Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA)

Across South Asia, climate adaptation is already underway.

From shifting migration patterns to climate-resilient homes and protected farming practices, communities are finding ways to adapt and thrive in the face of change.

These locally led solutions remind us that resilience is strongest when it is rooted in community knowledge and action.

A landmark moment for climate justice — the UN General Assembly has affirmed the ICJ’s climate ruling, reinforcing the importance of collective efforts to address climate impacts.

Himalayan Community-led Adaptation

Across the Himalayas, communities are not waiting for climate solutions - they are already building them.
In the Tibetan Plateau, nomads are moving yak herds earlier as spring arrives sooner.

In Bangladesh’s floodplains, families are raising homes on stilts to live with rising waters.

In Nepal, poly-house farming is helping protect crops from extreme weather and strengthen food security.
These are not abstract adaptation ideas. They are lived responses, shaped by local knowledge, necessity and care.
The lesson is clear: adaptation works best when it is locally led, rooted in community knowledge and backed by enabling policies and finance.

But communities cannot be left to carry this burden alone.
The International Court of Justice has clarified that states have legal obligations to address climate harm and its impacts. The United Nations General Assembly has now affirmed this Advisory Opinion, reinforcing the need for stronger collective action — including on adaptation, cooperation, and addressing growing loss and damage.

Communities across the Himalayas are already leading.
Now governments must act to support them.
📘 From: Climate Change: A Himalayan Odyssey
🔗 https://cansouthasia.net/climate-change-a-himalayan-odyssey/

Climate Action Network-International

Across South Asia, climate adaptation is already underway.

🐂 Tibetan nomads are adjusting migration patterns
🏡 Farmers are raising homes above floodwaters
🌱 Poly-house farming is helping protect crops

These locally led solutions show that adaptation works best when communities lead.

A landmark moment for climate justice- the UN General Assembly has affirmed the ICJ’s climate ruling. This reinforces the importance of collective action to prevent climate harm and address its impacts.

For South Asia, this highlights the need to continue strengthening efforts on adaptation and addressing loss and damage through collaboration and shared support.


Climate Action Network-International

Secondary Cities as Climate Adaptation Hubs

Climate migration is increasing pressure on Dhaka.
Rather than concentrating risk in one megacity, Bangladesh is strengthening secondary cities as climate-resilient urban hubs.
📍 Mongla is emerging as a climate-adaptive port city.
📍 Noapara is being developed as a liveable regional hub for climate migrants.

This model demonstrates how forward-looking planning can turn climate challenges into opportunities for resilient development.
Global climate governance discussions at the United Nations General Assembly must ensure that adaptation and loss and damage are addressed together - especially for countries already managing climate displacement.

Climate migration is already reshaping Bangladesh’s cities.
As climate impacts intensify, millions of people are expected to move from vulnerable rural areas to urban centres. Without careful planning, much of that pressure would fall on Dhaka, already one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities.
Bangladesh is exploring another path.

Rather than concentrating risk in a single megacity, researchers and policymakers are looking at secondary cities as climate-resilient, migrant-friendly hubs.

📍 Mongla, a growing port city, is creating jobs and climate-resilient infrastructure while receiving people displaced from coastal areas.
📍 Noapara is emerging as a regional centre with the potential to provide housing, services and livelihoods for incoming migrants.
These cities show how forward-looking planning can help manage climate migration while strengthening resilience and economic opportunity.

With the United Nations General Assembly now affirming the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling, governments must ensure that support for adaptation, resilient urban development, and responses to climate displacement becomes a central part of global climate action.

Because climate migration is not a future scenario.
It is already reshaping cities - and the world must respond.

📘 Climate Resilient Urban Development in Bangladesh
🔗 https://cansouthasia.net/climate-resilient-urban-development-in-bangladesh-policy-gaps-and-recommendationscprd-and-cansa/
Climate Action Network-International

🌱 Join Our Webinar on Thursday: Expectations from SB64, Bonn!
Big climate decisions are coming at SB64 in Bonn (June 8–18) but what do they mean for us in South Asia?

Let’s break it down together with experts.

📅 28 May 2026
⏰ 2:00 PM IST

👉 Save your spot:
https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../fxIdhagdQV6BKjtT3ZUnJA...

Don’t miss this important conversation!

Urban Climate Adaptation Must Include the Poor

Climate change is intensifying floods, health risks and urban poverty in Nepal’s cities - and the urban poor are on the frontlines.

In Kathmandu Valley, many low-income families live in informal settlements along rivers such as the Bagmati and Manohara, where monsoon floods regularly inundate homes. Overcrowded housing, poor sanitation and limited access to services make communities even more vulnerable to climate-related hazards and disease outbreaks.

Yet communities and local partners are also working toward solutions.
Relocation initiatives such as Kirtipur Awash Chhetra have provided safer housing and improved access to electricity, water supply and waste services for families previously living in high-risk riverbank settlements.

These efforts show that safer, more resilient urban futures are possible when vulnerable communities are included in planning and supported with the infrastructure and services they need.
But the scale of the challenge requires stronger international cooperation.

With the United Nations General Assembly now affirming the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, governments must ensure that climate action strengthens support for vulnerable urban communities and helps cities build inclusive, climate-resilient futures.

Because climate resilience must reach those living on the most fragile frontlines of urban climate risk.
📘 Climate Change and Urban Resilience in Nepal
🔗 https://cansouthasia.net/climate-change-and-urban-resilience-in-nepal-looking-through-the-lens-of-urban-poorclean-energy-nepal-cen-cansa/

Climate Action Network-International

Clean Energy Strengthens Rural Adaptation in India

In Margul village in Madhya Pradesh in India, climate change is already reshaping daily life.

Erratic rainfall, drought and crop losses are increasing pressure on livelihoods and pushing families to migrate in search of work.
But communities in Margul are also building resilience through Eco-Village Development solutions rooted in local realities:

🔥 Improved cookstoves are reducing firewood use, indoor smoke and the burden on women.
🌱 Bamboo-based biogas systems are cutting wood dependence while improving soil fertility through biogas slurry.
💧 Rooftop rainwater harvesting is helping families respond to growing water scarcity.
🌾 Solar poly-greenhouses are protecting crops from untimely rainfall and other climate shocks.
💡 Solar lights and street lighting are improving safety, energy access and reliability during outages.

These are not isolated fixes. They show how locally led adaptation can strengthen livelihoods, reduce vulnerability and lower emissions at the same time.

The International Court of Justice has clarified that states have legal obligations to address climate harm and its impacts. The United Nations General Assembly has now affirmed this Advisory Opinion, reinforcing the need for stronger collective action — including on adaptation, cooperation, and addressing growing loss and damage.

Because climate resilience is being built on the ground.
The world now has to back it.
📘 Adaptation Impacts of Eco-Village Development Projects
🔗 https://cansouthasia.net/impact-assessment-of-eco-village-development-projects/

Climate Action Network-International

Climate Resilience Begins at the Village Level

In Majherchar village in coastal Bangladesh, communities are not waiting for climate solutions - they are building them.
Through a community-led eco-village initiative, families have introduced rainwater harvesting, solar-powered water systems and improved cookstoves to strengthen resilience to climate impacts.

💧 Access to safe drinking water has increased from just 10-15% of households to nearly 80%.

☀️ Solar-powered pumps, streetlights and filtration systems provide reliable energy and water.

🌱 Improved cookstoves, biogas and tree planting are reducing emissions and pressure on local resources.

These local solutions are already making a measurable difference - reducing village emissions by around 80 tons of CO₂ per year while improving health, livelihoods and energy access.
Majherchar shows what effective community-driven climate adaptation looks like.

But scaling solutions like these requires international cooperation.

Now that the United Nations General Assembly has responded to the International Court of Justice’s climate ruling, governments must ensure that communities implementing real solutions receive the support they need.

Because for frontline communities, adaptation is not optional - it is survival.
📘 Impact Assessment of Eco-Village Development Projects
🔗 https://cansouthasia.net/impact-assessment-of-eco-village-development-projects/
Climate Action Network-International

🌱 Join Our Webinar: Expectations from SB64, Bonn!
Big climate decisions are coming at SB64 in Bonn (June 8–18) but what do they mean for us in South Asia?

Let’s break it down together with experts.

📅 28 May 2026
⏰ 2:00 PM IST

👉 Save your spot:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fxIdhagdQV6BKjtT3ZUnJA

Don’t miss this important conversation!