The Himalayas need a new blueprint: Rebuilding Rasuwa with climate resilience and proactive infrastructure management

Even as rescue and recovery remain a priority after last week's devastating floods in Rasuwa, Nepal is moving to the next phase: rebuilding. As it does so, Nepal - and, indeed, the wider Himalayan region - must reconsider how it rebuilds. The focus must shift from reactive repairs to proactive infrastructure management, with resilience and climate risk becoming central to all future development projects.

The Rasuwa floods were more than an extreme weather event. They were a real-time manifestation of a polycrisis, in which global warming, climate pressures, biodiversity decline, water insecurity, infrastructure vulnerabilities, social inequalities and governance failures interacted in complex ways. Rebuilding must account for these interconnected risks to create greater resilience.

Read more: Himalayas face severe glacial flood risks in years ahead, UN official warns


Climate change is destabilising the Himalayan ecosystem. So, the rebuilding effort must mitigate, limit and reduce the destabilising impacts of climate change, while also reducing human activities. Tackling these adverse impacts requires disaster-resilient infra to be mainstreamed into development.

Accounting for climate risk and building resilient infra means reworking the entire value chain - from planning and choice of materials to design and location - in ways that reflect the carrying capacity and fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem. AI can strengthen resilience and adaptation, particularly through robust early-warning systems.

Read more: Nepal floods expose risks to hydropower in a warming Himalayas

The countries of the region must work together to develop cross-border mechanisms for information-sharing, monitoring and regulating infrastructure development in ways that are fair, transparent and sustainable. This is critical to effectively addressing - and learning to live with - the cascading risks confronting the Himalayas.