Gandhinagar, India, 19 April 2023 – The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in partnership with Ericsson today announced the launch of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem-Based Climate Change Adaptation project in Gujarat’s capital. The project will enhance the resilience of coastal communities vulnerable to climate change and natural hazards through a community-centred, ecosystem- and technology-based approach to adaptation.

The Saurashtra coast of Gujarat is vulnerable to natural hazards that are exacerbated by climate change, including cyclones, storm surges, coastal erosion, sea level rise, heatwaves, floods and extreme rains. This project is introducing community-led initiatives to plant 100,000 mangroves and other plant species along select coastal villages around Porbandar. Mangroves help mitigate the effects of storm surge, soil erosion and salinity. They also capture and store significant amounts of carbon. Ericsson’s technology will enable the usage of geo-tagging services with sensors and peripheral devices to monitor the growth conditions for the mangroves and take data-based decisions.

Additionally, 20,000 fruit-bearing trees will be planted across 10 villages. This will provide over 2,000 families with alternative, climate-resilient livelihood opportunities to complement the farm and fishing activities that are normally undertaken in this coastal belt.

The project supports the Indian Prime Minister’s Ten Point Agenda to enhance the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities, as well as the objectives of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change, the State Action Plans, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s Macro-Action Plan on Biodiversity.

As well as initiating the mangrove planting, the launch event included a workshop with the local community. Here they discussed nature-based solutions to protect human lives and habitats threatened by climate events, while also developing effective models for collaboration between local authorities and communities applying scientific data to inform policy and action.

Honourable Minister Shri Mukesh Patel, Minister of State for Forest and Environment, Climate Change, Water Resources and Water Supply attended the occasion as Chief Guest. He said: “Climate change is a global issue that requires local solutions. The ecosystem-based climate change adaptation project is an excellent example of how we can work together to protect our planet."

Mr Abhay Kumar Vaish, Director, Ericsson India Global Services said: “Mangroves are a vital part of the Saurashtra coastline, protecting villages near coastlines from environmental risks and they are one of the most effective trees in the world for soaking up the carbon dioxide that leads to climate change. The project will enable climate-resilient livelihood opportunities for the local community who will also be involved in planting the mangrove saplings.”

Talking about the partnership, Ms Prerana Langa, CEO, AKAH India said: “The project advances AKAH’s plans for restoring the coastline of Gujarat and Maharashtra and is aligned with the National and respective States Action Plan for Climate Change with significant potential to scale. Through this collaboration with Ericsson, AKAH will work to mainstream ecosystem-based adaptation into landscape-level coastal management.”

For more information, please contact:

Anita Miya at anita.miya@akdn.org.