Dr Andreas Schild Memorial Mountain Prize Winner 2022

Every year, ICIMOD’s Dr Andreas Schild Memorial Mountain Prize is awarded to an individual, organisation, or private sector entity based in the HKH or beyond for outstanding efforts in enabling sustainable and resilient mountain development in the HKH region to benefit the environment as well as communities – particularly the poor, youth, and women.

ICIMOD Mountain Prize 2022

In 2022, the ICIMOD Mountain Prize was renamed as the Dr Andreas Schild Memorial Mountain Prize in honour of former ICIMOD Director General Andreas Schild, a great champion of the mountains of the world and the HKH region whose impact remains in the hearts of those in the HKH whose lives he touched during his long and illustrious career.

This year’s award is shared by two winners: (1) the Agriculture Machinery Centre of Paro, Bhutan, in the organizational category and (2) Mah Begum Amjad of Gilgit, Pakistan, in the individual category. The winners were announced on 5 December 2022 in Kathmandu during ICIMOD’s International Mountain Day celebrations.

Winners

Agriculture Machinery Centre located in Paro, Bhutan

In recognition of their significant efforts to link mountain communities to agricultural mechanisation, consolidate farm machine standards and certification, provide farm mechanisation training, and innovate needs-based technologies. In their role as a central programme of the Royal Government of Bhutan under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, they have done more than fulfil their mandate, especially during the pandemic period, to enhance food security and food self-sufficiency.
We applaud the Agriculture Machinery Centre’s initiative to transform the agriculture sector in Bhutan with mechanisation as a game changer!

Mah Begum Amjad from Gilgit, Pakistan

In recognition of her outstanding impact and leadership leading to community transformation. Her work in founding an organic enterprise in the dry fruit sector and partnering with other women in the community is an excellent example of breaking gender barriers and of robust local-level solutions to the global issue of food insecurity.
Her work exemplifies exceptional grassroots initiative towards sustainable mountain development and also reflects well the 2022 theme for International Mountain Day – ‘Women move mountains’.

Honourable mention

Basant Pratap Singh, journalist from Bajhang, Nepal

In recognition of his achievements as a dedicated journalist covering stories of marginalised communities in the farwestern region of Nepal whose focus on issues unique to mountain communities has brought these communities from the margins to the centre and has had clear impact prompting action.
The Selection Committee made special note of his role in motivating other journalists across the region to report more on mountain issues and communities.

How the prize is awarded

The Dr Andreas Schild Memorial Mountain Prize Selection Committee assesses the achievement of the nominated individual or organisation in any of (but not limited to) the following work areas: