Back to news
22 May 2019 | Atmosphere Initiative

Knowledge brokering and policy engagement through the CCAC to address atmospheric pollution

The future of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region in the face of climate change is of utmost importance, given the extensive ecosystem services it provides to directly sustain the livelihoods of 240 million people living in the region. Changes in the climatic and socioeconomic conditions at the global and regional levels have profound implications on the local communities in the HKH. For over 35 years, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has contributed to national and global discourses to inform policy on issues of global significance, such as atmospheric pollution, with focus always centered on serving the interests and needs of communities in the eight countries along the HKH. ICIMOD’s instrumental role in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) is a fitting example of its commitment to facilitating policy changes and action on the ground.

2 mins Read

70% Complete
Inauguration of the newly established FABKA secretariat in Kathmandu. ICIMOD, 2019.

The CCAC is the first global effort to treat pollutants as a collective challenge. Formed in 2012, it is a partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions, and civil society that aims to catalyze concrete, substantial action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), such as black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and some hydrofluorocarbons, which have harmful impacts on public health, agriculture, and ecosystems. Due to their relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere, quick action to reduce SLCP concentrations can deliver results in a matter of weeks to years after emissions are reduced. To promote these actions, CCAC raises awareness, mobilizes resources, and leads transformative actions through 11 initiatives in key emitting and cross-cutting sectors.

Since joining the CCAC in its founding year, ICIMOD has assumed a core institutional engagement role in defining its global outlook, particularly in the Bricks, Urban, and Regional Assessment activities. ICIMOD has served on the CCAC Steering Committee since 2015. On the basis of on-the-ground expertise, ICIMOD lobbied for the ongoing process to extend CCAC’s mandate beyond 2022 and to expand it beyond addressing SLCPs.

CCAC’s 10th High Level Assembly at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) recognized the importance of integrating climate and air quality actions and passed the “Action Programme to Address the 1.5°C Challenge” to rapidly reduce SLCPs and ensure integrated mitigation efforts to simultaneously address air pollution and climate change. These efforts can help avert a 0.6˚C temperature increase between now and 2050, prevent millions of premature deaths from air pollution, prevent 50 million tons of crop losses annually, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Fazullhaq Bakhtari, Director, Water Resources Department, underlined the importance of understanding and managing Afghanistan’s river basins and hoped the training would aid water resources planning. The first week of the training provided a theoretical description of hydrological processes with a focus on the JAMS/J2000 modelling system. The latter half of the training involved an exercise on the Panjshir catchment, which involved setting up the J2000 hydrological model in the catchment and conducting hydrological assessments. Initial assessments show that the basin is largely dominated by snowmelt processes. Ahmad Tamim Kabiry, a participant representing the NEPA, shared that the trainers presented complex topics in such a manner that it was understandable even to those without a background in hydrology.

By applying the JAMS/J2000 model to the Panjshir catchment, this training was able to co-create knowledge and provide co-learning opportunities and strengthen the capacity of Afghan partners on hydrological dynamics and water availability assessment. The selected participants will further work to apply the J2000 model in the Kabul River basin in the coming months to obtain substantial hydrological data and observe how conditions in the river basin might change under climate change.

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 CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

17 Apr 2015 News
A new collaboration to manage forests

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will be collaborating with the World Resources Institute (WRI) through its Global Forest Watch (GFW) initiative ...

29 Sep 2015 News
Thana Glacier Mass Balance measurement and monitoring in Chamkhar Chu Basin, Bhutan

  The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), with the support of Government of Norway in collaboration with the 

Preserving Traditions and Strengthening Livelihoods through Transboundary Yak Conservation

Nepal, India, and Bhutan – which share the transboundary Kangchenjunga landscape in the eastern Himalaya – have been connected through ...

14 Dec 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
HKH Features at UNFCCC COP 23

During another side event on 7 November, representatives from the two ends of the geographical spectrum, the small islands and ...

Enhancing Data Compilation and Management Skills

A two-day regional orientation on data compilation and management was organized at ICIMOD on 5-6 April 2016. About 15 participants, ...

21 Jun 2016 News
ICIMOD Supports the Celebration of International Biodiversity Day in Afghanistan

ICIMOD, together with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), celebrated the International Biodiversity Day in Kabul on ...

2 Feb 2017 Himalica
Himalica Pilot Partners Meet to Review 2016 Progress and Plan for 2017

  At the regional review and planning workshop held in Kathmandu, Nepal, this January, Himalica pilot implementing partners from Bangladesh, Bhutan, ...

30 Jul 2015 News
ICIMOD’s REDD+ Himalaya initiative kicks off in Nepal

The REDD+ Himalaya Initiative of ICIMOD was formally launched during an inception meeting on ‘REDD+ Himalayas: Developing and using experience ...