Is the Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) Key to Sustainable Development of South Asian Cities?: Fid-Bau Portal

Is the Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) Key to Sustainable Development of South Asian Cities?

Kaushik, Praschaya / Kakoty, Sanjeeb

The global urban populationPopulation is increasing at an alarming rate, and is estimated to be 66% of the world’s total populationPopulation by 2050. As per the World Bank, the urbanisation pattern in the cities of South AsiaSouth Asia is largely unplanned and messy, with expected growth in urban populationPopulation up to 250 million by 2030. It has been observed that massive land useLand use change that occurred due to unplanned urban growth has already destroyed the natural resourcesNatural resources in and around the cities of South AsiaSouth Asia, resulting in many environmental problemsEnvironmental problems like urban floodUrban floods, drinking waterDrinking water scarcity, groundwater depletionGroundwater depletion, traffic congestion etc. All these are inextricably intertwined with global environmental issues that is, climate changeClimate change, air and water pollutionWater pollution, and biodiversity loss. Moreover, the cities are going to face more challenges in sustainable developmentSustainable development with an increasing urban populationPopulation, as projected by the United NationsUnited Nation’s (UN). To overcome such challenges, it is the need of the hour to understand the fragility of the natural system and to value and invest in ecosystemEcosystem goods and services. The concept of Blue- Green InfrastructureInfrastructure (BGI), a network of designed and natural landscapesLandscape covering the blue elements, viz. ponds, rivers, wetlandsWetlands etc. and the green elements, viz. trees, gardens, playgrounds, forests etc., is considered as a nature-friendly measure to manage urban floodUrban floods, improve water and air quality, preserve biodiversity etc. In this study, the scopes of Blue-Green InfrastructureBlue-Green Infrastructure for a sustainableSustainable urban future are explored based on the analyses of the environmental issues of South Asian cities like Karachi, Dhaka, Bengaluru, Guwahati and so on.