As part of the Enhancing Local Capacities in Socially Inclusive Resilience in Asia (SIRA) Project, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia, successfully conducted two virtual orientation sessions for local government representatives in Nepal and Bangladesh on 22 and 23 April 2025, respectively. These sessions kick-started the project’s capacity-building initiative to strengthen inclusive urban resilience across selected regional cities. Supported by the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) under the CLARE (CLimate Adaptation and REsilience) programme, the SIRA Project focuses on advancing climate adaptation through social inclusion, with a priority on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI). 

Nepal Orientation

The session for Nepal introduced the SIRA project’s training themes, module structure, and detailed training calendar, alongside the associated internship programme. A total of 43 participants (6 women, 37 men)- including the designated focal person, joined from 16 municipalities- Nagarjun Municipality, Namobuddha Municipality, Manthali Municipality, Vyas Municipality, Birendranagar Municipality, Chhayanath Rara Municipality, Dhankuta Municipality, Suryodaya Municipality, Hariyon Municipality, Kohalpur Municipality, Thakurbaba Municipality, Tilottama Municipality, Jaya Prithivi Municipality and Belauri Municipality and two Sub Metropolitan City –Hetauda and Dhangadhi Sub Metropolitan City, also including representatives from three local NGOs and two universities- Far Western Universities and  Centre for Water Resource Study, Institute of Engineering under Tribhuwan University.

Emani Kumar, Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI, and Executive Director, ICLEI South Asia, welcomed the participants and thanked the funders, emphasising the need for local action on climate change and ICLEI’s role in building municipal resilience through the SIRA project. 

Arjan De Haan, Climate Specialist, IDRC, New Delhi, underlined the CLARE programme’s aim to connect science with local action, noting its support for tools and capacity-building to address climate impacts like floods and pollution.

Suman Subedi, Under Secretary at the Climate Change Management Division (CCMD) of Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment, highlighted the need for a collaborative, society-wide approach and affirmed the ministry’s support in integrating climate action into local planning through the SIRA project.

The event helped participants familiarise themselves with the training topics, delivery methods, structure of the training modules and training schedule. Participants from Nepal were informed about good practices on the relevant training themes that could be showcased in the training sessions, including spring shed management, organic farming, landfill management, and GESI-integrated community-based DRR efforts. For the internship programme, local governments requested it to be arranged in such a manner that interns could support in developing technical documents that they were unable to create effectively. 

Bangladesh Orientation 

The Bangladesh session brought together around 40 participants, including designated focal persons from 16 municipalities – Dhaka North City Corporation, Rajshahi City Corporation, Rangpur City Corporation, and the municipalities of Madaripur, Munshiganj, Naohata, Singra, Kushtia, Sirajganj, Mongla Port, Chalna, Lalmonirhat, Narsingdi, Bogura, Chapainawabganj, and Patuakhali – as well as academic experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

Heidi Braun, Senior Program Officer, CLARE, emphasised the significance of linking research and practice.“The CLARE programme focuses not only on advancing scientific knowledge but also on strengthening institutional capacities to act on climate risks, with a strong emphasis on GESI inclusion. I encourage you all to actively engage, share your experiences, and co-create locally relevant solutions for resilient urban development,” she said.

A S M Marjan Nur, Climate and Environment Adviser at FCDO Bangladesh, acknowledged the initiative’s relevance and timeliness. “The SIRA project comes at a critical time for Bangladesh. Strengthening climate resilience at the local level is essential, and we must ensure that capacity-building efforts are inclusive, responsive, and aligned with national adaptation priorities,” he remarked.

A one-year training calendar was presented to the participants, outlining the shortlisted training topics along with the planned number of offline and online sessions. Trainings will be organized across three key regions — Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Khulna — based on the selected municipalities and city corporations, and will include peer learning opportunities to highlight local best practices. To enhance knowledge exchange, city officials were encouraged to share successful, similar initiatives from their own municipalities. Participants also recommended integrating relevant international best practices to enrich the learning experience.

These orientation programmes marked a significant milestone in preparing local governments in Nepal and Bangladesh for the SIRA capacity-building journey. The sessions effectively kicked off the project’s next steps – of establishing a strong direction for inclusive training, collaborative knowledge exchange, and targeted technical support to advance socially inclusive and climate-resilient urban development.