Terming the Koshi River Basin (KRB), spread across Tibet, Nepal and India, as one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to natural hazards and climate change-induced disasters, researchers from different institutions based in Japan have flagged misaligned priorities and coordination gaps that contribute to disproportionate risks and cascading impacts across different sectors.

The Koshi Basin is a transboundary river basin and remains one of the major hazard-prone regions, frequently impacted by glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), flash floods, landslides, droughts and debris flows.

“The basin is one of the most disaster-impacted basins in the region, facing recurrent floods, siltation and governance-related challenges that make disasters enduring. Research indicates a lack of integrated approaches to disaster risk management, with existing institutions often working in silos,” the researchers observed.

Originating in Tibet from the confluence of three main st...