Contending with South Asia's climate crisis

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South Asia's climate vulnerabilities have been taking a major toll across all regional states. Many ordinary people in countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are already experiencing major water stress, severe heat and sea water intrusion into coastal areas. Dealing with these varied problems is a prerequisite for economic sustainability and human development. Yet, there is a dearth of integrated approaches to enable the populous region to become more climate resilient.

At the domestic level, all South Asian countries need increased institutional capabilities to mitigate against climate risks and to better manage precious natural resources. Moreover, given the transboundary nature of climate risks, these problems cannot be solved unilaterally. Consider, for instance, how Bangladesh, Nepal and India share the transborder rivers emerging from the Ganges-Bhramaputra basin. Pakistan and India also have an increasingly stressed treaty that bifurcates the six rivers emerging from the Indus basin. Despite global warming depleting the glaciers which help replenish these river-systems, the top-down water management approaches being used within the regional countries continue to impede using these precious resources in a more holistic manner.

The Global Adaptation Initiative index indicates that several South Asian countries lack adequate readiness to adapt to climate risks despite their high climate vulnerability. The Asia Institute and the World Bank recently launched an initiative to address key South Asian climate threats which acknowledged the need for increased international diplomacy and domestic political will to secure regional cooperation for more effective climate mitigation. Yet, the World Bank has not yet been able to create a robust enough region-wide mechanism to help secure this vital goal.

Climate related collaborations cannot be created overnight. It thus makes sense to sequence priorities. Managing transborder rivers in a more sustainable manner, for instance, necessitates rethinking the intrusive water infrastructure which impedes the natural flow of rivers, creates inter-provincial disputes and exacerbates sea water intrusion. Addressing the alarming level of industrial and agricultural pollution of rivers, and even improving irrigational practices, is also easier than addressing thornier transborder water disputes. For instance, all South Asian countries can internally prioritise water use to enable food and water security of marginalised households, before allowing water to be diverted to grow cash crops, or even to generate hydroelectricity.

Unfortunately, donor agencies and multilateral organisations have not paid sufficient attention to the interconnected causes of water stress, and not put forth any region-wide plan for improving water management practices. Despite lofty promises of rapidly accelerating funding for greening economies in the global south, putting in place climate adaptation measures, and providing 'loss and damage' funds to poorer climate hotspots, progress on the ground remains lackluster. Most donor supported projects approach climate threats in a piecemeal manner, even when natural resources, such as surface or ground water sources, are not neatly contained within national borders.

Neoliberal prescriptions such as promoting public-private partnerships to create innovative climate initiatives, or to incorporate climate resilience into foreign investments, is primarily motivated by the need to bolster profits instead of effectively addressing climate vulnerabilities of the already marginalised. Moreover, the private sector cannot resolve water sharing tussles between neighboring countries already locked in acrimonious ties. More sustainable management of transborder rivers, groundwater reservoirs and wetlands across South Asia requires significant international diplomatic, financial and technical support. Whether the World Bank, or other multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, will step up to this task remains to be seen.