The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) Asia successfully conducted a two-day regional training workshop in New Delhi, India, on the 18th and 19th of November, 2019.

The workshop’s objective was to engage with and provide training to local governments as well as training institutes and organisations on the concepts and processes of climate resilience planning, circular economy, gender and social inclusion, and climate finance based on training modules developed by CDKN and ICLEI South Asia.

It also helped to encourage requests for further similar trainings from Nepal, Bangladesh and India. More than 80 participants from three countries, including local government officials, Mayors and Deputy Mayors from India, Nepal and Bangladesh and Knowledge Basis Project (KBP) partners, participated in the training programme.

The workshop began by focusing on the definition of knowledge brokering – which is essentially collecting information from various sources and providing it to those who need it – and its importance in the current times.

The workshop was divided into four sessions, each consisting of a brief presentation on the concepts of climate resilience planning, circular economy, gender and social inclusion, and climate finance, followed by a panel discussion with experts giving examples of the work being done on these issues. There were breakout sessions as well as open discussions between sessions to attract the maximum participation.

"I feel India, and South Asia as a larger region, are going to make the biggest impact in terms of climate action from cities," Raina Singh, Senior Fellow, National Institute of Urban Affairs, said during the panel discussion.

Talking about resilience, Kamal Devkota, Programme Director, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies, Nepal, said, "The meaning of resilience is different for different cities. They have to take different approaches. Of course, the crux of building resilience is the same. But the concept of resilience building is evolving all the time."

During the panel discussion on gender and social inclusion, Aditi Kapoor, Director, Alternative Futures and Climate & Resilience Advisor, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre said, "Mapping the needs of women in rural and urban areas is important. Vulnerability assessment needs to be done. Their needs are going to be very different in rural and urban areas.”