The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) participated in the Indus Forum Workshop, a week-long event held in Switzerland from 11-15 October 2016. The Indus Forum, a World Bank funded project, is working to identify specific research and data gaps by mapping existing knowledge related to climate change in the Indus basin, and by supporting evidence based development in communities across the basin.

Participants representing the governments of four Indus countries: China, India, Pakistan and Afganistan, and non-governmental organizations from the region, gathered at the event. Agencies such as ICIMOD and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), which work specifically in the region, also participated, as did participants from academic and development organizations in Europe.

Samjwal Bajracharya, Remote Sensing Specialist at ICIMOD, presented on the current status of glaciers and the decadal change that has been mapped in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). He also shared experiences from ICIMOD, and spoke about activities carried out by the cryosphere initiative.

A knowledge sharing event on glacier monitoring and research was facilitated among participants from the HKH. A research proposal which seeks to understand the impacts of climate change on the Indus Basin was also launched at the event. Ways in which partnerships to implement this research project may be strengthened were also discussed. Once complete, the database created by the forum will be made accessible to the research and policymaking community through web portals hosted on various institute servers across and beyond the region.

The outcome is expected to add value to orienting and guiding the proposed project objectives towards those areas of research that are either still unexplored or need continuation and further research.

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