A new stone path enables 80-year-old farmer Aum Dema to visit her adult children with less chance of a fall but also covers a new rainwater run-off drain and sewage system that promises to protect the health of her and the residents of some 100 homes in Drinchengang, which means ‘Gratitude Village’ in Bhutan’s local Dzongkha language. Less than two hours from the capital Thimphu, the residents feel they have much to be grateful for in this nationally recognised heritage village and tourist favourite.

LoCAL has been channelling finance to local government authorities across Bhutan for over ten years, enabling communities to identify and implement adaptation investments that best meet local needs. To date, LoCAL has made over 350 adaptation investments in over 100 local governments across the country with pilots implemented in Bhutan providing the foundation for today’s international and standard mechanism, which is presently being implemented or designed for implementation in 34 countries across Africa, Asia the Caribbean and Pacific. The standard, issued by the International Standard Organization, ISO 14093, and launched at COP27, offers an internationally recognized country-based mechanism to increase local government access to climate finance for adaptation. In Bhutan, the LoCAL mechanism is now integrated in the country’s budget planning system as the primary means of implementing adaptation at the local level across the country.

Across the world, countries battling with some of the most severe impacts of climate change are taking action at the local level with LoCAL. Across Bhutan, climate-related changes to rainfall patterns have seen a rise in periodic bursts of heavy rainfall, overwhelming traditional pathways used for rainwater run-off and, in Drinchengang, flooding walkways with untreated sewage.