Back to news
14 Feb 2016 | News

The ‘Third Pole’: A Monitoring And Assessment Programme To Sustain The Hindu Kush Himalayan Region as a Global Asset

1 min Read

70% Complete

From 26-28 January 2016, the first writers’ workshop for the coordinating lead authors of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) took place in Kathmandu, Nepal. HIMAP is a comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region that aims to assist in addressing threats, act on opportunities, and scale up cutting edge approaches.

HIMAP frames the challenge as follows: “Outside of the North and South Poles, the HKH region contains the largest area of permanent ice cover in the world, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the ‘Third Pole’ of the earth. Its terrain encompasses the source of 10 major river systems, 4 global biodiversity spots, 330 important bird areas, and hundreds of mountain peaks over 6,000masl. The region provides water, ecosystem services, food, energy, and livelihood to 210 million people directly. An additional 1.3 billion people living downstream benefit from its resources indirectly and more than 3 billion people rely on energy produced in the basin catchment area of the Himalayan river systems. The region is also home to some of the most diverse cultures, languages, religions, and traditional knowledge systems in the world. For these reasons, the HKH region is clearly a major global asset, critical to the planet as a whole.”

READ MORE

Third Regional Meeting for Kangchenjunga Landscape Initiative

Participants included high-level government officials from Bhutan led by Dasho Tenzin Dhundup, Secretary at ...

3 Jul 2017 Cryosphere
Building Capacity on Database Management in Bhutan

Namgyal was introduced to data, data types, data format, database structure, MODIS snow data, and database management. He also learned ...

28 Nov 2018 Atmosphere Initiative
Government of Nepal and ICIMOD Initiate Localization of Environmental Agenda and Issues at Provincial Level

The convention provided a national platform to deliberate on environmental issues (affecting air, water, and land), and is expected to ...

3 May 2016 HKPL
Rangeland Resources Assessment Protocol for HKPL

ICIMOD met partners from China, Pakistan and Tajikistan in Kathmandu, Nepal on 28-29 April 2016 to discuss and finalize the ...

24 Aug 2018 News
Highlighting Need for Sustainable Tourism at Global Adventure and Mountaineering Expo

Molden’s talk was titled Climate+Change and Sustainable Tourism: A regional cooperation perspective in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. Its key ...

Towards improved management of Yarsagumba in Api Nampa Conservation Area

Yarsagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), a highly prized Himalayan herb, is commonly known as caterpillar fungus and grows naturally in the northern ...

27 Jan 2016 KSL
A Need to Protect Nepal’s Diverse Resources

Nepal harbours abundant biodiversity. Diversity exists largely due to the unique climatic conditions and geography in the Himalayan range. Indigenous ...