Kochi now part of ICLEI to tackle climate change

KOCHI: Kochi has been selected as one of the major cities in India by the    International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) for the implementation of ‘Asian Cities Adapt’ project. ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments and national and regional local government  organisations that have made a commitment to sustainable development.The project would benefit the general public and address the serious  negative impact of climate change.The project also aims to provide information on better management of the impact of climate change, the strengthening of the awareness and the knowledge about potential risks of the climatic change at the local-level  and suggesting measures to tackle it.The project will be coordinated by the Central Government. The project was  proposed by ICLEL and aims at increasing awareness, knowledge and capacity   of local governments in India and the Philippines. As per the project, a collaborative effort will go into reducing  the risk of climate change impacts faced by cities in both the countries through an integrated and cyclic management approach.According to a top Corporation official, an Environment Task Force has been  set up for implementing the project.“The primary function of the task force will be the co-ordination of the project in the city. The force will make sure that the project is  properly carried out in Kochi and will also monitor the mode of implementation and  coordinate with various stake-holders of the project. It will also recommend policies, programmes and gather information,” he said.The official said the project would address issues related to global  warming which has a direct impact on the climate change. “The geographical conditions of the city will be given due consideration  while formulating strategies to tackle the issues related with climate change. The population of the city, density of vehicles, carbon emission, drainage, pollution and other factors will also be considered,” he added.He said Cusat would prepare a map of the city on a zonal basis  which will mark the geographical specialities of each zones in the city.“Green belt areas, mangroves, water bodies, the places which receive heavy rainfalls and densely populated areas will be marked separately,” he added.