GESI-responsive cryosphere science communication in the HKH

About the event

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will facilitate a one-day regional workshop with key partner agencies from ICIMOD’s five Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan —to advance gender equality and social inclusion (GESI)-integrated cryosphere governance and science communication. The workshop will also discuss initial findings from the draft GESI framework for linking cryosphere changes, hazards, and societal impacts in the HKH.

The workshop will provide a platform for relevant stakeholders from RMCs to integrate GESI considerations into cryosphere science communication, early warning systems, hazard governance, and adaptation processes across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.

Objectives

• Strengthen institutional capacity among partner agencies to integrate GESI considerations into cryosphere-related monitoring systems, early warning systems, hazard communication, and adaptation planning.
• Map and identify barriers to accessing and acting on cryosphere information, disaggregated by gender, age, disability, location, and livelihood, to understand how these factors shape risk perception and adaptive capacity.
• Identify institutional opportunities to integrate GESI into cryosphere science and practice across national and regional governance systems.
• Validate and discuss the draft GESI framework for linking cryosphere changes, hazards, and societal impacts in the HKH, and identify institutional entry points for operationalisation across science, policy, and practice.

Thematic focus areas

Expected outputs

• Validation of the draft GESI-cryosphere framework
• Technical reflections and recommendations from participating institutions
• Strengthened regional collaboration among cryosphere and hydrometeorological institutions

Funding and acknowledgement

This workshop is organised by ICIMOD’s Cryosphere intervention under the Climate and Environmental Risks Strategic Group. The workshop is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Background

ICIMOD’s Cryosphere intervention supports partner organisations and governments in its Regional Member Countries in cryosphere monitoring and data analysis. It promotes regional cryosphere monitoring and the sharing of data and tools, with a focus on less-understood components such as permafrost and contributes to improving regional and global responses to cryosphere impacts through coordination, advocacy, and communication.