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Regional Annual Meeting and Strategic Committee Meeting of the Upper Indus Basin Network

Programmes

River Basin and Cryosphere

Venue

MS Teams

Date & Time

22 February 2022 to 23 February 2022

Contact

Arun Bhakta Shrestha & Ajaz Ali

About the meeting

The Indus Basin Initiative as the secretariat for the Upper Indus Basin Network (UIBN) is organizing the Regional UIBN Annual Meeting (RUAM) on 22 February 2022 and the Regional Strategic Committee (RSC) meeting on 23 February 2022. As per the governance framework of the UIBN, the RUAM meets annually to discuss progress, emerging challenges, and opportunities in the country chapters, whereas the RSC meets biannually to align the strategic direction of the network with changing needs and context.

The key objectives of the meetings are as follows:

Strengthen regional cooperation for sustainable management of the UIB
Share new and relevant research related to the UIB
Share experiences and progress of the UIBN country chapters

Event proceedings

The Regional UIBN Annual Meeting (RUAM)

The Regional Strategic Committee (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/

Country chapter’s experiences, progress, and plans

UIBN Afghanistan Chapter – Naim Eqrar, Country Chapter Coordinator
UIBN China Chapter – Shiyin Liu, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, China
UIBN Pakistan Chapter – Muhammad Ashraf, Country Chapter Coordinator
Gender Resource Group (GRG) – Sadaf Dar, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), Pakistan

Scientific presentations

Current glacier status and ELA changes since decision the Late Pleistocene in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan – M. Tayib Bromand, Co-Coordinator, UIBN-Afghanistan
The spatial variability of glacier mass budget in the Upper Indus Basin during the early 21st century – Wu Kunpeng, Yunnan University in Kunming, China
Assessment of sustainable hydropower potential in the Upper Indus Basin – Sanita Dhaubanjar, PhD Fellow, ICIMOD
Site selection for managed aquifer recharge in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, using a multi-criteria decision – M. Salem Hussaini, Kabul Polytechnic University, Afghanistan
Socio-Hydrology of the Upper Indus Basin – Marcus Nüsser, Heidelberg University, Germany
Future upstream water consumption and its impact on downstream availability in the transboundary Indus basin – Arthur Lutz, Utrecht University, Netherlands

Tentative agenda

Day	Afghanistan	Pakistan	India	Nepal	China	Australia
Day 1 RUAM	08:30-15:15	09:00–15:45	09:30–16:15	09:45–16:30	12:00–18:45	15:05–21:45
Day 2 RSC	08:25–11:15	09:05–11:45	9:35–12:15	9:50–12:30	12:05–14:45	15:10–17:45

Time (in NPT)	Programme	Facilitator
9:45–10:00	Registration	Ashmita Shakya, Programme Associate – River Basins and Cryosphere, ICIMOD
10:00–10:20	Opening session Welcome remarks – Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD (5 mins) Remarks – Naim Eqrar, Chair, UIBN (5 mins) Objectives of the meeting and overview of last RUAM meeting decisions: Arun Shrestha, ICIMOD (5 mins) Remarks – HE Felicity Volk, Australian Ambassador to Nepal	Arun Shrestha, Regional Progamme Manager – River Basins and Cryosphere, ICIMOD
10:20-11:20	Session 1: Country chapter’s experiences, progress, and plans (8+4 min each) UIBN Afghanistan Chapter – Naim Eqrar, Country Chapter Coordinator UIBN China Chapter – Shiyin Liu, Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, China UIBN India Chapter – P. Dimri, Country Chapter Coordinator UIBN Pakistan Chapter – Muhammad Ashraf, Country Chapter Coordinator Gender Resource Group (GRG) – Sadaf Dar, Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN), Pakistan	Naim Eqrar, Chair, UIBN
11:20-11:35	Tea break
11:35-12:35	Session 2: UIBN Advisors panel discussion Panelists: Fayezurahman Azizi, Advisor, Afghanistan Chapter Shiyin Liu, UIBN China Chapter Ghulam Jeelani, India Chapter Nisar A. Memon, Advisor, UIBN Pakistan Chapter David Molden, International Advisor, UIBN Arun B Shrestha, Advisor, ICIMOD The panelists will provide three key recommendations for the UIBN regional forum and country chapters to promote regional cooperation in the next two to five years and beyond, considering the COVID-19 pandemic	Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD
12:35–14:00	Break
14:00-14:55	Session 3: Scientific presentations Experiences and new research findings from the Indus Basin, (8+2) min each) Current glacier status and ELA changes since decision the Late Pleistocene in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan – M. Tayib Bromand, Co-Coordinator, UIBN- Afghanistan The spatial variability of glacier mass budget in the Upper Indus Basin during the early 21st century – Wu Kunpeng, Yunnan University in Kunming, China Spatiotemporal Analysis of Extreme Precipitation Characteristics in Upper Indus Basin – Dhyan S. Arya, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Baseline data collection for monitoring of Hispar Glacier in Hunza Valley Pakistan – Syed Hammad Ali, Glaciologist, Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Assessment of sustainable hydropower potential in the Upper Indus Basin –Sanita Dhaubanjar, PhD Fellow, ICIMOD	Neera Shrestha Pradhan, ICIMOD
14:55-15:10	Tea break
15:10-16:00	Session 3: Scientific presentations (Continued) Site selection for managed aquifer recharge in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, using a multi-criteria decision – M. Salem Hussaini, Kabul Polytechnic University, Afghanistan Socio-Hydrology of the Upper Indus Basin – Marcus Nüsser, Heidelberg University, Germany Future upstream water consumption and its impact on downstream availability in the transboundary Indus basin – Arthur Lutz, Utrecht University, Netherlands
16:00-16:30	Session 4: Closings session Key outcomes and action points of the meeting – Arun Shrestha, ICIMOD (10 mins)Remarks (5 min each) Basanta Shrestha, Director Strategic Cooperation, ICIMOD (5 mins) Naim Eqrar, Chairperson, UIBN (5 mins)Vote of thanks	Ajaz Ali, Programme Officer – River Basins and Cryosphere, ICIMOD

RSC Meeting (23 February 2022) – for RSC members only

Time (in NPT)	Programme	Facilitator
9:50–10:00	Registration	Ashmita Shakya, ICIMOD
10:00–10:20	Opening session Recap of the decisions and actions of last RSC meeting – Arun Shrestha, ICIMOD Objective of meeting – Naim Eqrar, Chairperson, UIBN	Chair: Naim Eqrar, Chair, UIBN
10:20–12:20	Remarks: Why regional cooperation is important in the UIB context –Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD Remarks– The importance of UIBN to promote regional cooperation in the riparian countries – Naim Eqrar, Chair, UIBN Remarks from the RSC members How should UIBN position itself at the country and regional levels to play its due role in achieving its defined objectives? What should be the key focus area of this platform in the next two years and five years? Decide the next RSC as well as RUAM’s agenda outline, dates, and venue AOB
12:20–12:30	Outcomes and action points of the meeting – Arun Shrestha, ICIMOD Vote of thanks