Young leaders from South Asia call for a regional climate coalition to address worsening water crises, stressing inclusive governance, gender equity, and locally led solutions to influence global climate action.
South Asian youth leaders called for urgent rights-based and locally led solutions to the region’s escalating water crisis along with the formation of a South Asian Youth Climate Coalition to scale action and influence global climate negotiations. Youth speakers also called for a transformative rights-based approach to water governance that fully recognizes the leadership agency and lived experiences of women and young people.
Convened in a virtual dialogue on Sunday titled “One Future One Fight: The South Asian Youth Water and Climate Justice” the session brought together voices from Bangladesh Pakistan and Nepal linking coastal deltaic and high-altitude realities. The event was organized by UNIFY for Water and Climate Nepal in collaboration with YouthNet Global Climate Forward Pakistan and the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF).
In Asia and the Pacific climate variability is intensifying floods and droughts that disproportionately affect women and girls speakers noted.
They also identified critical gaps in current adaptation efforts particularly systemic barriers to accessing locally led climate finance and the limited inclusion of marginalized communities in decision-making.
From coastal Bangladesh Aruba Faruque Deputy Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global highlighted the gendered realities of the crisis noting how water scarcity disrupts education safety and daily life for young women and girls.
“Climate impacts are not gender-neutral” she said. “For many young girls water scarcity means missing school facing unsafe conditions and losing opportunities.”
Prarthana Karki GEDSI Officer at the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) emphasized the importance of gender equality and social inclusion in climate responses.
“Water governance cannot be effective if it excludes the voices of women and marginalized communities” she said. “We must ensure that inclusion is not symbolic but embedded in decision-making processes because equitable participation leads to more sustainable and just outcomes.”
Durlabh Ashok Founding Director of Climate Forward Pakistan highlighted the fragile and rapidly changing water systems in high-altitude regions.
“Our water systems are becoming unpredictable” he said. “Glacial melt and erratic weather are disrupting centuries-old patterns and our policies are not keeping pace.”
He added “We must invest in climate-resilient water governance that respects indigenous knowledge and supports community-led adaptation.”
Sohanur Rahman Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global underscored the accelerating salinity intrusion crisis driven by sea-level rise reduced upstream river flows and recurrent cyclones.
“This is no longer just an environmental issue it is a daily survival crisis” he said.
“When drinking water turns unsafe it is women and girls who carry the burden walking longer distances sacrificing time and facing increasing health and safety risks” he added. “Adaptation cannot succeed if it does not reach the people on the frontlines.”
Sohanur further proposed a transboundary youth regional network to scale climate-resilient solutions across ecosystems including floating agriculture rainwater harvesting and community-based water management.
“We cannot solve this crisis in isolation” he said. “By connecting youth across borders we can scale what works adapt it to our contexts and build a stronger united voice.”
The initiative would enable knowledge exchange between coastal and mountainous communities while strengthening collective advocacy on loss and damage and equitable climate finance.
Moderated by Umesh Balal Magar of UNIFY Nepal the dialogue moved from shared vulnerability to collective action. A key outcome of the dialogue was the emergence of a South Asian Youth Climate Coalition a regional youth-led platform aimed at advancing locally led adaptation strengthening transboundary water governance and amplifying frontline voices in global forums such as Bonn and COP processes.
The dialogue concluded with a unified message: when women and girls have equal voice and leadership in water governance services become more inclusive sustainable and effective transforming water into a driver of health resilience and gender equality.
As global climate negotiations gain momentum participants emphasized that integrating the ground realities of South Asia’s most vulnerable communities into international policy spaces is no longer optional it is fundamental to credible and equitable climate action.
