Climate change has highlighted gaps in government support and infrastructure, particularly for rural communities, leaving them exposed to increasing economic loss and worsening social inequality. The nearby border to India, which has historically been a lifeline for small-scale traders and seasonal workers to move across, is increasingly securitized and has become a source of political and physical violence.
The research findings highlight how effective climate policy action in the world’s most vulnerable contexts remains contingent upon good governance. Climate change does not stop at international borders, affecting areas of shared natural resources or transboundary waterways. These realities call for a reconsideration of how development solutions for communities living in border regions must reflect these local political conditions in order to be effective.
This report is accompanied by a policy brief, which can be accessed here.