Resilient Rajasthan: Aligning Climate and Geo-Hazard Insights for Sustainable Planning and Futures

Rajasthan’s arid regions represent some of India’s most climate-sensitive zones, where recurrent droughts, water scarcity, and fragile ecosystems challenge long-term sustainability. With climate change intensifying these pressures, systematic evaluation of vulnerabilities is essential for guiding adaptive planning. This study develops an integrated framework to assess environmental and geo-hazard risks while emphasising the need for coordinated responses across environmental, socio-economic, and infrastructural domains. By merging the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, a composite vulnerability index was constructed from 47 indicators grouped into three weighted components: environmental (14), socio-economic (20), and infrastructure (13). The analysis shows that socio-economic vulnerability is highest (0.38), followed by infrastructure (0.35) and environment (0.29), yielding a composite index of 0.34. Consistency testing (ratio = -0.017) confirmed the robustness of results. GIS-based mapping further revealed spatial disparities in vulnerability, providing critical insights for localized planning. These findings highlight that human systems in arid regions remain more exposed than ecological or physical infrastructures. The study recommends climate-proof farming practices, water preservation initiatives, and community-based adaptation measures. Implementing such strategies can strengthen resilience, align regional development with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 11, 13, 15, and 17), and foster sustainable futures across Rajasthan.