News
Brick sector partnership enhances state of knowledge on science, technology, and policy in Nepal and South Asia
09 Aug 2019
ICIMOD and the Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI) organized a concluding event to share the outcomes of the Adoption of Cleaner Brick Production project (2018–2019), funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and implemented by ICIMOD. The project’s interventions have made the Nepal brick industry more energy efficient and environment and worker friendly, enhanced knowledge and adoption of improved technologies, influenced brick sector policies, and worked to improve the social and working conditions in brick kilns.
READ MOREOur biodiversity, our food, our health
30 Jul 2019
Agricultural biodiversity is essential to ensuring food security, nutrition, and human wellbeing. The diversity in crops and livestock seen today is the result of thousands of years of human intervention. Agrobiodiversity is integral to making farming systems more stable, prosperous, and sustainable.
READ MOREThird UIBN–AC meeting commits to strengthening research collaboration in the Upper Indus basin
30 Jul 2019
A science-based regional platform like the Upper Indus Basin Network (UIBN) can play an important role in helping understand present and future water availability, demand, and hazards and develop solutions for various stakeholders. It can also foster coordination among researchers working in the region to share their experiences, knowledge, and understanding to be able to effectively deal with the effects of climate change on the water resources and address upstream–downstream linkages.
READ MORETraining on hydrological modelling using JAMS/J2000 enhances Afghan expertise in hydrological dynamics and water availability assessment
30 Jul 2019
A training workshop on hydrological modelling using JAMS/J2000 was held from 25 October to 4 November 2018 in New Delhi, India, for professionals and academics from Afghanistan. It focused on hydrological processes and modelling and applying the J2000 hydrological model in the Panjshir catchment of the Kabul River sub-basin.
READ MORESediment management for sustainable hydropower development in Nepal
25 Jul 2019Hydropower generation is a viable base upon which economies could flourish in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, but excessive sediment loads in rivers and reservoir sedimentation pose a major challenge in operationalizing and maintaining sustainable hydropower plants. “There is no doubt that sedimentation has to be the main agenda for sustainable development in the hydropower sector,” concurs Sailesh Chitrakar, Senior Researcher at Kathmandu University’s Turbine Testing Lab. “Sedimentation impacts production and shuts down turbines, resulting in higher costs through frequent maintenance and repair costs”.
READ MOREA more efficient brick sector through collaboration and mitigation actions
25 Jul 2019
ICIMOD concluded two key regional meetings in Bangkok aimed at planning collective actions for cleaner and more sustainable brick production in South Asia. Brick entrepreneurs from the region came together for the third Federation of South Asian Brick Kilns Association (FABKA) meeting on 18 and 19 June 2019 to strengthen the association, which was formed in February 2018, and outline its regional approach towards improving the brick sector.
READ MOREE-Paath and E-Paathshala classes for brick workers’ children at Dhading school
25 Jul 2019
Brick workers, both women and men, face numerous vulnerabilities without any form of social protection. The seasonal migration that this work entails has resulted in the exclusion of generations of workers’ children from formal schooling systems – trapped in a vicious circle of relocation and subsistence livelihoods. Yet, investments in the living and working conditions of women and men brick workers can enable mutual benefits for all involved in this sector.
READ MOREReassessing Tsho Rolpa glacial lake
24 Jul 2019
Tsho Rolpa is a large, potentially dangerous glacial lake in Nepal that has been the subject of extensive research and monitoring for decades, with the Government of Nepal even placing it on its priority list in 1997. By 2000, mitigation activities had successfully reduced the lake’s level by 3 m, but the threat of an outburst still looms. The lake has been consistently expanding over the last 60 years and now encompasses an area of 1.6 km2, which roughly translates to around 148 standard-sized football fields. Studies have documented a 3.3% increase in the lake’s area from 2010 to 2015. An outburst flood would be catastrophic for downstream communities.
READ MOREPartnering with private enterprise and communities to manage flood risk
24 Jul 2019
Disasters are an unavoidable aspect of life in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Floods account for a third of these disasters and cause great loss to lives and livelihoods, destroy infrastructure and disrupt basic services. Community based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) is an integrated system of tools and plans to detect and respond to flood emergencies.
READ MORECode of conduct being formalized for gender and social inclusion in the brick sector
22 Jul 2019
A national consultation workshop on a social Code of Conduct (CoC) for Nepal’s brick sector was held in Kathmandu on 28–29 June 2019. Participants from across the country including the president – Mahendra Bahadur Chitrakar – and programme steering committee members of the Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI) gathered to discuss and develop a way forward on the draft CoC. Representatives from 24 district brick associations, which included 19 district presidents and five province-level focal coordinators, also attended the workshop.
READ MOREFourth regional hands-on training on community-based flood early warning systems
22 Jul 2019
Floods and flash floods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya cause considerable loss of lives and property, particularly during the monsoon. To address such flood risks and enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities, ICIMOD and its partner organizations have initiated community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS). A CBFEWS is an integrated community-managed system of tools and plans that detects and responds to flood emergencies. ICIMOD has developed a people-centric CBFEWS that emphasizes four essential elements of early warning systems: risk knowledge and scoping, community-based monitoring and early warning, dissemination and communication, and response capability and resilience.
READ MORECombining top–down and bottom–up: Designing a watershed management plan for Dhankuta Municipality
18 Jul 2019
Dhankuta Municipality has adopted a proactive, solution-oriented approach to water governance, with particular focus on sustainable use of resources and improvement of livelihoods. The municipality had been addressing its annual water scarcity on ad hoc basis. The local government and the Watershed Management Office (WMO) are in the midst of preparing a watershed management plan that will improve the overall health of the watershed and year-round distribution of improved quality and quantity of drinking water without compromising irrigation demands. ICIMOD has been involved in this process from an early stage, providing technical support in the formulation of this plan following a request from local government and community members. In February 2019, a multidisciplinary team from ICIMOD conducted a preliminary field survey that both social and biophysical aspects through focus group discussion, key informant survey, and spring mapping.
READ MORESouth–South learnings for future collaboration in air quality and health research in the HKH
16 Jul 2019
A two-day workshop on air pollution has built a platform for stakeholders from the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region to come together and share knowledge on air pollution and health, promoting collaboration and related research. The regional workshop on “Air pollution and health in Nepal and the HKH” – organized from 13 to 14 June 2019 by ICIMOD and the University of Nottingham – helped share existing knowledge, identify research gaps, and facilitate South–South learning from elsewhere in the HKH.
READ MOREBhutan’s first training on Google Earth Engine
12 Jul 2019
The Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform is increasingly finding acceptance across academic, business, non-profit, and government users for scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets in the region. Accordingly, ICIMOD supported the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), Royal Government of Bhutan, in organizing Bhutan’s first GEE training in June 2019.
READ MOREHindu Kush Himalaya Assessment Discussed at 2019 UN High-Level Political Forum
09 Jul 2019
The Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organized a side event entitled, ‘Impacts of Climate Change on the Mountains’ on the sidelines of the 2019 High-Level Political Forum at the United Nations Headquarters in New York today.
READ MOREUnderstanding of glaciers’ health calls for precise estimations of ice losses into water equivalent
21 Jun 2019
Glaciers in the upper Indus supply more than half of the river water and are experiencing significant melting. There is much discussion on the recent melting rate, which involves considerable uncertainties. A recent study reported one of these uncertainties to be caused by density assumptions for volume-to-mass change conversion, hindering estimations of precise glacier mass change.
READ MOREBucking the trend: Glaciers in Astore Basin have remained stable in recent times
18 Jun 2019
A recently conducted research on the glaciers in the Astore basin in the northwestern Himalaya found that they follow a similar trend to the glaciers of the Karakoram, where glaciers have remained stable since the early 21st century. The study estimated the current behaviour of glaciers in the northwestern Himalaya in situ using differential Global Positioning System (dGPS) and remote-sensing data.
READ MOREIn conversation with a climate leader
25 May 2019Bindu Bhandari, currently working in the Knowledge Management and Communications unit at ICIMOD, was recognized as one of the “25 female climate leaders shaping 2019” by the renowned British environmental magazine The Ecologist.
READ MOREHydrological modelling in the Panjshir catchment
22 May 2019
Climate change impacts can affect many aspects of mountain environments, which in turn affect life downstream, from irrigation and food to hydropower and industry. Hydrological models can help plan for climate change impacts on water resources by providing insight into different parts of the hydrological cycle. This, in turn, can help planners and policy makers take informed decisions for the planning and management of water resources.
READ MORERegional Cooperation for Tourism Development: High-Level Dialogue on Promoting India–Nepal Cross-Border Tourism, Trade, and Industry
22 May 2019
The event was attended by high-profile dignitaries and key stakeholders from both countries representing government agencies, diplomatic missions, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, academic institutions, and civil society.
READ MOREKnowledge brokering and policy engagement through the CCAC to address atmospheric pollution
22 May 2019The future of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region in the face of climate change is of utmost importance, given the extensive ecosystem services it provides to directly sustain the livelihoods of 240 million people living in the region. Changes in the climatic and socioeconomic conditions at the global and regional levels have profound implications on the local communities in the HKH.
READ MOREWhen the levee breaks: Reducing GLOF risks through dam breach modelling
16 May 2019
The 2016 Bhote Koshi floods put the lives of more than 200 households in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal, at risk. The flooding was initially thought to be a result of heavy rains, but an analysis conducted by Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) officials a year after the floods identified a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Tibet as the cause.
READ MOREThird UIBN–AC Meeting discusses data gaps in Upper Indus basin research
13 May 2019
As an informal knowledge and research network of national and international researchers working in the upper part of the Indus basin, the Upper Indus Basin Network (UIB-N) continually aims to coordinate research on climate, cryosphere, water, hazards and vulnerability, and adaptation-related issues.
READ MOREUIBN – India Chapter discusses data gaps and collaborative research
13 May 2019
The definitive 2018 report No Water, No Growth by Hong-Kong based non-profit China Water Risk shows the critical dependence of communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) on the region’s limited water sources. It suggests that the governments in the region chart a roadmap towards growth that requires less water and generates less pollution. This vision of growth, however, is impeded by a plethora of threats to the environment and communities in the HKH, such as rising temperatures, declining cryospheric resources, and unpredictable rainfall to increasing water stress in the upper regions of the HKH.
READ MORERefresher training for spring management partners in Bhutan
01 May 2019
The Government of Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan identifies spring revival and springshed management as priority areas and the Watershed Management Division (WMD), Department of Forest and Park Services is undertaking spring revival activities. Continuing its support to the Government of Bhutan in reviving drying springs, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organized a refresher training for the staff of the WMD and the College of Natural Resources in Bhutan from 15 to 22 April 2019.
READ MOREExperts scope requirements for a national Water Information System for Afghanistan
01 May 2019
A technical meeting was held in Kathmandu on 19–20 January 2019 to move forward with the development of a roadmap for implementing a national Water Information System (WIS) for Afghanistan. The meeting brought together staff from the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) – Government of Afghanistan; Kabul University; Kabul Polytechnic University; the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
READ MOREHands-on training on Source modelling for Afghanistan’s water resources development
01 May 2019
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has adopted integrated water resources management in basins as the key building block of its water resources development approach. The government plans to develop water allocation scenarios between various water consumption sectors (irrigation, domestic, industrial, energy, and environment).
READ MOREMore research needed to understand the impact of cryosphere changes on mountain communities in the HKH
01 May 2019
The role and importance of cryosphere services in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) remain largely undefined and consequently unrecognized, despite the growing demand as pointed out in a recent review by researchers at ICIMOD. The review identifies various knowledge gaps in the cryosphere’s contributions to high-mountain communities, which are among the world’s most vulnerable societies.
READ MOREHands-on training on low-cost, climate-smart technologies in the Community Information Resources Centre in Putao, Kachin, Myanmar
24 Apr 2019
As part of community capacity-building interventions by the Landscape Initiative for Far-eastern Himalayas (HI-LIFE), a five-day hands-on training was conducted at the Community Information Resources Centre (CIRC) at Wasangdam Village in Putao Township, Kachin State, Myanmar, on 2–6 April 2019. HI-LIFE is a regional conservation and development initiative jointly implemented by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partners in China, India, and Myanmar in the Far-eastern Himalayan Landscape.
READ MOREICIMOD Gender Lead participates in Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and UN-Women’s Expert Workshop in New York
24 Apr 2019
The workshop – convened at the UN-Women Headquarters, New York, United States, from 11 to 12 April 2019 – was organized by the Secretariat of the CBD, United Nations Environment Programme, and UN-Women. It focused on developing possible objectives, key messages, and substantive elements of a gender-responsive post-2020 global biodiversity framework. It also discussed steps for enhanced gender-responsive implementation.
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