Communities & Habitats

The future of hundreds of millions of people across the world will be affected by the rapid urbanisation and climate change. The impacts will vary depending on the form of settlement, geographic considerations and the nature of the local economy. The overall vulnerability of human settlements will increase.

More than half of the world’s population now lives within 60 km of the sea, while three quarters of all large cities are located on the coast. Due to global warming and melting of glaciers, people living in coastal regions will be forced to migrate. Sea level rise, increased flooding and prolonged droughts could be felt beyond the borders of such areas if there is large scale displacement of populations. Migration could increase tension and competition for resources in urban areas, with competition for limited space in already crowded cities.

According to UN-HABITAT 3 to 4 of every 10 non-permanent houses in cities in developing countries are located in areas prone to floods, landslides and other natural disasters – further exacerbated by climate change. Most of the world’s urban population resides in vulnerable areas which are ill-equipped for adaptation, with a billion living in slums, and likely to become environmental refugees.

Urban slum dwellers, with poor amenities and access to basic sanitation are the first to suffer from damages to assets, spread of disease and loss of lives as the incidence of flooding, extreme events become more prevalent in the future.

Climate change threatens to stall poverty reduction and the hard-earned progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Increased frequency of disasters like floods and droughts puts availability of safe water under stress, threatening the lives, livelihoods, health and well-being of millions, especially the poor and vulnerable who lack the financial, technical, human and institutional resources to adapt.

Millions across the globe earn their living from climate sensitive occupations like farming, animal husbandry, fisheries etc. Scarcity of water and erratic and unpredictable precipitation patterns can hamper agricultural, milk, meat and poultry production.

Those most heavily dependent on natural resources and exposed to multiple risks of climate change are the most vulnerable – the rural and urban poor, the women, children, and indigenous people. As a result, they will suffer disproportionately from the expected adverse impacts of climate change.

Poor women are vulnerable because of socially constructed gender roles and behaviours, while the rural poor and indigenous people with their greater dependence on climate sensitive sectors and lower asset holdings are more exposed to climate shocks and also have limited coping capacity.

The adaptive capacity and the capability of systems to actively and adequately respond are largely influenced by wealth, availability of technology, appropriate decision-making capabilities, human capital, social capital, ability to manage information and risk awareness.

It is thus important to address the low resilience levels of local communities through engagement and sharing of experience and knowledge and resources on climate change adaptation.

Information exchange is necessary to create early attention to adaptation, as well facilitating smart partnerships to develop best practice networks. This involves integrating climate change in all aspects of adaptation like education, good healthcare and financial services available to the communities. Social safety nets like cash transfers, micro credits, food for work opportunities should be made available to the communities.