Regional Training on Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) and Climate Finance for Water Sector Adaptation

Background

Across Asia and the Pacific, climate variability and change are intensifying hydrological extremes and interacting with rapid socio-economic development, accelerating urbanization, and increasing water demand. Countries across the region are facing high-exposure, multi-hazard water risks, including shifting monsoon behaviour, changing glacier and snowmelt dynamics in High Mountain Asia, more frequent and severe droughts and floods, salinization and land subsidence in deltaic and coastal zones, and growing pressure on freshwater ecosystems and the essential services they provide. These challenges are further compounded in transboundary basins, densely populated floodplains, and climate-sensitive livelihood systems, underscoring the need for decision-making processes that remain effective under a wide range of uncertain climate futures.

At the same time, governments and water institutions often face practical constraints when moving from risk and vulnerability assessments to prioritized, finance-ready adaptation interventions. These constraints include limited access to decision-relevant climate and hydrological information, fragmented governance across sectors and administrative levels, and the need for more structured methods to identify robust adaptation portfolios and articulate climate rationale justifications for investment proposals.

To help address these challenges, UNESCO together with the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (through ICIWaRM), Deltares, and the Government of the Netherlands—has been developing the Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) methodology since 2018. The CRIDA manual is now available in multiple languages, and online CRIDA training courses hosted on UNESCO’s Open Learning Platform have already reached several thousand practitioners worldwide. Strengthening capacity to apply CRIDA offers a structured approach that connects problem framing, climate risk characterization, stress testing of systems, and comparative evaluation of adaptation options, ultimately guiding stakeholders toward practical and actionable resilience strategies.

CRIDA is also referenced in the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Water Project Design Guidelines as a methodology that can support climate-resilient project preparation. In this context, the proposed regional workshop being organised by ICIMOD and UNESCO aims to enhance the capacity of stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific to apply CRIDA more effectively and to progress from risk and vulnerability assessments toward the design and formulation of bankable, climate-resilient water projects.

General and Specific Objectives

The objective of the workshop is to build the capacity of countries and organizations in Asia and the Pacific to plan and manage water resources under climate uncertainty by training professionals on the CRIDA methodology, and to support the development of concept notes and an action plan for potential CRIDA applications in the region.

• Introduce key concepts and steps of the CRIDA approach for climate risk informed decision-making in the water sector.
• Support technology transfer on tools and methods to assess climate change impacts on water resources and freshwater ecosystem services.
• Facilitate the identification and prioritization of potential CRIDA applications (case studies) in Asia and the Pacific.
• Provide training on the use of CRIDA within the GCF Water Project Design Guidelines to support the development of bankable project proposals for the GCF and other climate finance mechanisms.

Modalities

The workshop will combine short technical lectures, facilitated discussions, group work, and hands-on exercises. It will be organized in two parallel tracks:

• Technical track: practical, step-by-step training on applying CRIDA (decision context, climate stress testing, formulation of options, and comparison of plans).
• Institutional and finance track: guidance on the GCF Water Project Design Guidelines and how CRIDA can be used to strengthen project rationale, robustness, and investment readiness for climate funds.

Profile of the Participants

The workshop targets 20–30 professionals from Asia and the Pacific. Candidates should have experience in water resources management and a foundational understanding of hydrological and/or climate analysis, with an active role in national or regional water management bodies. Proficiency in English is expected, unless otherwise specified once the venue is confirmed.

Participants are expected to represent two complementary profiles:

• Water Manager: senior or mid-level manager within a Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Environment, river basin organization, or other governmental agency, with a comprehensive understanding of national water and climate challenges.
•  Technical Expert: practitioner, academic, or researcher with experience in hydrology, climate services, modelling, risk analysis, or related disciplines, from a research institution, university, consultancy, or technical agency.

Prerequisite: Participants should complete the CRIDA online course on UNESCO’s Open Learning Platform and present a certificate of completion prior to the workshop.

Participating Countries

The workshop will invite participants from Asia and the Pacific, with priority given to countries and organizations facing significant climate-related water challenges.

Expected Outcomes

•  Improved capacity among Asia-Pacific stakeholders to apply CRIDA for climate-resilient water management and ecosystem protection.
• A short list of feasible CRIDA case study opportunities identified and scoped by participating countries and organizations.
• Draft concept notes and an action plan to advance CRIDA applications toward investment-ready water resilience projects (e.g., for the GCF, AF and other climate funds).

Agenda