Organisation:
ICLEI

Organisation:
ICLEI

Website:

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is an association of over 1220 local government Members who are committed to sustainable development. Our Members come from 70 different countries and represent more than 569,885,000 people.

ICLEI is an international association of local governments as well as national and regional local government organizations who have made a commitment to sustainable development.
ICLEI provides technical consulting, training, and information services to build capacity, share knowledge, and support local government in the implementation of sustainable development at the local level. Our basic premise is that locally designed initiatives can provide an effective and cost-efficient way to achieve local, national, and global sustainability objectives.

Most recent content from this organisation

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Locally-led adaptation priority area

The risks faced by people and ecosystems in a changing climate vary from one locality to another. It’s partly a question of physical geography and partly a question of the human factors – social, economic, cultural – that make people resilient or vulnerable to climate hazards. That is why adaptation should be locally-led. Adaptation is most effective when it is centred on people’s human rights and driven by the knowledge and needs that local people, especially the most marginalised groups, bring to the table.

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.
News
20th May 2025
CDKN at Rise Africa Festival 2025 The Rise Africa Festival 2025 takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 25-29 May. CDKN will be co-convening a two-day workshop on 29 and 30 May to explore human rights-based approaches (HRBA) for biodiversity and climate action in cities.
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
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
13th December 2024
Resilience in action: Implementing locally-led adaptation in Bangladesh Bangladesh, a country vulnerable to a wide range of climate-related disasters, such as tropical cyclones, floods, coastal erosion, droughts and landslides, has limited coping capacity or budget to adapt and respond to these disasters at the community level. However, communities in coastal, drought-prone and flood-prone regions are demonstrating the power and effectiveness of locally-led adaptation (LLA) efforts to build resilience to climate-related challenges.
Feature
20th May 2024
From frost to flow: An exemplary community-led initiative for water supply in Ladakh, India Damini Rathore of ICLEI South Asia highlights the success of a pilot project to supply water to remote areas in Ladakh, India during winter. The initiative sets an example for how to provide a constant water supply and has established the critical role of smart water management systems.
Feature
4th April 2024
Revitalising Alappuzha's canals with community collaboration: A case study of urban transformation in Kerala, India For World Water Day 2024, Damini Rathore of ICLEI South Asia analyses the roles of appropriate technology, capacity development and community engagement in a case study of urban transformation in the city of Alappuzha, in southern India.
Feature
12th October 2023
Unlocking climate finance for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in coastal Bangladesh Makame Mahmud and Jubaer Rashid of CDKN Asia share their insights on a project that assessed climate financing opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Bangladesh's southwestern coastal areas. The region is known for agriculture, aquaculture and handicrafts, with women entrepreneurs playing a significant role. Sector-specific impacts are identified and key recommendations are outlined for improving the climate resilience of MSMEs in the region.
Feature
20th September 2023
Ecosystem-based approaches for just climate action in African cities: Seven takeaways from Africa Climate Week CDKN, ICLEI Africa, PlanAdapt and World Resources Institute colleagues reflect on a recent session held at Africa Climate Week that focused on the importance of equitable ecosystem-based approaches as a means to address climate challenges. Several nature-based solution pathways for action are highlighted that have the greatest potential for driving change in African cities.
Event
27th July 2023
CDKN at Daring Cities 2023 Daring Cities, hosted by ICLEI and the Federal City of Bonn, is a global forum on climate change for urban leaders taking on the climate emergency. CDKN will be co-hosting a session during the Virtual Forum. Find out more and register below.
Resource
16th November 2022
A compendium of finance sources and instruments to support climate action in Bangladesh, India and Nepal This compendium provides an overview of the climate finance landscape in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, and includes recommendations for accessing, planning, using and monitoring climate finance in the three countries.
Resource
14th November 2022
Nature-based Solutions for urban climate resilience in South Asia: Case studies from Bangladesh, India and Nepal This compendium provides concrete examples of Nature-based Solutions implemented in urban areas in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. 15 case studies have been documented to assist governments at all levels as well as practitioners, NGOs, civil society and academics to plan, implement, replicate and scale NbS.
News
14th December 2021
New research supports a gender-equal recovery through low-carbon innovation A new IDRC-supported research programme aims to help ensure that low- and middle-income countries' economic responses to the Covid-19 pandemic are inclusive and sustainable. CDKN will be the knowledge partner for the Gender Equality in a Low Carbon World programme.
Feature
29th August 2021
Plastic waste management in Hyderabad, India - From a linear to a circular economy Anuradha Adhikari of ICLEI South Asia describes how the pilot installation of ‘reverse vending machines’ for plastic in a South Indian city is providing multiple environmental and community benefits.
Resource
16th June 2021
Weaving knowledge and action on climate change, 2018-2021 Since 2018, a second phase of CDKN called the ‘Knowledge Accelerator’ has focused on growing our ‘knowledge-in-action’ services, as well as further cultivating climate leadership, learning and collaboration within and across developing countries. Read some of the highlights from the past three years’ work.
Resource
25th March 2021
Policy Brief: Supporting climate action through gender-responsive budgeting in Nepal This policy brief discusses the major knowledge gaps in gender-responsive budgeting, and gives recommendations for strengthening the implementation of gender-responsive strategies to build a sustainable, climate-resilient society.
Resource
17th February 2021
Policy Brief: Peri-urban ecosystems - The potential for a planned approach in India This brief examines the importance of peri-urban ecosystems and outlines possible policy responses in India to preserve and manage these areas to contribute to sustainable and climate resilient development.
News
25th May 2020
New case studies from South Asia showcase best practice from the region This week, CDKN is launching a new case study series on best practice examples of climate compatible development in South Asia. The series explores themes related to finance, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy and the empowerment of women.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case study: Women-led forums enhance livelihoods and reduce risks to climate hazards This case study highlights the role of women-led forums in enhancing livelihoods and raising womens’ voices in local planning and decision-making.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case Study: Scaling-up solar PV in water supply services in Rajkot, India This case study showcases how the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at a water treatment plant in Rajkot has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and inspired the municipality to scale-up in other parts of the city.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case study: Innovative rainwater harvesting empowers women in Gujarat, India This case study showcases how an innovative rainwater harvesting technology has empowered women and strengthened climate resilience in Gujarat.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case study: Groundbreaking climate-smart agricultural model empowers rural women in Maharashtra This case study showcases the success of a women-led climate-smart agricultural model in enhancing women’s livelihoods, incomes and food security.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case study: Bangladesh Bank’s fund for a green garment sector This case study showcases the role played by the Bangladesh Bank in supporting the garment sector to become more sustainable through providing finance for environmentally-friendly machinery.
Resource
25th May 2020
Case study: Ahmedabad issues municipal bonds to implement green projects This case study showcases the city of Ahmedabad’s experience in successfully raising funds through municipal bonds to finance climate-resilient urban development. 
Feature
23rd January 2020
RURBAN solution might be the answer for India's water management A new platform and set of tools developed by ICLEI-South Asia called ‘RURBAN Platform’ seeks to help city managers work in a more collaborative and ‘climate-smart’ way.
Feature
14th February 2019
New streamlined reporting will help local governments step up climate action ICLEI and CDP have launched a collaboration to simplify the climate reporting process to better support subnational governments to take faster and further action.
Feature
18th February 2016
From Quito to Kathmandu – Sharing experience on climate compatible development CDKN and ICLEI partners gathered in Kathmandu, Nepal to exchange experiences on local and subnational climate compatible development. Keshab Thapa of LI-BIRD Nepal co-hosted the exchange - and reports here on the major themes.
Feature
28th August 2015
Quito: A local government at work to achieve climate compatible urban development Alice Reil, ICLEI European Secretariat, reports from a learning exchange organised by CDKN and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability in Quito, Ecuador in late July. The gathering kicked off a new learning endeavour among the organisations and their partners to understand the success factors for delivering and scaling up climate compatible development from the local level.
News
19th August 2015
For a safer future: Insights on climate resilience from India A new film released by CDKN with the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group, ICLEI and TERI tells the story of how local communities and government in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India are preparing for the more frequent and damaging floods caused by climate change.
Feature
20th March 2015
"There can be no resilient cities without resilient people" February saw the first Resilient Cities congress taking place in Bangkok.
Event
26th January 2015
Learning from CDKN’s city experience CDKN presents a webinar on the effect of extreme heat on public health, examining the implementation of Ahmedabad's Heat Action Plan. The webinar will take place on 3 February.
Event
28th May 2014
Join CDKN at Resilient Cities 2014 Join CDKN and ICLEI for their joint side event at 'Resilient Cities 2014: Making Climate Compatible Development Pay For Local Communities'
Feature
10th April 2014
Building leadership on local level adaptation Jenny Clover from ICLEI Africa reflects on efforts to establish a community of practice around Ecosystems-based Adaptation approaches within African cities
Feature
15th November 2013
Devolution or revolution? How do governments create the conditions for cities to take action on climate change? The battle for climate compatible development will be won or lost in cities, argues Alison Cambray, after spending time with 400 leaders of African municipalities at the Local Climate Solutions for Africa Congress in Dar es Salaam.
News
9th September 2013
CDKN endorses ICLEI's Local Climate Solutions for Africa Congress 2013 The pan-African Congress provides a unique opportunity to engage African local leaders and experts on urban sustainability in Africa.
Feature
7th June 2011
When pressure on cities leads to innovation The challenge for cities in a changing climate is: how to move beyond vulnerability to adaptation, and beyond adaptation to resilience? CDKN's Pati Leon and Caroline Spencer report from the Second Resilient Cities Congress