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Repositioning the Second HKH Ministerial Mountain Summit

ICIMOD aims to reinvigorate the ‘power of 8’ – working together with our eight regional member countries to achieve our vision of a green, more inclusive and climate-resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya – through strengthened regional cooperation.

Pema Gyamtsho

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Image: HKH Ministerial Mountain Summit 2020

As a flagship event, the postponement of our Second Ministerial Summit scheduled for 22nd September 2024 was a setback. At the same time, our work to boost transboundary cooperation and partnerships have never been as vigorous, and many of the initiatives and relationships are starting to yield extraordinary results. This work is less visible than summitry, it is the long-term, patient work of building relationships, of diplomacy, of organizing, and delivering.

This is the work to which ICIMOD remains unswervingly committed, as flood after fire after drought tell us, has never been more urgent.

It is evident in the painstaking work of our regional knowledge networks, in the crucial exchanges of actionable knowledge and policy influencing that we are seeing through our stepped-up science-policy dialogue series, in the powerful convening and supporting work that ICIMOD negotiating and science experts are providing to the delegates at last week’s Biodiversity COP, and at next week’s Climate COP.

Why regional cooperation matters

As the Director General of ICIMOD, I have seen firsthand the importance of regional cooperation and collaboration on shared challenges in the HKH region. The challenges we face – climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and disasters – do not respect national borders. Many challenges in one part of the HKH region have significant impacts on other areas. The Hindu Kush Himalaya are a shared resource, and we must act collectively to protect this fragile mountain ecosystem which supports the lives and livelihoods of close to two billion people, either directly or indirectly. ICIMOD strongly believes in consultation and greatly values advice from its regional member countries. This summit primarily aims to unite the eight HKH countries to tackle these escalating threats through collective actions.

In 2020, ministers from these countries took a historic step by signing the first HKH Ministerial Declaration, committing to a unified response. The declaration states, “We recognise and support the vision of the HKH Call to Action – which calls for a prosperous, peaceful and poverty-free region that is food, energy and water secure, and climate and disaster-resilient communities in the mountains, downstream and beyond.”

The signatories recognised that the challenges we face are too great for any single country to address alone. The declaration laid the groundwork for the creation of a formal regional institutional mechanism to foster cooperation and bring our shared priorities to the global stage. The second summit intends to build on that momentum, advancing our collective efforts to protect the region and secure a sustainable future for its people.

High-level decision-making platform for enhancing regional cooperation

The creation of a High-Level Task Force (HLTF) following the 2020 declaration was a crucial step. Comprising senior government officials from all eight HKH countries, the HLTF has been working diligently since 2021 to explore how best to institutionalise regional cooperation. Their recommendation was to establish a HKH Ministerial Forum that would meet biennially and serve as the high-level decision-making platform for enhancing regional cooperation in addressing the existential threats posed by climate change, pollution and ecosystem degradation. This recommendation will be tabled at the Second Ministerial Mountain Summit.

Looking ahead

As we work to reschedule this important summit, following further consultations with the regional member countries, I urge all HKH nations to continue supporting our collaboration. Our region’s challenges are vast, but so too are the opportunities for cooperation, collaboration and shared success.

We are confident that given our region’s shared geographical, historical, cultural and economic ties, our efforts to forge a strong alliance towards addressing the common challenges by emphasising on scientific collaboration and exchange of information and knowledge, will receive added impetus from our member countries.  We feel deeply encouraged by last week’s historic breakthrough in relations between two of our regional member countries as their heads of state met on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit and agreed to a significant de-escalation around border issues.

Together, we can build a resilient, prosperous future for the HKH and its people.

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11 Dec 2023 China
2023年国际山岳日:恢复山地生态系统

山地被广泛认为是生物多样性的发源地,其陡峭的斜坡孕育了各种繁复的生命形式。这些地区作为自然的庇护所变得愈发重要:虽然它们只占据了地球总面积的四分之一,却容纳了地球上85%的两栖动物、鸟类和哺乳动物。这种丰富的自然资源在联合国教科文组织的738个全球生物圈保护区中得到体现,其中明显超过一半位于山区。 然而,令人担忧的是,这些自然资源的非凡丰富正面临威胁。过去,由于偏远或地形困难,山地得以免受人类干扰,但如今这种状况逐渐减少。曾经被视为大自然摇篮和避难所的山地正在逐渐转变成墓地。在兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区,上个世纪就已经失去了70%的生物多样性。这些损失,包括物种的灭绝,如今正以加速度增长,正如ICIMOD的重要评估报告《兴都库什喜马拉雅的水、冰、社会和生态系统》(简称《HIWISE报告》)所指出的那样。 在公众、政治和外交层面,人们越来越认识到自然是我们当前危机中最重要的解决方案之一。联合国已宣布2021-2030年为生态系统恢复十年,去年,《昆明-蒙特利尔全球生物多样性框架》的指导下,全球100多个政府承诺在2030年之前将30%的陆地和海洋保留给自然,其中包括兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区。今年,在联合国全球气候大会COP28上,自然首次成为讨论的核心议题。 这些努力,以及今年国际山岳日的“生态系统恢复”主题,为恢复和保护山区景观提供了迫切需要的推动力。那么,我们的八个成员国离实现“30x30”目标有多近呢?到目前为止,不丹是唯一一个实际超额达标的国家,其51.4%的土地面积已经属于各种保护区类别。 尼泊尔只有不到24%的土地受到保护;中国仅为16%,略高于目标的一半;巴基斯坦占12%;印度为8%;缅甸为7%;孟加拉国为5%,阿富汗为4%。 令人担忧的是,在整个兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区,自然资源仍然丰富的关键区域仍处在保护之外:67%的生态区、39%的生物多样性热点、69%的关键生物多样性区域以及76%的重要鸟类和生物多样性区都没有得到保护。 现有的保护区域犹如在人类改变过的景观中的“孤岛”,缺乏与其他保护区域的连通走廊,无法满足广泛分布的物种需求,并且面临非法捕猎、侵占和资源开采的压力。现有的保护区域不足以确保成功保护我们地区的象征性物种,包括亚洲象、独角犀牛和孟加拉虎。 一个尚未尝试的解决方案是建立跨界生物圈保护区,这将允许在景观层面进行综合保护。实现这一目标需要跨越国家边界的共同政治承诺,并在共享生态系统的管理方面展开合作。ICIMOD将积极推动我们区域成员国接受这一解决方案。 然而,底线是,要扭转自然的损失,我们必须对其进行估值并提供相应的资金支持。只要经济学家继续将其价值定为零,就不会引起足够的重视。在进行估值之前,拥有大量自然资本但经济欠发达的国家将因为缺乏3A信用评级而难以以较低贷款利率借款。必须为该地区的国家提供更便宜的资本来促使自然的恢复:这是ICIMOD将与我们的成员、多边开发银行和其他机构紧急合作推进的事项。为了防止地球系统完全崩溃,我们必须为大自然提供一个适宜的生存环境,这一观点从未像现在这样显而易见。

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