The tidal flood marking calendars for mapping the vulnerability and intensity of tidal flooding will reach households in all 23 affected local bodies along the coastal belt of Ernakulam district this week.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting attended by the chairpersons and secretaries of local bodies convened by the district panchayat last week. The distribution of calendars and equipping the affected populations to mark data related to tidal flooding mark the first phase of the protracted project aimed at evolving community-driven solutions to the problem in the entire coastal belt in the next one-and-a-half years.
Equinoct, a community-sourced modelling solution provider, along with like-minded organisations — M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Community Resource Centre Puthenvelikkara, ASAR and Resilient Destinations Foundation — are associated with the project.
“We expect the project coupled with local knowledge to throw up an initial action plan for a community-driven strategy for tackling the challenges of tidal flooding in another six months. Based on the solutions emerging, we will help the local bodies concerned for formulating projects to address the problem and get them approved by the District Planning Committee. Bigger projects requiring greater investments will be brought to the attention of the State government,” said district panchayat president Ullas Thomas.
The meeting among other things created awareness about climate change-related and man-made factors contributing to the worsening tidal flooding while eliciting information from local bodies about the extent of the problem that they face and the support they require.
“The project is already under way in Kumbalanghi, Ezhikkara, Puthenvelikkara and Edavanakkad panchayats where the tidal flood marking calendars have already been issued. The remaining local bodies will be covered this week,” said C.G. Madhusoodhanan, chief executive officer of Equinoct.
The innovative project proposes to provide a scientific backup in addressing a major lacuna in fighting climate change-induced crisis where the affected communities are left out of discussions and finding solutions despite having a solid local-level foundational knowledge base.
A tidal flood calendar app has also been launched for the more tech-savvy among the community members. Both the calendar and the app will enable marking the days of tidal flooding, time and the height to which the water rose.
The data so collected will be vital in assessing the frequency, intensity and duration of tidal flooding, based on which a tidal flooding vulnerability map will be prepared. This will be followed by co-creating community-driven solutions and evolving projects for implementation with the funding of the local bodies concerned.
The tidal flood marking calendars for mapping the vulnerability and intensity of tidal flooding will reach households in all 23 affected local bodies along the coastal belt of Ernakulam district this week.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting attended by the chairpersons and secretaries of local bodies convened by the district panchayat last week. The distribution of calendars and equipping the affected populations to mark data related to tidal flooding mark the first phase of the protracted project aimed at evolving community-driven solutions to the problem in the entire coastal belt in the next one-and-a-half years.
Equinoct, a community-sourced modelling solution provider, along with like-minded organisations — M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Community Resource Centre Puthenvelikkara, ASAR and Resilient Destinations Foundation — are associated with the project.
“We expect the project coupled with local knowledge to throw up an initial action plan for a community-driven strategy for tackling the challenges of tidal flooding in another six months. Based on the solutions emerging, we will help the local bodies concerned for formulating projects to address the problem and get them approved by the District Planning Committee. Bigger projects requiring greater investments will be brought to the attention of the State government,” said district panchayat president Ullas Thomas.
The meeting among other things created awareness about climate change-related and man-made factors contributing to the worsening tidal flooding while eliciting information from local bodies about the extent of the problem that they face and the support they require.
“The project is already under way in Kumbalanghi, Ezhikkara, Puthenvelikkara and Edavanakkad panchayats where the tidal flood marking calendars have already been issued. The remaining local bodies will be covered this week,” said C.G. Madhusoodhanan, chief executive officer of Equinoct.
The innovative project proposes to provide a scientific backup in addressing a major lacuna in fighting climate change-induced crisis where the affected communities are left out of discussions and finding solutions despite having a solid local-level foundational knowledge base.
A tidal flood calendar app has also been launched for the more tech-savvy among the community members. Both the calendar and the app will enable marking the days of tidal flooding, time and the height to which the water rose.
The data so collected will be vital in assessing the frequency, intensity and duration of tidal flooding, based on which a tidal flooding vulnerability map will be prepared. This will be followed by co-creating community-driven solutions and evolving projects for implementation with the funding of the local bodies concerned.