South Asian Climate Research Network

South Asian Climate Research Network
Name	South Asian Climate Research Network
Formation	2010s
Type	Research consortium
Headquarters	Colombo
Region served	South Asia
Leader title	Executive Director

Contents

South Asian Climate Research Network The South Asian Climate Research Network is a regional consortium that coordinates climate science, adaptation, and resilience research across South Asia. It links institutions in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan with international agencies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and United Nations Development Programme. The Network facilitates comparative studies, capacity building, and policy engagement involving universities, national meteorological services, and NGOs across the region.

Overview

The Network functions as a hub connecting research centers like the Indian Institute of Science, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Institute of Water Modelling, and Sri Lanka Meteorological Department with funders including the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility. It emphasizes transboundary topics such as monsoon variability, glacier retreat, sea-level rise, urban heat islands, and disaster risk reduction studied by teams from Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Dhaka, Tribhuvan University, Colombo University, and Aga Khan University. The Network also convenes dialogues with policy actors from the SAARC Secretariat, SACEP, World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office, and UNFCCC negotiators.

The consortium emerged from scientific exchanges at forums including the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Asia-Europe Meeting, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation environmental meetings, and workshops sponsored by the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and the Smithsonian Institution in the 2010s. Founding partners included academics from Delhi University, Peshawar University, Chittagong University, and representatives from Ministry of Environment (India), Ministry of Climate Change (Pakistan), Ministry of Environment and Forests (Bangladesh), and Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment (Sri Lanka). Early activities built on prior projects like the Himalayan Climate Change Programme, Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project, and analyses by the Stockholm Environment Institute and International Institute for Environment and Development.

Members range from national science bodies such as the Indian Meteorological Department, Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Nepal Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, and Maldives Meteorological Service to academic partners including IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, University of Karachi, University of Colombo, Kathmandu University, BRAC University, and University of Malaya collaborations. The Network operates through thematic working groups, a steering committee with representatives from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, European Union, and bilateral partners like UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and USAID. Secretariat functions rotate among host institutions such as International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Centre for Policy Research.

Principal research themes include monsoon dynamics (studied alongside Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Monsoon Mission teams), Himalayan cryosphere change (linked with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and GLACIERS Project partners), coastal resilience (engaging Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 analysts and Maldives Climate Change Policy experts), and urban climate adaptation (involving Bengaluru Climate Action Plan and Colombo Municipality initiatives). Programs span climate modelling with groups at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, paleoclimate reconstruction with Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, impact assessment with Asian Development Bank, and citizen science collaborations with Practical Action and Grameen Bank.

The Network maintains formal partnerships with intergovernmental and multilateral entities such as UNEP, UNDP, World Bank Group, and Green Climate Fund as well as research consortia including Future Earth, Climate and Development Knowledge Network, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme. It engages regional bodies such as SAARC and subregional initiatives like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation to promote cross-border data sharing, joint field campaigns with Indian Space Research Organisation and Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, and capacity-building with Commonwealth of Nations training programs.

Funding streams combine multilateral grants from Global Environment Facility, bilateral aid from agencies including DFID, USAID, and Japan International Cooperation Agency, philanthropic support from the Rockefeller Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and competitive research awards from the European Research Council and national science councils such as the Indian Council of Medical Research and Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Governance employs a memorandum of understanding framework modeled on arrangements used by Future Earth and International Council for Science, with oversight boards that include representatives from World Meteorological Organization, IPCC authors, and regional ministers of environment.

The Network has produced policy briefs, technical reports, and peer-reviewed articles in collaboration with journals and publishers such as Nature Climate Change, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Climatic Change, and partnerships with think tanks like Observer Research Foundation and Centre for Science and Environment. Its outputs informed national adaptation plans submitted under UNFCCC and influenced infrastructure guidelines in projects like the Padma Bridge resilience assessments and coastal zone management in Ganges Delta planning. The Network also contributed data to global assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and regional assessments by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank that shaped financing decisions by the Green Climate Fund and national climate strategies.