Nagaland: NCAF 2024 to focus on urban resilience in Dimapur

Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC) Friday announced the forthcoming Nagaland Climate Action Forum (NCAF) 2024, scheduled to be held on January 21 at 2pm at Hotel Saramati, on the theme “From Heat to Action: Rethinking Urban Resilience in Dimapur.”
Addressing a press conference, DMC chief executive officer (CEO), Thungchangbemo Tungoe, said the forum was a continuation of the “Run for Green Dimapur” initiative held last year, which successfully mobilised public awareness and citizens participation on environmental concerns.
Tungoe stated that the climate action forum marked a transition from awareness-building to a more structured, action-oriented engagement to address climate-related challenges confronting Dimapur, including rising temperatures, urban flooding, pressure on infrastructure and increasing public health risks. CEO stressed that Dimapur, as Nagaland’s commercial hub, stood at a critical juncture where climate adaptation and resilience planning could no longer be delayed.
He said the forum aims to bring together policymakers, urban planners, climate experts, civil society organisations and community stakeholders to deliberate on evidence-based insights and collectively chart practical pathways for building a climate-resilient city.
Tungoe also said that the focus would be on translating awareness into informed action and policy-relevant outcomes. In this regard, CEO sought the media’s support in amplifying the message of climate responsibility.
LH Thangi Mannen, director of Earth Alliance Nagaland and retired commissioner and secretary, highlighted the increasing severity of climate change and global warming. She noted that the past three years have been among the hottest in recorded history.
She said Nagaland experienced 48 days of extreme weather last year, resulting in floods, landslides and other calamities that disproportionately affected vulnerable and low-income communities.
Mannen also pointed out that rising heat posed serious risks to children, the elderly and daily wage earners, besides escalating public health concerns and increasing household expenditure on healthcare and electricity.
Emphasising that climate change was no longer a future threat but a present reality, she called for urgent collective action at individual, community and government levels.
Mannen informed that Nagaland Climate Action Forum was formed to raise awareness and develop actionable plans to mitigate climate impacts.
While global discussions continued without concrete outcomes, she said Nagaland must do its part locally. She also underlined the need for CSOs to act as a pressure group to ensure stronger government engagement on climate resilience.
Boka K. Rochill, policy analyst with the Nagaland Youth Consortium, said the forum builds on the momentum of the “Run for Green Dimapur Marathon” and represented a multi-stakeholder convergence involving the DMC, district administration and several civil society partners including Team Better Dimapur, SEWA, Pro Rural and Can Youth, aligned with the National Clean Air Programme.
Rochill said the forum would release a brief working white paper presenting localised, evidence-based findings on urban heat stress in Dimapur, including land-use and land surface temperature data.
He informed that a multi-stakeholder panel discussion on community resilience, planning reform and urban greening was also planned, aimed at informing local-level climate and urban resilience policies.
Responding to a query on government engagement, Mannen said collaboration largely depended on individual officials. She said that while some have been supportive, broader and more consistent cooperation was needed. Mannen reiterated that climate action required participation from both the government and the public, as its impacts were shared by all.
The organisers have appealed to the public to actively participate in the forum on January 21, describing it as a significant step towards building a sustainable and climate-resilient Dimapur.