First meeting of the Regional Working Group on Hindu Kush Himalaya biodiversity

About the event

In collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Royal Government of Bhutan, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will convene the First Meeting of the Regional Working Group on Hindu Kush Himalaya Biodiversity on 28 November 2025 in Paro, Bhutan. Taking off from the initial outcomes of the “Guiyang Recommendation,” put forward during the Science-Policy Dialogue in the 2025 Eco Forum Global Guiyang: Mountain Biodiversity and Our Life in Guiyang, China. This meeting will formalise the establishment and discuss the operational arrangements of the HKH Biodiversity Working Group.

This event is funded by the United Kingdom International Development through ICIMOD’s Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) and the Swedish Development Cooperation (SDC).

Background:

Biodiversity is essential to life on Earth, supporting ecosystem resilience, human well-being, and sustainable development. Mountains cover 22% of the world’s land surface and are home to nearly 50% of terrestrial biodiversity. These ecosystems are rich in endemic and endangered species, making them vital ecological treasures and key indicators of planetary health.

Beyond their ecological importance, mountains provide critical services such as water, food, medicine, and climate regulation. However, they are increasingly threatened by climate change, with rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, habitat loss, pollution, and over-exploitation putting 84% of mountain species at risk (IPBES, 2019).

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), as the regional knowledge hub and facilitator of cooperation among its eight Regional Member Countries (RMC) — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan — plays a pivotal role in addressing these shared challenges.

In response to growing concerns, ICIMOD organised a Science-Policy Dialogue in the 2025 Eco Forum Global Guiyang: Mountain Biodiversity and Our Life in Guiyang, China where the participants of the forum agreed to form a Working Group on Biodiversity as per the “Guiyang Recommendation.” This meeting marks a critical step in fostering collaborative, evidence-based responses to one of the most urgent challenges – accelerated biodiversity loss – facing the HKH region today.

Purpose of the Meeting:

The meeting aims to:

• Discuss on the Guiyang Recommendation and identify roadmap for future engagements and actions.
• Develop a draft proposal for the Kunming Biodiversity Fund to attract funding for biodiversity conservation in the HKH.
• Discuss on the methods of formalising and operationalising of the Working Group on Biodiversity