# Ajayan | Climate change deliberations cannot remain confined to global or national forums, but must descend to the grassroots, according to Kerala’s former Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan. In a working paper by the Centre for Socioeconomic and Environmental Studies, she underscores the pivotal role of local self-governments (LSGs) in equipping communities to adapt and argues that this can blunt the impact of extreme climate events while reshaping livelihoods toward resilience and sustainability.
The year 2018 marked a watershed, not only in exposing Kerala’s stark vulnerability to climate shocks, but in revealing the decisive role of local governments in disaster mitigation and climate adaptation. In her memorial lecture paper on renowned economist KK George, Sarada Muraleedharan notes that climate action has long been viewed as the preserve of national regimes and global institutions. Kerala, however, has charted a different course: risk-informed master plans, tools to track disaster and climate impacts, localized forecasting models and community-level action plans are taking shape within the sphere of local governance. She argues that this experiment must deepen through new technologies, sharper knowledge systems, innovative fiscal models and integrated approaches. This can ensure that local adaptation evolves into a benchmark for global resilience and survival.
The Disaster Management Act 2005 marked a turning point by instituting a calibrated, multi-tiered response to disasters across the Centre, States and local levels, she notes. While the Act acknowledges the role of LSGs, it was the devastating 2018 Kerala floods that thrust them into sharp focus. Acting as first responders, LSGs drew on deep local knowledge and swiftly mobilised resources for rescue operations, significantly limiting casualties. In the aftermath, dedicated working groups on biodiversity, climate change, environmental protection and disaster management were established within the local governance framework, embedding resilience at the grassroots.
The paper underscores the State’s duty to actively guide and empower LSGs in making informed decisions on climate resilience, backed by a strong and evolving policy framework. It calls for incentivising green construction, ensuring responsible infrastructure development and enforcing robust waste management systems. Equally vital is the reorientation of subsidies toward climate-resilient socio-economic behaviour, alongside exploring innovative funding mechanisms. By harnessing emerging technologies and critical data, the State can enable LSGs to act decisively and effectively in the face of climate challenges.
Advances in space technology and data access have created an unprecedented ability to decode complex climate information. This is an opportunity that can transform the functioning of LSGs and the State must build a robust support grid that translates raw data into actionable insights for local bodies. A dedicated technical wing within Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), equipped with AI-driven tools, can serve as a knowledge hub, accessing, interpreting and demystifying data to guide local action. Equally important is sustained community engagement, ensuring that people remain connected to climate priorities, a process that KILA can anchor and deepen.
Climate action must be part of LSG functioning. Such integration can endure only when outcome-based planning and implementation become the core of local governance. This calls for a cadre of community-oriented professionals capable of navigating the needs, possibilities and challenges of climate adaptation. To sustain this shift, the planning wing of the LSG department needs to be strengthened and expanded beyond districts and urban local bodies, embedding climate resilience deep within grassroots governance.
Dedicated special action plans for climate resilience must be designed and executed at the LSG level, focusing on context-specific interventions. To sustain momentum, a portion of public grants can be linked to objective assessment of performance. Such performance-linked funding should embed climate resilience as a lasting priority within local governance, the paper adds.
