The SIDRRA project aims to enhance adaptability and strengthen resilience among at-risk communities in Asia and amplify local voices in decision-making processes. It promotes multi-stakeholder engagement to ensure that adaptation strategies are grounded in the realities of those most affected. By bridging policy and practice, the project helps local knowledge influence regional resilience agendas.
The study titled “Extreme Heat Loss and Damage: Small Business Evidence” addresses the critical problem of extreme heat being a slow-onset disaster that causes cumulative and compounding loss and damage to livelihoods, health, and small business sustainability.
Project Overview
While current Heat Action Plans in India effectively reduce mortality, the specific economic losses experienced by small businesses remain insufficiently documented and inadequately addressed within existing policy and finance systems. Small businesses are currently forced to absorb repeated income shocks; rising costs, and health-related productivity declines without formal compensation or protection.
Objectives: To overcome these challenges, this exploratory research moves beyond anecdotal evidence to develop a structured analysis using a Loss and Damage Performance Framework that connects exposure, impacts, and governance gaps.
The primary research objectives are to capture and categorize heat-induced loss and damage specifically within small businesses while measuring how specific adaptations reduce income loss, workdays lost, and health impacts. Furthermore, the study aims to identify the limits of adaptation and residual risks that persist despite cooling measures or work-hour adjustments. A key goal is to generate governance and finance recommendations for inclusive loss and damage mechanisms that support vulnerable populations
Methodology: This study uses a performance framework and mixed-method research (surveys of 150 businesses and qualitative interviews) to analyze heat impacts across five Indian cities. By examining the link between household and market vulnerabilities, it provides data-driven evidence to connect local business realities with global climate finance and disaster governance
Expected Outcomes
The study is designed to produce practical, policy-relevant results, including:
- Loss & Damage Typology: An evidence-based classification of heat-induced loss and damage.
- Performance Assessment: A clear evaluation of which adaptation measures work and where their limits lie.
- Policy Recommendations: Specific inputs for making Heat Action Plans more inclusive and developing people-centered climate finance.
No Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.