Towards climate and extreme heat resilience: Lessons from African and Asian communities

The latest issue of Southasiadisasters.net focuses on climate and extreme heat resilience through lessons emerging from African and Asian communities.

Launched at the Regional Humanitarian Partnership Week (RHPW) 2025 in Bangkok during the session “Voices from the Frontlines: Small Business Adaptation to Extreme Heat and Loss & Damage”, this edition brings forward grounded insights from small businesses, urban practitioners, and community actors. Drawing from cross-regional experiences, the issue highlights how local adaptation, enterprise-led innovation, and community knowledge are shaping practical responses to rising heat stress and climate impacts.

Together, these perspectives reinforce the importance of listening to frontline voices in building inclusive, climate-resilient futures.

In This Issue:

1. At the Frontlines of a Changing Climate: Learning from Small Businesses in Africa and Asia
   Asha Metcalf, Program Director, Global Fairness Initiative, United States of America; Mihir R. Bhatt, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, India
2. Building Heat-Resilient Cities: Lessons from Small Businesses in Urban India
   Vishal Pathak and Aysha Imam, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), India
3. Collaboration for Resilience: Linking Local Institutions, Communities, and Policy Lessons from Nepal
   Pralhad Timilsina, Executive Director, Society for Integrated Allied Nepal (SIAN), Kathmandu, Nepal
4. Girls’ Education: A Sine Qua Non for Climate Resilience
   Dinesh Bhuju, Chair, Resources Himalaya Foundation, Nepal; Professor (Hon.) MICD, Mid-West University, Nepal; Visiting Professor, Northwest University, China
5. Disaster Preparedness and Resilience: Lessons from Tal
   Umesh Basnet and Bhawana Bhusal, Youth Alliance for Environment (YAE), Kathmandu, Nepal
6. A Just Transition in Kenya
   Hanningtone Meyo, Founder, Green Drivers Community, Kenya
7. Building Climate Resilience through Community-Based Forest and Farm Producer Organisations in Ghana
   Takyi Ezekiel Paul, Program Associate, Ghana Federation of Forest and Farm Producers (GhaFFaP)
8. Empowering Rural Communities for Climate Resilience: Lessons from Ghana
   Sandra Efua Attah Dickson, Climate Programs Officer, Alliance for Empowering Rural Communities, Ghana
9. Toward Climate Resilience with a Focus on Adaptation: Lessons from Communities
   Joy Muller, Former, IFRC, Switzerland
10. Towards Climate Resilience: Lessons from Communities in Bangladesh
    Abul Kalam Azad, Senior Environmental & Social Safeguard Specialist, Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Dhaka, Bangladesh
11. Climate Resilience and Cultural Heritage Conservation through Traditional Lime Technology
    R. K. Trivedi, Senior Consultant Heritage, Ex. Faculty. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Delhi, Faculty of the National Archive of India, India
12. Community-Led Ecosystem Services for Climate Resilient India
    Haripriya P S and Shalini Dhyani, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Maharashtra, India
13. Rainfall Extremes and Rural Climate Vulnerability in Upper Assam, India
    Binita Pathak, Aniket Chakraborty, Shukla Acharjee, Niki Gogoi, Anindita Borah, Bikash Deka, Palash Dutta, Rizwan Rahman, Barsha Dutta, Jiban Saikia, Surajit Konwar, and Kalyan Bhuyan, Dibrugarh University, Assam, India
14. Climate Resilience: What Can We Learn from Coastal Communities in Bangladesh?
    Rafiqul Islam Montu, Independent Environment Journalist, Bangladesh
15. Community-Centred Disaster Risk Reduction: Integrating Climate Resilience into Local Planning
    Shyamji, Research Scholar in Disaster Management, TISS, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
16. Youth and Innovation in Climate Resilience: Lessons from Indian Communities
    Monu Kumari, Independent Researcher, India
17. From Lessons to Leadership: The Next Step in Climate and Extreme Heat Resilience in Africa and Asia
    Mihir R. Bhatt, AIDMI, India