The “Strengthening Last Mile Communication (SLMC) in South Asia Project” is being implemented by RIMES in pilot locations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to build climate resilience through improved access and use of early warning information among last-mile users in the region. More than two years since the project started in October 2021, it has accomplished various activities anchored towards this objective, including the implementation of forecast interpretation trainings, community-based DRM activities (e.g., hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity assessment, search and rescue [SAR], and first aid trainings, DRM simulations, etc.), customization of the Integrated Forecast Dissemination Portal (INSTANT), installation and distribution of low- cost early warning system (EWS) and communication equipment, and support to local level DRM planning. The implementation of the SLMC project has been made possible through the valued support of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), initially with generous funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and is presently sustained by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) / Office of International Disaster Response (IDR) of the U.S. Department of State.

Mid-term during the course of project implementation, intervening similar initiatives and developments from other humanitarian agencies, focusing in the same pilot countries/ areas, opened opportunities for project complementation and synergies to maximize available resources and prevent duplication of efforts. Some of these similar undertakings include the Scaling-up Forecast-based Action and Learning (SUFAL) Project, Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) Programme, South Asia Hydro-met Forum (SAHF), and the Asia Regional Resilience to a Changing Climate (ARRCC) Programme, among others.

In view of this opportunity for complementation, the request has been received to modify and/or expand some of the project activities based on emerging demands from the stakeholder partner agencies in the beneficiary countries. The supplemental project activities to be implemented include the provision of support for the conduct of local-level seasonal/ monsoon forums to help local authorities formulate seasonal preparedness strategies and plans, and the inclusion of disaster risk management (DRM) field schools in community-based DRM programs to strengthen local disaster risk knowledge and management capacity. This will ensure that by the end of the project, specific indicators defined in a to-be-developed community hazard-ready qualification guidelines, tailored for priority hazards identified in the target locations, will be met and accomplished in the pilot communities.

As the SLMC project enters its final implementation phase, there is a need to systematically review progress achieved across the pilot countries, document lessons learned, identify remaining operational and institutional gaps, and strengthen sustainability arrangements with government partners. The project has generated valuable experiences in strengthening last-mile communication, impact-based forecasting, community preparedness, and disaster risk management planning, which provide important lessons for future investments in people-centered early warning systems. The regional workshop will provide a platform for participating countries to exchange experiences, assess implementation progress, identify successful practices for replication and scaling, and develop recommendations for sustaining and expanding project outcomes beyond the current implementation period.