Integrating climate change concerns into disaster management planning: The case of Gorakhpur, India

The document describes a CDKN-START programme that successfully transitioned Gorakhpur's District Disaster Management Plan from a coordination-focused document to a climate-sensitive plan. This was achieved using the 'Shared Learning Dialogue' (SLD) process and the Climate Resilience Framework to bridge gaps in technical capacity and inter-departmental coordination. Key achievements include the use of simplified extreme event analysis over standard regional models to increase government buy-in and the establishment of a mandate for integrating disaster risk reduction into annual development plans.

• The District Disaster Management Plans mandated by India’s Disaster Management Act (2005) serve as an effective tool for implementing climate-sensitive planning at the district level.
• The 'Shared Learning Dialogue' (SLD) process—a structured, iterative series of workshops and discussions—is essential for building the capacity of government departments to understand and respond to climate risks and for improving both horizontal and vertical coordination.
• Gorakhpur is highly flood-prone, with data from the last 100 years showing an increase in flood intensity and frequency, now recurring every 3–4 years; climate projections suggest rainfall event intensity could increase by up to 33%.
• The programme's success in publishing a climate-sensitive DDMP was attributed to the credibility of the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG), high government priority regarding flooding, and the provision of technical support for vulnerability assessments.
• The use of the Climate Resilience Framework helped address a systemic lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the root causes of vulnerability, moving beyond simple compensation-based assessments of flood damage.

APA

Wajih, S. A., & Chopde, S. (2014). Integrating climate change concerns into disaster management planning: The case of Gorakhpur, India. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gorakhpur_final_web-res.pdf

Chicago

Wajih, Shiraz A., and Shashikant Chopde. Integrating climate change concerns into disaster management planning: The case of Gorakhpur, India. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gorakhpur_final_web-res.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wajih |first1=Shiraz A. |last2=Chopde |first2=Shashikant |title=Integrating climate change concerns into disaster management planning: The case of Gorakhpur, India |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gorakhpur_final_web-res.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wajih2014integrating, author = {Wajih, Shiraz A. and Chopde, Shashikant}, title = {{Integrating climate change concerns into disaster management planning: The case of Gorakhpur, India}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN_Gorakhpur_final_web-res.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }