Co-learning review and planning meeting with partners

About the meeting

To address the issue of drying springs and evolving threats to water security across the region, we signed an agreement with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for an initiative on the development and implementation of science-based springshed management in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) in October 2020.

We are conducting a meeting with our partners to reflect on the progress of the initiative and develop plans for it in the coming months. Specific objectives include:

• Review the overall progress of the initiative
• Reflect on output wise plans, achievements, and the way forward
• Discuss the Decision Support System (DSS) and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
• Next steps for knowledge management, communication, and outreach
• Prepare for the regional workshop on springshed management

Background

The initiative on the development and implementation of science-based springshed management in the Indian Himalayan Region is supported under SDC’s project on Strengthening State Strategies for Climate Action (SCA-Himalaya). ICIMOD jointly with Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT-R), and People’s Science Institute (PSI), along with government and non-government partners are implementing this action research initiative to advance scientific knowledge, capacity building, and develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for springshed management.

The action research under the initiative is being implemented at four pilot locations in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Manipur. While the field implementation of this initiative will be across the four pilot sites in the IHR, the lessons from the experience will be used for scaling up spring rejuvenation at the regional level.

Tentative agenda

Moderated by: ICIMOD