Asia

Region: Asia

Asia:

Projects
87
Resources
177
Stories
381
Feature
4th November 2025
Rethinking climate and biodiversity finance through a rights-based lens When we talk about financing the response to climate change and biodiversity loss, the discussion often turns to numbers; how much is being pledged, how much is being spent, how big the gap remains. But as became clear during a recent Paris Committee on Capacity-building Network (PCCB) webinar, finance is never just about figures. It reflects the choices we make about what, who and, how we value.
Active
Project
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Finance for resilience

CDKN’s Finance for Resilience priority area promotes flexible, inclusive and locally led financing systems that enable communities, institutions, and ecosystems to prepare for, adapt to, and transform in the face of climate risks.  

Feature
21st October 2025
Beyond the mitigation-adaptation binary: How funders can embrace the Resilience Continuum For far too long, philanthropy has been approaching intervention on the climate crisis from a series of binaries – adaptation vs mitigation, immediate vs long-term, etc. As we hurtle toward static solutions in the midst of climate devastation and polycrisis, we should be considering what it means to work along Resilience Continuum. This is an abridged version of an article originally published in Alliance Magazine. 
Event
16th October 2025
CDKN in Panama for CBD SBSTTA-27 and SB8j-1 meetings CDKN’s Ecosystem-Based Adaptation Thematic Lead, Nadia Sitas, will represent CDKN at multiple events during CBD SBSTTA‑27 and SB‑8j1 in Panama. 
Resource
13th October 2025
Empowering women through forest-based enterprises in Nepal This case study explores how grassroots women-led forest enterprises in Nepal are turning traditional knowledge into eco-products that boost incomes and support sustainable forest management. Written by Mairi Dupar, senior technical advisor at CDKN, and Kanchan Lama, a senior gender expert and Indigenous People's champion from Nepal, it was published as a background paper for the Asian Development Bank's Asia Pacific Climate Report 2025. Below are the main takeaways.
Feature
12th September 2025
Devolving climate finance: Lessons from a Kenya-Nepal peer exchange on locally-led adaptation The following blog by Rahul Singh, Esperanza Karaho and Megh Dhoj Adhikari, explores Kenya’s devolved climate finance model, which empowers local communities to lead climate adaptation planning and implementation. A peer‑exchange led by CDKN enabled Nepalese municipal and provincial representatives to observe Kenya’s approach firsthand, which, if implemented in Nepal could help bridge its local funding gaps.
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Project
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Gender Equity and Social Inclusion: Priority action area

The GESI priority area focuses on empowering those most affected by climate change, including women, girls, youth, Indigenous communities, people living with disabilities (PLWD), and other disadvantaged groups.

Feature
10th July 2025
Challenges of climate change adaptation: Insights from vulnerability assessments of Dhulikhel and Karjanha Municipalities in Nepal The following blog, by Manju Adhikari and Rahul Singh of CDKN Asia, highlights Nepal’s significant vulnerability to climate change.Vulnerability assessments highlight that impact is disproportionately felt by those facing marginalisation. As a result, localised adaptation plans need to address both climate hazards and the needs of marginalised groups.
Resource
30th April 2025
Empowering Himalayan communities with solar micro-grids in Ladakh This case study examines the role that solar micro-grids have played in empowering remote communities in Ladakh, a region high in the Indian Himalayas. These systems have provided an alternative in areas that have long struggled with limited power due to harsh terrain and sparse populations, which have made extending the national grid unfeasible. Prior to this, many households relied on polluting and inefficient fossil fuels like kerosene, diesel, and firewood, sources that posed health risks and contributed to climate change.
Feature
26th March 2025
What do knowledge brokers working on locally-led adaptation need to get right to enhance their impact? This was one of the questions we posed to project partners involved in the Step Change initiative, who recently met in Arusha, Tanzania. CDKN facilitated a session using the 'All hands on deck' card game to bring out the most important aspects of their knowledge brokering approaches.
Feature
7th February 2025
How better urban planning and design can help Rajkot beat the heat Rapid urbanisation and global climate change are contributing to the urban heat island (UHI) effect in cities across the world. Anuradha Adhikari of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability South Asia (ICLEI South Asia) and Nilesh Prajapati (GFA Consulting Group GmbH) share recommendations for reducing the urban heat island effect in Rajkot, India, providing an example for other cities.
Feature
30th January 2025
Landmark science-policy assessment highlights the importance of integrated strategies in addressing interlinked global crises CDKN's EbA lead, Nadia Sitas, was a coordinating lead author and part of the negotiation team for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Nexus Assessment. She reports on the latest global assessments, which were approved in December 2024.