Mountain regions are home to about 15% of the world’s population. Communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are no strangers to increasing temperatures, weather extremes, natural hazards, and the impacts they bring. Additionally, communities also face shocks and stressors such as migration, economic hardships, and demographic and political changes.

To address some of these issues, ICIMOD’s Resilient Mountain Solutions (RMS) Initiative tested simple and affordable resilience-building tools and approaches that communities in rural parts of the HKH can replicate. The initiative combined social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with climate change adaptation, resilience, and preparedness for future risks.

To showcase a selection of these tools and approaches, we have developed a book entitled ‘Resilient Mountain Solutions’ in collaboration with non-profit environmental communications centre, GRID-Arendal. The book exhibits 10 solutions that are simple, affordable, efficient, and grounded in local and scientific knowledge. These solutions have been tested in the HKH region and are suitable for up-scaling and outscaling to other regions. They have increased the resilience of thousands of people across the HKH and have the potential to transform the lives of many more across the region and beyond.

The 10 solutions showcased in the book include:

Solution 1. Building women’s skills as entrepreneurs: Supporting women in local enterprise to develop value chains can strengthen them socially and financially and reduce climate vulnerability.

Solution 2. Promoting green and resilient entrepreneurship: Green business can solve environmental problems, reduce poverty, and contribute to economic growth in mountain communities.

Solution 3. Managed honeybee pollination: Managing honeybees can increase food production and biodiversity and provide income.

Solution 4. Co-management of rangelands: Co-management of rangelands supports pastoralists in restoring and sustainably using grazing areas.

Solution 5. Spring revival: Managing springsheds (areas of land that contribute groundwater to a spring) helps improve water security, biodiversity, and climate resilience for communities facing water shortages.

Solution 6. Storing water in low-cost ways: Simple, low-cost water retention methods can reduce water scarcity and make irrigation possible throughout the year.

Solution 7. Home garden and polyhouse: Simple, low-cost greenhouses and home gardens help combat food and nutrition insecurity in the mountains.

Solution 8. Energy-efficient technologies: Improved stoves for drying herbs and fruits can help reduce the use of fuelwood and protect people’s health from hazardous smoke.

Solution 9. Digital services for disaster preparedness: Fire risk assessments and remote sensing data can use technology to reduce losses from forest fires and help better prepare for and prevent forest fires.

Solution 10. Digital services for resilient agriculture: Digital services provide crop advice, weather forecasts, market prices, and other information important to local farmer’s livelihoods.

Read more about the solutions: https://lib.icimod.org/record/36278

This book is open access and publicly available in our database.

Barsha Rani Gurung

Samridhi Tuladhar

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