Integrated planning workshop on LTSEM research framework for pilot implementation in the HKH – Pakistan

The Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape (HKPL), covering parts of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, is a highly fragile alpine ecosystem at the junction of three mountain ranges – the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and the western Himalaya. The landscape is threatened by negative impacts of climate and other changes.

ICIMOD plans to establish a long-term socio-ecological monitoring system in the HKPL to help local partners generate robust scientific knowledge about key ecosystems, biodiversity, and socio-ecological processes. The data gathered through Long-term Environment and Socio-ecological Monitoring (LTSEM) can help in early detection of potentially adverse impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, e-flows, and people.

The LTSEM pilot will generate scientific evidence that can help ICIMOD and its local partners in Pakistan – Karakoram International University (KIU) and Gilgit-Baltistan Forest, Wildlife and Parks Department (GBFWPD) – understand the effects of change on ecosystems, and design adaptation markers and pathways for sustainable and resilient mountain development in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.

Objectives

• Share the LTSEM concept and framework with key partners (KIU and GBFWPD) and mutually agree on the idea, partners, proposed processes, and anticipated results
• Facilitate GBFWPD to identify priority research/data needs (topics) for integration with the proposed LTSEM research plan and framework
• Discuss the LTSEM pilot sites, institutional arrangements, and other modalities of the proposed partnership

Expected outcomes

• Better understanding of LTSEM pilot among partners
• Integration of research priorities of GBFWPD into the LTSEM research framework drafted by ICIMOD and Karakoram International University (KIU)
• Consensus among partners on LTSEM pilot sites and partnership modalities

Agenda
All time are in Pakistan Standard Time (PKT).