-led planting can raise the probability of Mangrove Conservation from 41 % to 62 % within a decade. On that evidence, the thesis proposes a scalable governance package: clarify tenure, empower local committees, braid traditional stewardship into formal plans, and link monitoring incentives to tourism income. Implemented on Munroe Island, these measures promise not only healthier mangrove stands and more resilient livelihoods but also a replicable model for climate-vulnerable coasts across India.