Dikhyaa Mohanty 
It is necessary to handle the effects of climate change in a planned way so that settlements, particularly Indian cities, may get ready to offset potential climatic changes in their areas. The Indian government started working on climate change impacts a long time ago. It has also developed a road map for a national climate change action strategy. As a member of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ River Cities Alliance (RCA), Bhubaneswar City has offered to participate in the debate on eco system-based adaptation. On Thursday, Laxmikant Sethy and Suryabanshi Mayur Vikash, two additional commissioners, attended a roundtable discussion that took place here.
The National Institute of Urban Affairs, Senior Project Officer Dr. Udaya Bhonde, and the team members attended the meeting as part of the program. According to Dr. Bhonde, the Bhubaneswar city plan may be updated in light of climate change, and the implications for doing so should be considered among the relevant agencies. It is time to launch the efforts, and government stakeholders need to go forward with the necessary preparations.
The Daya River in the south and the Kuakhai River in the east are two significant wetlands, water bodies, and riverine ecosystems in the city of Bhubaneswar. According to a 2014 UNDP assessment, the city is extremely vulnerable to climate change. The city still has significant water-related problems. Since 2006, groundwater levels in the city and its surroundings have decreased. Urban flooding in the city’s low-lying neighborhoods has also grown widespread. A mapping project to develop naturally based solutions for water-related problems was also highlighted. It will contain water bodies and susceptible places where many line departments will meet to provide their respective amounts.
It is pertinent to note that one attempt at creating an ecosystem that would allow Indian cities to minimize and adapt to the consequences of potential climate change is the EPIC project, “Propagating Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in India Cities (EPIC)” by the national institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
