Chennai City and Coastal Hazards: Addressing Community-Based Adaptation Through the Lens of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise (CBACCS)

Abstract

Low-lying coastal cities are chronic to the bleakness of the coastal hazards and climate change exacerbates these hazards into multifold. Sea-level rise (SLR), intensified storms and storm surges, etc. will have a profound impact on coastal regions and coastal communities. In particular, densely populated coastal cities are at high risk to the impacts of changing climate and rising sea-levels. However, adaptation is considered as one of the appropriate methods to address these challenges and community-based adaptation (CBA) of urban regions is seldom discussed and warrants urgent attention. Grounding on these premises and based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 13-Climate Action), this paper explores CBA through the lens of climate change and SLR of the hazard prone coastal city such as Chennai city (India). In this context, this paper reviews the nature of Chennai city’s exposure and vulnerability to coastal hazards and outlines the impacts and challenges of a changing climate and rising sea-levels. This study has made based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology in which primary and secondary sources are tapped for information and perspectives and secondary literatures are collected based on keyword search technique. The findings outline (a) Chennai city is vulnerable to coastal natural hazards and climate change; (b) SLR poses serious threats to Chennai city’s coastal infrastructures, coastal natural resources and coastal communities; (c) Adaptation is considered as one of the suitable response strategies to SLR and CBA warrants urgent attention. Importantly, this study introduces “CBACCS (Community Based Adaptation for Chennai city to Climate change and Sea-level rise)” approach and emphasizes the need of CBA for Chennai city to address these challenges. Thus, the information gleaned from this study will provide insights to local level policy planners, decision makers and research penchants to understand and address CBA for coastal cities like Chennai through the lens of climate change and SLR.