By Dr. Prerna Singh, Program Director, Climate Adaptation Learning Lab Transitions Research, India 

At Transitions Research, our engagement with Southasiadisasters.net over the past two years has been a rich and rewarding experience. As the Program Director of the Climate Adaptation Learning Lab, I first encountered AIDMI’s work through their participation in the Tracking, Learning and Sharing Symposium in Bangkok in 2024. Since then, Southasiadisasters.net has been an important space of learning and exchange for us: a platform that connects research, practice, and lived experience across South Asia.

What sets Southasiadisasters.net apart is the way it curates grounded reflections from across the region, voices that rarely find space in more formal research or policy publications. It bridges disciplines and geographies, and in doing so, helps build a shared understanding of the challenges and innovations shaping disaster and climate resilience today.

Our collaboration with the publication began with the special issue “Harnessing Collective Knowledge: Advancing Adaptation Research and Action through Tracking, Learning and Sharing around Extreme Heat,” which we had the opportunity to co-edit alongside AIDMI. That experience, along with subsequent contributions to the thematic series on Nature-based Cooling Solutions for Cities and Heat as a Humanitarian Crisis, has reinforced our appreciation of the publication’s ability to translate field experiences into accessible, actionable insights.

For practitioners, researchers, and communities alike, Southasiadisasters.net continues to serve as a vital platform, one that not only documents the evolving realities of climate and disaster resilience in South Asia, but also fosters collaboration and learning among those working to strengthen it.

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