Policy influence is at the heart of much of what we do. As an institution, our greatest impacts come in the form of policy advisory to our regional member countries and working with key civil society and government partners in reporting and raising global awareness of the unique challenges within the HKH.

In 2020, we worked with the Government of Bhutan to replicate the organic model village approach and establish a springshed programme as part of their national water flagship programme. In India, we contributed to the Draft National Energy Policy and the Ecotourism Policy of Ladakh. Through our REDD+ Initiative, we supported the formulation of state level REDD+ action plans (SRAPs) for Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Sikkim in India. These SRAPs will contribute to India’s ambitious REDD+ targets.

We also provided inputs into the REDD+ action plans of Myanmar and Nepal. We provided support to the Government of Nepal to replicate the Resilient Mountain Village model in additional districts and for the formulation of the Air Pollution Action Plan for Kathmandu, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2020. We worked with the National Environment Commission to develop the National Air Quality Observatory Monitoring Plan for Bhutan.

Our work and inputs are reflected in the Government of Nepal’s Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The submission references our work on long-term socioecological monitoring (LTSEM) in the Kailash Landscape, the work on corridors and connectivity in the Kangchenjunga Landscape, examples of transboundary cooperation in conservation from Kailash and Kangchenjunga landscapes, the work on documenting and awareness raising on invasive alien species, assessment of ecosystem services, documentation of NTFPs and traditional knowledge, identification and management of vulnerable rangeland and high mountain ecosystems, and the assessment of carbon stocks under the REDD+ initiative.