At a glance

Initiative goal

The project is addressing water issues by reviving springs and improving access to water for domestic and agricultural use in the regional member countries of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Regional Programme

River Basin and Cryosphere

For mountains and people

Spring & solar pumps, Clean energy

Our Focus

Solar powered irrigation

Impact assessment of solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) in the Nepal Terai, studies on benefit sharing in hydropower – case studies from Pakistan (mostly Upper Indus) and India (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim)

ICIMOD’s solar-powered irrigation pumps activity started in January 2015 under a grant from CGIAR’s WLE programme through a competitive bidding process. It proposed to undertake research on:

  • Understanding the demand for SPIPs under different financial packages for men and women, especially when additional financial incentives are provided to women farmers
  • Understanding  the impact of SPIPs on agricultural outcomes for SPIP owners

In 2015, ICIMOD worked with the Niti Foundation, a think tank based in Nepal on the issue of benefit sharing in hydropower in the country. In 2018, the project will carry out similar studies to look at benefit sharing in hydropower in Pakistan and the three Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

Featured Publication

Protocol for Reviving Springs in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

This handbook takes on the earlier attempts of RM&DD, and modifies it to suit the generic requirement of all ICIMOD RMCs. ICIMOD and ACWADAM, following a consultative process with major partners came up with detailed steps, which were then vetted at a workshop held in Gangtok, Sikkim, India in November 2015.

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NEWS AND FEATURES

Around the HKH

WE EMBRACE DIVERSITY

Meet the team

Both internally and externally, our multicultural staff and partners are our greatest asset. They provide us with a broad perspective across disciplines, and offer us localized knowledge like no other.

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Bhutan

EVENTS AROUND THE HKH

Our involvement

For mountains and people

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Spring and Solar pumps

People in the Hindu Kush Himalayas face economic and institutional water scarcity in areas where water is plentiful, but inaccessible. The inaccessibility is caused by a lack of rural electrification or irrigation infrastructure in the plains and because springs are increasingly drying up in the Himalayan mid-hills.

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Clean energy access

Low access to electricity and heavy reliance on traditional solid fuels for domestic cooking and heating are the hallmarks of poverty in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH).

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SPIP Farmer's Profiles

Fifty-three farming families in the Terai districts of Saptari, Bara, Rautahat, and Sarlahi in Nepal have enjoyed uninterrupted supply of water for irrigation since they installed solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) in their fields.

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Mountain Environment Regional Information System (MENRIS)

Other Initiatives

River Basin and Cryosphere

HKH Cryohub – In the spotlight – Ulfat Majeed
HKH Cryohub – In the spotlight – Ulfat Majeed
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KDKH TbWG Hydropower
KDKH TbWG Hydropower
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HKH Cryohub – In the spotlight – Arbindra Khadka
HKH Cryohub – In the spotlight – Arbindra Khadka
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Story competition: Stories of climate change from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya
Story competition: Stories of climate change from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya
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