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Abnormal times bring abnormal challenges and opportunities! It is in the middle of very abnormal times that I have begun my tenure as Director General at ICIMOD and I am facing the challenges and seizing the opportunities with our strong management team and all of our committed team members.
During this pandemic period we’ve climbed the technological learning curve at accelerated speed and very successfully hosted several on-line events. Among these, the Ministerial Mountain Summit on 15th October was a grand success as all the eight regional members countries approved and signed the “Ministerial Declaration on the HKH Call to Action” which expresses their commitment to enhanced regional cooperation in addressing challenges of climate change, pervasive mountain-specific poverty, and forwarding the HKH Call to Action.
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A week for mountains: Celebrating International Mountain Day 2020
The International Mountain Day (IMD) is celebrated annually on 11 December to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life...
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Call for concept notes
SANDEE invites concept notes for research projects on environmental and resource economics relating to development in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
Deadline: 15 December 2020
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NEWS
Achieving Aichi Target 11: Member countries of South Asia sub-region convene to speed up priority actions by 2020
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NEWS
A more accurate picture of snow cover change in the Karakoram
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NEWS
New glacial lake inventory report released, 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes ranked
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Hindu Kush Himalaya Ministerial Mountain Summit 2020
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South Asia Transboundary Rivers: Regional Webinar Part A: Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystem Nexus approach
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Water lifting technologies in the high mountains of Pakistan
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South Asia Transboundary Rivers: Regional Webinar, Part B: DRR & Climate Change Adaptation
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Land cover of Greater Chittagong, Bangladesh 2010
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Land cover data of Greater Chittagong, Bangladesh for 2010. This dataset is created using the LandSat 30 meter spatial resolution satellite image of 2010.
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ICIMOD Annual Report 2019
The stories in this annual report provide a summary of our accomplishments over the last year. They showcase key aspects of our work on multiple fronts – from working with communities, engaging policymakers, facilitating regional cooperation, promoting gender and social inclusion, and generating new knowledge and building capacity – to create positive change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
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COVID-19 impact and policy responses in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life in the HKH and compounded the vulnerabilities of mountain communities already impacted by climate change. However, it also presents an opportunity for concrete actions toward the transformation necessary for a more resilient and inclusive HKH. In this comprehensive policy paper, we assess the impacts of the pandemic, the risks and vulnerabilities, and provide policy responses and actions required for countries and more robust regional and international cooperation for the mountains.
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The HKH Call to Action to sustain mountain environments and improve livelihoods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
This HKH Call to Action is based on the HKH Assessment, which was drafted in response to requests from governments in the region, meeting a demand for a comprehensive assessment of the region’s mountains, environments, and livelihoods and proposes actions towards a shared vision for the future of the HKH region, in which its societies and its people are prosperous, healthy, peaceful, and resilient in a healthy environment.
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Preliminary hydrometeorological data analysis of the Kabul River basin, Afghanistan: Need for a long-term glacier monitoring programme
This study identifies the temporal and spatial gaps in the available hydrometeorological data pertaining to precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and river discharge in the Kabul River Basin. Glaciers cover about 3% of the total drainage area of the basin. Though most of the glaciers lie between elevations of 4,800–5,300 masl, the hydrometeorological stations are located below 2,300 masl, resulting in a lack of glacio-hydrological information to complement cryosphere monitoring in the region.
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Regional Drought Monitoring and Outlook system seasonal outlook December 2020–March 2021
The Regional Drought Monitoring and Outlook System (RDMOS) is an operational service which produces reliable drought indicators for the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region with a specific focus on Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. The system incorporates climatic models with suitable Earth observation data and land surface models to produce drought indices – precipitation, temperature, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration – and vegetation conditions at 10-day intervals for near real-time monitoring of droughts.
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Distribution of glacial lakes in Afghanistan and observed changes (1990–2015)
The National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) and ICIMOD worked together to develop information on glaciers and glacial lakes in Afghanistan through ICIMOD’s SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya (SERVIR-HKH) Initiative. Afghanistan’s glacier dataset (1990–2015) was released in 2018.
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Direct observations of a Mt Everest snowstorm from the world's highest surface‐based radar observations
In April and May 2019, National Geographic and Rolex's Perpetual Planet Expedition to Mt Everest (hereafter 2019 Everest Expedition) undertook the most comprehensive science expedition to the Khumbu (Mt Everest) region and included teams of scientists investigating a range of topics, including glacier change, upward shifts in ecosystems, black carbon deposition on glacier surfaces and snow/ice/water chemistry (Mayewski et al., 2020).
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Kandel, P; Chettri, N; Chaudhary, S; Sharma, P; Uddin, K (2020). 'Ecosystem Services Research Trends in the Water Tower of Asia: A Bibliometric Analysis from the Hindu Kush Himalaya.' In Ecological Indicators: 107152 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107152.
The study presents the first comprehensive overview of ecosystem services research from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Through a systematic literature search, we examined 439 peer-reviewed journal articles. We examined temporal trends, geographical distribution, authorship patterns, journal coverage, keywords used, and scholarly networks in ecosystem services research to establish where the studies have been focused, which countries are commissioning them, and which themes are being prioritized. With such analysis, we can guide our future research direction towards addressing important gaps. We believe that since ecosystem services is a multidisciplinary concept, a holistic, landscape-level understanding of the region regarding ecosystem services would help in identifying emerging themes and gaps, and in providing directions for research projects and conservation investments.
Kaini, S; Nepal, S; Pradhananga, S; Gardner, T; Sharma, AK (2020). 'Impacts of Climate Change on the Flow of the Transboundary Koshi River, with Implications for Local Irrigation.' In International Journal of Water Resources Development: 1-26 DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2020.1826292.
This study assesses climate change impacts on the hydrological regime of a river basin and its implications for future irrigation water availability in the Koshi River basin using RCPs 4.5 and 8.5 over short-term (2016-2045), mid-century (2036-2065), and end-of-century (2071-2100) periods. Average flow in the Koshi River is projected to increase. Projections of average minimum monthly river flow suggest that the areas of winter wheat and monsoon paddy rice could be increased. However, the planting period of paddy rice should be delayed by one month (July to August) to capture the expected increased water availability in the river.
Shakya, B; Uddin, K; Yi, S; Bhatta, LD; Lodhi, MS; Htun, NZ; Yang, Y (2021). 'Mapping of the Ecosystem Services Flow from Three Protected Areas in the Far-Eastern Himalayan Landscape: An Impetus to Regional Cooperation.' In Ecosystem Services 47: 101222 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101222.
Pandey, A; Prakash, A; Barua, A; Abu Syed, M; Nepal, S (2020). 'Upstream-Downstream Linkages in Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin: The Hydro-Social Imperatives.' In Water Policy DOI: 10.2166/wp.2020.231
To manage the transboundary water resources of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, it is important to identify and understand the complex upstream–downstream linkages in the basin. We provide a comprehensive overview of social, economic, and cultural processes of the basin and examine existing mechanisms for governing the shared water resources. We draw attention to the uneven power relations between countries that share the basin and how it affects transboundary water governance. We conclude that the countries need to strengthen cooperation and harness benefits arising from economic, social, and cultural aspects and proposes multilateral cooperation over the existing bilateral cooperation approach in the region.
Pant, B; Rai, RK; Bhattarai, S; Neupane, N; Kotru, R; Pyakurel, D (2020). 'Actors in Customary and Modern Trade of Caterpillar Fungus in Nepalese High Mountains: Who Holds the Power?' In Green Finance 2: 373-391 DOI: 10.3934/GF.2020020.
Latif, Y; Ma, Y; Ma, W; Muhammad, S; Adnan, M; Yaseen, M; Fealy, R (2020). 'Differentiating Snow and Glacier Melt Contribution to Runoff in the Gilgit River Basin Via Degree-Day Modelling Approach.' In Atmosphere 11: 1023.
Pereira, LM; Davies, KK; den Belder, E; Ferrier, S; Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, S; Kim, H; Kuiper, JJ; Okayasu, S; Palomo, MG; Pereira, HM; Peterson, G; Sathyapalan, J; Schoolenberg, M; Alkemade, R; Carvalho Ribeiro, S; Greenaway, A; Hauck, J; King, N; Lazarova, T; Ravera, F; Chettri, N; Cheung, WWL; Hendriks, RJJ; Kolomytsev, G; Leadley, P; Metzger, J-P; Ninan, KN; Pichs, R; Popp, A; Rondinini, C; Rosa, I; van Vuuren, D; Lundquist, CJ 'Developing Multiscale and Integrative Nature–People Scenarios Using the Nature Futures Framework.' In People and Nature n/a DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10146.
Adler, C; Balsiger, J; Grêt-Regamey, A; Heinimann, A; Huggel, C; Weingartner, R; Alcántara-Ayala, I; Gebrekirstos, A; Grau, R; Jimenez, E; Marchant, R; Mark, B; Marshall, S; Morin, S; Shahgedanova, M; Shrestha, MS; Xu, J (2020). 'Making Connections for Our Changing Mountains: Future Directions for the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI).' In Mountain Research and Development 40. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00045.1
Agrawal, A; Kaur, N; Shakya, C; Norton, A (2020). 'Social Assistance Programs and Climate Resilience: Reducing Vulnerability through Cash Transfers.' In Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 44: 113-123 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.09.013.
Perry, LB; Yuter, SE; Matthews, T; Wagnon, P; Khadka, A; Aryal, D; Shrestha, D; Tait, A; Miller, MA; O'Neill, A; Rhodes, SR; Koch, I; Sherpa, TG; Tuladhar, S; Baidya, SK; Elvin, S; Elmore, AC; Gajurel, A; Mayewski, PA 'Direct Observations of a Mt Everest Snowstorm from the World's Highest Surface-Based Radar Observations.' In Weather n/a DOI: 10.1002/wea.3854.
Abstract not avaialbe at https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.3854
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