Nepal, Aug. 17 -- In the mountains of Kalikot, wells dry up before the monsoon arrives. In Dailekh, landslides repeatedly damage the Karnali Highway. Farther upstream in Bajura, rivers erode farmland and suddenly change course, damaging irrigation systems and small hydropower projects.

These three places face different disasters, yet they share a common reality: The residents are often excluded from decisions about adaptation funding and priorities. Fifteen years ago, Nepal promised a different approach. Its national adaptation policy committed 80 percent of international climate finance to local communities and aimed to give villagers a direct role in deciding how to adapt. That promise has largely stalled between Kathmandu and the comm...