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The concept of establishing an institution in the Hindu Kush Himalaya to promote ecologically sound development was born in 1974 at an international workshop on the development of mountain environment, hosted by the German Foundation for International Development (GFAR) in Munich, Germany.
The recommendation was further discussed at a 1975 regional meeting on integrated ecological research and training needs in Southern Asian mountain systems in Kathmandu, Nepal. Subsequently, the Government of Nepal extended an invitation to establish an international centre in Kathmandu capable of providing all the countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region with the scientific knowledge and qualified personnel needed for the implementation of integrated development activities.
In 1979, concrete commitments were made to establish the centre during a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regional meeting in Kathmandu under the Man and the Biosphere Programme framework. The Government of Nepal offered to host the new institution, and UNESCO, along with the Governments of Switzerland and Germany, agreed to act as the founding sponsors. Subsequently, the Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed an agreement providing the legal basis for ICIMOD as an autonomous international centre in 1981 in Paris, France.
Our highest governing body is our Board of Governors, which consists of one representative from each of our eight regional member countries and independent members who are nominated by the ICIMOD Support Group based on their recognized professional expertise and experience. Serving on our ICIMOD Support Group are representatives from among the organizations and institutions providing us financial contributions.
ICIMOD’s Board of Governors is the highest governing body of the centre. The first Board of Governors meeting was held in Kathmandu in 1983, chaired by Ratna S.J.B. Rana, elected as its first chairperson. The Board of Governors then included eminent personalities from both within and outside the region and was not structured in the current format until 1991. At a meeting held in Berne, Switzerland, in June 1991, the board approved the formation of a new structure consisting of 15 members – eight representing governments of the RMCs and seven independent members. This format continues to this day.
Government nodal agencies from the eight RMCs nominate their respective board members representing the RMCs at the level of ex officio members (i.e. secretaries, vice-president, vice-chairpersons, directors general, or equivalent). The term of members from RMCs is according to their tenure of service in their respective government positions.
Dasho Karma Tshering Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Royal Government of Bhutan Thimphu, P.O. Box 252, Taschichhodzong
Mr. Lennart Bage Chair of the Board Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Former Co-Chair of the UN Green Climate Fund Former Board Member and acting Director General of Sida Former President of IFAD. Former Ambassador Stockholm, Sweden Read more
The independent board members constitute the Programme Advisory Committee (PAC). The board vice chairperson is the PAC chair. PAC meets during the annual board meeting or when required. PAC is concerned with the professional and technical orientation and advances of ICIMOD’s programmes and with the strategic relevance and quality of ICIMOD’s delivery. It provides its views, findings, and advice to the board for consideration.
The Finance Committee consists of three regional board members and an independent member who serves as the chairperson. The committee’s primary responsibility is to review broad issues related to ICIMOD’s financial resources and allocations, including budget proposals and revisions. It also provides recommendations for auditor appointments and discusses audit control reports. The committee meets during the annual board meetings and presents its findings and recommendations to the board for consideration.
Under the direct supervision of the ICIMOD Directorate, ICIMOD undertakes the responsibility of coordinating the Board Secretariat. The secretariat carries out the substantive and administrative work of the board and related matters for the board, including agendas, summaries, documentation, and associated logistics for the meetings.
The ICIMOD Support Group (ISG) is the main link and forum for interaction between the centre and the sponsoring states and institutions contributing to ICIMOD. The ISG includes core funders and programme and project funders representing bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic foundations, and the private sector. The ISG provides advice for ICIMOD’s development and programme emphasis and provides feedback on the statutory reports on programmes and finance. The ISG meets annually during the board meeting, and the ISG chairperson sits on the board as an observer. The chairperson presents the ISG’s findings and recommendations to the board for consideration.
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Dr Carolina Adler is an Environmental Scientist and Geographer with an international career spanning over 25 years in both research and practice in the public and private sectors. She obtained her PhD at Monash University (Australia) in 2010, focusing on climate change adaptation and relevant policy processes for sustainable development in mountain regions, receiving the Harold D Lasswell Prize in 2010 for best thesis. In 2017, she was the first woman appointed as Executive Director of the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), a global research coordination network established in 2001 with over 8,000 members from diverse disciplines and regions around the world, supported by the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) and hosted at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
At the MRI, she is tasked with coordinating scientific syntheses activities and support research collaboration and exchange within and between regional and thematic networks on global change research in mountains. As part of her role at the MRI, Adler also initiates and facilitates relevant dialogues and partnerships with external organizations in support of the MRI’s objectives and thereby expand a network for engagement and advocacy on mountains. Such entities include Future Earth; the Belmont Forum; several United Nations specialist agencies and organisations such as the UN Environment Programme, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Mountain Partnership hosted at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); the Group on Earth Observations (GEO); among others.
In 2018, Adler was appointed Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its sixth assessment cycle, specifically on the scientific assessment of climate change in mountain regions, as well as co-lead the coordination of the Cross Chapter Paper on Mountains in the Working Group II contribution to AR6 on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Other roles also include member of the GEO Work Programme Board; Co-Chair of the Advisory Board for the observance of the UN-declared International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025; member of the WMO Executive Council Panel on Polar and High Mountain Observations, Research, and Services (PHORS); Review Editor for the Second Austrian Assessment Report (AAR2) for Chapter 7 “The Austrian Alps as a Multi-Dimensional Focal Area ”; and appointed as Expert for the Ad hoc Working Group of the 10th Report on the State of the Alps on “Quality of Life” for the Alpine Convention. Previously, between 2016-2024, Adler also served for two consecutive terms as President of the Mountain Protection Commission of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, the UIAA.
Prof. Dr. Ning Wu is a professor of mountain ecology at the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of the Multidisciplinary Expert Group (MEP) of Intergovernmental Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), member of the Management Committee of IPBES’s Thematic Assessment on Monitoring Assessment, and an independent board member of ICIMOD. He was the director general of CIB from 2004 to 2011 and then from 2018 to 2023, and was chief scientist and theme leader of ICIMOD’s ecosystem services programme from 2011 to 2018. He got his PhD degree from the Free University Berlin, Germany in 1995 and worked there as the research fellow of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in 1999-2000. After this he also worked as a senior visiting scholar in Otago University, New Zealand in 2002, and in Basel University, Switzerland in 2003. In the last over 40 years, Prof. Dr. Wu mainly focused on the academic fields:
As a leading scientist, he led and completed over 80 national and international research projects in China and abroad. He was the coordinator leading author of IPBES’ biodiversity and ecosystem services assessment of Asia-Pacific region, member of Management Committee of IPBES’ assessment on sustainable use of wild species, coordinator leading author of The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment (HIMAP), member of CBD IAG (Independent Advisor Group) on mainstreaming, member of Scientific Steering Committee of IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop on Biodiversity and Climate Change. In 2011-2022, he participated in the CBD COP15 as the member of national delegation of China in Kunmin and Montreal for the negotiation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. He is chief editor of the Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology and editorial member of many national and international peer-reviewed journals. He has published over 10 books and over 200 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals.
Ivar Jørgensen has a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Life Sciences in Norway. He has a long experience as a Policy Director in the Department of Climate and Environment in Norad (the international development agency of Norway). He has worked as a diplomat at the Norwegian Embassy in Dar es Salaam supporting the development of climate change policies in Tanzania. He has worked for FAO as a social forestry and conservation expert in Nepal. He has many years of experience as a Regional Director in the State Forest Service in Norway and as Deputy Director at the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He has work experience from more than 20 developing countries, including most of the ICIMOD member countries. He has undertaken around 40 consultancy assignments and evaluations for a variety of clients among bilateral donors, multilateral agencies and private sector entities. He has been a member of the QQR evaluation team for ICIMOD and has undertaken other review missions to ICIMOD on behalf of Norad.
His technical expertise includes climate change and land use policies, forest management and REDD+ programmes, climate-smart agriculture, land use planning, biodiversity conservation and watershed management. He has been involved in designing development policies, planning and assessment of development programmes, programme monitoring and evaluation, north-south university cooperation as well as in approaches for involvement of NGO’s and private sector in development processes.
Mr. Jørgensen has been a board member of RECOFTC (The Centre for People and Forest, headquartered in Bangkok) from 2017 to 2024. He is currently a board member of The Development Fund of Norway. He has a strong commitment to sustainable development in mountain areas and to the preservation of the environment in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas.
Anita is currently Executive Director at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a globally recognised not-for-profit working towards biodiversity conservation and sustainable, socially just development. She also serves as an Independent Director in the Board of Governors of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and on the India Advisory Board of The Nature Conservancy.
Anita was associated with the establishment and governance of Krea university, in its formative phase. Previously, Anita was a member of the Group Executive Board at the Mahindra group and Managing Director & CEO of Mahindra Lifespaces.
Anita is deeply passionate about environmental conservation and believes that transformative approaches to the way we live are critical to the health of the planet and the wellbeing of humans and non-humans.
She has previously served on the Steering Board of the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Urban Development & Services” and catalysed the establishment of the Mahindra TERI Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Habitats, an open source research hub for energy and water efficiency in the built environment.
Currently, Anita also serves on the India Stakeholder Council of the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org and the Advisory Board of the Centre for Sustainability at Mahindra University. She is also a member of the Technical Steering Committee of the Food and Land Use Coalition’s initiative on Nature-based Solutions for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation.
Teresa Christina Fogelberg brings more than three decades of international executive and board experience.
Her experience ranges from executive roles at the Netherlands Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment, the OECD, the UN, at the Global Reporting Initiative, and in the private sector, as well as in chair roles of supervisory boards of international research institutes, NGO’s and public policy bodies.
Fogelberg’s fields of expertise covers the thematic fields of human rights, social and sustainable development, climate change, research policy, as well as diversity/inclusion, governance, and organizational change.
She served in positions at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs as director of Women and Development and Social Development, director of the Department of Climate Change, and Director Research, Education and International Cultural Cooperation. She led delegations to international UN conferences and conventions on topics such as research for development, air pollution and human rights, and served as head of delegation and Presidency at several Climate COPs.
Given the broad scope of the themes she managed, she has a unique overview of how the big global challenges mutually overlap and play out at local level.
Fogelberg has a deep expertise in social sciences and sustainable development – with a special focus on the position of. She taught on this topic at Leiden University, and worked almost a decade in Africa (ILO, USAID and as diplomat). and on several related boards. In addition she served as Chair of the OECD Expert Group on Women for over five years; and as member of the OECD Impact Evaluation Board. Fogelberg also served on the boards of WWF, IIED, Cordaid – the largest development NGO of the Netherland, and on several CGIAR Center boards, including the general CGIAR system-wide Oversight Board
As Co-founder and Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the global standard for private sector sustainability reporting, Teresa has been dealing with the issue of business and sustainable development and ESG for over 15 years. For example, under her leadership, she ensured that the business adheres to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Teresa has more than proven her ability to work successfully with many different groups from diverse cultures in an international environment. She has strong diplomatic skills and has multi-lingual capability. She is fluent in English, French, Swedish and Dutch, and modest in German. Fogelberg has the dutch nationality, and is born from a Swedish father and Finnish mother, having spent part of her youth in Finland.
She currently sits in the board of the Impact Economy Foundation, and is Vice Chair of the World Connectors, a network/thinktank of thought leaders in the Netherlands.
She was co-responsible for the merger of the Netherlands Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation and she led the external review of the World Bank Gender and Diversity policy.
In 2018 Fogelberg received a Dutch Royal Knighthood for her contribution to the global advancement of the position of women.
Teresa has a husband, two children and four grandchildren.
Lennart Bage is an Independent Board Member of ICIMOD. He has over 40 years of extensive experience as a strategic leader and manager in operations, corporate strategy, policy work, and research funding. He has worked with governments, the science community, NGOs/CSOs (civil society organisations), and the private sector.
Lennart has chaired or participated in a number of major international replenishments or resource mobilisation processes within the UN and World Bank systems. He has also chaired multiple intergovernmental and intra-UN executive boards, committees, and councils. In over four decades of his involvement with international development cooperation, Lennart has been focusing on: poverty reduction; rural development and popular participation; agriculture; economic and social reforms; research funding; environmental and climate issues; and science and technology.
Apart from being an ICIMOD Board Member, Lennart is currently the Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI); Member of the Advisory Group to SIFI (a think tank for international forestry issues) and of the Secretariat of the IUFRO World Congress 2024 in Stockholm; Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry; and a Green Climate Fund (GCF) Advisor to the Swedish government. Previously, he was the Co-Chair of the GCF (2018); Chairperson and Facilitator of the GCF Initial Resource Mobilisation (2014); Chairperson of the Swedish think tank, Global Utmaning (2014–2018); Member of the Board of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) from 2010 to 2015 and Acting Director General of Sida (2016–2017); Member of the Board of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) from 2010 to 2017; President of the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) from 2001 to 2009; Member of the UN Chief Executive Board chaired by the UN Secretary General (2001–2009); Chairperson of the UN system-wide High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) from 2002 to 2008; Assistant Undersecretary and Head of Department for multilateral development cooperation with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (1990–93 and 1996–2001); Roving Ambassador for the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (1994–1996); Secretary of the Parliamentary Commission on Swedish Bilateral Development Cooperation (1989); Director of Planning and Administration at the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC) from 1980 to 1989; and the First Secretary of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (1974–1980).
Renate Christ is an Independent Board Member of ICIMOD. Currently, she is also contributing to a range of activities related to climate change and sustainable development in Austria through lectures, interviews, and articles.
Renate studied biology and earth sciences in Salzburg, Austria. After a few years of research on air pollution, acid rain, and various environmental health issues, she joined the Austrian Ministry of Environment where she was initially responsible for ambient air quality monitoring and pollution control. Later, her attention shifted to global matters, including the preparations for the 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED92); she also became the Deputy Head of Delegation for the negotiations on the Climate Convention (UNFCCC).
From 1992 to 1996, Renate worked for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi in the Climate Unit and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Unit. During this time, she initiated a handbook for climate impact assessments and related country case studies, and she also developed concept papers on better tackling of synergies between the different GEF focal areas of water, biodiversity, and climate change.
From 1996 to 1998, Renate was posted in Brussels at the European Commission. At its Global Environment Unit, she was responsible for cooperation with developing countries on small grants and she also played a key role in the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol. In 1999, she moved to Geneva to the Secretariat of the UNEP/WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2004, she was appointed Secretary of the IPCC, a post which she held until her retirement. In that capacity, she paid special attention to the dissemination of IPCC knowledge to decision-makers and a wider audience; she was also involved in attracting and facilitating the contribution of developing country scientists to IPCC work. Her other topics of special interest were gender balance, synergies, and trade-offs of climate change and climate policy with sustainable development and other environmental and social issues. A highlight of her tenure was the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC in 2007.
