Back to news
14 Dec 2022 | Transboundary Landscapes

Experts discuss scaling up nature-based solutions in the HKH

HI-LIFE webinar series episode 3

3 mins Read

70% Complete
Birdwatching tourism in Baihualing Administrative Village, China, serves as a nature-based solution for income generation and community engagement in conservation. (Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD)

We organised the third episode of our HI-LIFE webinar series focusing on nature-based solutions (NbS). This episode shared case studies, experiences, and innovative practices around NbS from the HKH region to address socioeconomic and environmental challenges such as poverty, disaster reduction, erosion, pest infestation, pollution, and extreme weather events while achieving net gains in biodiversity conservation.

The webinar also hosted a special session on investments in NbS, organised as part of our Mountains of Opportunity Investment Framework. A diverse range of experts from the HKH region and beyond – including scientists, communication experts, policymakers, practitioners, and representatives from funding agencies – participated in the webinar.

 

Key messages from the webinar

 

Nature-based solutions: Concept, criteria, and practices

The first session explored the concept of NbS and highlighted challenges around their implementation. Raphael Glemet, Programme Coordinator for Water and Wetlands at the IUCN Asia Regional Office, Bangkok, in his keynote presentation introduced the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions, a user-friendly framework for the verification, design, and scaling up of effective NbS. He elaborated on the NbS standard, which outlines eight different criteria with 28 indicators to help users adopt robust NbS for addressing societal challenges such as climate change, food security, and disaster risk reduction.

Other panellists emphasised the important role the private sector and funding agencies need to play in increasing investment in NbS. They stressed on connecting businesses with biodiversity, strengthening monitoring systems, accounting for the ecosystem services generated by nature, and quantifying a return on investments.

 

Innovative use of nature for economic development in the mountains of HKH

The second session covered a wide variety of subjects, such as rural avitourism development in the Gaoligong Mountains in southern China (where three different types of models were introduced for promoting bird-watching tourism), mycotourism, and ethnobotanical practices and their economic relevance. Participants also discussed the possibility of building a regional value chain between Nepal and China for Calotropis gigantea, from which natural fibre is extracted.

Word cloud of participants’ responses reflecting on the implementation of NbS

 

Managing environmental challenges by following the law of nature

The third session emphasised the role NbS can play in managing environmental challenges and risks, particularly natural hazards, which are increasing in frequency and intensity in mountain areas. The keynote presentation from Anna Scolobig, University of Geneva, Switzerland, highlighted how scaling up NbS – by aligning policies and financial resources – can serve as a useful alternative approach to disaster risk reduction in the mountains, as opposed to traditional engineering measures, which are costly and can negatively impact ecosystems.

Word cloud of participants’ responses on action required to manage disasters

 

 

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up
4 Jan 2022 HI-LIFE
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on women entrepreneurs in the border areas of China and Myanmar

In the transboundary landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), specifically in the cross-border areas between China and Myanmar, formal ...

15 Jun 2021 Pakistan
World Environment Day 2021 celebrations with the Government of Pakistan and UNEP

We collaborated with the Government of Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) and the United Nations ...

3 Jun 2016 Water
Kailash Sacred Landscape Initiative Addresses Water Worries Across the Region

‘We prefer to wait for water at the springs over attending meetings’, said a woman of Digtoli village, around 41 ...

25 Mar 2022 REDD+
ICIMOD becomes an institutional member of the NDC Partnership

We were granted institutional membership of the NDC Partnership on 30 November 2021. With this, ICIMOD is ...

26 Feb 2016 KSL
Sustainable Management of Local Varieties in Kailash

A local crop diversity fair in Khar VDC of Api-Nampa Conservation area of Kailash landscape of Nepal was organised at ...

21 Jun 2021 KSL
A public–private–community forestry partnership in Baitadi

Trees, the environment, and the economy Trees provide multiple environmental, economic, and spiritual benefits. They purify the air, sequester carbon, prevent ...

Anchoring Transboundary Cooperation: Vegetation and Land Use Type Map of Kailash Sacred Landscape

Kailash sacred landscape covers more than 31,000 km2 geographical area and is spread across China, India, and Nepal. It exhibits ...

14 Oct 2016 KSL
Water Users Agree to Pay Watershed Communities in Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal

Dasarath Chand municipality in far western Nepal has suffered from an acute water shortage for several years. To meet the ...