Enhancing community resilience in the Indus Delta

The Adapting to Salinity in the Southern Indus Basin (ASSIB) project, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), exemplifies international collaboration to enhance climate resilience across Pakistan’s Indus Basin.

One coastal community in the Indus Delta – an area heavily impacted by climate change – benefited from a capacity assessment process developed by Charles Sturt researchers. Organised around social, human, physical, and financial capitals, the process was implemented in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to help local groups to identify their capacity strengths and areas for improvement. Eight participating community groups (four all-women, three all-men and one mixed group) revealed high bonding and bridging social capital, moderate organisational capital, and low physical and financial capital.

These findings sparked discussions on strengthening resilience against climate challenges. Positive outcomes included increased engagement with NGOs and government departments, demonstrating the project’s success in fostering adaptive strategies through international cooperation.