READING TIME: 5 MINS
South Asia is home to one of the world’s youngest populations, but also one of the most climate-vulnerable. Rising temperatures, erratic monsoons, diminishing water availability, coastal flooding, and deteriorating living environments are already shaping the daily lives of children and young people across the region. Unlike adults, children do not experience these impacts equally: their bodies are more sensitive to pollution, their education is easily disrupted by extreme events, and their access to food, water, healthcare, and safe spaces is often the first to be compromised.
This makes the climate crisis not just an environmental challenge, but the defining human-rights challenge of our generation. At its core, it threatens children’s rights to safety, clean water, nutritious food, education, and a livable future. Yet despite being among those most affected, youth in India, Nepal, and Pakistan frequently face barriers when trying to engage in climate action. Many lack access to relevant, credible climate knowledge, opportunities to participate in decision-making, or the resources needed to act on the issues affecting them.
At the same time, youth are central to climate solutions. They are the next generation of decision-makers, and some are already leading bold efforts in adaptation, mitigation, and advocacy. But their ability to participate meaningfully depends on the knowledge and confidence they receive today.
This is where terre des hommes (tdh), a child's rights organisation registered in Germany, and their Local to Global: Healthy and Sustainable Environment for Youth in South Asia project plays a transformative role. Working across a network of 24 NGOs and CBOs, the initiative aims to realise climate rights for approximately 10,000 young people, through education, capacity building, youth-led enterprises, local adaptation measures, and climate advocacy.
EcoNiche was brought in to support one of the most foundational components of this effort: developing a climate literacy curriculum that equips youth with the scientific understanding and critical thinking needed to navigate a rapidly changing world.
We as staff of terre des hommes Germany in South Asia have enjoyed working with EcoNiche in several ways in order to enhance our knowledge and experience on ecology, environment, sustainability and diversity. We have found EcoNiche a very capable and vibrant organisation. Their ability to understand the environment and add to our work as a child rights organisation has been great, and they're a nice young enthusiastic team to work with!
Ingird Mendoca
Regional Coordinator - South Asia, terre de hommes (tdh)
What We Did.
EcoNiche developed a regionally relevant climate science curriculum designed to strengthen young people’s understanding of Earth’s climate system while ensuring the content feels relatable across South Asia. The curriculum covers core modules including the climate system, the carbon cycle, climate indicators, human impacts on the climate, climate change impacts on people, mitigation strategies, and adapting to a climatically altered world. Each module includes structured lesson plans, interactive activities, locally grounded case studies, visual aids, and supplementary teaching resources. To ensure accessibility across partner regions, the curriculum was developed in English and translated into Hindi, Kannada, and Nepali.
To support delivery at scale, EcoNiche conducted a two-day workshop with 50 NGO and CBO staff, youth leaders, and trainers, equipping them to deliver the content confidently and effectively. The training focused on simplifying complex climate concepts, facilitating interactive learning, and adapting lessons to varied local contexts. EcoNiche continues to provide scientific and technical support to partners as they roll out the curriculum across India and Nepal.
To strengthen experiential learning, EcoNiche also facilitated a coastal mangrove biodiversity walk in the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Goa. This hands-on exposure enabled youth leaders and partner staff to deepen their understanding of coastal ecosystems, mangrove ecology, and the nature-based solutions that support community livelihoods, reduce climate risks, and build resilience.
This curriculum matters because climate literacy is fundamentally a human right. Children have a right to understand the world they are inheriting and to develop the knowledge and skills needed to protect their futures. Climate education empowers them to recognise risks, claim their rights, and shape solutions within their communities. It also matters because today’s youth will become tomorrow’s policymakers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and community leaders, and they deserve a foundation rooted in science, systems thinking, and local relevance rather than misinformation or fear.
Climate literacy is also essential to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action (SDG 13), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), sustainable cities (SDG 11), quality education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), and reduced inequalities (SDG 10). Informed youth become active contributors to these global goals within their local contexts. Finally, the curriculum is vital because climate change is already reshaping childhood in South Asia. As children grow up amid extreme weather, food and water insecurity, and environmental degradation, a curriculum crafted specifically for them helps translate abstract concepts into practical understanding and strengthens their capacity for resilience.
Why This Curriculum Matters.
Climate literacy is, at its core, a human right. Children deserve to understand the world they are inheriting and to develop the knowledge needed to protect their future. When youth have access to accurate, relevant climate education, they are empowered to recognise risks, claim their rights, and contribute meaningfully to solutions within their communities. This is especially critical in South Asia, where today’s young people will soon become the policymakers, business owners, researchers, and community leaders shaping climate responses. They need a foundation rooted in science, systems thinking, and local relevance — not fear or misinformation. Strong climate literacy also accelerates progress toward multiple Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action, clean water, sustainable cities, quality education, gender equality, and reduced inequalities. Informed youth become capable actors who can influence these goals from the ground up. And with climate change already reshaping childhood across the region — through heat, water stress, pollution, and environmental instability — a curriculum designed specifically for them helps translate abstract concepts into real, actionable understanding that supports resilience and safeguards their future.
The Bigger Picture.
EcoNiche’s work on this curriculum aligns directly with our broader mission: supporting organisations to think critically, plan clearly, and act effectively in addressing environmental challenges. By grounding climate education in evidence, systems thinking, and human rights, the project ensures that youth are not passive recipients of information but empowered participants in the climate movement. This is how long-term, community-led climate action begins, with knowledge, confidence, and agency.
Through my organisation, Wonder Yonder, I had the opportunity to collaborate with EcoNiche on a climate curriculum project that involved creating visual explainers of various concepts relating to climate education. Nisha provided us with well-thought-out, detailed drafts of educational modules that served as a strong foundation for our content. She welcomed our suggestions on which parts needed to be supplemented with illustrations, allowing us to tailor the visuals effectively. She gave my team and I full creative freedom to explore various visual output ideas. Her targeted feedback and constructive critique on the initial drafts greatly helped with the iterations. Importantly, leveraging her expertise in the subject, she ensured that all visuals were fact-checked and accurate both scientifically and conceptually, which strengthened the integrity of our work. As a team, we were able to optimise the revisions and achieve effective outputs due to her clear vision for the project. Additionally, she is always open to discussing new ideas relating to sustainability and climate education. I look forward to the possibility of working with her on future climate-related projects.
Nikitaa Sivaakumar
Founder, Wonder Yonder
