Codeveloping and coplanning joint activities for ICIMOD’s MTAP V

About the event

ICIMOD, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Committee on ICIMOD (CN-ICIMOD), is coorganising a consultation meeting with its regional partners from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. During the meeting, we will brief our partner institutions on our new Strategy 2030 and Medium-Term Action Plan (MTAP) V (2023–2026) and produce joint work plans to further strengthen collaboration and partnership.

The event is being facilitated under the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) supported by the Government of the United Kingdom through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

Objectives

• Share and conduct in-depth discussions on:
  • Strategy 2030, MTAP V, and scope for cooperation in China
  • CN-ICIMOD’s future plan and alignment with ICIMOD’s Strategy 2030 and MTAP V
• Codevelop and coplan activities under ICIMOD’s action areas and identify Chinese partners
• Discuss the scope and modality for knowledge, learning, and experience-sharing visits related to various thematic areas

Expected outcomes

• Strengthened collaboration with CN-ICIMOD and partners in China
• Joint initial work plans for MTAP V, strategic partnerships and implementation mechanisms, and clear roles and responsibilities of ICIMOD and its partners
• Initial work plan for partners of HI-REAP in China and other Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries

Background

At ICIMOD, as we mark our 40^th year of establishment, we have developed a new roadmap in the form of our Strategy 2030 and MTAP V (2023–2026) to enhance cooperation and collaboration for a greener, more inclusive, and climate-resilient HKH. With this new direction, we are embarking on a new four-year cycle, committed to driving policy and practice. For this, we aim to deploy our position as a leading regional intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre to catalyse necessary transitions in policy, action, and investment. Ownership by all HKH countries is critical for our work to remain relevant and effective.

Along with partners in China, we will focus our efforts on climate and environment policies and plans. We will gear these efforts towards mitigating cryosphere and water risks, promoting clean air, fostering green resilient livelihoods, developing green mountain economies, promoting ecological restoration, and scaling nature-based solutions for water security and disaster risk reduction. These thematic areas are also integral components of HI-REAP, which will be implemented over a period of seven years (2022–2029) in five HKH countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.

About CN-ICIMOD

Since ICIMOD’s inception in 1983, CAS has served as the designated focal agency where the incumbent vice president of CAS formally represents China in ICIMOD’s Board of Governors. In 2006, CAS established CN-ICIMOD to promote bilateral cooperation and strengthen partnerships in China. CN-ICIMOD is a national platform that fosters closer collaboration between ICIMOD and its partners in China and coordinates and facilitates ICIMOD activities in China.

CN-ICIMOD has a secretariat and five regional offices in China. The secretariat is housed in the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE, CAS) in Chengdu and coordinates the regional offices in operation. The regional offices are located in Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB, CAS), Sichuan; University CAS (UCAS, CAS), Beijing; Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG, CAS), Yunnan; Tibetan Academy of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (TAAAS), Tibet Autonomous Region; and Lanzhou University (LU, also referred to LZU), Lanzhou, Gansu. ICIMOD and CN-ICIMOD renewed their partnership agreement in April 2022.