Climate Change and Sustainability in the South Asian Region: Challenges and Issues

This study seeks to review the existing literature on the challenges and issues of climate change and sustainability in the South Asian region.

The study adopts the systematic literature review using the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The sample consists of 39 studies highly relevant to the topic.

Population, urbanisation, poverty, inequality and health impacts were identified as socio-economic challenges. In contrast, deforestation and land degradation, water scarcity and quality, and biodiversity loss were identified as environmental challenges in mitigating climate change while achieving sustainability. Nonetheless, national, regional and international sustainability endeavours are still limited in their functionality and applications due to socio-economic inequalities, political problems and weak cohesiveness in the region.

The conclusions call for immediate concern to effective and concerted strategies and policies to address climate vulnerability and improve climate brilliant resilience in South Asia. Policymakers, practitioners and all those concerned with these phenomena are encouraged to utilise integrated strategies that focus on preventing and managing change, using technological innovations and promoting regional and international cooperation.

To the authors' knowledge, the current study differs from prior works because it employs a comprehensive systematic review to capture diverse literature on climate change issues and sustainable development endeavours within South Asia.