Building resilient communities

India is one of the world’s 17 mega-diverse countries and home to four of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots. A large portion of the population depends on natural resources for its livelihood. At the same time, natural disasters and climate change pose significant risks to India’s rapidly growing cities and their communities, and vulnerable rural populations, with nearly 60% of the country at risk of earthquakes. At the national and state levels, institutional capacities need to be strengthened to implement policies to transition to a low-emission economy without undermining the country’s economic growth.

Striving towards a low-emission economy

UNDP is committed to promoting low carbon, climate resilient and inclusive development with a focus on natural resource management. We support the Government of India in meeting national development objectives along with commitments under key multilateral environment agreements by providing leadership support, fostering South-South cooperation and creating innovative partnerships with the public and private sectors. Building on the successful projects delivered through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other partnerships, UNDP aims to generate new models of energy efficiency capable of going readily to scale.

Key areas of intervention are climate change (mitigation and adaptation), sustainable natural resource management (conserving biodiversity and addressing land degradation) and integrated chemical management (phasing out of ozone depleting substances and reducing persistent organic pollutants).

Our gender focus is to mainstream women's participation in climate action and environment conservation through the following:                                  

1. Nature-based livelihoods and green enterprise development

2. Enhanced women participation in grassroots governance

3. Financial inclusion and increased livelihood opportunities for women

4. Recognizing women champions in conservation and grassroots development