Building Resilience

Overview

iFOREST’s Building Resilience programme strengthens cities and forests to cope with climate risks through practical, people-centred solutions. 

In urban areas, we help cities manage extreme heat via Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plans (IHCAPs), which combine heat action, urban cooling, building efficiency, and greening. India’s first IHCAP, developed in Bhubaneswar, mapped economic losses, prioritised interventions, and charted a roadmap for a resilient city. The programme also advances sustainable cooling, including natural refrigerants, centralised and non-vapour compression systems, and Lifecycle Refrigerant Management, while supporting governments to embed these solutions in planning.
In forests, we conserve ecosystems, reduce fire risks, and promote trees-outside-forest to enhance biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Community-based management, Payments for Ecosystem Services, and GIS-based risk mapping encourage sustainable practices and alternative livelihoods, lowering emissions and fostering climate-positive forest dependence. 

By linking local action with practical solutions, the programme strengthens the resilience of people and ecosystems alike. 

Urban Resilience

iFOREST’s Urban Transition Programme provides research, knowledge, and capacity-building support to develop heat-resilient cities. A key focus of our work is supporting the implementation of Integrated Heat and Cooling Action Plans (IHCAP) in urban areas to reduce heat stress and promote sustainable cooling solutions. The programme also focuses on strengthening lifecycle refrigerant management, promoting natural refrigerants, and advancing the adoption of efficient, next-generation technologies such as centralized cooling and non-vapour compression systems.

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Sustainable Forest Management

Our Sustainable Forest Management programme emphasises community-led forest conservation and fire management to protect India’s vital biodiverdity and carbon sinks. It examines the impact of unsustainable non-timber forest produce (NTFP) extraction on rising forest fires, and combines solutions like community-based management, innovative technologies like GIS and remote sensing, incentive models such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and capacity development to manage forest fires.

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