Managing rangelands in the HKH for multiple benefits

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About the event

The aim of this regional workshop is to share ICIMOD’s vision on our intervention on rangelands in our new medium-term action plan (MTAP), and to highlight the Hindu Kush Himalaya’s (HKH) rangeland-wetland as a key resource for regional cooperation, investment, and programme development.

The workshop will bring together national and sub-national policymakers on rangeland management, experts on managing rangelands for multiple ecosystem services, representatives from key partner institutions identified for the intervention implementation, and experts on rangeland mapping and analysis from key partner institutions.

Objectives

• Inform policy makers in the HKH countries on the need for and challenges related to managing rangelands for multiple benefits
• Launch ICIMOD’s intervention on rangelands, formalise regional implementation partnership and build common understanding on the design of the intervention
• Develop regional and country-wise workplans including an annual plan for 2023
• Develop the framework, methodologies, and workplans for regional mapping and assessment of rangelands and wetlands

Expected outputs

• Commitment from policymakers from the HKH countries for joint implementation of the intervention
• Consensus on the intervention’s specific outcomes, outcome targets for 2026, key milestones and outputs
• Formalised regional and country-wise partnerships for collaborative implementation
• Developed regional and country-wise implementation plans
• Harmonised framework, methodology and workplan for regional mapping and assessment of rangelands and wetlands

Background

Rangeland ecosystems cover around 60% of the 4.3 million square kilometres of the HKH and provide bases for economic and livelihood opportunities for 25–30 million agropastoralists who live in extreme poverty. High-altitude rangelands (including wetlands embedded within rangelands) are important mountain ecosystems that lie at altitudes exceeding 3000 metres above sea level. They are crucial in terms of their multiple-use value and the benefits they provide to indigenous communities and a wide range of other stakeholders, contributing significantly to the HKH regional economy. Rangelands also support wildlife, provide valuable ecosystem services and are important grazing lands for livestock, which are a vital source of income and food for rural communities. However, over the last decade, these high-altitude ecosystems have been rapidly degrading in the context of climate change, rapid socioeconomic changes, and expanding stakeholder interest in using rangelands.

ICIMOD’s Regional Rangeland Programme (1999–2009) was developed to help reduce and alleviate poverty among rangeland-dependent mountain people and to improve the productivity of rangeland ecosystems in the HKH-Tibetan Plateau region in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. From 2010 to 2022, our work on rangelands was integrated within a transboundary landscape management framework incorporating research, capacity building, and transboundary cooperation.

ICIMOD is now embarking on a new MTAP plan which prioritises rangelands as an important intervention under the Action Area “Regenerating and Restoring Landscapes”. The main aim of this intervention is to support our regional member countries in adopting inclusive policies and innovative practices to conserve, restore, manage, and sustainably use rangelands/wetlands and reverse their degradation. Our three focus areas are: i) generating evidence and advocacy to trigger policies for rangelands/wetlands management, ii) piloting innovative solutions for improved rangelands management, and iii) strengthening the capabilities of institutions for rangeland management. The intervention will be implemented in six HKH countries – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, with focused action on the ground towards the conservation and restoration of high-altitude rangelands and wetlands in Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. The intervention will support these countries’ commitments to global SDGs, UNFCCC climate actions, and biodiversity framework targets. It will strengthen national and subnational policies, plans, institutions, and investments for effective rangelands/wetlands management.

Event photos

Agenda

Day 1 | Monday, 29 May 2023

Day 2 | Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Day 3 and Day 4 | 31 May – 1 June 2023

Group work: Designing collaborative generation of knowledge on rangelands/wetlands