Back to news
3 Jul 2015 | News

Two senior ICIMOD staff in Silk Road think tank

1 min Read

70% Complete

ICIMOD’s Director Programme Operations Dr Eklabya Sharma and Livelihoods Theme Leader Dr Golam Rasul have been named members of the Silk Road Economic Belt think tank. This is a leading think tank with globally recognized scientists in the areas of policy and strategic analysis.

The creation of the think tank follows the June 2014 international conference on ‘Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development of Silk Road Economic Belt’ organized by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in Beijing, China.

Among others, the IGSNRR conference had recommended the establishment of ‘The International Scientific Alliance of the Silk Road Economic Belt’, under which providing scientific think tank support for governments of the nations along the Silk Road was a major objective.

The idea of developing the ancient ‘Silk Road’ as new ‘Economic Belt’ was mooted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a speech in Kazakshstan in 2013. The fabled old Silk Road in the higher latitude runs through China, Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe, while the other longitudinal Silk Road connects the Mongolian north to northeast India and also connects north of central Asia to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The sea route connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia fall in the Silk Road Economic Belt. However, the old Silk Road gets most of the emphasis.

According to Dr Eklabya Sharma, the think tank should bring the modern-day paradigm to the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ development concept. “It should also provide ideas and means of connecting northern Silk Road Belt with southern Maritime route in terms of both environmental sustainability and economic prosperity,” he said.

Dr Eklabya Sharma said improving the livelihoods of the local people while taking care of the environmental safeguards in implementing development programmes in the Silk Road Economic Belt is crucial. At the Beijing conference, Dr Eklabya Sharma also emphasized the establishment of ‘Silk Road Economic Belt Information System’.

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

29 Jan 2016 News
Developing PES Policy

ICIMOD has been actively engaged in Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) policy formulation support with Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation ...

2 Jan 2015 News
Promoting regional efforts to reduce flood vulnerabilities

ICIMOD, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), organized the eighth Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting ...

25 May 2015 News
ICIMOD provides relief to earthquake-affected local staff

In the aftermath of the Great Earthquake of 25 April that ripped through north-central Nepal, ICIMOD put together ...

26 Sep 2016 News
Partner Relationships Management System Version 2.0 launched

A Partner Relationships Management (PRM) System Version 2.0 was launched coinciding with planning and review meeting of the International Centre ...

21 Mar 2019 Gender in Koshi
Transforming gender and social perceptions in the brick industry

With rapid urbanization and demand for construction materials in Nepal, brick kilns have proliferated across the country, providing livelihoods to ...

8 Mar 2019 Gender in Koshi
Breaking Taboos: My Parents’ Stand for Gender Equality

Growing up, our sense of the world – all that is right in it and all that is wrong – ...

Kidney Beans Improve Income and Nutrition in Kailash Sacred Landscape

  ICIMOD’s Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), in partnership with the Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA), has identified ...

Emissions Study to Differentiate Characteristics of Paddy and Wheat Crop Residue Burning

Mehra collected wheat residue samples from the same districts, Kapilvastu and Rupendehi, where she had collected the paddy residue samples ...