A half-day symposium was jointly organized by the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi, and the India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), on "Addressing Climate-Change-Induced Threats to Critical Maritime Infrastructure: National and Regional Perspectives", from 0830 h to 1300 h, on Tuesday, 04 October 2022. That was the first in a series of symposia sequentially delving deeper into various sub-themes under the broader ambit of climate security, specifically in the maritime domain. The program was broadcasted through their YouTube channel.

Emcee - Ms Divya Rai, Programme Executive, NMF, introduced the program. Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, AVSM & Bar, VSM, IN (Retd), Director-General, NMF, and Mr Pankaj Madan, Deputy Head - India Office, KAS provided the opening remarks. Mr Krishna S Vatsa, a National Disaster Management Authority member of India, was the keynote presenter.  Afifat Khanam Ritika, Research Officer, Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD) participated in the symposium on behalf of the organization.

It is already proven that the coastal areas in India are amongst the most vulnerable to climate change impacts because of heatwaves, droughts, extreme rainfall events, more frequent and intense cyclonic storms, and the long-term challenge of sea-level rise. These impacts pose direct and quite significant challenges for critical maritime infrastructure in India and across the world, which was the main subject of this inaugural symposium. The professional sessions brought together international experts to share their unique perspectives and experiences on climate-change risks to maritime infrastructure and deliberate upon commensurate adaptation strategies that are being or should be adopted to minimize these risks.