January 14th, 2025: WRI India attends Roundtable Consultation on Climate Risks and Human Mobility in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region
Neha Lal participated in the Roundtable Consultation on Climate Risks and Intersectionalities in the HKH Region on January 14, 2025, at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
As climate change accelerates, it exacerbates social, economic, and environmental challenges, leading to instability, displacement, food and water insecurity, and economic disruption. In the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, climate risks are already affecting food, water, and livelihoods, forcing migration, especially among vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly. Glacier melt threatens the water security of two billion people downstream, further driving out-migration and impacting urban settlements.
To address these risks, UNDP, ICIMOD, and IGES are conducting a regional scoping assessment to enhance understanding and collaboration on climate challenges affecting human mobility, food security, energy security, and economic livelihoods across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The Roundtable Consultation gathered insights from India’s Country Consultation Workshops, bringing together diverse stakeholders to inform future programming and resilience strategies.
20th January, 2025 Meetings with the Government of Uttar Pradesh on the 100 Aspirational Cities Handbook Progress
On January 20, a series of key meetings took place in Lucknow to review the progress of the WRI handbook and discuss next steps.
The first meeting was held at the Directorate of Urban Local Bodies (DULB) with Ashish, Team Lead at AnY. During this session, we provided an update on the handbook’s development, including insights from the perception survey analysis, the chapterization framework, and other reporting components.
Later, at Bapu Bhawan, we met with Uday Bhan Tripathi, Special Secretary (IAS) of the Urban Development Department, Uttar Pradesh where we presented our ongoing work.
Additionally, a separate discussion was held with Mohammad Vasif, Under Secretary of the Urban Development Department, in the presence of both the AnY and WRI teams. During this meeting, officials sought WRI’s support in assisting the Project Management Unit (PMU). They requested that our perception survey findings be leveraged to identify critical challenges faced by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including the deterioration of water bodies, environmental degradation, and issues related to solid waste and water management. These insights would help determine priority areas for intervention at the ULB level.
January 21st-28th, 2025: WRI India conducts field visit to document best practices across Aspirational Cities in Uttar Pradesh
Executive Officer along with CM Fellows and WRI India team
CM Fellow (Ashwani Kumar), Maa Kamakhya NP Ayodhya (Aspirational city) with WRI India Team.
Following the Deputy Director’s approval on January 20, a field visit was conducted from January 21 to January 28 across multiple cities, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Ayodhya, Basti, Gorakhpur, and Kushinagar. The visit aimed to document best practices in aspirational cities under the Aspirational Cities Programme for the UP Handbook: Illustrated Best Practices on Urban Services for Small Cities.
This documentation exercise, carried out through extensive photo documentation, highlights innovative and impactful urban practices across key sectors such as streets and public spaces, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, water supply, and the natural environment.
The fieldwork was made possible with the support of CM Fellows from the respective Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), who assisted in capturing on-ground realities and existing urban service models.
28th January 2025: Onboarding Hasiru Dala and Saahas as Swachhta Knowledge Partners for solid waste management in Jalandhar
Following the Solid Waste Management Workshop held in Jalandhar in November, the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar has moved towards onboarding Hasirudala and Saahas NGO, both empanelled Swachhta Knowledge Partners with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This initiative aims to strengthen efforts toward achieving 100% processing of municipal solid waste. As part of this collaboration, these organizations would help the Jalandhar city officials in conducting gap analysis studies, facilitating capacity building for municipal teams, and enhancing key internal resources. Their expertise will help optimize waste management practices and align them with national capacity-building initiatives under the National Capacity Building Framework for Garbage-Free Cities.
January 2025: Preparation of DPR for Nurpur Pond Rejuvenation by Vinyasa Collectives LLP, with field assessment conducted in collaboration with Lemnion NbS Experts.
Field visits conducted by WRI India, Vinyasa Collectives LLP, and Lemnion NbS Experts
As a next step from the continued engagement towards rejuvenating Kala Sanghain drain, WRI India supported the urban local bodies to initiate pilots through a Nature based solution (NbS approach) for which joint field visits were conducted across late last year. Jalandhar Smart City Ltd. (JSCL) has engaged Vinyasa Collectives LLP as the NbS consultant for the Nurpur Pond Rejuvenation project. The Letter of Award (LOA) for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Nurpur Pond Area was sanctioned on January 7, 2025.
Following this, a field visit was conducted on January 10 and 11, 2025, by Vinyasa Collectives LLP and WRI India team, in collaboration with Lemnion NbS Experts, to assess the site conditions and gather necessary inputs through
The draft DPR is scheduled to be submitted was submitted by Vinyasa Collectives LLP to Jalandhar Smart City Ltd. on January 30, 2025.The DPR includes nature-based solutions such as phytorids for water treatment to address industrial effluents, as well as riparian edges and floating wetlands in the pond to foster a healthy ecosystem.