Search Climate Insights Directory

The study analyzes the impact of urbanization on natural infrastructure in 10 major Indian cities from 2000 to 2015, finding significant increases in built-up areas and a corresponding loss of surface water and groundwater recharge potential. It advocates for an integrated urban blue-green approach to planning to mitigate risks like urban flooding and water scarcity.

The document outlines a collaboration between the World Resources Institute and the Watershed Organisation Trust to create an adaptation monitoring and evaluation system for watershed development in India. It argues for a shift from output-focused reporting to a long-term model incorporating qualitative and quantitative indicators of ecosystem, social, and behavioral change. The paper emphasizes the need for funders to align reporting requirements with these long-term goals and stresses that community participation, representative of diverse demographics, is essential for defining and tracking adaptation success.

The document argues that over 1.2 billion city dwellers lack reliable access to basic services, creating an "urban services divide" that hinders economic development and climate goals. It proposes seven transformations—ranging from partnering with alternative service providers to supporting informal workers—to improve equity, prosperity, and sustainability in rapidly growing cities.

The document examines Pune's efforts toward sustainable urban transformation, highlighting the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) and municipal government in implementing India's first bus rapid transit system and integrating waste pickers into formal waste management. It analyzes how these gains were influenced by three distinct policy phases between 1992 and 2018, noting that progress in both sectors has been undermined by road widening, flyover construction, and the corporatization of waste management.

The report argues that over 1.2 billion city dwellers lack reliable access to basic services like water, sanitation, electricity, housing, and transport, creating an "urban services divide" that hinders economic development and climate goals. To address this, the World Resources Institute proposes seven transformations: partnering with alternative service providers, improving local data through community engagement, prioritizing the vulnerable in infrastructure design, promoting transparent land management, creating diverse governance coalitions, innovating financing and subsidies, and supporting informal workers. The report highlights that investing in water and sanitation can yield returns of US$4–34 for every US$1 invested, while unsafe sanitation costs the global economy US$223 billion annually.