GVMC Commissioner participates in COP26 – UNFCCC, pitches water resilience plan for Vizag

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner, Dr G Lakshmisha IAS, participated in an online session on ‘Adaptation and Resilience in Urban Water’ and pitches water resilience plan for Vizag. This session was conducted as part of the Water Pavilion at COP26 (Conference of the Parties), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) platform at Glasgow, United Kingdom. 

In the presentation, the Commissioner talked about the initiatives and actions by the administration to make Vizag a resilient city with a special focus on climate and water. He also shared information regarding the newly established ‘Sustainability and Resilience Unit (SRU)’ of the Corporation, under the Government of India – United Nations Development Programme (GoI – UNDP) projects. 

During the course of the presentation, Dr Lakshmisha spoke about the city’s initiatives, efforts, and actions to manage climate-related shocks and stresses. He opined that the city is in a constant state of negotiation, between the adversities and advantages, to excel towards becoming resilient inefficient utilisation of available resources. On this account, he explained the city’s administrative steps towards resilience by harnessing renewable energy, water, and emergency management. 

Reportedly, according to the GVMC officials, Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari, sought the coordination of the Sustainability and Resilience unit, and the COP26, to pitch a water resilience plan for Visakhapatnam. The Corporation, along with the technical support of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), is developing a city water resilience plan for Visakhapatnam city. It could also be noted that the Commissioner took this opportunity to invite foreign experts to Visakhapatnam to be part of its development efforts.