As an intergovernmental organization with observer status accorded by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), ICIMOD will also closely observe the main proceedings and negotiations that take place during the plenary sessions.

Agenda

Background

The Future of the HKH Mountains Matters to Over Two Billion People

Extending 3, 500 km over eight countries, from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east and crossing Pakistan, India, China, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the HKH is one of the world’s greatest mountain systems: home to the world’s highest peaks, unique cultures, diverse flora and fauna, and a vast reserve of natural resources. The HKH directly supports the livelihoods of over 240 million people living in its hills and mountains, and it yields many benefits to the 1.65 billion people living downstream. As the source of 10 major Asian rivers, the HKH provides essential resources, especially water and biodiversity, to 1.9 billion people. Its waters irrigate the grain baskets of Asia.

The HKH is a vital regional lifeline, but human drivers and climate change pose grave and immediate threats to the region’s livelihoods, biodiversity, and ultimately sustainability. Changes on the rooftop of the world are having and will continue to have major consequences, not only for the region but globally. Local, national, regional, and global actions are urgently needed to sustain this global asset, focusing on substantially increased investments and more robust regional cooperation for sustaining mountain environments and improving livelihoods in the HKH and concerted action to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100.

The HKH Call to Action Consultations

Based on the key findings of the HKH Assessment report, published (Springer Nature 2019) and released early this year, the HKH Call to Action has been developed as a roadmap for the future of the HKH region. The HKH Assessment report concludes that we know enough to take action, and that action is urgently needed. Through a series of HKH Call to Action Consultations in ICIMOD’s regional member countries held from April to November 2019, the key findings and main messages of the HKH Assessment report and the HKH Call to Action were shared with a larger audience with the aim of building momentum for more robust regional cooperation and a roadmap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the mountains. During these consultations, think tanks, senior experts, and high-level decision makers discussed the key findings of the HKH Assessment report, debated and validated its Call to Action, and charted a way forward for more robust regional cooperation around mountains to sustain this globally critical region.

Specifically, the HKH Call to Action Country Consultations used the multi-stakeholder platform to share the key findings of the HKH Assessment report, solicited inputs on the HKH Call to Action for integration with national and regional priorities and jointly identify and develop the road map for the HKH Call to Action to promote the mountain agenda. The response to both the HKH Assessment report and the HKH Call to Action has been very positive and has been leading to increased ownership of the HKH Call to Action in the HKH countries.