Ericsson & AKAH in India to counter climate change

Today, Ericsson announced the commencement of the ‘Biodiversity and Ecosystem-Based Climate Change Adaptation’ project in Gandhinagar in collaboration with the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) India. Through an ecosystem-based, community-centered, and technology-based approach to adaptation, the project aims to improve the resilience of coastal communities susceptible to climate change and natural hazards.

Natural hazards like as cyclones, storm surges, coastal erosion, sea level rise, heatwaves, floods, and heavy rains are all worsened by climate change on Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast.

This Ericsson-supported project introduces community-led initiatives to plant over 100,000 mangroves and other plant species in chosen coastal settlements near Porbandar, creating a natural protective barrier against coastal harm.

Approximately 20,000 fruit-bearing trees will also be planted throughout 10 communities, with the goal of offering alternative economic alternatives to over 2000 local households.

AKAH

Ericsson’s technology will enable the use of geo-tagging services in conjunction with sensors and peripheral devices to monitor mangrove growth conditions and make data-driven decisions to maximize that growth.

The project will provide alternative, climate-resilient livelihood options to supplement agriculture and fishing activities that are already carried out in this coastal zone. Mangroves aid in the mitigation of climate-related dangers such as storm surges, soil erosion, and salinity. Mangroves also help to mitigate climate change by trapping and properly storing carbon.

The project supports the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Agenda of the Government of India to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities, as well as the objectives of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008), State Action Plans, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change’s (MoEFCC) Macro-Action Plan on Biodiversity.

“At Ericsson, we’re committed to improving lives and pioneering a sustainable future through the use of technology,” stated Mr. Abhay Kumar Vaish, Director, Ericsson India Global Services. Our Connected Mangroves project on Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast exemplifies this devotion.”

“Mangroves are an important part of the Saurashtra coastline, protecting villages near the coast from environmental risks, and they are one of the most effective trees in the world at absorbing the carbon dioxide that causes climate change,” he said. The initiative will provide climate-resilient livelihood options for the local people, which will also help plant the mangrove saplings.”

Ms. Prerana Langa, CEO of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India, commented on the collaboration, saying, “The project advances AKAH’s plans for resorting the coastlines of Gujarat and Maharashtra and is aligned with the National and respective States Action Plans for Climate Change, with significant potential for scale.” AKAH will collaborate with Ericsson to mainstream ecosystem-based adaptation into landscape-level coastal management through this cooperation.”

This effort expands on Ericsson’s award-winning Connected Mangroves project, which was launched in Malaysia in 2015 and in Sasmuan, Pampanga, Philippines in 2017. In the Connected Mangrove project in Malaysia, Ericsson used the power of mobile broadband, IoT, and the Cloud to assist boost the survival rate of Mangrove seedlings from 40% to 80%.