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The report examines the critical but marginalised role of informal waste workers (IWWs) in Asian cities, highlighting their contribution to resource recovery and the circular economy. Through a multi-stakeholder dialogue called the 'Waste Hero Alliance,' youth activists and IWWs identified systemic challenges—including poverty, health risks, and gender-based exclusion—and proposed five key policy visions: standardised waste disposal, official recognition of workers, access to education, affordable healthcare, and cross-sector collaboration. The document argues that a just transition to a circular economy requires integrating these workers into formal municipal systems to ensure decent work and poverty reduction.

The report argues that MDBs fail to deliver genuine climate finance due to flawed accounting methodologies that allow fossil fuel-related projects, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and waste-to-energy incineration, to be counted as climate action. It highlights a systemic bias toward mitigation over adaptation and a preference for loans over grants, which exacerbates debt in the Global South. Specific analysis of the AIIB and ADB reveals transparency gaps, the inclusion of high-emitting projects in climate portfolios, and a failure to integrate gender equality and human rights into climate finance principles.

The document outlines the concept of communication rights, distinguishing them from the narrower 'freedom of expression' by emphasizing the need for structural conditions that allow all individuals to be heard. It identifies four pillars of communication rights: the need for public spaces and resources, the free exchange of knowledge, the protection of dignity and security, and the promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity. The guide warns that global neoliberal capitalism and the concentration of media ownership threaten these rights, leading to cultural homogenization and the marginalization of poor or minority populations.

The paper addresses the lack of systematic tracking for locally led adaptation (LLA) finance, providing governments with metrics to measure both the amount of funding reaching the local level and the extent to which it supports local agency in decision-making. It suggests three primary implementation categories: budget tagging, expenditure review, and integration with existing policy or planning processes. These tools are intended to improve transparency, accountability, and resource mobilization to ensure investments meet the needs of those most affected by climate change.

The executive summary argues that strengthening legal forest rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is a vital tool for mitigating climate change. It finds that forests under strong legal recognition and government protection experience significantly lower deforestation rates than those without such protections. The document emphasizes that legal rights alone are insufficient if governments undermine them through the allocation of resource concessions or failure to prevent illegal encroachments.

The paper examines the challenges of channeling adaptation finance to vulnerable communities, noting a disconnect between national priorities and local needs. It recommends enhancing coordination, clarifying adaptation tagging criteria, and building local capacity to improve the transparency and effectiveness of fund disbursement.

The document examines the difficulties of ensuring adaptation finance reaches the local level and the most vulnerable people. It introduces a framework for assessing finance delivery and notes that the Adaptation Finance Accountability Initiative (AFAI) analyzes specific finance flows in Nepal, the Philippines, Uganda, and Zambia to determine how funds are used and who receives them.

The report introduces a quantitative methodology, first developed in 1988, that utilizes a dynamic land-use model to evaluate and compare the carbon sequestration potential of forestry projects. This approach was applied to assess carbon offset projects in Guatemala, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, and Thailand to provide practical guidance for policy-makers and project planners.

The document analyzes the development of Nepal's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) in September 2010, focusing on how the Ministry of Environment navigated a lack of crucial evidence and information for climate change adaptation decision-making. It notes that these challenges occurred during a period of political transition, federal restructuring, and post-conflict peace processes, with climate change adding further stress through extreme events and weather variability.

The study examines how different electricity supply systems—microgrids, solar home systems (SHS), and the national grid—impact rural households and small businesses in India and Nepal. While general electricity access reduces kerosene use and increases women's time for income-generation, the specific type of system influences outcomes: SHS are most effective at reducing kerosene use, while the national grid correlates with higher appliance ownership. The report suggests that improving developmental impacts requires supply standards, policy support for productive use investments, and further cost-effectiveness research.

The document defines Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) as the devolution of authority and resources to local actors—particularly marginalized groups—to give them agency over the design and delivery of climate adaptation. It highlights a significant funding gap, noting that less than 10% of global climate fund finance reached local levels between 2006-2016. To address this, the document promotes the 8 LLA Principles, launched at the 2021 Climate Adaptation Summit, and calls for 25% of climate finance to be dedicated to LLA, potentially increasing toward the LDC Group's target of 70% by 2030. It emphasizes the necessity of grant-based finance for public goods and low-income communities to build the resilience required to attract larger private investments.

The report provides an economic analysis of securing indigenous land rights in the Amazon basin of Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia. Using matching analysis, it finds that tenure-secure indigenous forestlands have significantly lower deforestation rates than similar non-secure lands. A benefit-cost analysis indicates that the investment is low-cost and high-benefit, with total ecosystem service benefits estimated between $679 and $1,530 billion over 20 years, while costs represent less than 1 percent of these benefits. The report argues that securing indigenous tenure is a more cost-effective carbon mitigation measure than fossil carbon capture and storage. It recommends that governments reform laws to strengthen community land rights and integrate tenure security into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The document outlines how governments monitor climate finance to ensure alignment with climate goals. It highlights that as of 2022, approximately 50 countries—mostly developing nations—have processes to assess climate spending. A key tool discussed is climate budget tagging, used by about 23 countries as of 2023 to identify climate-relevant budget allocations. The guide details specific tagging approaches used in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines, and defines the essential components of an effective tagging program, including transparent methodology, appropriate tools, institutional commitment, and strategic frameworks.

WWF-Nepal and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation translocated 10 adult gharials from Chitwan National Park to a 17.4-mile stretch of the West Rapti River in Banke National Park. The site was selected for its stable temperatures, sandy banks, and low human activity. The project included an acclimatization period, community awareness campaigns involving 122 participants, and the training of four citizen scientists. Monitoring indicates that at least 5 of the translocated crocodiles have been sighted, aligning with a typical 50% survival rate for such releases in Nepal.

Ecological connectivity allows animals to move freely to find food and breed, sustaining natural processes that provide clean air, soil, and water. Human activities—including infrastructure development, deforestation, and overfishing—fragment these habitats, leading to human-wildlife conflict and ecosystem breakdown. Climate change further necessitates connectivity as species must move to adapt to shifting environments. WWF implements restoration strategies such as wildlife corridors and sustainable land-use planning, exemplified by projects in Borneo, Southern Africa, the Mekong region, and the Terai Arc. To scale these efforts, WWF co-created the Wildlife Connect initiative with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and the IUCN WCPA.

A pilot project in Parsa National Park, Nepal, addressed water scarcity affecting over 70% of the park during the dry season, which drives human-wildlife conflict. Interventions included constructing a 1.2-acre artificial wetland, restoring 1.5 acres of wetland at Lauki Daha, and creating a 4.1-mile fireline from Hattisar to Kalidaha. Monitoring via camera traps confirmed use by gaur, Bengal tigers, and other species. Due to these results, the project is scaling up to include a 'wetland network' in Rambhori supported by a 2-kW solar-powered pump and further restorations in Bhata and Kalidaha.

The document outlines the characteristics and ecological role of snow leopards, noting their presence in 12 countries across northern and central Asia. It identifies critical threats to the species, including poaching, human-wildlife conflict, and climate change, the latter of which could eliminate up to 30% of their Himalayan habitat. WWF's conservation efforts focus on reducing retaliatory killings, stopping mining in fragile habitats, and controlling illegal wildlife trade.

The Eastern Himalayas are a highly biodiverse region featuring over 300 mammal species, 1,000 bird species, and 10,000 types of vascular plants. This biodiversity is threatened by infrastructure development, deforestation, poaching, and climate change, which is melting glaciers and increasing flooding. Conservation strategies focus on community-led management, the creation of biological corridors, and the development of wildlife-friendly infrastructure within the 38,000 square mile Greater Himalayan Transboundary Conservation Landscape.

The AHM Project (2012-2017) implemented a climate-smart approach to conservation across 10 demonstration sites in six Asian countries. Key achievements include bringing 2.6 million hectares of land under improved management, benefiting 19,000 people through conflict mitigation with snow leopards, and developing climate-smart landscape and watershed management plans to support the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP).

The document outlines a 'build back safer and greener' framework for Nepal, focusing on minimizing environmental damage during post-disaster recovery. It provides sector-specific guidance on settlements, building construction, waste management, energy, infrastructure, WASH, agriculture, and education. Key strategies include the use of soil bioengineering for landslide stabilization, integrated settlement planning, and the promotion of renewable energy to reduce pressure on forests. The guide emphasizes cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, social inclusion (GESI), and climate change adaptation to enhance long-term community resilience.