Strategic Shifts
Impact of Urban Morphology on Microclimate Parameters in a City View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Megha Jain
Urban microclimates play a pivotal role in shaping outdoor thermal comfort and influencing building energy consumption. This microclimate is shaped by an array of factors, encompassing urban morphology and typology, vegetation cover, ground elevation, water bodies, street geometry (H/W ratio), building density, traffic density, and surface characteristics. This research investigates how the morphology of the city and the presence of water bodies impact the microclimate of Bhopal, a city located in central India. To assess the influence of urban morphology on the microclimate, this study relies on field measurements, encompassing data on ambient air temperature, humidity levels, and wind speed. These meteorological parameters were systematically recorded at nine distinct sites within Bhopal. Among these sites, three are situated within the older, historical part of the city, four are located in the newer urban developments, and two are positioned in the suburban areas. Notably, each of these site categories exhibits variations in building height-to-street width (H/W) ratios, ground cover, and proximity to nearby lakes or water bodies. In urbanized regions, the most significant disparities in air temperatures were predominantly observed during the daytime, with peak differences reaching up to 6 degrees Celsius on clear days. Within the urban zones, humidity levels remained relatively consistent, typically ranging between 25% to 30%, and exhibiting minimal diurnal fluctuations. This study also identifies several other contributing factors that influenced local temperatures, which are further elaborated upon in the ensuing sections of this research.
Sustainability of School Plants Amidst the Changing Climate
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rowell Castro
The province of Bulacan in Central Luzon has numerous learning institutions from pre-school, elementary, high school, college to post-graduate that are close by the rivers, basins, estuaries, and coastal areas. It affirms that school plants are present and existing in every learning institution to cater the needs of the students, teaching and non-teaching personnel. This study shares how school leaders and managers protect and sustain their respective school plant from typhoons, high tides, flash floods, and soil erosion where learning structures and amenities were built. Observation, face-to-face interview, case study, and focus group discussion were used to obtain comprehensive results. Since, the effect of the changing climate in the area is inevitable, school heads and managers were enhanced and intensified school laboratories, classroom instruction, covered walks, parking spaces, recreational spaces, and transport services so that when the sea level rises all school stakeholders are safe and protected.
Active Cooperation of States: A Key to Addressing Environmental Crises
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Muhammad Shahid
Among other provisions, Principle 25 of the Rio Declaration (1992) stipulates peace as an essential prerequisite to sustainable development. To achieve it, therefore, I propose an eco-sensitive sustainable development law approach—one which envisages common guidance of the international community under which states agree to surrender part of their sovereignty. First, I argue, that states shall adopt global environmental pacts that incorporate sustainable development and equitable allocation of costs as the fundamental objective. Premised on the equitable provisions, this treaty may earn popular ratification worldwide soon. Second, I propose that states party to the accord shall reflect their commitments through domestic legislation and ensure execution as a top national priority. In this regard, the policies espoused globally to tackle COVID-19 may be of particular interest to follow as they led states to transcend domestic problems in favour of the global pandemic. Third, I contend that states ought to take practical steps to implement treaty provisions and transmit their compliance to the body constituted under the covenant(s). This novel approach helps achieve sustainability, and once secured, it will contribute to alleviating interstate conflicts.
