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A Commitment to Implement Water Use Master Plans in Saptari, Nepal
14 Aug 2018
The workshop succeeded in strengthening linkages between local bodies and key governmental line agencies such as the Department of Irrigation, District Forest Office, District Soil Conservation and Watershed Man-agement Office, and the private sector.
READ MOREManaging Systems Under Stress: Solutions Presented at Third Indus Basin Knowledge Forum
13 Aug 2018
The third Indus Basin Knowledge Forum (IBKF) facilitated interaction and potential collaboration between researchers and funders of water-related work in the Indus basin. It revisited progress made on the 10-point action plan for strengthening knowledge on the Indus basin endorsed at the Second IBKF in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2017.
READ MOREICIMOD’s Eklabya Sharma delivers Sikkim University Foundation Day Lecture
13 Aug 2018On the occasion of the 11th Anniversary of Sikkim University, Eklabya Sharma, Deputy Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), was invited to deliver the Foundation Day lecture.
READ MORECross learning within the HKH: women restore barren land in Passu Valley with sea buckthorn
02 Aug 2018
Fifty women from Passu valley in Pakistan have been tending to a community sea buckthorn plantation along what used to be an eroded riverbank, an hour’s walk from their village. The bushes were planted in April 2017 and will take another three years to fruit, but in less than a year, the barren patch of unstable land has become a stable, green oasis.
READ MOREHUC Academy 2018: Building Mountain Research Capacity
30 Jul 2018
The course was taught by resource persons from ICIMOD and tertiary education institutions in Switzerland. The programme was designed to build key skills and competencies in climate science and adaptation to climate change through learner-centered methods and interactive practical work. Class sessions were facilitated with expert input, real-life case examples and field excursions.
READ MORECommunicating flood early warning in the Ratu watershed
30 Jul 2018
A HYCOS User Phase project team from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) visited the Ratu Watershed in the Koshi River basin in eastern Nepal in May. The objective of the visit was to better understand the communication of flood early warning to the end users and figure out how to ensure last mile connectivity. A second objective was to understand how local-level early warning systems support flood risk reduction.
READ MOREHydrogeological Model of Godavari Landscape to Support Spring Revival and Springshed Management
27 Jul 2018
A 3-D model of the Godavari landscape was unveiled at the ICIMOD Knowledge Park in Godavari on 8 June 2018. The Knowledge Park has been identified as a training site for spring revival and springshed management and the model will be used as a capacity-building tool. The conceptual layout will aid understanding of the hydrogeology of the area and help visitors and trainees visualize the geophysical nature of the area in relation to its springs.
READ MORESynthesizing Knowledge on the Vanishing Springs of the Himalaya
27 Jul 2018
Eighteen water resource management officials and experts from Bhutan, India, and Nepal participated in a writing workshop hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal, to document knowledge and experiences related to revival of springs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH).
READ MOREBhutan’s First Spring Revival Test Site in Lholing Village, Paro
27 Jul 2018
Many residents of Lholing have been forced to abandon their village and migrate because of acute water shortage. The majority of Lholing’s springs are now completely dry; only two still discharge some water.
READ MOREFifty-three Solar-powered Irrigation Pumps Operational in Four Districts of Nepal
26 Jul 2018
Fifty-three farming families in the Terai districts of Saptari, Bara, Rautahat, and Sarlahi in Nepal have enjoyed uninterrupted supply of water for irrigation since they installed solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) in their fields. The first 23 SPIPs were installed in Saptari from February to March 2017 while an additional 30 were installed recently. Data from Saptari show that SPIPs have significant positive impact on the ground.
READ MOREBhutanese Foresters Trained in Spring Revival and Springshed Management
26 Jul 2018
WMD is collaborating with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to build capacity for reviving drying springs in Bhutan. ICIMOD has conducted a series of workshops, field visits, and trainings to share knowledge, skills, and understanding of springshed management to relevant field implementers.
READ MORECelebrating Solar-Powered Irrigation in Saptari
26 Jul 2018
The formal launch celebrated easy access to pumped irrigation water as a reliable alternative to rain water and the early successes of this intervention. It was attended by over 100 farmers and partner organization representatives.
READ MOREICIMOD-Bhutan Partnership Day Celebrated
26 Jul 2018
The Royal Government of Bhutan and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) marked Partnership Day in Thimphu, Bhutan, on 16 May 2018. The celebration was part of a set of activities on the sidelines of the 49th ICIMOD Board of Governors Meeting hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF), Bhutan, from 13 to 18 May in Thimphu.
READ MOREICIMOD Transboundary Landscapes Programme Receives Global Award for Outstanding Achievement
24 Jul 2018
ICIMOD’s Transboundary Landscapes Regional Programme received the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s (RNRF) Outstanding Achievement Award for 2018.
READ MORECommunities in Four Countries Gear Up to Fight Floods
24 Jul 2018
ICIMOD provided flood monitoring devices and established CBFEWS with its partners in Assam and Bihar in India; Mahottari, Nepal, Baghlan in Afghanistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. ICIMOD will establish another CBFEWS in the Kabul River basin in Afghanistan and provide technical support to Oxfam Nepal to establish a CBFEWS in the Mahakali River basin of Nepal.
READ MORELocal Communities Take Ownership of Flood Early Warning System
10 Jul 2018
ICIMOD, partners, and local governments have come together to save lives from flash flooding by installing eleven such community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS) in nine tributaries of the Bramhaputra, Indus, and Koshi rivers in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
READ MOREWorkshop to enhance science-based regional cooperation
03 Jul 2018
The meeting discussed the way forward for UIB-Network’s main event; participants agreed the network would be important for Afghanistan and would enhance science-based regional cooperation for the Upper Indus Basin. They also agreed to be a part of the Regional UIB-N governance structure and to nominate leads, co-leads, strategic committee members and advisors for Technical Working Groups (TWG), following the Afghanistan government’s procedures.
READ MOREICIMOD raises Mountain Agenda at the Global Solutions Summit
25 Jun 2018
During the Global Solutions Summit on 28–29 May in Berlin, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) joined a call for multilateralism and greater cooperation to develop sustainable solutions for today’s most urgent problems.
READ MORERegional Dialogue on Cryosphere Monitoring
25 Jun 2018
The eight point declaration recommended better assessments of water security, improved access to scientific information for actors such as farmers and hydropower companies, exploring state-of-the art techniques to monitor the cryosphere, monitoring air quality and black carbon deposition on glaciers, building capacity in cryosphere research through work exchanges, and establishing glaciology as a topic in high school curriculums.
READ MOREPartnering with universities for sustainable capacity building on Earth observation applications in Afghanistan
25 Jun 2018
Information gleaned from Earth observation and geospatial technology can assist decision-makers and managers in making data-driven, evidence-based decisions towards the sustainable management of natural resources in Afghanistan. They provide viable solutions to bridging data and knowledge gaps in the country.
READ MORECapacity building on Earth observation leads to Afghanistan’s first glacier inventory
25 Jun 2018
SERVIR-HKH in Afghanistan aims to support the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts in capacity development, data accessibility and availability, and enhancement of provisions of user-tailored data and tools for informed decision-making.
READ MORECMP-B professionals trained on HEC-RAS Flood Modelling
25 Jun 2018
ICIMOD is currently supporting a socio-economic and vulnerability assessment of the Punatshangchu basin as part of the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme Bhutan (CMP-B), which is being implemented by the NCHM. CMP-B aims to implement long-term cryosphere monitoring and data collection in Bhutan and has enhanced the competence of national partners through trainings on field-based data collection and remote sensing.
READ MORECelebrating World Environment Day 2018 at The Earthquake Reconstruction And Rehabilitation Project In Dhungentar, Nuwakot
25 Jun 2018
The event was inaugurated by the chair of the District Coordination Committee and the vice mayor of Bidur Municipality. Welcoming over 100 participants, Basanta Shrestha, Director of Strategic Cooperation at ICIMOD, spoke about the importance of building a resilient mountain village and how it enables public and private sectors to collaborate and build back better in the aftermath of the devastating 2015 earthquake.
READ MOREFirst comprehensive report on glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya released
21 Jun 2018
For the first time, 25,614 glacial lakes in the five major river basins spread across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – were mapped and classified and are presented in a recently released report, The Status of Glacial Lakes in the HKH.
READ MORECryosphere Information Hub for Bhutan
21 Jun 2018
From 28 May–1 June, six NCHM staff were trained by a remote sensing database specialist from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on data transfer, creating metadata, and managing user groups. Over the course of training, the team integrated around fifty pieces of metadata into the system.
READ MOREGovernment of Nepal allocates public investment to Shardu Khola as a priority national urban watershed
20 Jun 2018
The DSCWM and municipal government acknowledged ICIMOD’s role in identifying the five primary investment areas in urban catchment management: a) sediment management structures; b) green technology development and implementation; c) Spring recharge and water source protection and catchment restoration; and d) study of water sources and availability.
READ MOREGeodetic training for Cryosphere Monitoring Programme in Bhutan
19 Jun 2018
According to Tshering Tashi, Senior Hydromet Officer at Bhutan’s National Center of Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), Bhutan has very little information on the impact of glacier melt on downstream activities, even though all of its hydropower plants are powered by glacier-fed river runoff.
READ MOREInstitutional Recognition for Promoting Women in Glaciology Research in the HKH
19 Jun 2018
The gender innovation award recognizes the long-term efforts of the Cryosphere Initiative team to close gender gaps in research and science. This year’s award aimed to recognize how themes, programmes, and initiatives have empowered women and ensured gender equality in teams. It looked at the gender inclusivity of the implementation process and how this has contributed to gender equity.
READ MOREICIMOD supports ICFRE in developing State REDD+ Action Plan for Uttarakhand, India
14 Jun 2018
Countries seeking funds from the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD ) programme need to develop a National REDD Strategy or Action Plan. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), through its regional REDD Initiative, helped the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education prepare a National REDD Strategy for India.
READ MOREIndia’s first State REDD+ Action Plan in the making
11 Jun 2018
A workshop on 25–26 April 2018 in Mizoram brought together multiple stakeholders (44 participants) to prepare a State REDD Action Plan (SRAP) for the state with input from experts. The workshop was followed by an expert consultation on 28 April in Aizwal, Mizoram.
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