International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
Fostering Trans-boundary Cooperation in the HKH
Birendra Bajracharya
Human footprint on Earth
ISS Expedition 45, September 2015, NASA
The Hindu Kush Himalaya
Global asset for food, energy,
water, carbon, and cultural and
biological diversity
ICIMOD’s Mission
To enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
• 8 countries
• 210 million
people in the HKH
• 1.3 billion
people
downstream
Source of
10 major Asian
river systems
HKH basins support some of the world’s most populated areas
Diversity in the HKH: Over 1,000 living languages
Common problems
• Impact of climate change on mountain livelihood
• Land degradation, deforestation and loss of biodiversity
• Disasters across the boarders - floods
Working across
boundaries: Transboundary Landscapes
Approach
ICIMOD’s approach
Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience
Challenges in geo-information applications
• Big gaps exist in institutional capacities
• Conservative data sharing policies, data pricing
• Limited regional focus of national space agencies
• Technical limitations to address local scales
SERVIR-HKH Efforts to address the gaps
• Regional Drought Monitoring and Early Warning System
• Regional Land Cover Monitoring Service
• Enhancing Flood EWS in HKH
• Monitoring extreme weather in HKH
http://tethys.servirglobal.net/apps/hydroviewer/
Efforts to address the gaps
Himalayan GEOSS Develop the capacities to promote the use of EO data an
information for mountain specific situations • Develop and implement innovative EO and geospatial
applications and services •
Provide a regional platform for mutual learning and sharing opportunities
Foster regional cooperation for standardized data and information sharing
Conclusion
• ICIMOD as a neutral platform for scientific discourse
• Policy dialogs on transboundary issues and priorities
• Promoting regional collaboration framework between regional countries
• Networking/collaborating with global initiatives to bridge the gaps in
regional capacities