5th Regional Annual Meeting and 9th Regional Strategic Committee Meeting

About the meetings

ICIMOD, serving as the secretariat for the Upper Indus Basin Network (UIBN), is organising the 5th Regional UIBN Annual Meeting (RUAM) from 12-15 November 2024, preceded by the 9th Regional Strategic Committee (RSC) meeting on 12 November 2024.

According to the UIBN governance framework, the RUAM convenes annually to review progress, address emerging challenges, and explore opportunities within the country chapters, while the RSC meets biannually to align the network’s strategic direction with evolving needs and contexts.

The primary objective of this year’s RUAM is to conduct an authors’ workshop aimed at developing and drafting chapters for the Indus River Basin Assessment, which will provide an overview of the basin’s status in terms of hydrology, disaster risks, resource development, and ecosystems for advancing integrated basin-wise management and cooperation. These two meetings will be held in conjunction with the International Mountain Forum (IMF) in Chengdu, China from 11-15 November 2024, to highlight the work of the UIBN.

The meetings are organised by ICIMOD’s Action Area A: Managing Cryosphere and Water Risks under Strategic Group (SG) 1: Reducing Climate and Environment Risks, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Government of Norway.

The key objectives of the RUAM are:

• Disseminate new and relevant research on the UIB
• Conduct an authors’ workshop for the Indus River Basin Assessment
• Explore opportunities to engage and support country chapters in the UIBN

The key objectives of the RSC meeting are:

• Provide guidance for the Indus River Basin Assessment and dissemination plan
• Discuss the arrangements for the next RSC meeting

Background

The Upper Indus Basin (UIB) shared by Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change impacts considering the large downstream dependence on the upstream for water resources. The UIBN was established in 2014 and expanded in 2018 to all the riparian countries by key stakeholders from these countries. UIBN is a voluntary and neutral knowledge and research network which aims to foster coordination among the stakeholders in research related to climate, cryosphere, water, hazards and vulnerability, and adaptation. It plays an important role in bringing together representatives of relevant government and non-government organizations, academia and policy makers to promote a shared understanding of regional challenges and opportunities and joint solutions to deal with the effects of climate change on water resources, water-induced hazards, and upstream/downstream linkages.

More on UIBN: https://www.icimod.org/initiative/about-uibn/