The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a systematic qualitative analysis of the costs and benefits of constructing embankments in the lower Bagmati River basin, which stretches across the Nepal Tarai and into northern Bihar. This paper analyzes the costs and benefits of both structural flood control measures, and a wide array of local, "people-centered" strategies.

This report focuses on three major river basins in South Asia: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, the Indus and the Helmand.

Current day concentrations of ground level ozone (O3) are commonly reducing crop yields by between 5 and 35 % at agriculturally important locations across South Asia. O3 induced economic crop losses could be in the region of $4 billion per annum for staple crops in South Asia; such losses are likely to impact more on poor and vulnerable people.

Diarrhoea is the leading cause of child deaths in South Asia. Universal access targets have been set in the region and changes made, yet governments are still failing to act with the urgency required. At current rates of progress, the 2015 MDG target for sanitation will not be met in South Asia until 2043