Back to news
26 Jun 2024 | HIREAP

Call for Submissions: Showcasing sustainable practices of bioprospecting for green livelihoods

Application deadline: 23 August 2024

4 mins Read

70% Complete
Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD.

APPLY Here SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) under the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is seeking contributions from experts and development practitioners for a compendium of case studies highlighting bioprospecting as a sustainable nature-based solution (NbS).

This compendium aims to have a comprehensive collection of sustainable bioprospecting practices that serve as viable livelihood options for the mountain communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. It will also examine various aspects of commercialising products derived from bioresources, including fair benefit sharing, engaging local and Indigenous communities, and addressing environmental, social, economic, and gender-related challenges.

We seek

We invite institutions to nominate experts or encourage experts to self-nominate to contribute their work in the form of a case study. We are specifically seeking exemplary bioprospecting approaches, projects, and start-ups that empower local and Indigenous communities, contribute to transforming current resource utilisation systems, and promote sustainability.

We are looking for practices that, once proven effective, can be adapted to benefit other regions, countries, and contexts, thereby empowering more communities.

Case studies should focus on the following themes:

  1. Bioprospecting and NbS: Exploration of bioprospecting as an NbS, assessing the business environment, regional good practices, and country-specific opportunities.
  2. Innovation and biodiversity: Case studies showcasing innovative approaches in bioprospecting that leverage rich biodiversity for discovering bioactive compounds, genetic materials, and traditional knowledge, driving innovation in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and agriculture.
  3. Sustainable economic development: Case studies demonstrating how bioprospecting can foster sustainable economic growth, creating jobs, generating revenue, and enhancing local livelihoods through bio-based industries.
  4. International partnerships and collaboration: Exploration of global partnerships and collaborations in bioprospecting, highlighting successful models of technology transfer, capacity building, and market access.
  5. Community engagement and capacity building: Case studies illustrating community involvement in bioprospecting initiatives, including capacity building and access and benefit-sharing mechanisms.
  6. Entrepreneurship and value chain development: Case studies showcasing entrepreneurial initiatives that harness the potential of bioprospecting. Value chain development in bioprospecting, from sustainable harvesting to the development of value-added products like pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, beverages, and agriculture.
Criteria

To be selected, the initiatives must:

 

Please submit your application here by 11:59 PM NST, Friday, 23 August 2024. View the submission guidelines here.

What happens to your contribution?

Appropriate contributions highlighting sustainable bioprospecting practices in various sectors will be shortlisted. Each case study will be reviewed by a panel of experts. Finalised case studies will be published, and all contributors will be acknowledged as authors.

This knowledge co-production is part of the HI-REAP programme supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). HI-REAP focuses on fostering regional cooperation and collaboration for policy influence and investment towards scaling of NbS and Actions for Clean Air (AfCA).

Background
What is bioprospecting?

Bioprospecting is the systematic and organised search for useful products derived from bioresources that can be developed for commercialisation. It recognises traditional and Indigenous knowledge and explores opportunities for developing commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources.

Bioprospecting holds potential as a nature-based livelihood option, especially for communities in high-altitude areas, given the rich biodiversity and abundance of high-value niche products such as medicinal and aromatic plants in these regions.

Recognised as an NbS, bioprospecting leverages the value of biological resources responsibly engaging local communities and Indigenous People to address their livelihoods concerns while generating environmental, climate and sustainable development co-benefits. Bioprospecting ensures that value chain are GESI responsive, and backed by strong policy and governance frameworks. There is ample prospect for integration of traditional knowledge and equitable benefit sharing mechanisms among the stakeholders.

Bioprospecting within ICIMOD

ICIMOD aims to leverage bioprospecting as an NbS based on a sustainable approach bringing economic and social benefits to mountain communities and environmental benefits (biodiversity and climate resilience) for ecosystems through sustainable utilisation of their genetic resources in pharmaceutical and biochemical industries, and in the production of a wide array of commercially viable products. The HI-REAP programme supported by the UK’s FCDO under its Climate Action for Resilient Asia (CARA) Initiative, focuses on NbS to bolster climate resilience in the Himalayan region. Within this programme, bioprospecting is a pivotal NbS, dedicated to fostering sustainable development and resilience in mountain communities – innovating green businesses while strengthening the natural resources base for ecosystem resilience.


For queries, please contact:

Sunayana Basnet (Sunayana.basnet@icimod.org)

 

24 Apr 2017 Announcements
Call for papers: Exploring the links between water, food, energy, and mountain ecosystems

Call for papers Exploring the links between water, food, energy, and mountain ecosystems The connections between food, water, and energy constitute a complex ...

MRD Talk #06 | How can knowledge support restoration and conservation of mountain ecosystems for the benefit of people and nature? | Insights and recording available online

Conserving and restoring mountain landscape functions is an important focus of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030. MRD Talk ...

10 Jan 2019 Announcements
Regional Training on Springshed Management for Socio-Ecological Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

Kathmandu and Godavari, Nepal, 24 March–6 April 2019 Date of circulation: 10 January 2019 Application deadline: ...

4 Jun 2025 Announcements
RFP: Consultancy service to Install an ICIMOD-supported agriculture crop residue pelletisation plant in the Terai region of Nepal

ICIMOD is looking for a consultancy service to Install an ICIMOD-supported agriculture crop residue pelletisation plant in the Terai region ...

Request for proposal: Addressing cascading and transboundary climate risks through cooperation on adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

ICIMOD is looking for experts and organisations to develop two position papers on strengthening cooperation on adaptation to cross-border and ...

24 May 2023 Announcements
Mountain Research and Development Vol 43, No 1 available online and open access

Articles in this open issue focus on a new interactive mudflow database for risk reduction in Kazakhstan, the economic benefits ...

15 Mar 2019 Announcements
Request for Expression of Interest for Translation of ICIMOD Documents

Translation is a vital service that the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) requires regularly, and ...

15 Nov 2017 Announcements
Call for papers: Food security and sustainable development in mountains

Call for papers Food security and sustainable development in mountains Food security is ...