South-Central Asia

This project includes (1) the provision of  200 hand pumps, several large pumped water systems, 11 gravity-fed water systems, several rooftop water harvesting systems in schools and over 600 household water storage cisterns, altogether supplying water to 45,000 people in 28 villages; (2) the introduction of new drought-resistant and less water-thirsty plants, rain-fed cultivation technologies, greenhouses and irrigation systems to help agricultural activities withstand drought; (3) the creation of community-based organizations that can not only address ongoing food and income problems, but al

This pilot project aims to strengthen institutional and technical capacities to effectively react and adapt to adverse effects of climate change in three villages in different Jamoats (sub district administrative units) in Varzob District in western Tajikistan. The project created an Adaptation Advisory Group in conjunction with Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, and other research institutions in order to develop technologies or adaptation plans.

The project promotes the restoration and sustainable use of ecosystems along the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka damaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami. It is designed to overcome three key barriers to the restoration of coastal ecosystems and to catalyse a replicable low-cost system. By the end of the project, at least 1,000 ha of coastal lagoons, 75 ha of sand dunes and 250 ha of mangroves will have been rehabilitated and be under sustainable management.

Sri Lanka: Pangu Work-Distribution Practice

The pangu method, practiced in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka, can be seen as a case of “serendipitous” autonomous adaptation.

The project consists of working with participating countries to develop an inventory of glaciers and glacier lakes as well as a GLOF monitoring system.  The data gathered is used as the basis for early warning systems. The database is also used to determine the amount of total available water resources the region will have in the future.

Recovery from weather-related disasters is a great challenge for the Nepalese Government and any future increase in these disasters from enhanced climate variability and change will certainly add to this challenge. As is the case in most developing countries, disaster insurance has not been applied in Nepal as an adaptation mechanism to reduce disaster-related vulnerability. However, community-based micro-insurance schemes in the livestock and cash crop sectors have been successfully established in some villages.

Nepal: Early Warning for Floods in Chitwan

Chitwan is the most flood prone among the districts of Nepal.  People regularly experience losses of land, property and biodiversity as well as food shortages.  The Intermediate Technology Development Group implemented a community-based disaster management program in cooperation with DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness program of the European Commission Humanitarian aid Office) to reduce the impact of floods by strengthening the capacity of local communities to set up early warning systems.

Recently, the Knowledge and Research program from CARE and the Nepal Red Cross Society together with Jaleshwar Municipality began implementing community-based low cost flood risk reduction measures through action planning.  The project enhanced the capacity of communities to cope with and manage flood disasters by building institutional capacities through establishing various committees including, Community Based Disaster Management Committee, Disaster Preparedness Subcommittees, First Aid Subcommittees, Disaster Relief Subcommittees, and Coordination Subcommittees.  These committees were pr

One of the most dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal is the Tsho Rolpa Lake. At an altitude of about 5000m, the size of this lake increased from 0.23 sq.km. in 1957 to 1.65 sq.km. by 1997.  Tsho Rolpa was estimated to store approximately 90-100 million cu.m.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the livelihoods and adaptive capacities of the vulnerable rural communities to the adverse impacts of climate variability and change. The project is conceived of as a pilot project designed to test a two-pronged approach to adaption. The first prong is development and testing of technical adaptation solutions for possible integration into the public watershed and forestry management programs.  The second prong of this project’s test approach is development and implementation of financial instruments, i.e.