Back to news
2 Jan 2015 | News

Promoting regional efforts to reduce flood vulnerabilities

ICIMOD, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), organized the eighth Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting for the HKH-HYCOS project.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Inauguration of the newly established FABKA secretariat in Kathmandu. ICIMOD, 2019.

This final SRC meeting of the current phase was held from 22 to 24 September 2014 at the ICIMOD headquarters in Kathmandu. Participants from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan as well as the WMO, Government of Finland, Finnish Meteorological Institute, ICIMOD, and international experts reviewed the project progress and endorsed a project proposal for the next phase, focusing on delivering lifesaving flood warning messages to vulnerable communities.

The HKH-HYCOS project is working to establish a regional flood information system in the HKH region in close collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the six regional partner countries namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. More specifically, the project seeks to reduce flood vulnerability in the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins by minimizing loss of lives and livelihoods. To that end, it works to strengthen regional cooperation for sharing flood data and information among the member countries. The project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Finland

1. Participants of 8th Regional Steering Committee Meeting for the HKH-HYCOS project
The project has upgraded 37 hydromet stations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. These stations can now automatically observe rainfall and water level measurements. The project has established web-based regional and national flood information systems for sharing real-time data and information for reducing risks. The project is also piloting a regional flood outlook model using Mike 11 hydrological software. Apart from real-time hydromet data from the 37 stations upgraded by the project, freely available rainfall forecast data is being inputted into the flood outlook model to add value and improve accuracy of the model. In order to sustain the initiative, the project has focused heavily on enhancing partner organizations’ technical capacity in flood forecasting and communication, and sought public private partnerships, especially with telecom operators, for disaster risk reduction.
In view of the imminent funding shortage between the end of the current phase and the next phase, RSC members have committed to supporting some of the project activities through their national budget.

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

RELATED CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

24 Aug 2018 Himalica
ICIMOD Delegates Share Experiences and Lessons from Himalica in Myanmar

Key results, experiences, and lessons learnt from the European Union-funded Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the ...

25 Mar 2015 News
Training on Reframing Leadership for Women and Men for Gender Equality

The purpose of the training was to increase gender transformative impacts in the HKH ...

7 Jul 2017 News
ICIMOD DG Stresses South South Learning in National Science Foundation of China meeting

Molden addressed the importance of South-South learning to common regional mountain issues such as climate change and adaptation, mountain hazards ...

23 Jun 2016 News
Cryosphere Data Release

Open access to high-elevation meteorological data and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) data from the Himalayas Meteorological data is scarce in high-elevation ...

15 Jun 2016 News
Payment for Ecosystem Services for Drinking Water Schemes in Dhankuta, Koshi Hills, is Becoming a Reality

After a yearlong effort through an action research by ICIMOD’s Koshi Basin Programme (KBP) and its partner Green Governance of Nepal ...

12 Oct 2015 News
Water management training in Myanmar

ICIMOD held a five-day training session on integrated water management 25-29 August 2015 in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar. Participants were instructed in ...

15 Apr 2015 News
Building capacity for grassroots action

With the aim to build capacity of researchers on conceptual and operational aspects of ecosystem management framework, a workshop was ...

21 Mar 2019 Gender in Koshi
Transforming gender and social perceptions in the brick industry

With rapid urbanization and demand for construction materials in Nepal, brick kilns have proliferated across the country, providing livelihoods to ...