A review and planning meeting was held in Islamabad on 7 June, 2016 on two projects underway in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB), ‘Community-Based Glacier Monitoring and Early Warning System’ through Focus Humanitarian Assistance’ and ‘Agricultural Water, Energy and Hazard Management in the Upper Indus Basin for Improved Livelihood’.  The projects were made possible by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration withWorld-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority (GB-DMA), Gilgit-Baltistan Forest, Wildlife and Environment Department (GB-FWED), Karakoram International University (KIU), Focus Humanitarian Assistance and Khunjrab Villagers Organization (KVO).

Partners highlighted key achievements during the meeting. Intervention sites were selected through rigorous surveys and consultation with local communities and a comprehensive situational analysis report on target communities was developed. Work is in progress at the water management (solar water lifting, water channel rehabilitation and micro irrigation) sites. Sites and instruments for Flood Early Warning Systems were selected and will disseminate warnings to the local communities and provide real-time data at web portals of Focus and GBDMA. Another highlight was Sea buckthorn and Salix are being successfully grown along the Hunza River near Passu village to reduce river bank erosion.

Nadeem Amjad, Chairman, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, announced the donation of Angora rabbit units to UIB communities for strengthening their livelihood through a pro-gender approach.