Dialogue on regional cooperation on adaptation to cascading climate risks in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Implications, barriers and opportunities for India

Summary

BACKGROUND:

The impacts and implications of climate change are not confined by national borders. They affect international trade and supply chains, capital flows, human mobility, as well as natural resources shared regionally and globally. The consequences of climate change, and the measures governments take to respond to them, may be viewed as sub-national and national policy issues, but they also transcend national boundaries and require collaborative remedial action.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) and regional member countries (RMCs) are vulnerable to the cross-border and cascading impacts of climate change which propagate across national and regional borders and pose grave threats to people, biodiversity and sustainability. A regional cooperation mechanism is crucial to coordinate RCMs collective action, effectively respond to the cross-border and cascading nature of climate risk and pursue region-wide resilience.

In a Science-Policy Dialogue to be held in Delhi, India on 3 October 2023, policy makers, stakeholders, experts and practitioners from across the country will discuss the urgent need to build regional cooperation mechanism on adaptation to cascading climate risks and explore what a cooperation mechanism could and should deliver to RMCs and beyond in practice. This dialogue aims to discuss the implications and opportunities of an HKH cooperation mechanism on adaptation for India. These discussions will contribute to a regional Science-Policy Dialogue to be held in Nepal from 10-11 October 2023.

OBJECTIVES:

The India Dialogue aims to engage stakeholders, policy makers, and authorities from different governance levels in India to discuss cascading climate risks of importance to India and benefits of a regional cooperation mechanism to address them. During the course of this dialogue, participants will explore opportunities, barriers and potential entry points for India to engage and collaborate with other countries in the region on managing cascading climate risks.