ICIMOD-NSFC Cooperation

On November 27, 2015, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote collaborative scientific research. Under NSFC’s Sustainable Development International Cooperation Program (SDIC) and aligned with ICIMOD’s strategic priorities, both organisations jointly fund research conducted by Chinese scientists, ICIMOD experts, and international partners. This collaborative initiative aims to advance scientific knowledge and foster regional cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, particularly in China and its neighbouring countries.

From 2017 to 2020, the ICIMOD-NSFC collaboration supported 20 research projects with a total funding of 40 million RMB (Chinese yuan). These projects focused on critical issues such as hydrological and environmental changes in transboundary river basins, surface water cycle dynamics in the Himalayas, glacier changes and hydrological impacts in the upper Indus River Basin, land use change and its effects on ecosystem services, rural livelihood adaptation, and water quality variation mechanisms in the Koshi River Basin.

Following a temporary pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICIMOD-NSFC cooperation resumed in 2023. Five key research projects were awarded funding of 2 million RMB each for the 2024–2026 period. Additionally, for the 2025–2027 cycle, six more projects have been approved, including one key research project (2 million RMB) and five capacity–building projects (0.6 million RMB each). By supporting these research projects, the ICIMOD-NSFC partnership strengthens ICIMOD’s engagement with China while leveraging Chinese scientific expertise and resources for regional and international scientific cooperation.

List of funded projects (from the most recent):

Batch: 2025–2027

No.	Project Title	Chinese co-principal investigator and institute	ICIMOD collaborators	Other partner institutes
1	Spatio-temporal coupling dynamic evolution of water-land elements and its ecological security risks in Koshi river basin under the influence of climate change and human activities	Li Ainong, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE), Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Conservancy, China	Faisal Mueen Qamer, Rongkun Liu
2	Formation Mechanism and Sub-seasonal Dynamic Prediction of Extreme Rainfall in the Southern Slopes of the Himalayan Region	Bao Qing, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS), China	Rongkun Liu, Manish Shrestha, Pradeep Dangol	Dalian Maritime University, China; Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM); Nepal; Department of Local Governance and Disaster Management (DLGDM), Bhutan
3	Analysis of the Causes of Heat Waves and Construction of an Intelligent Seasonal Prediction Model in the Southern Slopes of the Central and Western Himalayas	Jia Xiaojing, Zhejiang University, China	Rongkun Liu, Manish Shrestha, Pradeep Dangol	Pakistan Meteorological Department; DHM Nepal; Beijing Normal University, China
4	Hazard of outburst floods caused by landslide dam at the eastern and western of the Himalayas	Liu Weiming, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE), Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Conservancy, China	Rongkun Liu	Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Germany
5	Impact of climate change on tea production in the Himalayan Region and its adaptation strategies	Wang Xue, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , China	Abid Hussain
6	Causes of Conflict between Musk Deer and Grazing Livestock and Their Coexistence Mechanisms in the Greater Himalayan Region	Xu Zengrang Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China	Kesang Wangchuk	Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Batch: 2024-2026

No.	Project Title	Chinese co-PI & Institute	ICIMOD collaborators	Other Partner Institutes
1	Effects of vegetation diversity on yak dietary selection and milk performance in Trans-Himalaya rangelands	Ruijun Long, Lanzhou University, China	Tashi Dorji	Rangeland Research Institute at National Agricultural Research Center, Pakistan; Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, India; National Animal Breeding and Genetics Research Centre, Nepal; Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Nepal; Tribhuvan University, Nepal
2	Development Pathway Decision Support for the Construction of Environment-Society Big Data Platform in Typical Hilly Regions	Zhongchang Sun, the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)	Birendra Bajracharya, Sudip Pradhan	Nanjing Normal University, China; Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
3	Understanding Landslide-induced Multi-hazards for Building Resilient Communities along Trans-Himalayan Socio-economic Corridors	Ningsheng Chen, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Yangtze University, China	Rongkun Liu, Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Sudan Bikash Maharjan, Neera Shrestha Pradhan, Manish Shrestha	Sichuan University, China; LMU Munich, Germany; Tribhuvan University, Nepal
4	Coupled processes between water-mass dynamics and glacier hazards in the Upper Indus Basin	Qiao Liu, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China	Sher Muhammad, Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Rongkun Liu, Prashant Baral, Sunwi Maskey, Miriam Jackson	Yunnan University, China; Hunan University of Science and Technology, China; Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; COMSATS University, Pakistan; Karakoram International University, Pakistan; University of Graz, Austria
5	Impact of pastoral transformation on biodiversity and ecosystem services on Tibet Plateau-Himalaya region	Dong Shikui, Beijing Forestry University, China	Yi Shaoliang	Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (GIIS), Nepal

About

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is the governmental science funding agency in China for supporting basic research programmes including those on mountain ecosystems and biodiversity loss, agriculture and environment, climate change and sustainable mountain development, engaging all the research institutes and universities in China which register with the NSFC. NSFC is dedicated to supporting Chinese scientists wishing to participate in international cooperation and exchange activities, to implement international collaboration working with intergovernmental organisations, and to accomplish its international cooperation strategy by reaching bilateral and/or multi-lateral agreements (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn).

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is an international organisation established in 1983, that is working to make the HKH region greener, more inclusive and climate resilient. For more information, read our Strategy 2030 and explore our website.

ICIMOD’s work with China

As a founding member, China has played a crucial role in ICIMOD’s collaborative efforts, particularly through long-term partnerships with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and affiliated institutions. Over the past four decades, these collaborations have contributed to significant achievements in transboundary environmental research, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and biodiversity conservation. By leveraging ICIMOD’s extensive regional network, Chinese scientists have worked closely with experts from other member countries to address shared environmental challenges, advance scientific research, and promote sustainable mountain development.

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ICIMOD-NSFC Cooperation

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ICIMOD’s work with China

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