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Research vertical 15
Protecting the ecology of the Western Ghats, the coast and the wetlands, and preparing communities for floods, landslides and a changing climate.
Kerala’s environment is extraordinarily rich and increasingly fragile. Floods, landslides, coastal erosion and extreme heat have shown how quickly natural hazards become human disasters when land use, infrastructure and preparedness fall short.
The floods of 2018 and the landslides that have since devastated hill communities changed public understanding of risk in the state. Decisions about quarrying, construction on slopes, wetland conversion and river management are environmental decisions and disaster decisions at once. Climate change raises the stakes further.
The vertical works with local governments, scientists, civil defence volunteers and affected communities.
What has changed in disaster preparedness since the floods of 2018?
How should land use be regulated on slopes known to be unstable?
What would a credible climate adaptation plan for a coastal district contain?
Why do waste management systems fail, and what makes some succeed?
Landslides in Kerala's hill districts have taken many lives in recent years. This special report brings together geology, land use, local governance and the experience of survivors to set out how hill communities can be made safer.
Researcher Three, Scholar Three, Research Fellow Two
An internship project that set out to map how household waste is collected, sorted and transported in one urban ward, and what the process revealed about the system.
Intern Two, Research Fellow Two
Along much of Kerala's coast, homes, roads and boats face the sea with less beach every year. The responses chosen now will shape the coast for a century.
Scholar Two, Researcher Three
Panel discussionHybrid
DialogueIn person
Ongoing
A structured listening exercise in fishing villages along the Thiruvananthapuram coast, recording how communities experience coastal change and port development.
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