This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
1 min Read
At least four communities across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are better prepared to fight floods this year. Floods and flash floods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya cause considerable loss of lives and property in downstream communities, particularly during the monsoon. To address such flood risks and to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partner organizations have set up community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS). A CBFEWS is an integrated system of tools and plans to detect and respond to flood emergencies that is managed by communities. 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.
ICIMOD provided flood monitoring devices and established CBFEWS with its partners in Assam and Bihar in India; Mahottari, Nepal, Baghlan in Afghanistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. ICIMOD will establish another CBFEWS in the Kabul River basin in Afghanistan and provide technical support to Oxfam Nepal to establish a CBFEWS in the Mahakali River basin of Nepal.
ICIMOD conducted its third regional hands-on training on CBFEWS from 14 to 18 May 2018. Eighteen participants comprising of caretakers, flood warning recipients, representatives from local government and non-governmental organizations, and members of CBFEWS implementing communities and organizations were trained on installing and using the flood monitoring device and establishing CBFEWS. The course provided technical know-how as well as conceptual knowledge about planning for CBFEWS holistically and concentrated on the use of a flood early warning device designed by ICIMOD with support from Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE). The device has seen significant upgrades since its first introduction in 2008. The device started as a simple wired device that triggered an alarm during high flows; it now features a telemetric system that reads, records, and transmits water level data in real time. The ability to provide lead time has also increased significantly as a result.
The CBFEWS activity in Afghanistan is supported by the Government of Australia under the Sustainable Water Resource Management in Afghanistan (SWaRMA) programme. In Nepal and India, it is supported by the Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP) for South Asia under the Koshi Basin Programme, and in Pakistan, under the Indus Basin Initiative. The governments of Norway and Sweden also provide support in India (Assam) through the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme.
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Related content
Twice a year, SANDEE requests research concept notes in any area of environmental and resource economics with implications for poverty ...
At the second Policy and Advocacy Network Asia (PAN) meeting on 20 and 21 June 2019, ICIMOD provided government representatives ...
From 26-28 January 2016, the first writers’ workshop for the coordinating lead authors of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and ...
#塑战速决 (#BeatPlasticPollution) –今年世界环境日的三项行动 似乎没有任何地方可以免受塑料污染浪潮的影响:即使是地球之巅。上周在当地社区、登山者和政要前往纪念珠峰人类首登 70 周年时,ICIMOD 发起了我们新的 #拯救我们的雪(#SaveOurSnow)活动——一段视频显示被留在珠峰(南坡)大本营的堆积如山的塑料制品和其他垃圾的消息迅速传播开来。 但我们这代人可以扭转塑料潮流吗?随着谈判代表离开巴黎,同意起草一份具有国际法律约束力的条约草案以终结塑料污染,而在设立世界环境日的50周年呼吁采取集体行动来抵制它,有充分的理由充满希望。 同样重要的是,我们有充分的理由采取行动:塑料工业不仅是世界上增长最快的工业温室气体来源,而且塑料废物极大地加剧了兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区现有的气候变化、生物多样性丧失和污染等问题,ICIMOD 的 南亚网络开发和环境经济学(South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics ,简称SANDEE)。原因如下: 气候:固体废物——其中大部分是塑料——堵塞了排水系统,并增加了破坏性洪水,即由全球变暖引发的更频繁且更强烈的降雨事件引发的洪水。 生物多样性:塑料垃圾可能需要数百年才能分解,它们堵塞水道,其中的有害化学物质渗入土壤和水中,影响陆地和水生生物、生态系统和人类健康。 ...
Perceiving Drivers of Change as the key global issues and trends driving change in the HKH Region, International Centre for ...
ICIMOD and the Central Himalayan Environmental Association (CHEA) organized a five-day visit for the farmers/ beekeepers and the staff of partner organization ...
On 19–21 May 2015, the Government of Myanmar launched its ambitious Ecotourism Policy and Management Strategy for Protected Areas, developed ...
Members of the Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture (AIRCA) presented and discussed different aspects of climate-smart ...