The Hindu       02.03.2011

GVMC signs MoU with global agency

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), South Asia, a global agency funded by the Ministry of Environment of the Government of Germany, on Tuesday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GVMC on ‘strategic planning of adaptation to the impact of climate changes in the city.'

ICLEI Executive Director Emani Kumar, while making a presentation, said the MoU was meant to establish an operational understanding between the GVMC and the ICLEI for collaboration to reduce risks of climate change impacts faced by the cities through an integrated and cyclic management approach. The project is for a period of three and a half years beginning the current year.

The ICLEI will support the GVMC in various aspects of data collection relating to impact of climate change such as carbon emission, coastal erosion, forest environmental effect etc and prepare a master plan for effective implementation process. The entire project will be financed by the ICLEI, without any financial commitment from the GVMC.

Core group

Municipal Commissioner V.N. Vishnu constituted a core group of officials comprising Additional Commissioner (projects) K. Ramesh, Chief Medical Officer (health) D. Abbulu, Chief City Planner D. Venkataratnam, Environmental Engineer (public health) Praveena and HRD consultant A. Rajendrakrishna for the ICLEI project.

The project is aimed at reducing the impact of climate change