Climate and Cryosphere Crisis

In-person participation to the conference is by invitation only.

AGENDA AND CONCEPT NOTE PRESS RELEASE

About the conference

The HKH Science-Policy Forum (SPF) – is an ICIMOD-facilitated dialogue platform structured to bring together scientists, development practitioners and professionals, stakeholders, and policymakers to discuss issues concerning the HKH people and environment. The platform also provides an opportunity to deliberate on the science behind common challenges and share science and policy solutions from the region and beyond. These solutions are anticipated to help formulate evidence-based recommendations for the Ministerial Mountain Summit as the basis for policy guidelines to address high-priority regional and transboundary issues of common interest and concern through regional cooperation and collaborative action.

Guided by the Ministerial Declaration of 15 October 2020, the Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE), Nepal and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) are jointly organising the ‘2^nd Hindu Kush Himalaya Science-Policy Forum: Climate and cryosphere crisis’ in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 21–22 September 2023.

Objectives

The forum aims to:

• Take stock of existing knowledge and identify gaps in cryosphere science
• Discuss national policies and plans related to cryosphere and identify key policy gaps to address cryosphere impacts on water resources, biodiversity, and livelihoods
• Assess institutional mechanisms to address cryosphere issues and challenges at national, regional, and global levels
• Formulate evidence-based recommendations to bridge cryosphere science-policy gaps for a greener, more inclusive, and resilient HKH

Expected outputs

• Identification of gaps in cryosphere science and corresponding policies
• A review of institutional mechanisms addressing cryosphere risks and challenges at national, regional, and global levels
• A set of recommendations for the 2nd Ministerial Mountain Summit to bridge science and policy gaps on cryosphere

The forum is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) under the Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA) programme

In collaboration with