By Dr. Jennifer Doherty, ALNAP, United Kingdom

Southasiadisasters.net has been a longstanding source of information for both regional and global learning among humanitarian and disaster risk reduction practitioners over the past twenty years. I’ve seen it grow over time to become not only a publication with a wide readership but also a community of knowledge and practice through the regular webinars and roundtables it convenes. Over these twenty years, Southasiadisasters.net has created an inclusive space for exchange of ideas and learning across and beyond the South Asian region to help improve anticipation and response to disasters. By engaging with their work, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from contributors across a variety of sectors and contexts, benefiting from the collective knowledge they are building.

The topics tackled by the publication have been wide-ranging and of contemporary importance, including past special issues on accountability to crisis-affected populations and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Southasiadisasters.net remains in my mind as a pioneer in addressing issues related to climate change. In recent years, it has become recognised as a champion of learning on adaptation to heat waves – a growing concern worldwide. As the world continues to seek solutions to these increasingly frequent and consequential events, the South Asian region has valuable lessons to share. Usefully, Southasiadisasters.net has become a consistent source of regional knowledge on extreme heat. The special issues and contributing articles highlight learning across a variety of factors – from technical mitigation and adaptation solutions to highlighting the experiences and capacities of the people most affected by these crises.

There is a natural alignment of goals between the work of Southasiadisasters.net and the work we do at ALNAP (the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action), supporting global learning in the humanitarian sector. But beyond shared objectives, the team behind Southasiadisasters.net can be relied upon for their thoughtful, caring and committed approach to collaboration. ALNAP has been pleased to contribute to several recent issues of the publication, including one that helped us to understand the regional implications of our latest State of the Humanitarian System report. We continue to include issues of the Southasiadisasters.net publication in the ALNAP HELP Library collections on key topics – particularly on climate issues — recognising it as a resource that can support global learning with strong regional insights. We look forward to the production of future insightful issues of the publication and hope to continue working with Southasiadisasters.net as a key partner and friend in championing learning. g

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of AIDMI.