We are happy to share that Oorvani Foundation has received a 3-year grant from the Rainmatter Foundation to explore the various facets of urban environment. This grant will help support our Urban Environment Practice.
Several academic studies over the past few years have highlighted the environmental degradation that the country has witnessed over the past decades and their impact. But most of these studies speak about issues at a national level and the macro impact on our population of a billion-plus. This often distances individuals not only from the real dangers of such phenomena and their impact on their immediate habitats, lives and livelihoods, but also from their individual and collective responsibility.
We need conversations on: How real and palpable are environmental/climate risks for me? Is there something I can do to prevent or mitigate the effects? What should we collectively push for? And how can I help to bring this into the agenda for policymakers and decision makers to act?
The Practice for Urban Environment will include multiple initiatives. We will look at research, data gathering, storytelling, and community engagement. An Urban Environment Fellowship will explore developments at the intersections of environment and other aspects of urban living like economy, health, poverty, and transport and publish a series of reports, interviews, analysis, and explainers.
We are excited and look forward to working together with Rainmatter Foundation and centering the environment in public discourse.