Are we inclusive in climate policy? Comparative analysis of South Asian Mountainous Countries

The majority of policies are technocentric and top-down; climate policies may be no exception. Instead, policies should be made by and for the people. Thus, the main focus of this study is on how the governments of South Asia's mountainous countries have integrated a varied range of players into their climate plans and policies, and how well those plans and policies take into account the local context. Plans and policies will be able to support the sustained implementation and development of communities that are resilient and transformational if they are inclusive and relevant to the setting and condition of the country. A content analysis with a codebook that was prepared for two different domains was the methodology that was utilised for this investigation. The first step is to understand the importance of adaptation provided on the country's plans and policies, in addition to the priority of traditional or local knowledge. The second step is to evaluate the involvement and inclusion of different stakeholders in the formulation of plans and policies. The countries for the study were Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. According to the findings of my research, the policy framework and adaptation strategies do not yet include mountain-focused adaptation initiatives. It is still necessary to have a solid understanding of local knowledge and to incorporate it into plans and policies, despite the fact that it is obtaining space in numerous platforms. Although the inclusion of women was given some consideration, other categories were not taken into account, which reinforced the idea that the contribution of diverse stakeholders is required in order to develop a strategy that is both robust and capable of being implemented.