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The report examines the vulnerability of Asia's High Mountains (AHM) to climate change, highlighting risks from glacial melt, extreme weather, and water scarcity. It details the varying responses of mountain ranges—such as the retreat of most glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya versus stability in the Karakorum—and analyzes the resulting threats to human health, agriculture, and infrastructure. The document evaluates current adaptation strategies, including livelihood diversification and community-based water management, while identifying critical data gaps in permafrost and groundwater storage. It concludes with recommendations for regional cooperation in disaster risk management and the synchronization of national and local climate policies.

This guide by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) examines the technical, operational, and institutional barriers that prevent disaster risk assessments from effectively informing public policy and investment decisions. Drawing on research from Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as case studies from Ghana, India, and Pakistan, the document provides a framework for improving the 'uptake' of risk information to support the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA2).

The guide argues that effective mainstreaming of disaster risk management (DRM) requires a supportive policy environment, strong leadership, accurate risk knowledge, consistent financing, and innovation. It highlights that DRM is often compartmentalised from climate change and sectoral development, leading to 'risk-blind' decisions. The document proposes overcoming these barriers through strategic inter-ministerial coordination, the use of cost-benefit analyses to prove the economic value of risk-informed planning, and the engagement of the private sector. It emphasizes that mainstreaming is a political process that requires inclusive, multi-stakeholder platforms and visionary leadership to navigate vested interests and institutional inertia.

The document identifies significant gaps between the production of disaster risk assessments and their application in policy, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. It argues that risk assessments often fail because they are treated as one-off projects rather than continuous processes, lack alignment with political timescales, and are presented in overly technical language. To improve uptake, the guide recommends engaging end-users in design, targeting sectoral agendas, and building local technical capacity.

The document outlines the observed and projected climate impacts in South Asia, emphasizing the region's vulnerability to flooding, heat-related mortality, and food insecurity. It argues that while further warming is inevitable, integrated adaptation and low-carbon development can reduce risks and provide economic opportunities, provided there is strong international cooperation and financial support.

The document translates the global findings of the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report into a regional context for South Asia, detailing observed warming, projected risks to food and water security, and the potential for low-carbon development. It emphasizes that while further warming is inevitable, integrated adaptation and mitigation can protect development gains and offer economic opportunities.

The paper argues that fossil-fuel subsidies in Emerging and Developing Asia, totaling US$104 billion in 2011, represent a significant opportunity to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It contends that these subsidies are regressive, primarily benefiting wealthier populations while undermining investments in renewable energy and public health. Using case studies from the Philippines and Indonesia, the document demonstrates how transitioning from universal subsidies to targeted social welfare programs and fuel taxation can improve fiscal health and social equity. The author recommends that the SDGs explicitly include a goal to phase out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies by 2030 to encourage national reforms.

The document argues that the US-Afghan relationship failed because Washington prioritised its global agenda and military objectives over respect for Afghan sovereignty and the needs of the Afghan people. Key failures identified include the US refusal to marginalise warlords, a 'light footprint' approach that delayed the creation of a national army and police, and a donor system that bypassed the Afghan government. The author highlights civilian casualties as a primary trigger for tension, noting that US cultural insensitivity and a lack of accountability fueled perceptions of occupation. The transition to the Obama administration is described as a period of further deterioration due to a lack of personal engagement with President Karzai and perceived interference in Afghan internal politics. The paper concludes that future stability depends on a 'reset' based on mutual respect and a genuine commitment to Afghan ownership.

The snow leopard is considered resilient to direct near-term climate impacts due to high temperature tolerance and dispersal ability, but remains potentially vulnerable due to small population size and indirect climate stressors. Key threats include poaching, habitat encroachment, and the potential for disease transmission from livestock and feral dogs. Recommended strategies focus on securing the prey base, filling knowledge gaps in genetics and disease, and helping human populations adapt to climate change to reduce retaliatory killings and habitat degradation.

The report documents a pattern of violence and judicial harassment against land and environmental rights defenders in 2013. It argues that these individuals are particularly vulnerable as global competition for land and resources increases, often facing threats from government forces and corporations. The document provides specific case studies from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, detailing arrests, murders, and forced evictions linked to opposition against extractive industries, mega-projects, and agribusiness.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of nanotechnology's expansion across Asia-Pacific, detailing national initiatives in countries such as India, China, Japan, and Australia. It highlights a critical gap between rapid commercialization and the lack of specific regulatory frameworks to manage health and environmental risks. The document details potential hazards, including the asbestos-like pathogenicity of carbon nanotubes and the ecotoxicity of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles. It further analyzes the potential for nanotechnology to displace employment through product multifunctionality and increased durability. Finally, it discusses the role of the Strategic Approach for International Chemical Management (SAICM) in establishing global guidance for the sound management of manufactured nanomaterials.

The report identifies Pakistan as highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, economic dependence on agriculture, and high poverty levels. It evaluates the 2013 National Climate Change Plan (NCCP) and the impact of the 18th Amendment, which devolved environmental responsibility to provinces. The document proposes ten priority action areas across policy, governance, technical capacity, and capacity building, while drawing lessons from adaptation planning in Kenya and the Dominican Republic.

The report argues that traditional conservation policies relying on regulation and financial incentives are often insufficient because they ignore the psychological and social drivers of human behavior. It proposes a 'soft policy' approach using 'nudges'—small changes in the decision-making context—to encourage voluntary pro-environmental actions. The authors identify five primary 'areas of influence' for behavior change: attitudes, personal agency, emotions, social norms, and the environmental/decision context. To improve conservation outcomes, the report recommends that practitioners explicitly use social science evidence, track social indicators alongside ecological ones, and employ experimental or quasi-experimental designs to identify causal relationships between interventions and behavioral changes.

The paper introduces a framework to analyze food system resilience to climate change, moving from the household as the locus of food security up to community and national scales. It proposes two 'spinwheel' tools: one for food security analysis and one for resilience analysis, integrating system, agent, and institutional criteria. The framework is applied through the CREFSCA project in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, utilizing the CRiSTAL tool for community-level assessments.

The report introduces a framework for assessing climate resilience in food systems, moving from the household level up to national policy. It presents two analytical tools: 'Roulette 1' for food security analysis and 'Roulette 2' for resilience analysis. The framework emphasizes that resilience is an emergent property of system interactions and suggests specific indicators for food utilization, access, availability, and supporting infrastructure. The tools are designed to be applied through participatory processes, such as the CRiSTAL-SAN tool, to help policymakers and local practitioners identify vulnerabilities and develop long-term adaptation strategies in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Civil society organizations are urging the World Bank to integrate the Inspection Panel's twenty years of experience into its safeguard policy review, arguing that the Panel's investigations provide a critical feedback loop for institutional learning.

The document details CDKN's support for Bangladesh in leading the global debate on loss and damage and its research into climate-induced displacement. It highlights the 'Adaptation Policy Options' project, which collects data on migration in five districts to inform policy, and the 'Action Research on Community Adaptation in Bangladesh' (ARCAB) programme, which focuses on long-term community-based adaptation and monitoring.

The document details CDKN's efforts in India, focusing on integrating climate change with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and promoting green growth. Key initiatives include addressing heat-health vulnerability in Ahmadabad, improving disaster management planning in Leh, and researching climate-adapted shelter design. It also highlights the challenges facing the adoption of green construction technologies in India, such as lack of technical capacity, inadequate assessment tools, and bureaucratic hurdles.

The document details CDKN's support for Pakistan, focusing on three main areas: climate-resilient reconstruction in Punjab, the development of a national disaster risk insurance strategy, and technical capacity building for UNFCCC COP negotiations. It also highlights the launch of Pakistan's National Climate Change Policy in February 2013, which prioritizes adaptation in water, agriculture, and forestry, while addressing mitigation and disaster preparedness.

The document analyzes the bipolar rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia within the Persian Gulf Regional Security Complex, examining how their competition for ideological leadership, regional security dominance, and energy market control influences their strategic engagement in Afghanistan. It explores the role of global powers—the USA, Russia, and China—in reinforcing these regional divisions and assesses the potential for a cooperative security architecture in the region.