IPRG PUBLICATION

The Role of Climate Finance in Early Warning Systems for Rural and Coastal Populations: A Comparative Analysis of India, Rwanda, and Trinidad and Tobago

Authors : Ruel Fordyce, Shivangi Gedam, Ashutosh Sarkar

Ciatation :

Ruel Fordyce, Shivangi Gedam, & Ashutosh Sarkar. (2026). The Role of Climate Finance in Early Warning Systems for Rural and Coastal Populations: A Comparative Analysis of India, Rwanda, and Trinidad and Tobago. Institute For Policy Research and Governance, 1(10). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20715708

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Abstract :

Climate change has intensified the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, disproportionately affecting rural and coastal populations in developing countries. Early Warning Systems (EWS) have emerged as critical tools for reducing disaster risks; however, their effectiveness is closely tied to the availability and allocation of climate finance. This paper examines the role of climate finance in strengthening EWS, with a primary focus on India and comparative insights from Trinidad and Tobago and Rwanda. Using a qualitative research approach based on secondary data, the study explores how financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and Systematic Observations Financing Facility support EWS development. Findings indicate that while India has made significant progress in integrating EWS into national disaster management frameworks, gaps remain in financing distribution, local capacity, and last-mile communication. Rwanda demonstrates effective utilization of targeted climate finance for infrastructure upgrades, while Trinidad and Tobago highlights challenges which are typical of Small Island Developing States, including funding gaps and institutional fragmentation. The study concludes that sustained, equitable, and locally targeted climate finance is essential for enhancing resilience and protecting vulnerable populations.

Keywords
Climate finance; Early warning systems; India; Rwanda; Trinidad and Tobago; Rural
vulnerability; Coastal resilience; Disaster risk reduction

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The New Cold War in the IndoPacific: US-China Rivalry & the Race of Global Influence

Authors : Shruti Agarwal, Harshika Pandla, Mokshadaa Gupta, Revanth Netha, Vanshika Kakkar

Abstract :

This paper explores how maritime rivalry, coalition-building, and regional governance in the Indo-Pacific region are being reshaped due to ongoing competition between the United States and China. Instead of framing this as a simple replay of Cold War bloc politics, the study treats the region as an arena where states adjust their positions through overlapping alliances, minilateral arrangements, and strategic narratives rather than direct military confrontation. Empirically, the analysis follows three main strands: the indirect influence of the RussiaUkraine war on the region’s maritime strategy, the shift in India-China rivalry from land borders to sea lanes, and the formation of AUKUS and the Quad as key coalitions in regional security politics. Drawing on policy reports and academic studies, the paper uses interpretative discourse analysis to read how governments and experts deploy ideas of stability, rules and order to justify changing maritime postures and new forms of strategic cooperation.

Key Words :
Maritime Cooperation, Hegemony, Balance of power, Strategic Cooperation, QUAD, AUKUS, Freedom of Navigation (FON)

AI Governance and Institutional Readiness in Public Sector Systems: A Comparative Study Between India and Nigeria

Authors : Linda John Obiorah, Banavath Ananditha, Mrinalini Menon, Paridhi Passi, B. R. Sanjeev Naick

Abstract :

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is proving to be a crucial technology to enhance public service and governance. This paper examines how governance frameworks and institutional capacities shape AI adoption and management within government systems. By adopting a qualitative comparative case study analysis, using India and Nigeria as primary cases and South Korea as a benchmark for successful AI governance implementation, this paper examines the governance and institutional preparedness of AI in the public sector and identifies practical lessons on building governance structures and institutional foundations for responsible AI adoption. The analysis suggests that India possesses a more evolved framework for AI governance, enforced by the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2018), and the India AI Mission (2024), a well-developed digital public infrastructure, and a strong focus on the development of skills and training. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2024) indicates Nigeria’s growing institutional commitment to AI, as well as notable strides towards preparedness. South Korea is introduced as a benchmark, representing a more advanced AI governance model that offers concrete lessons for developing economies. Despite these disparities, the common concerns include the disconnect between policy aspirations and policy implementation, difficulty in developing specific AI laws, and concerns about accountability, transparency, bias, privacy and digital inclusion. The study calls for specific AI legislation, autonomous regulatory bodies, and more effective data governance between developing countries. It contends that institutional building and the institutionalization process are key to having responsible, sustainable and adaptive AI governance in the Global South, and that governance progress must be measured against concrete indicators like enforcement action, institutional capacity, digital literacy rates, public accountability and operationalization of independent bodies rather than policy adoption alone.

Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence Governance, Institutional Readiness, Public Sector AI, Digital Governance, AI Regulation.

Systematic Review of Government-Led Education Reforms in India: Policy, Implementation and Outcome.

Authors : Darpan Kumari ,Varshita Saxena, Sayf Ali

Abstract :

In this paper, government-led education reforms in India were reviewed while focusing on policy design, legal foundations, implementation, and outcomes. It examines landmark reforms, including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA, 2001), the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act, 2009), the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), and other education schemes such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS). The study situates these reforms within India’s constitutional framework, particularly Article 21A of the Constitution, and evaluates the persistent gap between policy design and implementation. A comparative analysis with Nigeria’s education policies and laws, particularly the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act of 2004 and the National Policy on Education (NPE), reveals both parallels and differences in how two developing nations have pursued universal access to quality education. The paper finds that while India has achieved commendable progress in enrolment and school infrastructure, learning outcomes, equity, and implementation remain deficient. The policy implementation gap, caused by financial constraints, bureaucratic issues, and inadequate implementation plans and execution, continues to undermine reform potential. The paper concludes with lessons for public policy design and reform implementation applicable to India, Nigeria, and comparable developing-country contexts.

Keywords :
Education reform, India National Education Policy, Right to Education, Access vs Quality Divide, Policy to implementation gap, Comparative Education, State Capacity, Federalism

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Debt Diplomacy or Development Financing? A Comparative Case Study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Authors : Aaditya Dewansh, Huny Thakkar, Edward Mbeleki, Mansha Arya, Zinte Kula

Abstract :

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched by China in 2013, has generated sustained debate over whether it functions as a deliberate instrument of debt diplomacy aimed at strategic asset acquisition, or as a development financing mechanism responding to genuine infrastructure deficits in recipient countries. This paper addresses that question through a comparative case study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan: two BRI-engaged South Asian states that share the same creditor yet exhibit structurally distinct outcomes. Drawing on a three-tier qualitative methodology combining comparative case analysis, historical examination of high-value BRI projects, and content analysis of “debt-trap diplomacy” discourse, we argue that strategic dependency in both cases emerges not from engineered default, but through two distinct pathways: fiscal vulnerability in Sri Lanka and infrastructural entrenchment in Pakistan. In Sri Lanka, domestic governance failures and aggressive external commercial borrowing produced the conditions for the 2017 Hambantota Port concession, driven by a new government’s fiscal desperation rather than predatory Chinese design. In
Pakistan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) generated long-term institutional lock-in through the sheer scale of energy infrastructure investment and an asymmetric bureaucratic coordination model. Across both cases, local political elites exercised agency in seeking Chinese capital to bypass Western conditionalities, and dependency emerged as a by-product of borrower governance failures and project scale rather than Chinese strategic calculation. These findings challenge the binary of debt diplomacy versus development financing, offering instead a mechanism-based account of how BRI engagement produces different forms of strategic influence in different political-economic contexts.

Keywords:
Belt and Road Initiative, debt diplomacy, strategic dependency, fiscal
vulnerability, infrastructure entrenchment

Shaping of Perceptions & Misperceptions Among Masses During War Escalations : A Comparative Analysis of Information Dynamics, Media Influence, and Perception Management

Authors : Hridoy Pran Sarma , Ashi Agrawal

Abstract :

In the modern-day world, war is not only about fighting on the battlefield but also
manipulating the belief of the opponent country using intelligence. During war escalation, people form opinions based not on their personal experience, but from news stories and government releases, along with other posts on social media. As a result, they become more susceptible to misperceptions; these are misconstrued situations employed to frighten, sow discord and garner the unthinking support of the public for the providing of military firepower. Due to an increase in the use of social media and modern means of communication, this task has become even easier as not everyone is well-equipped to measure what is happening during wars. Misconceived observations of the conflict can aggravate and harm the process of resolution. The paper seeks to ascertain the role of the government and media in distorting the public opinion during wars by analysing case studies such as Russia – Ukraine War and other major wars worldwide. Usage of management perceptions, misinformation, and the war in which does escalate.

Keywords:
Perception Management, Misinformation, War Escalation, Public Opinion, Media Literacy, Information Warfare.

ENHANCING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE TO SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES ACROSS CENTRAL AFRICA

Authors : Adeleye Joshua Adeyemi, Nontobeko Zakhona Andiswa Ngubane, Mushe Khomola

Abstract :

Climate change remains to cripple food security across Central Africa, where a large proportion of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture survival. This study evaluated the environmental, economic, energy and agricultural factors shaping climate resilience and food security in vulnerable communities, using secondary time-series data spanning 2000 to 2025 across 14 variables, including 2 climate resilience variables (mean annual temperature and annual rainfall). Descriptive statistics, pre- and post-2013 period comparisons, Pearson correlation analysis, detrended correlation and multiple regression analysis were applied using SPSS. Findings show that undernourishment averaged 30% over the period, with persistently low cereal yields and minimal electricity access. Rising mean annual temperature (r = -0.610, p = 0.002) was significantly correlated with declining cereal yields (r = -0.880, p < 0.001). In the multiple regression model (R² = 0.907), electricity access and GDP per capita are the two strongest independent predictors of undernourishment, while political stability remained a significant bivariate correlate. These results suggest that energy infrastructure and governance, above agricultural land use or GDP, are central to food security outcomes defining how resilience-building efforts should be concentrated. Keywords:
Climate resilience, Food security, Agricultural productivity, Governance, Policy, Central Africa.

IPRG PUBLICATION

The Role of Climate Finance in Early Warning Systems for Rural and Coastal Populations: A Comparative Analysis of India, Rwanda, and Trinidad and Tobago

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Related Publications

The New Cold War in the IndoPacific: US-China Rivalry & the Race of Global Influence

AI Governance and Institutional Readiness in Public Sector Systems: A Comparative Study Between India and Nigeria

Systematic Review of Government-Led Education Reforms in India: Policy, Implementation and Outcome.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Debt Diplomacy or Development Financing? A Comparative Case Study of Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Shaping of Perceptions & Misperceptions Among Masses During War Escalations : A Comparative Analysis of Information Dynamics, Media Influence, and Perception Management

ENHANCING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE TO SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES ACROSS CENTRAL AFRICA