A four-day regional workshop was held from February 19 to 22, 2024, in Bangkok on enhancing the capabilities of local urban authorities and relevant stakeholders in developing strategies and action plans that are climate-resilient and effective in reducing disaster risks. The ‘Building Cities’ Resilience to Climate and Disaster Risks’ workshop was organised in a collaborative effort that was spearheaded by Thailand’s Asian Institution of Technology and the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (AIT-RRC-AP), along with key partners, including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, ICLEI South Asia, United Cities and Local Governments, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, UN-Habitat, and the Ministry of Environment, Government of Japan.

The workshop convened 28 representatives, including eight women, from local urban bodies from seven nations: Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Two partner cities of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) programme, namely Karjanha Municipality from Nepal and Lalmonirhat Municipality from Bangladesh, participated in the workshop. Under the third phase of CDKN, ICLEI South Asia is providing technical support to these municipalities to develop inclusive Local Disaster and Resilience Plans of Action (LDRPA), and Climate-Induced Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Action Plans.

At the workshop, ICLEI South Asia led a session on ICLEI’s ClimateResilientCITIES Action Plan tool that helps strengthen city resilience to climate-related challenges. Additionally, Mr. Md. Moin Islam, a town planner from Narayanganj in Bangladesh, shared insights from his city’s experience in developing a Climate Action Plan, enriching the discussion with practical city-level perspectives. The workshop fostered a deeper understanding among city stakeholders regarding the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into local planning and policy development processes. Leveraging the methodology, tools, and templates from the Making Cities Resilient (MCR) 2030 global campaign, participants delved into practical applications that are aligned with the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s Ten Essentials for Resilience. This framework, rooted in the operational ethos of the Sendai Framework at the local level, provides a robust roadmap for cities to fortify their resilience against a spectrum of challenges.