A billion of the world’s most climate-vulnerable people live in informal settlements – here’s what they face

Flooding is a common occurrence in informal settlements. BwaiseOne neighbourhood in Kampala, Uganda. Bwaise’s residents are largely excluded from planning and local decision-making processes, and have poor housing and limited access to sanitation and other essential services.

Flooding can make matters worse. Residents revealed to us during a November 2019 visit that they dig trenches around houses and then build small retaining walls in order to prevent water flooding. Public toilets are built about a metre higher than the ground.

Bwaise lies in a swampy valley between several of Kampala’s many hills and was already prone to flooding. Floods are happening more often, however. Climate change is a major reason.

This is not a rare situation. Similar conditions are common in cities all over the globe. The UN estimates that around one in four city dwellers – More than 1,000,000 people – live in precarious conditions, without access to basic services or adequate housing and are excluded from health, education, and livelihood opportunities.

If this sounds bad, things are about to get worse: the IPCC’s latest report on climate change Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability(We wrote the Chapter on Cities) made it explicit that people living in informal settlementsBwaise is one of the most vulnerable areas for urban populations to climate change.

Climate change is where it hurts the most

These settlements are usually found in marginal lands which are more susceptible to flooding. The lack of drainage causes floods to last longer, and stagnant water can become a breeding ground and breeding ground for mosquitoes that transmit diseases like malaria and dengue fever.

People who live in informal settlements also don’t have access to the resources necessary for protection against climate hazards. Precarious and poor-quality housing, for instance, offers no protection against flooding or extreme temperatures, and so the effect on people’s health and wellbeing is greater than if they were living in households with air conditioning or at least adequate insulation and ventilation. Although sanitation and waste management systems are effective in preventing disease transmission and other problems caused flooding, they are often inadequate in informal settlements.

Many residents of informal settlements lack access to healthcare and social security systems that provide protection for city dwellers in case of climate disasters. Floods can cause families to live in poverty for many generations due to the loss of their livelihoods and lack of insurance or social protection.

Climate change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The rapid growth of urban populations may exacerbate environmental issues. In what is known as the “The Zone,” cities are already experiencing higher temperatures than their surrounding areas. Urban heat island effect.

This adds to and magnifies the effects of climate change-induced heatwaves. These effects are already noticeable with warming of 1.1℃, but scientists argue that they will be unbearable if temperatures Rise above 1.5℃.

Don’t only focus on infrastructure

The most recent IPCC ReportThere is evidence that climate change adaptation has been integrated into urban policy. However, progress is slow. Large infrastructure projects such as roads and drainage channels are where most of the investments are concentrated. However, it is important to address the root causes and provide social protections for those affected by climate change, such as insurance or welfare payments.

The IPCC report states that effective adaptation is dependent on collaboration between local governments, businesses, and NGOs. It cites the example of Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone that show how informal settlements can generate vital data on climate and health risks, which can be used to support adaptation and development plans. Local residents are also able to develop innovative solutions to make a more sustainable future, such as buildings that consider heat and flooding.

Communities like the one in Bwaise have worked hard for their members to have options, even in the faceof adversity. Extreme conditions. They have also worked with NGOs to help their members build themselves up. New sanitation unitConstructed to withstand frequent floods.

Although it was a small step towards making a neighbourhood more resilient, improving sanitation conditions was an important step. But the scale of climate change is so great that communities cannot deliver adaptation on their own. Future cities will need institutions that can recognize the needs of informal settlement dwellers and adapt accordingly.