Back to news
2 Jan 2015 | News

Promoting regional efforts to reduce flood vulnerabilities

1 min Read

70% Complete

ICIMOD, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), organized the eighth Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting for the HKH-HYCOS project. This final SRC meeting of the current phase was held from 22 to 24 September 2014 at the ICIMOD headquarters in Kathmandu. Participants from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan as well as the WMO, Government of Finland, Finnish Meteorological Institute, ICIMOD, and international experts reviewed the project progress and endorsed a project proposal for the next phase, focusing on delivering lifesaving flood warning messages to vulnerable communities.

The HKH-HYCOS project is working to establish a regional flood information system in the HKH region in close collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the six regional partner countries namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. More specifically, the project seeks to reduce flood vulnerability in the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins by minimizing loss of lives and livelihoods. To that end, it works to strengthen regional cooperation for sharing flood data and information among the member countries. The project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Finland

The project has upgraded 37 hydromet stations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. These stations can now automatically observe rainfall and water level measurements. The project has established web-based regional and national flood information systems for sharing real-time data and information for reducing risks. The project is also piloting a regional flood outlook model using Mike 11 hydrological software. Apart from real-time hydromet data from the 37 stations upgraded by the project, freely available rainfall forecast data is being inputted into the flood outlook model to add value and improve accuracy of the model. In order to sustain the initiative, the project has focused heavily on enhancing partner organizations’ technical capacity in flood forecasting and communication, and sought public private partnerships, especially with telecom operators, for disaster risk reduction.
In view of the imminent funding shortage between the end of the current phase and the next phase, RSC members have committed to supporting some of the project activities through their national budget.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

related contents

Continue exploring this topic

22 Jul 2015 News
Community members speak of change in perception

On 14 July 2015, community members from the village of Dapcha in Nepal’s Kavre District gathered in a circle near ...

21 Jan 2020 News
Balancing hydropower development and freshwater ecosystem conservation in Nepal

Freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams, springs, and wetlands provide various direct and indirect services. They are a critical ...

8 Apr 2016 News
Strengthening Flood Risk Management in Bihar

The Expert Consultation Workshop on Improving Flood Risk Management in Bihar was organised by the Water Resources Department (WRD) of Bihar 18-19 ...

Participatory GIS for building community resilience

Over the years, the approach to natural disasters has changed from response and relief to risk reduction, with policy focusing ...

24 May 2017 SANDEE
ICIMOD Board of Governors Approves Two Key Planning Documents at Recent Annual Meeting

The Strategy and Results Framework (SRF) reviews ICIMOD’s various initiatives and programmes and provides a holistic ...

25 Jun 2018 CryoHub
Regional Dialogue on Cryosphere Monitoring

Over 50 cryosphere researchers attended the conference. Participants aimed to develop a policy framework where scientific research might help develop ...

Enhancing Data Compilation and Management Skills

A two-day regional orientation on data compilation and management was organized at ICIMOD on 5-6 April 2016. About 15 participants, ...

17 May 2016 News
ICIMOD’s Contribution to Implementation of the Prime Minister’s Directive to Accelerate Socioeconomic Development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is Recognised

The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MOCHTA) considers ICIMOD’s strategic framework for sustainable development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of ...