Climate Action for Built and Cultural Heritage in Indian Cities: Compendium, Toolkit and E-Learning Module

National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), under its City Investment to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) initiative, engaged a consortium of three organisations consisting of Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI), India Pvt. Ltd.; Center for Heritage Conservation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CHC, CRDF); and Urban Design Collective (UDC) to prepare a ‘Climate Action for Built and Cultural Heritage in Indian Cities’. The project core team was Gurmeet Rai from CRCI, Jigna Desai and Jayashree Bardhan from CHC, and Vidhya Mohankumar from UDC. The project was funded through the same networks as CITIIS, i.e., Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Union (EU).

Climate change is experienced as gradual changes in temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns, as well as catastrophic events such as sea level rise, frequent extreme weather situations, floods, and droughts, among many others. In all its forms, it has an impact on cultural heritage. The Indian sub-continent has varied geographical and climatic conditions, from the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayan range in the north to the coastal areas in the south with deserts and alluvial plains of mighty rivers in between. In the context of climate, regional geographic conditions, and socio-economic aspects, the cultural resources of India are rich and varied. Amidst the challenges facing humankind and despite the threats to cultural heritage, cultural heritage has immense potential to enable inclusive, transformative, and just climate action, including by heightening the ambition and capacity of communities and various other stakeholders to act, supporting climate adaptation and resilience. 

Recognizing and responding to this situation, NIUA engaged the consortium for the project. The outcomes of this engagement were in three parts and submitted to NIUA:

• A compendium of case studies capturing learnings on how cultural heritage can aid climate action: Available here on NIUA’s website

• Toolkit for climate-conscious preservation and management of urban built and cultural heritage: Available here on NIUA’s website 

• An e-learning module on climate action, built and cultural heritage in Indian cities: Available here on NIUA’s National Urban Learning Platform (NULP) on creation of an account and joining the course.

The methodologies used to produce these resources included desk-based research, study of existing tools and frameworks, seminars with experts presenting cases and insights from India and around the world, consultative workshops, and insights from the project team. The compendium acted as a methodological step towards the formulation of the toolkit.