Peri-urban ecosystems: The potential for a planned approach in India

The document argues that peri-urban ecosystems in India are critical for the resilience of both urban and peri-urban populations but are frequently neglected due to ambiguous administrative boundaries and rapid urbanisation. It highlights the essential services these areas provide, such as flood control, food security, and microclimate regulation, while warning that unplanned infrastructure leads to environmental degradation. The brief recommends integrated, flexible planning at the district level, the revival of District and Metropolitan Planning Committees, and the adoption of participatory, community-led governance to balance development with ecological preservation.

• Peri-urban areas in India are characterized by a blend of rural and urban features, including diverse land-use patterns and migration flows, but they often suffer from neglect due to "unclear administrative boundaries and associated governance challenges".
• Natural ecosystems in peri-urban spaces provide critical services including provisioning (food and water), regulating (carbon sequestration, waste treatment), cultural, biodiversity, and supporting services.
• The loss of peri-urban green spaces directly reduces city resilience; for example, replacing wetlands with unplanned infrastructure impairs flood control and aquifer recharge, while replacing green spaces with built infrastructure creates "'heat islands', which reduces the adaptive capacity of a population".
• Peri-urban agriculture enhances food security for both urban and peri-urban residents and aids climate mitigation by reducing the distance food travels to reach cities, thereby lowering "pollution and greenhouse gas emissions".
• Unregulated development in peri-urban areas often leads to significant ecological loss; a 2013 study of Delhi's satellite towns found that the conversion of land into settlements resulted in the loss of "36% of forests and 22% of shrubs", increasing the risk of flooding.
• The document recommends that states move away from rigid rural-urban delineations toward "Integrated, flexible planning" and revive non-functional District Planning Committees and Metropolitan Planning Committees to ensure a regional view of environmental conservation.
• Effective ecosystem governance requires the inclusion of civil society and local communities to avoid "token participation and elite capture", as demonstrated by the DHAN Foundation's work in Madurai to restore rivers using local knowledge.

APA

Verma, S. (2021). Peri-urban ecosystems: The potential for a planned approach in India. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-PB-Peri-urban-ecosystems-India_Web.pdf

Chicago

Verma, Simant. Peri-urban ecosystems: The potential for a planned approach in India. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2021. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-PB-Peri-urban-ecosystems-India_Web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Verma |first1=Simant |title=Peri-urban ecosystems: The potential for a planned approach in India |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=February 2021 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-PB-Peri-urban-ecosystems-India_Web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{verma2021periurban, author = {Verma, Simant}, title = {{Peri-urban ecosystems: The potential for a planned approach in India}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2021}, month = feb, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-PB-Peri-urban-ecosystems-India_Web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }