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Passing the baton

David James Molden & Pema Gyamtsho

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As the tenure of Director General of ICIMOD shifts from one set of hands to another, we have written this piece together, as we reflect together on an historic milestone day for ICIMOD which took place on October 15th. Ministers from our eight HKH countries came together and signed a declaration agreeing to work together for mountains. That Ministerial Declaration recognizes and supports the HKH Call to Action, a biennial Ministerial Mountain Summit and regular Science Policy Forums to formulate evidence- based programmes and policies for sustainable mountain development. This will lay the foundation for much stronger collaboration between countries to address climate change and achieve the SDGs, and to jointly work on a call for action.

This was a milestone day for ICIMOD in another way, as the role of Director General was passed to one of us, Pema Gyamtsho, from the other, David Molden, during the event. Both of us feel that ICIMOD has tremendous momentum moving forward, and this is like passing a baton at a high speed relay race. During David’s tenure of nine years, significant progress was made in understanding climate change, the dynamics of glaciers and snow, air, water, and a greater appreciation of the rich biodiversity, and importantly integrating the social, gender and economic dimensions of mountain people and environment. Significantly, ICIMOD has been working together to develop solutions to new and different sets of problems – in mountain farming, in biodiversity conservation, and in empowerment of women and other marginalized groups. A highlight of David’s tenure was the comprehensive process in developing the HKH Assessment report. This first of its kind assessment for the HKH region synthesized work of over 350 researchers and practitioners from the region and the globe. On this basis, we worked within all of the eight countries to develop the HKH Call to Action which forms the basis of the Ministerial Declaration.

Moving forward the very significant work in response to the Call to Action will require strong partnerships. It has been deeply encouraging to experience the support of our eight HKH countries to ICIMOD’s mission, and how our Board of Governors works together to set the direction for ICIMOD. The HKH Call to Action drafting and the Ministerial Mountain Summit itself are wonderful examples of the depth and breadth of support from government partners for in-country as well as regional work across borders. We estimate that we have about 300 staff, and also about 300 partners with whom we work. We co-develop solutions with many on the ground partners, and work with others to reach out to regional and global policy makers. We feel that one avenue for impact will be engaging the many strong networks where we build a collaborative voice locally, regionally and globally to take more coordinated and stronger action. Our development partners play a critical role in providing the needed resources to this necessary work. We would like to express our gratitude to our partners for the work we’ve done together.

We’ve been further inspired that our partnerships will provide the solidarity required for our collective work by the decision of our ICIMOD regional member countries at the most recent meeting of our Board of Governors to increase their contributions to the institution. Four countries have made commitments to increase this commitment while four others are at different stages of fulfilling government formalities, which is a good indicator of the country ownership which was also consolidated when the declaration was signed at the Ministerial Summit. This provides us with the confidence that we can take this HKH Call to Action forward.

Our partners should also feel confident in the institution since there is a competent team of professionals working within ICIMOD who not only represent different countries and cultures but share the same passion for mountain development and mountain people. The challenges are indeed great, but we are confident that we will be able to address the challenges. It will remain important to continue to focus on issues of climate change since temperature rise and climate change impacts are more pronounced in the mountains than anywhere else. This will require our concerted effort to work with our RMCs and with partners on mitigation and adaptation measures. We’ll need to pay particular attention to reduce risk of disasters like glacial lake outburst floods, but there are also issues impacting the changing water regimes in rivers. Snow melt may be contributing to increasing flows in the short term, but we need to consider sustainability into the future. We also need to focus on sharing of knowledge and experiences across the region in key areas of concern – food, water, and energy security for people living in mountains. We need to build on what has already been achieved to bring appropriate knowledge and technologies to help improve livelihoods.

As the senior leadership at ICIMOD shifts from one set of hands to another, we both feel that the institution can move from strength to strength as it takes up the critically important work of strengthening regional cooperation across this majestic and challenging region.

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13 Oct 2023 China
在兴都库什-喜马拉雅,全民早期预警尚需更及时的实现

由气候驱动的风暴、洪水、热浪和干旱的经济代价首次被计算出来,即在过去20年中,人类付出的代价已达到1600万美元/小时。其中,三分之二的费用是由于生命损失,剩下的则是因为财产和其他资产损失。 而这不仅是兴都库什-喜马拉雅的统计数据。今年,在我们整个地区,气候灾害给许多家庭来了难以承受的损失:数百人丧生,更多的房屋、农作物和财产在毁灭性的洪水和山体滑坡中被毁。最近,上周锡金蒂斯塔河(Teesta river)爆发冰川湖溃决洪水,这清楚地提醒了人类,大自然的愤怒是无止境的。 今年的国际减灾日与我们区域内的家庭、科学家和政策制定者共同评估了季风和全球升温给人类和经济带来的沉重代价,恰逢其时。 展望未来,气候驱动的灾难将激增。联合国减少灾害风险办公室(UNDRR)预计,到2030年,我们每年将看到560起灾难,使3760万人陷入极端贫困。 科学表明,我们处在风险热点地区。不仅与极端降雨和冰冻圈变化相关,还有热浪、干旱和空气污染。因此,在计算这次季风事件的成本时,我们所有为该地区及其居民服务的人都有责任以更高的速度和更强的雄心,将科学、政策和行动联系起来,实现让所有人都能得到早期预警的目标。 我们急需捐助者深入了解该地区居民所面临的风险,无论是从危险量级和程度来看,还是从受影响的人口规模来看。我们迫切需要适应基金、绿色气候基金和儿童投资融资基金更快地分配到该地区,以及加强补偿机制的运作。 在ICIMOD,我们将在全球范围内倡导双方,还将在整个地区努力建立一种围绕防灾和数据共享文化;对政策制定者进行差异和关键行动领域的教育;为社区配备创新及可行的技术,并扩大以社区为基础的洪水预警系统。 我们所在地区的情况表明,全球范围内面临的灾害存在着巨大的不平等。我们的研究发现,当危机来临时,妇女和弱势群体受到的影响尤为严重。 为了消除这种不平等,我们郑重承诺通过整合工具、知识和资金,确保该地区居民能够有效抵御未来的冲击,并将妇女和弱势群体纳入我们战略的核心。对于兴都库什-喜马拉雅的国家而言,全民早期预警尚需更及时的实现。   白马·嘉措 总干事

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