Climate Change & Civil Society
Case Studies
The 2026 Nepal Floods: Policy recommendations to strengthen civil society capacities
Post-disaster reflections point to the need for deeper integration of community knowledge into early-warning systems, and institutional mechanisms for youth.
The 2026 Nepal floods stood as reminder on the critical role of civil society and the need to systematically build its capacity. Pre-existing humanitarian partnerships, community-based monitoring and youth-led technical…
The 2026 Nepal Floods: Lessons from India's Wayanad landslides on climate anomalies and disaster preparedness
Both disasters reiterate the need for mechanisms to monitor slow-building geological and climatic precursors in terrains already known to be fragile
On 26 August, a glacial collapse in the Langtang Himal Region of northern Nepal, adjoining the Tibet Autonomous Region of China triggered catastrophic flash floods and landslides, causing a 5.2 magnitude seismic event.
The 2026 Nepal Floods: The Civil society responses, Lessons learned, and Challenges ahead
Under Nepal's federal framework, local governments are the primary line of disaster response
The 2026 Nepal Floods: The Gyirong Glacier, Vulnerabilities along China-Nepal border in the Himalayas, and the Crisis response
What triggered the collapse, what does the disaster reveal about development choices on the border, how has the Chinese state responded, what lessons are being drawn, and how is Beijing framing the event?
The 2026 Nepal Floods: The Challenge of remote regions, Early warning and Disaster response mechanisms in Nepal
The Himalayan region is highly sensitive to glacial collapses, ice-rock avalanches, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), because of its cascading nature, where one disaster is almost always accompanied by another.
The volunteer group that became a model for citizen-led environmental action in Chennai
How "Chitlapakkam Rising" combined science, community, and collaboration to reduce flood risk
How 'Chitlapakkam Rising' combined technical expertise with sustained community organising — from weekly clean-up drives to a government-funded cut-and-cover drain — to keep the locality flood-free during Cyclone Michau…
The Flood that changed a suburb in Chennai
How local residents became climate responders in Medavakkam
How repeated flooding around Medavakkam Periya Eri turned residents like Arjun Shankar into citizen climate responders — leading postcard campaigns, citizen audits, and RTIs to push for lake restoration and flood mitiga…
Strengthening Climate Resilience among Fisherwomen in Kanyakumari
How the Organisation for Community Development (OCD) is building climate resilient
coastal communities in the district
OCD, led by Executive Secretary S Daniboy Virgit, has worked for decades among Kanyakumari's indigenous Mukkuvar fishing communities — organising thousands of fisherwomen into self-help groups, protecting nearly 100 hec…
Jadav Payeng, often called the “Forest Man of India,” spent roughly four decades planting trees on a barren sandbar along the Brahmaputra River in Assam
What began as a personal effort to restore damaged land slowly grew into a vast green expanse of about 1,360 acres, now known as Molai Forest
Jadav Payeng, often called the "Forest Man of India," spent roughly four decades planting trees on a barren sandbar along the Brahmaputra River in Assam. What began as a personal effort to restore damaged land grew into…
A Community in Crisis Combats Drought with Resilient Solutions
How women leaders in Sri Lanka’s Monaragala district build resilient solutions against drought and land degradation
In villages facing five months of annual drought, the Uva Wellassa Women's Organisation introduced soil ridges, native reforestation with Kumbuk and Mee trees, drip irrigation, and organic farming — transforming hardshi…
Heatwaves and a Hospital Ward
How a government hospital in Chhattisgarh adapt to climate-linked health emergencies
Dr. Ashishan Kumar Minj, Chief Surgeon at Durg district hospital, describes a dedicated "loo prabandhan" ward with ice-making equipment and immersion baths — infrastructure built specifically to manage the rising surge …
Women holding communities together
How a NGO in Chhattisgarh pursue grassroots activism and address the invisible gendered burden of climate vulnerability
Nidhi Chandrakar, women's NGO founder and grassroots social worker, describes how climate disruptions intensify responsibilities placed on women — and how seed ball initiatives, organic craft programmes, and social empo…
When the fields burn before harvest
How a farming family in India’s Chhattisgarh state address rising temperatures, crop loss, and the uncertainty of survival in climate-sensitive agriculture
In a village near Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, farmer Rameshwari Kamdi and her husband describe how extreme heat has devastated their crops, burning bhindi, onions, and seasonal vegetables before harvest despite daily wateri…