A catastrophic flood along the Nepal–China border, which killed more than 1,400 people and left nearly 6,000 missing, has brought renewed attention to how countries in the Himalayan region prepare for environmental hazards. These hazards often develop quickly and can cross borders, making them difficult to manage with national policies alone. For University of Michigan researcher Rajiv Ghimire, the event highlights a challenge he has long studied in Nepal: While climate adaptation efforts may be guided by national policies and scientific research, they must ultimately work in the places where people directly experience environmental changes in their daily lives. Ghimire and Arizona State University's Netra Chhetri examined Nepal's Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA), a program designed to connect national climate policies with local experiences and priorities. Their study, published in Ecology and Society, found that effective climate adaptation can begin with the knowledge and practices already present in communities. However, turning these local insights into meaningful policy requires financial resources, institutional support, and ensuring that all community members have a voice in decision-making. Nepal introduced LAPA as a way to integrate local knowledge into national climate strategies. Ghimire and Chhetri analyzed 65 local adaptation plans from 11 districts, interviewed 45 local stakeholders, and spoke with 15 people involved in climate adaptation at higher levels. Their findings suggest that adaptation does not always start with new technology or interventions. Instead, communities have been responding to environmental changes through practices like improving irrigation, conserving water, planting trees, and adjusting farming methods. In fact, 78% of local respondents said the adaptation activities proposed by LAPA were already part of their communities’ existing practices. The researchers describe this as "everyday adaptation"—the ongoing adjustments people make to cope with environmental, economic, and social changes. This matters because formal climate policies often treat local communities as passive recipients of scientific knowledge. The Nepal study suggests that people living with environmental uncertainty have accumulated valuable knowledge that can serve as a foundation for adaptation policies. The researchers argue that effective adaptation should combine scientific and technical knowledge with local practices, rather than treating them as separate or opposing forces. Despite strong support for LAPA—98% of local respondents considered it highly important for climate adaptation—implementing these plans has proven difficult for many communities. Nearly 60% of respondents cited barriers such as a lack of funding, insufficient government support, and limited recognition of local knowledge. This gap highlights a key challenge: communities may have valuable insights and plans, but without the necessary resources and institutional backing, those plans may not lead to meaningful change. The researchers emphasize the need for a two-way relationship between local knowledge and government support. Local insights can make national policies more responsive to real conditions, while governments can provide the resources and technical expertise that communities lack. Their study also questions the idea of "locally led adaptation," noting that even within communities, power imbalances can persist. While women and marginalized groups participated in local planning, their knowledge and priorities were not always equally valued. Most implementation committees were led by men, and women's contributions in grassroots organizations were often overlooked. Finally, the researchers caution that while existing local practices are important, they may not be enough as climate impacts grow more intense. Communities may need new technologies, financial support, and scientific information to adapt to changes beyond their previous experience. The goal, they argue, is not to choose between top-down or bottom-up approaches, but to create stronger connections between them. This message has become more urgent following the recent disaster along the Nepal–China border, which has highlighted the need for better cross-border cooperation in managing shared environmental risks.