Making India’s coastal infrastructure climate-resilient: Challenges and opportunities

In recent years, India’s coastal regions have become more vulnerable to multiple risks related to climate change. Intense and more frequent cyclones such as the recent Fani, Gaja and Hudhud as well as severe floods have caused massive devastation to the country’s coastal states. While efficient disaster preparedness in many of these states has helped save many lives, there remain significant challenges in rebuilding damaged infrastructure and returning to normalcy after the disruptions. This paper assesses the vulnerability of India’s coastal infrastructure to climate change impacts, examines the obstacles to building the climate resilience of such infrastructure, and recommends entry points at multiple levels of decision-making for fostering climate-resilient development.