There was a time when floods, heatwaves, droughts, and storms were spoken of as isolated emergencies - events that arrived, disrupted life, and passed. Today, that understanding is no longer enough. Across India, disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense, and far less predictable. What we are witnessing on the ground is not merely a disaster management challenge; it is the unmistakable face of climate change unfolding in communities every single day. As someone working closely with schools, local governments, volunteers, women’s groups, and frontline responders in the field of disaster preparedness, I have seen how climate change is no longer discussed as an environmental issue alone. It is now a livelihood issue, a health issue, a safety issue, and increasingly, a question of social equity. In village interactions, women speak of summers that have become unbearable, forcing changes in daily routines, water use, and household labor. Farmers discuss rainfall that no longer follows familiar patterns. Urban communities narrate how a few hours of intense rain can now bring entire neighbourhoods to a standstill. Frontline responders share that emergencies are no longer seasonal - they are layered, recurring, and often simultaneous. This shift is deeply significant. For decades, disaster response systems in India were largely designed around the assumption that hazards were occasional. But climate change has altered the rhythm of risk itself. Heatwaves are arriving earlier and staying longer. Flash floods are appearing in areas with weak drainage and dense construction. Water scarcity is intensifying even in regions that once considered themselves secure. Air quality deterioration, vector-borne diseases, and urban heat stress are compounding vulnerabilities, especially for children, the elderly, and low-income populations. Communities are not facing one disaster at a time anymore. They are facing interconnected stresses. And yet, one of the strongest lessons from the ground is this: resilience cannot be built only through post-disaster relief. It has to be built before the sirens. This is where climate adaptation and disaster preparedness must stop functioning in silos. When a school conducts an evacuation drill, it is not merely preparing for an earthquake or fire - it is cultivating a generation that understands risk, response, and collective action. When community volunteers are trained in early warning dissemination, first aid, and local resource mapping, they become the first climate responders long before institutional support reaches. When women’s self-help groups discuss water conservation, waste management, or household preparedness, they are contributing directly to local climate adaptation. These may appear like small interventions, but on the ground, they become the architecture of survival. In many of our workshops, one recurring realization emerges from participants: climate change feels overwhelming when discussed globally, but becomes actionable when understood locally. People may not connect immediately with terms like “mitigation pathways” or “adaptation finance,” but they instantly connect when asked: Why is summer harsher than before? Why are drains overflowing after one spell of rain? Why is clean water becoming harder to secure? Why are diseases changing with weather patterns? This is where climate communication must change. We do not need climate conversations only in conference halls. We need them in classrooms, panchayat meetings, mohalla committees, self-help groups, youth clubs, and training grounds for first responders. Climate literacy must move from abstract science to practical citizenship. Another important truth from the field is that vulnerable communities are not merely victims of climate change; they are repositories of adaptation wisdom. Local coping mechanisms, community solidarity, indigenous water practices, decentralized warning systems, and volunteer-based support structures often provide the first line of resilience. The challenge is not that communities lack solutions - the challenge is that these solutions are rarely scaled, supported, or institutionally integrated. If India is to build genuine climate resilience, we must stop seeing disaster management as a response department and begin seeing it as a climate governance imperative. Preparedness training, resilient infrastructure, school safety, water conservation, local volunteer systems, risk-informed planning, and citizen awareness are no longer optional development extras. They are climate necessities. The climate crisis is not waiting for policy language to catch up. It is already visible in the exhausted faces during heatwaves, in flooded streets after short cloudbursts, in crop anxieties, in water queues, and in the growing uncertainty communities carry into every season. The frontline reality is clear: disasters are no longer natural interruptions to normal life. They are becoming the new indicators of a changing climate. And if resilience is to be real, it must begin where the impacts are felt first - within communities.

As climate crises, joblessness, and rural-urban migration reshape our world, India faces a critical choice. Instead of concrete corridors, the answer may lie in conservation corridors through a livelihood-first model of ecotourism that puts communities at the heart of sustainability.   What is a livelihood-first model? It’s an approach where local communities aren’t just custodians of nature, but beneficiaries and business owners of ecotourism. This model ensures that protecting the environment generates tangible, dignified, and recurring incomes, turning natural heritage into sustainable livelihoods.   Global Proof, Local Promise   Globally, ecotourism contributes over $77 billion annually to local economies (TIES), with growing traction in rural and Indigenous regions. In Southeast Asia, it supports 1 in 5 tourism jobs. In Africa, community conservancies generate millions in income while protecting endangered species. In India, the Ministry of Tourism estimates ecotourism could generate 15–20 million jobs by 2030, if community ownership is embedded.   Local Success Stories: Where Livelihood Meets Landscape   India already has models that prove what’s possible when locals lead. Odisha’s Mangalajodi Wetland transformed former poachers into trained bird guides and boat operators. Today, they earn over ₹1.6 crore annually, while conserving 200+ species of migratory birds. In Chhattisgarh, tribal families near Kanger Valley and Barnawapara run rest houses and eco-safaris, strengthening forest protection and dignified incomes. Pichavaram Mangroves in Tamil Nadu support boatmen earning ₹2.5 lakh annually, creating ecological awareness and reducing overfishing. Youth in Himachal Pradesh’s GHNP region have become certified eco-guides and homestay owners, restoring both ecosystems and dignity. In Arunachal Pradesh, tribal homestays in Ziro and Tawang have boosted household incomes by 60%, while celebrating Apatani heritage.   These stories show that conservation doesn’t require sacrifice. When designed right, it rewards communities for stewardship.   A 5-Point Roadmap for Livelihood-Led Ecotourism Here's a deeper dive into the livelihood dimension, through a 5-point roadmap tailored for India’s rural transformation:   Community-Centric Policy Frameworks State ecotourism policies must mandate fair wages, inclusive training, and profit-sharing moving beyond tokenism to real empowerment.   National Mission on Ecotourism Livelihoods A centrally sponsored mission jointly led by the Ministries of Tourism and Rural Development should unify efforts, scale innovation, and incentivize sustainability.   Green Skills & Certification with Livelihood Focus Offer short, job-ready courses in eco-guiding, regenerative farming, waste-to-wealth, and community storytelling via ITIs, skill centers, and panchayats.   Integrated Land-Use Planning Foster cross-sector planning among Forest, Tourism, Panchayati Raj, and Tribal departments to designate ecotourism zones with livelihood synergy.   Social Safeguards & Impact Monitoring Implement third-party audits to assess community satisfaction, income equity, and ecological metrics, ensuring long-term trust and transparency.   From Forests to Futures   As India marches toward Viksit Bharat 2047, ecotourism must evolve from being a tourism product to becoming a national development strategy. It’s not just about attracting visitors, it’s about creating ecosystems of livelihood, learning, and leadership. India’s forests, wetlands, and tribal landscapes can become living classrooms and thriving economies. In them lies not just our heritage, but our opportunity to prove that preservation and prosperity can walk hand in hand.

At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, India has emerged as a leading voice for climate justice, championing equitable and accountable climate finance. Representing the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs)—a bloc that speaks for over half the world’s population—India has forcefully articulated the urgent need for predictable, transparent, and legally binding financial support from developed nations. India’s climate finance journey has been built on a decade of persistent advocacy. While the Paris Agreement enshrined the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities,” at COP30, India contends that developed countries have consistently failed to meet their obligations. The much-publicized $100 billion annual pledge remains unmet, and the new target of $300 billion by 2035, agreed upon at COP29 in Baku, has seen by India as “suboptimal” and lacking enforceability. At the third high-level ministerial dialogue on climate finance, India underscored that without scaled-up, concessional, and grant-based finance, developing nations cannot meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These NDCs are central to global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C, and India warned that the failure of developed nations to deliver finance risks derailing the entire climate ambition. India has also emphasized that climate finance must be “new and additional,” not repackaged development aid or loans that increase debt burdens. It has called out “greenwashing” and the lack of clarity in current financial flows, demanding that Article 9.1 and 9.3 of the Paris Agreement—on legal obligations and leadership in mobilization—be upheld. Despite these challenges, India has made significant progress: expanding renewable energy capacity, enhancing climate resilience, and investing in green infrastructure. Yet it maintains that domestic efforts cannot substitute for the developed world's global responsibility. India meeting one of its Paris commitments, well ahead of schedule, is testimony to that. More green power being added in 2025, than coal shows, the countries continued effort in this direction. As new climate finance challenges occur, India’s stance is clear: climate finance is not charity—it is a matter of climate justice. The road from Baku to Belém and beyond must not be paved with diluted commitments but with concrete, enforceable actions that reflect the urgency of the climate crisis and the rights of the Global South. India’s climate finance journey is not just about numbers—it is about fairness, trust, and the future of multilateralism. For me, climate finance is not about technical terms or big negotiations — it’s about real people and the communities that are affected first. Through my involvement with the Climate Reality community, I’ve seen how climate impacts can disrupt lives, especially for those who already have limited resources. When support and funding reach the right places, it truly strengthens local resilience. That’s why I feel India’s call for climate finance that is clear, fair, and reliable is not just a policy topic, but an essential step for protecting vulnerable people, given India and the neighbourhood is at the receiving end of climate catastrophes. We are a large country with diverse development needs, and it continues to contribute to climate action in its own capacity. However, without the financial support initially committed to developing countries, meeting these responsibilities becomes more challenging. India’s position at COP30 and now at the ongoing World Economic Forum, Davos highlights that climate action and climate fairness are interconnected. When developed nations fulfil their commitments, it strengthens trust and supports more balanced global progress.

Back G. Krishnakumar National Coordinator Just Transition He is an electrical engineer by education from NIT Calicut, having more than four decades of experience in industries, customer service and non-profit management. He got certified as energy auditor in 2006 & completed certifications in energy management and environment management systems, which introduced him to climate science. In 2015 he became a Climate Reality Leader at New Delhi. This training and exposure helped him to effectively organize many state, national and international workshops to disseminate sustainable energy related topics to different categories of audience – professionals, students , industry personnel and so on. In different capacities in Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM), he is instrumental in organizing international workshops in ‘hands on training in energy audit ‘ at JNPT, Mumbai in 2011 and another one on ‘"Evolving Energy Models in Emerging Economies-Post COP21’ at Ahmedabad in 2016. Both these events attracted international participation from about two dozen countries. Presently as General Secretary of SEEM, he have embarked on an ambitious project – ‘Decarbonization India Alliance (DIA) to accelerate India’s progress towards Net Zero goal of 2070.This envisages to bring on one platform, organizations which are required to reduce carbon emissions and those organizations and individuals who can facilitate emission reduction. This will catalyze the process of decarbonization to the benefit of all stakeholders, the Nation and the Planet. Share Profile Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Copy link

Back Muntasir Mamun National Coordinator Muntasir Mamun is an engineer turned social entrepreneur and adventurer. Muntasir is the Country Coordinator for The Ocean Conservancy, US, and the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival World Tour, Canada. He also coordinates Kewkradong Bangladesh (www.kewkradong.com), an organization that runs advanced environmental protection projects in the oceans around Bangladesh. These projects focus on surveying and cleaning up marine debris while raising public awareness of its environmental impact. Muntasir has been involved in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led research program on Dhaka’s traffic congestion and successfully implemented a pilot project for a digital bus system in Dhaka for the Prime Minister’s Office of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. He participated in CSIRO's (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, an Australian government agency for scientific research) “Plastic Leakage to Ocean” project and partnered with OSEAN (Our Sea of East Asia Network, based in South Korea). He is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Civil Forum on Marine Litter (APML). Muntasir trained at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in India, completing both Basic and Advanced Mountaineering courses. He participated in four mountaineering expeditions in India, including the first Bangladeshi-India joint international mountaineering expedition for peace. Additionally, he has bicycled more than 40,000 km across 14 countries, including the USA, Canada, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Rwanda, New Zealand, Brazil, India, and France. He is the published author of three books on adventure travel and has organized six national and international photography exhibitions. He regularly writes about microplastics, plastic pollution, and environmental issues. Muntasir has received numerous awards and recognitions, including The British Council's International Climate Champion and The World Bank's Connect4Climate award. Share Profile Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Copy link

Back Shooha Tabil National Coordinator Shooha Tabil is a Climate Reality Project Leader, trained at Manilla, Philippines in 2016. Currently she is doing policy advocacy on renewable energy transition in Bangladesh. Share Profile Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Copy link