Back to news
24 Jul 2018 | News

ICIMOD Transboundary Landscapes Programme Receives Global Award for Outstanding Achievement

ICIMOD’s Transboundary Landscapes Regional Programme received the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s (RNRF) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2018.

2 mins Read

70% Complete

The prestigious award recognizes efforts by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partners to build a platform to bring countries together to sustain vital natural resources, protect unique natural and cultural heritage, and improve the lives of millions of people living in remote mountain landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Progress toward this has been possible through the programme’s innovative, transboundary approach to managing landscapes shared by multiple countries.

ICIMOD first introduced the transboundary landscapes approach to its work in 2009, and has helped pioneer the approach in the HKH region. Inspired by the Convention on Biological Diversity’s ecosystem approach, it seeks to simultaneously address conservation and development challenges that transcend boundaries through increased knowledge sharing and cooperation. ICIMOD has been implementing the approach through four initiatives under the Transboundary Landscapes programme in parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan since 2013 (see map):

  1. Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (China, India, Nepal)
  2. Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (Bhutan, India, Nepal)
  3. Hindu Kush Pamir Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan)
  4. Landscape Initiative for the Far Eastern Himalaya (China, India, Myanmar)
  5. Regional REDD+ Initiative (Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan)

The Transboundary Landscapes programme draws together the strengths of more than 55 governmental and non-governmental partners to address the interests of multiple stakeholders – from local communities and institutions to national government agencies and the private sector. It has demonstrated that inter-country frameworks on ecosystem and cultural services can be a bridge for collaboration between countries in a region prone to conflict and with countries in variable stages of development. Through its initiatives, it has developed the capacity of local institutions, tested innovative and inclusive approaches to producing and marketing niche mountain products, and created common standards for monitoring environmental and social change.

By testing solutions on the ground and developing common research protocol, the programme is creating a body of knowledge that is used to inform high-level decision making and strengthen dialogue and cross learning among countries. This has helped bring coherence to policies across borders and promoted strategic partnerships to sustain mountain ecosystem services and promote livelihood benefits at the landscape level.

The Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF) is a non-profit, public policy research organization based in the USA. It is a consortium of scientific, professional, educational organizations whose primary purpose is to advance science, the application of science, and public education in managing and conserving renewable natural resources. The Outstanding Achievement Award is determined through a global competition. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on 29 November 29 2018 in Potomac, Maryland, USA. More information about the award is available at www.rnrf.org/awards.html.

For more information about ICIMOD’s Transboundary Landscapes Regional Programme, please visit www.icimod.org/?q=9121.

2
3
1. Commerce, culture, and shared natural resources have connected communities living across borders in remote landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalaya for centuries. The Limi Valley is a traditional trade route that connects communities in the Tibetan Plateau to those living in the mountains and lowlands of India and Nepal in the Kailash Sacred Landscape. Photo Credit: Wang Lama 2. Collaboration between countries that are part of a single landscape is essential to protect threatened species, like these Marco Polo sheep in Zorkul Nature Reserve in Tajikistan, part of the Hindu Kush Karakoram Pamir Landscape. Photo credit: Zhang Lixun/Lanzhou University 3. Strengthening connections between countries within a landscape could help develop cross-border trade and tourism, while conserving the local environment and rich cultural heritage. The Haa Summer Festival in Bhutan is one tourist attraction within the Kangchenjunga Landscape, which connects Bhutan, India, and Nepal. Photo Credit: Jitendra Bajracharya/ICIMOD

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

16 Sep 2015 HKPL
Collaboration important for Wakhan National Park

ICIMOD and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of Afghanistan (MAIL) jointly organised a one-day meeting 5 August 2015 to explore ...

14 Dec 2015 Atmosphere Initiative
Motivating Journalists on Atmospheric Issues

  Twenty eight highly motivated journalists from eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region —Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, ...

Himalayan Nettle Links Marginalised to Private Sector

  'There is commercial value to each and every thing if you have an eye for it', said Chief Executive Officer ...

22 Sep 2015 News
SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) and private sector engagement in climate change

The SAARC region is one of the most densely populated and ecologically vulnerable regions in the world housing more than 40 percent ...

13 Aug 2021 KSL
Kailash CAFE: Promoting sustainability in the Kailash Sacred Landscape through academic collaboration

The Kailash Consortium of Academics and Researchers for Experience-sharing (Kailash CAFE) showcased the diversity of research ...

14 Dec 2017 News
Knowledge Brokering to Monitor the Third Pole

As an intergovernmental agency focusing on applied research and knowledge sharing, ICIMOD works to bridge the gap between academia, researchers, ...

29 Jul 2015 News
Micro-planning in Myanmar

The ‘Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Initiative’ facilitated a three-day micro-planning workshop in Kyaung Taung ...

5 Aug 2016 News
SERVIR Workshop Helps Finalise M&E Framework

  A regional workshop on ‘SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) impact pathway, partnership and communication strategy’ was held 11-15 July 2016 ...