RESILIENT KERALA PROGRAMME - GOVERNANCE
News: World
Bank approves $150-million loan for Resilient Kerala programme
What's in the news?
● The
World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a $150-million loan to support the
Resilient Kerala programme designed to
strengthen Kerala’s preparedness for natural disasters, climate change impact,
and disease outbreaks.
Key takeaways:
● This
additional financing will further deepen Kerala’s resilience in the critical
areas of coastal erosion and water resource management.
Resilient Kerala Programme:
● The
programme is designed to strengthen Kerala’s preparedness for natural
disasters, climate change impact, and disease outbreaks.
Vulnerability of Kerala:
● The
World Bank observed that Kerala is
highly vulnerable to natural disasters and prone to the effects of climate
change due to its coastal location.
Partnership Organization: World
Bank
Financial support:
● The
loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
has a final maturity of 14 years,
including a grace period of six years.
● It
complements the World Bank’s earlier investment
of $125 million and the overall support is expected to protect nearly 50
lakh people from the impact of floods.
Targeted areas:
● The
additional financing will also scale up the coverage of the original programme
from four to nine coastal districts of the State.
Objective of the Programme:
● The
World Bank had aided the State in building
the capability to respond to shocks to the economy and prevent the loss of
lives, assets, and livelihoods.
● The
programme supported policy and institutional
reforms in the State, including improved
management of the Pampa River basin, sustainable and climate-resilient
agriculture, risk-informed land-use, and disaster management planning at local
levels.
● Additional
resources will now address hotspots and vulnerable coastal erosion sites where
immediate attention is needed.
● It
will also help develop an integrated river basin management plan for the Pampa
River basin and support restoration of rivers and lake embankments to minimize
flood damage in future.
Significance:
● Through
this additional financing, the World Bank will continue supporting Kerala in
increasing its resilience to climate change.
● The
project will focus on addressing coastal erosion along vulnerable areas of the
State – impacting millions of lives.
● It
will expand the State’s capability to tackle coastal erosion by creating a
shoreline management plan.
● The
plan will assess current and future shoreline changes and create policies to
address the risks to environmental resources, human settlements, and
infrastructure along the coast.