Strengthening Urban Resilience through Participatory Research: Insights from the ARA-TLS Knowledge Synthesis Symposium 2025, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The ARA-TLS Knowledge Synthesis Symposium 2025, jointly organized and facilitated by Transitions Research and Integrated Design (INDE), served as a pivotal gathering to advance urban resilience, climate adaptation, and participatory governance. Held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from February 24-26, 2025, the symposium brought together civil society representatives, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from across the Asia-Pacific region to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among climate adaptation experts.

This landmark event provided a space for participants to exchange experiences from their ongoing climate-adaptation projects, refine evaluation tools, and develop strategies for effective planning and implementation. Through interactive discussions, thematic presentations, and hands-on workshops, delegates explored ways to scale adaptation initiatives to address the region’s growing vulnerability to climate change. The symposium not only facilitated technical discussions but also encouraged cross-sectoral collaboration, allowing for diverse perspectives and innovative solutions to emerge.

Key themes explored at the symposium included:

• Climate Change & Health – Tackling the rising health risks from heat waves, vector-borne diseases, and food insecurity.
• Human Settlements – Strengthening climate-resilient housing and infrastructure for rapidly urbanising regions.
• Digital Technology in Food Security – Harnessing AI-driven tools and data to enhance food system resilience.
• Adaptation Goals – Mainstreaming local adaptation strategies into global policy frameworks.

These critical themes underscored the need for innovative, inclusive, and locally-driven adaptation approaches. Participants shared practical solutions for improving community health outcomes, fortifying urban resilience, and leveraging technology to build climate-smart food systems. The symposium also served as a space for bridging the gap between academic research and practical implementation, ensuring that climate adaptation strategies are both scientifically sound and socially equitable.

The Role of Tracking, Learning, & Sharing (TLS) in Climate Adaptation

A defining feature of the symposium was the Tracking, Learning, & Sharing (TLS) initiative, a cornerstone of ARA’s mission. TLS is designed to:

• Foster continuous learning and engagement among ARA members.
• Encourage active knowledge exchange informed by on-the-ground climate adaptation experiences.
• Generate and distribute impactful knowledge products to shape future adaptation policies.

Throughout the symposium, participants contributed to the development of scalable, community-led adaptation strategies. The emphasis on peer learning and collaborative knowledge production aligns closely with PRIA India’s approach in Ajmer, where community partnerships, institutional linkages, and participatory methodologies are driving an inclusive adaptation framework. The TLS initiative is crucial in ensuring that best practices and lessons learned from different regions can be adapted and contextualised, rather than existing in isolation.

Challenges in Urban Climate Adaptation

The symposium illuminated several persistent barriers to effective urban climate adaptation, which, if not addressed, could further exacerbate vulnerabilities in the region:

1. Limited Community Engagement in Adaptation Planning

Urban adaptation policies frequently falter due to insufficient community participation, resulting in solutions that fail to reflect on-the-ground realities.

• In Ajmer, informal settlements remain excluded from municipal water governance discussions, despite facing severe supply disruptions and contamination risks.
• Case studies from Bangladesh and Nepal illustrated how bottom-up planning, led by community groups, has significantly enhanced disaster preparedness and local resource management.
• Many adaptation efforts in urban settings are designed by government agencies and international organisations without considering the local knowledge and lived experiences of the affected communities.

2. Lack of Context-Specific Data

Effective adaptation planning hinges on accurate, granular data that captures localised climate risks and vulnerabilities. However, many adaptation initiatives are hampered by a lack of real-time, community-generated data.

• In Ajmer, official municipal records downplayed the severity of water shortages, while community-led data collection revealed critical seasonal scarcities and contamination concerns.
• In Bangladesh, participatory climate mapping has proven more effective than satellite-based models in identifying flood-prone zones and vulnerable communities.
• The absence of systematic climate risk assessments tailored to informal settlements makes it difficult for local governments to implement targeted adaptation measures.

3. Barriers to Climate Adaptation Financing

While funding mechanisms exist, they often bypass vulnerable communities due to complex bureaucratic, institutional, and operational constraints.

• The majority of climate adaptation funding is allocated to large-scale infrastructure projects, with limited direct access for informal settlements.
• The symposium explored alternative financing models, including community-managed funds and decentralised adaptation financing frameworks.
• Financial support for adaptation is often tied to stringent reporting requirements that smaller, community-led initiatives struggle to meet, limiting their ability to access these crucial resources.

Advocacy on Global Adaptation Finance

On the final day of the symposium, participants from across the Asia-Pacific region gathered for an advocacy discussion on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG). Facilitated by Integrated Design (INDÉ) in collaboration with the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA), the discussion emphasised the urgent need to mobilise $300 billion annually by 2035 to strengthen global climate adaptation efforts.

Discussions centered on:

• Ensuring regional perspectives from the Asia-Pacific are embedded in global adaptation finance policies.
• Defining sectoral vulnerabilities using the UAE’s FGCR framework and developing collaborative adaptation strategies.
• Identifying key implementation barriers, including financial constraints, institutional bottlenecks, and governance challenges.

This symposium marked an important step toward strengthening regional cooperation on climate adaptation. Participants gained:

• Expanded knowledge and tools for integrating local adaptation needs into global climate finance discussions.
• New partnerships to advance inclusive, community-driven resilience strategies.
• A deeper understanding of how financial mechanisms can be restructured to be more accessible to vulnerable communities.

Moving Forward: Strengthening Participatory Urban Resilience

The ARA-TLS Knowledge Synthesis Symposium 2025 reaffirmed that climate adaptation must be community-centered, data-driven, and financially inclusive. Without these essential pillars, adaptation efforts will remain fragmented, ineffective, and disconnected from real-world needs.

Looking ahead, three transformative shifts are necessary:

• Institutionalising participatory research within municipal planning, ensuring that adaptation strategies are co-designed with affected communities.
• Expanding climate financing models that support small-scale, community-led adaptation initiatives, enabling informal settlements to implement localised resilience strategies.
• Fostering transnational cooperation and knowledge-sharing, allowing cities across Asia to learn from and adapt successful participatory approaches.

As I reflect on my participation in this symposium, I recognise the profound impact that collaborative knowledge-sharing and participatory research can have on shaping inclusive climate adaptation strategies.

Engaging with experts and community practitioners from diverse contexts has deepened my understanding of how local insights must inform global policies. The symposium reinforced that while challenges remain, solutions exist when communities, researchers, and policymakers work together to co-create adaptive, just, and sustainable pathways forward. This experience has strengthened my commitment to ensuring that participatory governance and community-driven resilience models remain at the forefront of climate adaptation efforts. Moving ahead, I look forward to applying these learnings to PRIA India’s ongoing initiatives and continuing to advocate for locally rooted, globally informed adaptation strategies.

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