Regional Workshop on Climate Finance for River Basin Resilience

TROSA places a strong emphasis on empowering youth and women as leaders in transboundary cooperation and climate action. With their unique perspectives, innovative ideas, and deep community connections, they are pivotal in shaping inclusive water governance and advancing community-based climate finance solutions.

To build on this leadership, ADPC organized a Regional Workshop on Climate Finance for River Basin Resilience. The 3-day workshop, from 16-18 November 2025, held in Bangkok, Thailand, brought together 11 women and youth representatives from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan to strengthen their skills, networks, and confidence to drive climate finance solutions across shared river basins. It also included the six women and youth leaders who had previously participated in ADPC’s training programs. Representatives from government agencies, development partners, NGOs, academia, think tanks, and private sector actors supporting climate finance and water resilience were also part of the workshop.

The workshop included technical sessions, group activities, panel discussion, and a regional dialogue. The sessions led by technical experts covered topics such as climate change, river basin challenges, climate finance, global and regional trends, and innovative financing instruments.

The panel discussion focused on the critical contributions of youth and women to community-based climate finance in river basin areas. The session brought together experts representing academic, development, and regional organizations. Panelists shared insights on how youth and women contribute to inclusive water governance, strengthen community resilience, and advance climate finance initiatives across transboundary river basins.

Panelists included:

• Mokbul Morshed Ahmad, Head, Department of Development and Sustainability, Asian Institute of Technology
• Vishwa Ranjan Sinha, Senior Programme Officer, IUCN Asia Regional Office
• Momota Hena, Gender Mainstreaming Officer, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

Group activities included brainstorming and co-creating inclusive climate finance solutions for river basin resilience. It also encouraged conversations among participants that explored alignment with national frameworks, project delays, governance issues, mitigation bias, regional cooperation, and capacity constraints. Participants also shared their real-life experiences.

The multi-stakeholder regional dialogue was convened to examine the opportunities and challenges associated with mobilizing climate finance for community-based adaption. Youth and women leaders presented their proposals and innovative concepts, highlighting the importance of community-driven approaches in enhancing resilience across river basin areas.

Their contributions were followed by a discussion and open exchange with representatives from IUCN, UNDRR, World Food Programme, Asian Institute of Technology, Oxfam, and the Thai Red Cross Society, who provided perspectives on strengthening inclusive and effective climate finance mechanisms.

In conclusion, the regional workshop did not just offer insights and knowledge; it also fostered strong engagement and peer learning, helping the 11 participants ensure equitable, impactful, and community-driven solutions in their areas of work and promoting collaboration and partnerships for inclusive climate finance to support transboundary river basin resilience.

Participants

1. Repaul Kanji , Technical Lead and Co-founder, GRRID Corps
2. Sufia Khanom, Senior Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS)
3. Tilasmi Aryal, Engineer, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Government of Nepal
4. Nitika Singla, Disaster Management Professional, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Punjab, India
5. Salik Bhusal, Engineer, Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, Government of Nepal
6. Yasha Mannan, Programme Officer-Water Cooperation, Oxfam in Bangladesh
7. Sonam Wangchuk, Youth Volunteer, Bhutan Red Cross Society
8. Madhulika Shome, Programme Manager, NEADS, India
9. Asmita Joshi, Program Officer- TROSA II, CRDS, Nepal
10. Marzahan Akter Shetu, Volunteer, CNRS, Bangladesh
11. Zerin Ahmed, Technical Coordinator, TROSA, Oxfam in Asia, Bangladesh