Death toll climbs as torrential rains pound Nepal

Much of Kathmandu stands underwater today and the capital’s main river, the Bagmati, is flowing above danger levels after incessant rain lashed much of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday (today).

After rainfall exceeding 340mm fell in under three days in many places across the Kathmandu Valley the Bagmati is flowing at 6.16metres at Khokana: 2.16m above danger levels, according to a press note issued by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Rivers in eastern and central Nepal are also dangerously engorged: at the time of writing the Narayani River at Devghat is running at 11.5 metres: 2.5m above danger levels. Sunkoshi River in Khurkot also recorded 11.5 m, which is almost 3m higher than the danger threshold, it reads, adding that rescue-workers have used boats and helicopters to evacuate affected citizens stranded in their homes as water levels rose.

The government states 66 people have been killed since early on Friday, with 60 injured and 69 missing, with floods and landslides closing major roads and disrupting domestic air travel.

“I’ve never before seen flooding on this scale in Kathmandu,” said  Climate and Environmental Risks Lead at the Hindu Kush Himalayan knowledge centre at ICIMOD Arun Bhakta Shrestha.

Kumaltar, in the Kathmandu Valley, received 381.2 and Godavari received 346.6 mm in rains that set in early on Thursday. Large areas of Nepal were projected to see rainfall in the “extremely heavy rainfall” category (over 200mm) on both Friday and Saturday.  

A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and the more northerly than usual position of the monsoon trough is the reason for this weekend’s late, and exceptionally intense rain.

Contrary to earlier forecasts which showed another day of heavy rain, ICIMOD’s High-Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit (HIWAT) now shows rain subsiding tomorrow (Sunday).

Scientists say that while climate change is changing the amount and timing of rainfall across Asia, a key reason for the rise in the impact of floods is the built environment, including unplanned construction, especially on floodplains, which leaves insufficient area for water retention and drainage.

They recommend central governments and city planners urgently increase the investment in and planning of both ‘grey’ (engineered) and ‘green’ (nature-based) infrastructure: such as underground stormwater and sewage systems; and the restoration of wetlands or the introduction of permeable pavements and ‘rain gardens’ to increase cities’ capacity to absorb water and help communities adapt.

This unprecedented rain has fallen on soil already saturated following a more than 25 per cent above normal rainfall this monsoon in Kathmandu, the press note reads, "Its impact is aggravated by poor drainage due to unplanned settlement/haphazard urbanisation, construction on floodplains, and lack of areas for water retention, and encroachment on the Bagmati river."

Extreme floods from two consecutive heavy monsoon years have caused devastation in many parts of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region in 2023 and 2024, and recent analysis by climate scientists shows Asia’s exposure to extreme rain and flood risk growing by 2030.

The research shows the continent will face the greatest rainfall changes in the world by 2100, with ICIMOD regional member countries Bangladesh, China, and India among 10 Asian countries that have the highest risk of extreme rainfall by the end of the century. 

XDI’s 2023 Gross Domestic Climate Risk Dataset, the expert group in physical climate risk, shows that 114 of the top 200 provinces with the highest aggregated damage ratio by 2050 will be in Asia.

XDI Gross Domestic Climate Risk Map. Source: XDI

Landmark research by Chinese researchers and the UK Met Office published in the journal Science this July showed that climate change is not only resulting in more extreme precipitation, but also greater variability in rainfall – with greater swings between intense rain events. The research used observational data since the 1900s to track already detectable changes – with the greater variability in rainfall posing challenges for weather and climate predictions, as well as for resilience and adaptation by societies and ecosystems.

ICIMOD’s 2023 assessment report, Water, Ice, Society, and Ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya suggests similar changes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

Alongside many in the region, many ICIMOD employees have found themselves on the frontline of these floods.

We extend our solidarity to all those suffering today, and will continue to work to increase the reliability of forecasts, to roll out early warning systems, and to advocate for planned settlements and nature-based solutions to mitigate flood risks.

The ICIMOD claims that it continue to share our Earth Observation tools with government agencies and first responders, including those in humanitarian agencies, to help them anticipate major events and preposition aid.

Disaster experts from Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan convene in Islamabad to increase regional capacity to manage and respond rising risk in mountains

Professionals from key disaster management agencies from Bhutan and Nepal are in Islamabad this week to learn pioneering disaster risk reduction strategies from counterparts in Pakistan.

Senior experts from Nepal and Bhutan visited Pakistan’s state-of-the-art National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), the country's Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and the Global Climate Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC).

The visit, jointly organised by Nepal-headquartered International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) aims to provide countries with hands-on exposure to cutting-edge technologies and approaches used by NDMA Pakistan for proactive disaster risk reduction and management, and to increase the region’s capacities to manage disasters, according to the ICIMOD.

“The 2022 floods were a turning point for Pakistan’s disaster strategy, highlighting the need for a centralized, coordinated response,” said chairman of NDMA Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, briefing delegates on the country’s ‘360-degree’ disaster management mechanism which addresses disaster assessments, response, recovery, and rehabilitation.

Malik expressed interest in not just sharing Pakistan’s experiences and resources with neighbouring countries, but also in the potential for Pakistan to learn Nepal and Bhutan, for instance on management of climate-induced tourism risks. 

He outlined several potential areas for ongoing collaboration including:  forming technical working groups to address mountain-specific disasters; building an inventory of critical disaster equipment that might be shared across borders in the events of major events; capacity-building in search and rescue, building on Pakistan’s urban search and rescue teams and leveraging Nepal’s participation in the upcoming International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) Asia Pacific Earthquake Response exercise in Lahore.

“Nepal and Pakistan have experienced large-scale seismic and climate-induced disasters in recent years,” said chief executive of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) Anil Pokhrel.

“Exchanges such as this help us learn from NDMA Pakistan’s transformation in disaster response, including in its state-of-the-art national emergency operations," he said, adding, "Jointly we can further simulations for glacial lake outburst floods, a common climate change threat faced by both countries, while charting areas for collaboration on disaster risk reduction management.”

On the occasion, Arun Bahadur Shrestha, who leads ICIMOD’s Climate and Environmental Risks work, said the exchange visit would help participating countries cope with future disasters, and stressed the importance of strengthening regional cooperation on DRR.

“ICIMOD’s goal is to foster knowledge-sharing and create a strong network of disaster management professionals across the region, as the challenges we face are shared, and so must be our solutions,” he said.  

“This initiative exemplifies the importance of regional cooperation, and we look forward to applying knowledge gained here to strengthen disaster management efforts in our respective countries,” said executive engineer, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bhutan, Sonam Tshewang.

The visit comes after another deadly monsoon in South Asia: with the serious disasters hitting Nepal including mudslides, waterlogging, glacial lake outbursts and damaged infrastructure. Nepal’s monsoon preparedness plan estimated close to 400,000 households would be affected. Bhutan’s capital of Thimpu, meanwhile, faced unexpected landslides and floods.

A joint Simulation Exercise (SimEx), led by NDMA, focused on Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) scenarios, including the Badswat GLOF in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan, and the Imja Glacier in Khumjung, Nepal.

Delegates from Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan actively participated in interactive discussions, sharing best practices from their respective disaster management strategies in response to the simulated scenarios.

The visit concluded with a policy-action dialogue on future strategies to address climate-induced disasters in Pakistan jointly organised by ICIMOD, the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC&EC) and Environmental Coordination and the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC).

GLOF from Thyanbo glacial lake sweeps away Thame Village

The devastating flood which struck Thame, a village in the Khumbu region yesterday was due to an outburst flood from Thyanbo glacial lake.

An initial assessment of damage by the local authorities shows 14 properties have been destroyed, including one school, one health post, five hotels and seven homes, according to 

Thame is a village in Namche region of Solukhumbu, home to renowned Mt Everest mountaineers and current record holder Kami Rita Sherpa.

Several glacial lakes lie upstream of Thame. Satellite images of the area dating back to 2017 from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus earth observation programme show these lakes constantly changing in size. "Researchers at ICIMOD confirm that some of them frequently expand and contract, making them susceptible to breaches," according to a press note issued by the ICIMOD.

Sentinel satellite imagery show the constant change in lake size located in upstream of Thame River. These lakes lie near the popular trekking destination of Tashi Lapcha Pass. The neighbouring valley holds one of the region's most potentially dangerous glacial lakes, Tsho Rolpa.

ICIMOD scientists are further investigating the causes of GLOF and its impact downstream, including seeking pre- and post-satellite images, in order to complement the efforts of national and local agencies, including Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the press note adds.

ICIMOD’s 2023 assessment, Water, Ice, Society, and Ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, stated that the glaciers, snow, and permafrost of the Hindu Kush Himalaya are 'undergoing unprecedented and largely irreversible changes over human timescales, primarily driven by climate change” and “are some of the most vulnerable to these changes in the world.'

Some 260 million people live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH), and these mountain communities, the report continues, “are already living with the impacts of the accelerated melting of glaciers, changing snowfall patterns, growing variability in water availability, and increasing incidences of cryosphere-related hazards (posing) a direct impact on their lives and livelihoods.”

It warns floods and landslides are projected to increase, with climate the key driver in many of the water- and cryosphere-related disasters already recorded in recent years, through meltwater, larger and more potentially dangerous lakes, unstable slopes from thawing permafrost, and increasing sediment loads in rivers.

The retreat of mountain glaciers has increased the size and number of glacial lakes, and a three-fold increase in glacial lake outburst flood risk across the HKH is projected by the end of the twenty-first century, and it’s predicted we’ll reach ‘peak GLOF risk’ by 2050.

There are 25,000+ glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, of which 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes (PDGLs) lie within the Koshi, Gandaki, and Karnali river basins of Nepal, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and India. High Mountain Asia is a global hotspot for risk of GLOFs, with approximately one million people living within 10km of a glacial lake according to a new glacial lake inventory report . The growth in the number and size of glacial lakes is set to continue.

The lake’s size was approximately 0.05 km² on August 16, 2024, at 10:46 AM, before it was breached. "We estimate the breach occurred around 1:25 PM on the same day," The press note adds.

“This flood swept away parts of a village I know intimately well, where friends, neighbours and relatives live, with ancestral ties going back generations,” said ICIMOD Cryosphere analyst and founder of the #SaveOurSnow campaign Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa, who is from the Solukhumbu region where the floods hit. 

"It is a painfully personal reminder of the devastating impacts of temperature rise on mountain communities," he said, adding that millions of people in the mountains have contributed literally nothing to greenhouse gas emissions, but face the catastrophic impacts of these emissions with ever-increasing frequency and severity.

“The science is clear: G20 economies must cut their ties with fossil fuels, and accelerate the use of renewables, and to ensure adaptation and loss and damage funds reach those communities impacted. To mountain communities – raise your voice to call for this urgent action. As Thame shows, for many of us, continued inaction from world leaders poses an existential risk.”

“Thame was a beautiful village, home to many generations of Sherpa people and their family," a media and mountaineering outfitter from Khumbu, and supporter of #SaveOurSnow, Dr Nima Sherpa said, adding that these homes now lie buried under debris. "It’s sad to see how the mountain communities are paying the price of the global climate crisis," he said, "Some complain about the recreational or cosmetic impacts of too much or too little snow; but these changes affect the lives of the people who live in the mountains so differently – impacting them directly and often catastrophically as we see in Thame, where almost an entire village has been wiped out in minutes.  

“World leaders need to believe in making the change with collective global effort to control what they can change," he said, adding that mountain communities have not contributed to global temperature rise. "We must do more to help their voices and experiences to be heard.”

“Climate change is a crime scene," Cryosphere lead for ICIMOD Miriam Jackson, said, adding that the glaciers are making it visible. "We cannot look the other way."

Meanwhile, a government team led by defence minister Manbir Rai confirmed that the unusual flooding incident that occurred in the Everest region on Friday was triggered after glacial lake outburst.

The swollen Thame river destroyed 20 houses, Thame elementary school along with a clinic and displaced 135 people in ward 5 of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu District on Friday.

The government team led by defence minister Rai today reached the affected area. After observing the condition of the flood-hit areas and the upstream through helicopter inspection, they concluded that the reason behind the flood was glacier outburst.

The officials found that two of the five lakes formed above the Thame village in the Everest region had burst and flooded downstream.

Chief District Officer of Solukhumbu Devi Pandey, who was one of the members in the minister-led inspection team, said that two of the five lakes above the village burst on Friday. "Two other lakes look potentially dangerous and may breach any time while the remaining one looks safe."

Advancing conservation targets in South Asia

Target 3 of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, calls to ensure and enable at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected, and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) by 2030.

Central to this commitment is the recognition of indigenous and traditional territories, which involves respecting their rights over their ancestral lands, according to a press note issued by the ICIMOD today.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has 23 action-oriented global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030. It was adopted by 195 countries in December 2022 at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. 

Achieving Target 3 – area-based conservation for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and services – is considered by international scientists as the minimum to conserve and protect if we want to succeed in halting and reversing biodiversity decline by 2030. Experts also point to the importance of achieving conservation objectives within those areas, hence the significance of connectivity, effectiveness, and respecting and recognising the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

This week, scientists, conservation managers, youth, women and representatives from Indigenous Peoples and local communities gathered in Kathmandu to explore ways to meet the Target 3.

The four-day capacity building workshop for the South Asia subregion, is organised by ICIMOD with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.

The workshop discussed ways for South Asian countries to achieve their commitments under Target 3 and related targets of the Framework, including developing national priority actions to enhance progress towards achievement of the target and highlighting essential tools to support Target 3 implementation, such as the 30x30 Solutions Toolkit and the HAC 30x30 Matchmaking Platform aiming at identifying countries needs and match them with appropriate technical and financial assistance offers. 

Additionally, the workshop discussed opportunities for transboundary cooperation through 'Other effective area-based conservation measures' (OECMs). These are areas that are achieving the long term and effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside of the protected areas network.

OECMs are an opportunity for inclusive conservation by recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and their traditional knowledge. It is also an opportunity to conserve biodiversity-rich areas beyond boundaries and promote regional cooperation among stakeholders in the region. 

Speaking at the concluding session, Minister for Forests and Environment, Ain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri highlighted Nepal’s commitment and successful efforts in conservation. He also emphasised the need to focus on innovative approaches, and strong partnerships and cooperation at local, national and regional scales. He underlined the need to implement National Plans to sustainably manage biodiversity and enhance resilience.

He highlighted the efforts made by the country, ICIMOD, other stakeholders and sections of society, including Indigenous peoples and local communities, in achieving its conservation goals for sustainable development.

Target 3 is a qualitative target: Emphasis on effectiveness, inclusion and equitable governance

While Target 3 main indicator is the quantitative measure of the coverage, in order to be successful, Target 3 needs to be a qualitative target. The workshop emphasizes that this global target is met through “…ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories where applicable…and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.”

OECMs offer a promising approach to reverse biodiversity loss and achieve large-scale conservation targets outside the formal protected areas network. They are defined as “A geographically defined area other than Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio-economic, and other locally relevant values” (CBD, Decision 14/8, 2010). 

Mr Qapaj Conde Choque from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) emphasised on both qualitative and quantitative elements of Target 3. “One key outcome that came out of this workshop is that the successful implementation of Target 3 should be premised on both qualitative measure that truly recognise the contributions of all in addition to the quantitative measure that remains important in assessing the progress in meeting this Target. This dual consideration will ensure that the efforts of all are recognized and accounted for, including equitable governed systems”. 

Transboundary Conservation Cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Transboundary Conservation Cooperation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (TCC-HKH) is a collaborative project between ICIMOD and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The project aims to promote transboundary cooperation through OECMs in a manner that is inclusive of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the region.

The main objective of the TCC-HKH is to strengthen regional cooperation among the countries and stakeholders, including organisations and networks working for conservation in the region, by identifying and promoting transboundary OECMs in the region, advocating for policy uptake, and establishing a regional OECM network.

Biodiversity Lead at ICIMOD Dr Sunita Chaudhary, on the occasion, highlighted the importance of regional cooperation. “Transboundary OECMs present a great way to achieve conservation at scale and bring countries together to contribute to global conservation goals. We have laid a strong foundation for this through our work in the region.”

President calls for global cooperation in combating climate change impact on Himalayan region

President Ram Chandra Paudel emphasised that nations affected by climate change, including Nepal, should stand to benefit significantly from financial and technical assistance aimed at mitigating its impact.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary ceremony of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) today at Lalitpur, he underscored that the repercussions of climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss extend beyond national borders, affecting the entire global community. "The current global crisis arising from human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution," he said, highlighting the heightened impact of climate change in mountainous regions like the Hindu Kush Himalayas, attributing it to the sensitive terrain and socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Despite Nepal's negligible contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, the President pointed out the disproportionate impact of climate change on the country. He also recalled urging global attention to this issue during the visit of the United Nations Secretary-General, stressing the urgency of addressing climate change impacts on nations with minimal carbon emissions.

"Minimizing the effects of climate change to improve the lives of people in this region is a significant challenge," he said, "Events such as the melting snow, glacier bursts, mountain landslides, and floods in the south due to climate change inflict severe damage on the economy, environmental systems, and humanity."

highlighting Nepal's commitment to collaborating with neighbouring countries and international partners on climate change, environmental protection, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood issues he reiterated ongoing support for the institutional development of ICIMOD and sustainable development in the entire Hindu Kush mountain region.

The President also suggested that ICIMOD should actively engage with the nearly two billion people in its influence area and coastal countries, encouraging collaboration to enhance environmental services from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

The ICIMOD marks four decades of catalysing sustainable development in the complex terrain of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region.

Under the theme 'Moving Mountains 2030', the 40th anniversary event highlighted ICIMOD’s journey and its commitment to shaping the future of the HKH region.

The 40th-anniversary agenda included a series of key moments, showcasing ICIMOD’s achievements and the enduring partnerships that have fuelled its success, a press note issued by the ICIMOD reads. "Importantly, this moment marks an opportunity to consolidate urgent actions for the future in a context of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss."

The anniversary event featured a range of activities, including the release of a commemorative book highlighting four decades of ICIMOD’s contributions, launched by the Right Honourable Mr Ramchandra Paudel, and the inauguration of a new annex building. 

During the event, the winners of the Dr Andreas Schild Memorial Mountain Prize were also announced. The Mountain Prize sets out to amplify the voices of those on the front lines of the climate crisis in the HKH, recognising outstanding individuals and groups actively engaged in on-the-ground sustainable solutions, the press note reads. "This year’s winners were Sathi Eco Innovation India Pvt Limited and Rupani Foundation Pakistan (RFP)."

Reflecting on this milestone, Director General of ICIMOD Dr Pema Gyamtsho, said, “ICIMOD's 40-year legacy is a testament to our resilience and the collaborative efforts of our partners. We’ve addressed diverse challenges, enabling sustainable development in the HKH. As we move forward, our ambition remains high, guided by the lessons of the past.” 

Also attending the event was Bhutan’s advisor for Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and Governor of the Royal Monetary Authority, Dasho Penjore, and high-level representatives from other member countries of ICIMOD – Bangladesh, China, India, , Nepal and Pakistan. Attendees also included ICIMOD’s board and support group members from the region and beyond, as well as the diplomatic corps based in Kathmandu.  

Speakers at the event included prominent personalities from ICIMOD’s past, including appointed Regent of ICIMOD in 1983 Peter Gueller, initial ICIMOD chair from Switzerland Dr Ruedi Hoeger and long-serving former chairperson of ICIMOD’s Programme Advisory Committee and former Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Bhutan Lyonpo Dr Kinzang Dorji, vice chair of National Planning Commission (NPC) and Board Member of Nepal and Chair of ICIMOD Support Group Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha, and ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Nepal Torun Dramdal.

ICIMOD, on the occasion, expressed gratitude to its partners and supporters, acknowledging the integral role they’ve played in working towards the organisation's mission.

Following the signing of the agreement at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 30 September 1981 by Nepal government and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ICIMOD was established and inaugurated in December 1983 with its headquarters in Nepal’s capital. As per the ICIMOD Act 2040 (1983), ICIMOD was mandated to carry out study, research and other necessary functions in order to develop the mountain area of Hindu Kush Himalayan regions in an integrated manner. 

ICIMOD reaffirmed its dedication and commitment to further strengthen its role in supporting its regional member countries to address the current and emerging challenges that the HKH region is facing from climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss as a neutral convenor and facilitator for sharing information, knowledge and sustainable policies and practices. 

The 40th-anniversary event served as a moment to celebrate past successes, present achievements, and chart a course for a more robust pathway towards a greener, more resilient and inclusive development of the HKH region.

हरित, उत्थानशील र समावेशी विकासका कार्य र लगानी प्राथमिकतामाथि छलफल

विश्व बैंक र अर्थ मन्त्रालयले नेपालको हरित, उत्थानशील र समावेशी विकास (ग्रिड) सम्बन्धी दृष्टिकोणको प्रभावकारी कार्यान्वयनका लागि आवश्यक पर्ने लगानी प्राथमिकता र अनुकूल नीतिहरूबारे छलफल गर्न आज काठमाडौंमा एक उच्चस्तरीय गोलमेच बैठक आयोजना गर्यो । 

कार्यक्रममा सरकार र विकास साझेदारहरूका साथै नागरिक समाज, निजी क्षेत्र, युवा समूह र प्रबुद्ध वर्गका प्रतिनिधिहरूको सहभागिता रहेको थियो । सो अवसरमा सहभागी प्रतिनिधिहरूले नेपाल सरकार र विकास साझेदारहरूबाट असोज २०७८ मा ग्रिड सम्बन्धी “काठमाडौं घोषणापत्र” संयुक्त रूपमा अनुमोदन गरिएयता भएका कार्यान्वयन प्रयासहरूको लेखाजोखा गरेका थिए ।

विकास साझेदारहरूमा हाल एसियाली विकास बैंक, फ्रान्स, अष्ट्रेलिया, संयुक्त अधिराज्य, गणतन्त्र कोरिया, युरोपेली संघ, जर्मनी, जापान, फिनल्याण्ड, अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय मुद्रा कोष, नर्वे, स्विट्जरल्याण्ड, संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका, संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघ, विश्व बैंक समूह, अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय एकीकृत पर्वतीय विकास केन्द्र (इसिमोड), अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय गैरसरकारी संस्था संघ लगायत बैठकमा उपस्थित थिए।

नेपालले  राष्ट्रिय विकासको दूरदृष्टिका रूपमा हरित, उत्थानशील र समावेशी विकास (ग्रिड) सम्बन्धी अवधारणालाई औपचारिक रूपमै अंगीकार गरेको मुख्य सचिव शंकर दास बैरागीले बताए । “विभिन्न जोखिमहरूका बीच यो अवधारणा समृद्धि, दिगो आर्थिक वृद्धि, राम्रा रोजगारी र जीविकोपार्जनका अवसर एवं उत्थानशीलताको एउटा साधन बन्न सक्छ,” उनले भने । 

उक्त गोलमेच बैठकले सरकारको मस्यौदा ग्रिड रणनीतिक कार्ययोजनामा उल्लेखित प्राथमिकता प्राप्त कार्यहरूको समेत समीक्षा गर्यो । ती प्राथमिकताप्राप्त कार्यहरूमा जमिन, जल र वनलाई थप उत्पादनशील, दिगो र एकीकृत रूपमा व्यवस्थापन गर्ने, मानिसहरूलाई नयाँ सीप र उत्थानशील जीविकोपार्जनबाट सुसज्जित बनाउनेस सहरी विकासलाई हरित बनाउने, खानेपानी तथा सरसफाइको पहुँच र प्रदूषण तथा फोहोरमैला व्यवस्थापन अभिवृद्धि गर्ने, नवीकरणीय ऊर्जा विस्तार गर्ने, यातायात प्रणालीको दिगोपना र उत्थानशीलता बढाउने, विपद् जोखिम व्यवस्थापन र वित्तीय लगानी सुदृढ गर्ने र विपदबाट आइपर्ने आघातहरूप्रति अनुकूलन हुन सामाजिक सुरक्षालाई सबल बनाउने  रहेका छन् ।

हरित, उत्थानशील र समावेशी विकासले आयस्रोत बढाउने, सबैका लागि अवसरहरू सुधार गर्ने, र प्रकृतिसँगको सामन्जस्यतामा वृद्धि हासिल गर्ने कार्य गर्छ भन्दै दक्षिण एसिया क्षेत्रका लागि विश्व बैंकका उपाध्यक्ष मार्टिन रेजरले भने, “ग्रिड सम्बन्धी प्राथमिकताहरूलाई साकार पार्न विश्व बैंक लगायत अन्य विकास साझेदारहरू पूर्णरूपमा प्रतिवद्ध छौं र हामी नेपालमा यसको प्रभावकारी नतिजाहरू हेर्न उत्सुक छौं ।”

विश्व बैंकका अनुसार नेपालको मस्यौदा ग्रिड रणनीतिक कार्ययोजनाले ग्रिड विकासको मार्गतर्फ जान अर्थतन्त्रव्यापी परिवर्तनको व्यवस्था गर्नुका साथै तयारी अवस्थामा रहेका बित्तिय प्रावधान सहितको उच्च प्राथमिकताका लगानी र प्राथमिकता प्राप्त नीतिगत प्रतिवद्धताहरू निर्दिष्ट गरेको छ । रणनीतिक कार्ययोजनाका प्राथमिकताहरू नेपालका प्रमुख विकास, जलवायु, वातावरणीय र क्षेत्रगत रणनीतिहरूबाट साभार गरिएका छन् । यसका वित्तिय स्रोतहरूमा नेपाल सरकारको सार्वजनिक खर्च, वैदेशिक विकास सहायता, कार्बन वित्त जस्ता नवीनतम स्रोत र निजी क्षेत्र लगानी रहेका छन् ।

उक्त बैठकले नेपाल सरकारको नेतृत्वमा रहेको ग्रिड साझेदारीलाई थप मजबूत बनाएको छ । यसका २० वटा विकास साझेदार छन् । साथै, उक्त बैठक आसन्न रणनीतिक कार्ययोजनाका सम्बन्धमा प्रदेश तथा स्थानीय सरकार र अन्य सरोकारवालाहरूसँग परामर्श सुरू गर्न सरकारका लागि एउटा कोशेढुंगा बनेको पनि विश्व बैंकको बुझाइ छ । सो रणनीतिक कार्ययोजनालाई थप परिष्कृत गरी यसै वर्ष अन्तिम रूप दिने अपेक्षा पनि विश्व बैंकले गरेको छ ।

Nepal-Australia sign Water resource management cooperation agreement

Nepal and Australia today signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Water Resource Management.

The MoU has been signed during the second bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) between the Australia Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Government of Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) held today in Canberra of Australia.

DFAT secretary Jan Adams AO PSM, and the secretary of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat Dinesh Kumar Ghimire signed the five-year memorandum on behalf of their respective countries.

Under the MoU, Australia will provide training, technical assistance and share internationally recognised expertise on water governance. It will complement’s Australia’s existing partnership with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to strengthen transboundary river basin management, localise climate action and promote green livelihoods, aligned to Government of Nepal’s transition to Green, Resilient and inclusive Development (GRID) for sustainable recovery, growth and jobs.   

The BCM was co-chaired by DFAT’s deputy secretary of Geostrategic Group Justin Hayhurst and secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bharat Raj Paudyal.

DFAT’s deputy secretary Hayhurst was pleased to open the second meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism and thanked secretary Paudyal and the Nepal delegation for travelling to Australia. During his opening remarks deputy secretary Hayhurst welcomed Australia and Nepal’s strong people-to-people links with over 120,000 Nepali calling Australia home. He also congratulated Nepal on its recent democratic local elections and reiterated the two countries’ strong commitment to democracy, domestically and internationally. “Australia supports a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific and the international rules-based order,” he said, welcoming  Nepal’s strategic outlook. 

Both sides, on the occasion, also noted mutual climate change and energy challenges and the importance of achieving net-zero emissions. In addition to talks on Nepal’s development priorities and future cooperation agenda, Australia undertook to share its expertise in forest fire management, and search as rescue initiatives through a new package of development support. 

The Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was established in 2017 between the Australia Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Government of Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two sides also reviewed the bilateral relations between Nepal and Australia and exchanged views on further strengthening the bilateral relations and cooperation in different fields including education, energy, investment, trade, tourism, technology transfer, migration, cooperation in climate action, and disaster risk reduction, among others. Both sides agreed to prioritise the exchange of high-level visits, promote people to people contacts, and facilitate trade, investment and transfer of technology. They also discussed cooperation in multilateral forums, including the exchange of experiences in UN Peace keeping operations.

While appreciating Australian cooperation to Nepal, foreign secretary Paudyal requested the Australian side to place Nepal as a priority country for Australian aid, support for post-Covid economic recovery, graduation from the LDC status, and realize the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SDG), and consider issuing visa services from the Australian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia was established on 14 July, 2017 and its first meeting was held in Kathmandu on 16 August 2018.

ICIMOD gets new director general

 The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) gets a new director general.

The newly appointed director general Dr Pema Gyamtsho has taken up his role beginning his tenure as part of a major Ministerial Mountain Summit held today, according to a press note issued by the ICIMOD.

“A deeply experienced leader Dr Gyamtsho’s past achievements span areas including linking public financing for environmental sustainability; enactment of legislation focusing on environmental stewardship, conservation and climate change mitigation; ensuring an enabling policy environment and community-level readiness for the expansion of community owned and managed forests; establishment of institutions and efforts promoting high quality research and evidence-based decision making on conservation and environmental issues; strategic programmatic visioning, planning, implementation and evaluation; and representation within globally significant platforms,” the press note reads, adding that Dr Gyamtsho is the first director general of ICIMOD, who hails from the region. “He brings to the position a deep passion for the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) and a commitment to help address the challenges across the diversity of the region’s mountain environments.”

Within his vision for the future of the institution, he seeks to build on the institution’s strengths and successes in its role as a convener and facilitator for regional cooperation, it adds. “To this end, the timing of the start of his tenure during the recent HKH Ministerial Mountain Summit bringing together ministers from all eight of the HKH countries is significant.”

Having signed a joint ministerial declaration, the ministers agreed to promote a united voice for the region, to strengthen regional cooperation, to enhance uptake of scientific evidence, and to explore the potential for a high-level institutional mechanism.

Dr Gyamtsho has expressed his excitement about and commitment to work towards achieving the mission of ICIMOD for mountains and people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the press note reads.

“ICIMOD’s mission to enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation and its vision of men, women, and children of the Hindu Kush Himalaya enjoying improved well-being in a healthy mountain environment are important to me individually as a person from the HKH myself but also important collectively for all of us as it represents work that contributes to a positive and prosperous future for the region,” Dr Gyamtsho said, while addressing the staff.

“It was a moment of great personal satisfaction to me to begin my tenure as the director general of ICIMOD during such an important event,” He said at the Ministerial Mountain Summit. “I am eager to move forward the HKH Call to Action which was at the heart of the ministerial declaration.”

The Call to Action is a culmination of a series of science-policy dialogues where policymakers in all eight HKH countries discussed the findings of the recently released comprehensive assessment, the Hindu Kush Himalaya assessment: mountains, climate change, sustainability and people. The HKH Call to Action was drafted through this process and is thus a product of the individual governments, capturing their individual and collective regional priorities for action to mitigate and adapt to climate change; to accelerate achievement of the SDG goals for the mountains; to enhance ecosystems resilience and halt biodiversity loss and land degradation; to recognise and prioritise the uniqueness of the HKH mountain people; to share more regional data and information; and to cooperate at all levels across the HKH for sustainable and mutual benefits.

While the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic deepens some of the challenges for the region, it is also an opportunity to build a better, more sustainable future and orient towards the kind of action that protects the pulse of the planet and leads towards a resilient recovery. Both the recently published policy paper, Covid-19 impact and policy responses in the Hindu Kush Himalaya and the HKH Call to Action highlight the often very complex challenges for the region but both documents also offer hope that through cooperative action among our HKH countries, we can face those challenges with even greater strength and resolve to forge a more prosperous HKH for all, he added.

The ICIMOD is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people, and ICIMOD aims at assisting mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues.

HKH countries sign historical declaration

 Ministers from across all eight of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries have signed a historically significant declaration agreeing to strengthen regional cooperation in the region to promote a united voice for the HKH at regional, global and UN platforms.

Through the declaration, which is signed today, the ministers agreed to enhance the uptake of scientific evidence for improving policies in the region focusing on mountain environments and livelihoods and to assess the feasibility of establishing a regional institutional mechanism, according to International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Adoption of the declaration is aimed at jointly identifying and developing a roadmap towards a more prosperous, healthy, peaceful, and resilient HKH region for the 240 million people living in mountains and hills, and the 1.9 billion people living in the mountains and river basins downstream, a press note issued by the ICIMOD reads, adding that food and nutritional insecurity remain a severe challenge in the HKH region; more than 30 per cent of the population suffers from food insecurity and around 50 per cent face some form of malnutrition, with women and children particularly vulnerable.

The summit was hosted virtually, with the foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali expressed his governments’ ongoing commitment to promoting a unified voice for the HKH region as the host country for ICIMOD, according to the Kathmandu-based centre.

“The global significance of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region is indisputable and it is clear that disruptions such as the Covid-19 pandemic lay bare the vulnerabilities of mountain communities,” said outgoing director general of ICIMOD David Molden. “The Hindu Kush Himalaya is the pulse of the planet.”

Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, extending over 3,500-km in length in eight countries, from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east and crossing Pakistan, India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, is one of the world’s greatest mountain systems: home to the world’s highest peaks, unique cultures, diverse flora and fauna, and a vast reserve of natural resources.

South Asia’s handling of Covid-19 crisis portends a dire situation for the region’s response to climate change crisis

 South Asia’s handling of Covid-19 crisis reveals a dysfunctional regional cooperation mechanism to deal with the trans-boundary crisis implying a need for a revitalized regional cooperation to deal with the climate crisis, according to the experts in a virtual meeting organised by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) in association with Biruni Institute, Afghanistan; Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India; Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; and Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS).

They also emphasised that Covid-19 has diverted efforts away from climate action, which, if not corrected, will have devastating consequences for the region that remains highly vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of climate change.

On the occasion, former member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr Prabhu Budhathoki highlighted that the current pandemic has made it crystal clear that the regional cooperation mechanism in South Asia does not function well at the time of crisis and hence our governance mechanism has to change, if we are to wage an effective fight against the climate change.

Likewise, deputy director general at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu Dr Eklabya Sharma, delivering the keynote speech, emphasised that South Asia, primarily given the significant presence of mountain regions, is one of the most vulnerable regions when it comes to climate change. “Higher population density and the presence of large number of impoverished populations exacerbate the vulnerabilities in the region,” Dr Sharma said, adding that the dire effects of climate change are already visible in the region in the forms of increased occurrence of floods, glacial lake outbursts, landslides, heat waves, and a general degradation of the ecosystem. He also warned that a sole focus on Covid-19 at the expense of climate issues is the biggest challenge confronting the region.

Citing Pakistan’s experience in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis and lessons learnt through it, chair of SDPI in Islamabad and former deputy executive director at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Dr Shafqat Kakakhel highlighted four key elements – resilience to deal with disasters; institutional arrangement for domestic, regional, and international coordination; identification of the most vulnerable communities and rapid dispatch of support to them; and effective use of information technology and social media to inform people – that South Asia has to strengthen to deal with climate change. Referring to the past regional mechanisms like South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP), Delhi Statement on Cooperation in Environment 2009, and Thimphu Statement on Climate Change, Dr Kakakhel mentioned that SAARC has had many initiatives to foster regional cooperation on climate change issues but poor implementation has rendered them inefficacious.

Research Fellow and head of Environment Economic Policy Research, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Dr Athula Senaratne warned that Covid-19 impacts could crowd out the climate finance for several years and hence slow the developments that had gradually been building up in South Asia. He also pointed out that climate action is currently a peripheral issue in the region and until it becomes a mainstream issue we will not see effective collective responses to deal with the climate crisis.

“The current pandemic has highlighted the interconnected nature of global systemic risk and it has exposed significant vulnerabilities, including in food systems,” mentioned research fellow at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience of Coventry University in UK Dr Lopa Saxena. “To deal with the global crisis engendered by climate change, equitable, sustainable, healthy, and resilient food systems have to be developed, he said, adding that regional cooperation in local food production systems is vital for bringing about that change.

Discussing Bhutan’s successful response in containing the Covid-19 infections and managing socio-economic repercussions, dean of Academic Affairs, College of Natural Resource, Royal University of Bhutan Dr Tulsi Gurung emphasised the importance of leadership and governance in dealing with the crisis. “Addressing climate change would also require leadership that can unite citizens within the country and wage effective collaboration at the regional and global level,” he added.

SAWTEE – in association with other prominent think-tanks in the region – has been hosting a series of webinars from September 22 to October 16 to deliberate on various socio-economic aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic, how they relate to South Asia and what should be the future course of action for South Asian countries.

Nepal loses Rs 2,099 million due to disaster each year

 Nepal – on an average – loses 333 lives and property worth over $17.24 million (Rs 2,099 million) each year to extreme climate events, according to a new report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the United National Development Programme (UNDP) in Nepal.

“Since 1977, Nepal has experienced 26 glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) events of which 14 originated in the country,” it reads, adding that with the changing climate resulting in increasing rate of glacial melt, GLOF remains an ever-present threat for Nepal. 

The report from ICIMOD and UNDP in Nepal has also identified 47 potentially dangerous glacial lakes (PDGLs) within the Koshi, Gandaki, and Karnali river basins of Nepal, the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and India. These glacial lakes are at risk of breaching, which would result in GLOFs. “The GLOFs are a prominent water-induced hazard in Nepal and other mountainous countries in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), and occur when melting glaciers create reservoirs of water that can suddenly burst leading to floods downstream,” it reads.

The inventory of glacial lakes and identification of potentially dangerous glacial lakes, released today, lists 25 glacial lakes in China, 21 in Nepal, and one in India, which need to be closely monitored to reduce the vulnerability of mountain people and settlements downstream in the three river basins. “Of the 47 identified potentially dangerous glacial lakes, some 42 are within the Koshi basin making it the river basin with the highest risk,” the report reads, adding that the Gandaki and Karnali basins have three and two such lakes, respectively.

ICIMOD and its partners have been involved in preparing and updating databases of glacial lakes and the identification of potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the HKH since the early 2000s. The report builds on a comprehensive study undertaken by ICIMOD in 2011.

In 2016, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UNDP, Nepal successfully lowered the water levels in Imja Tsho and installed community-based early warning and response systems as a mitigative climate action.

Periodically updated and standardised glacial lake inventories like this one provide crucial information for evidence-based planning of tailored mitigation measures to address future GLOF risks. “This science based report gives an alarm about the potentially dangerous glacier lakes,” director general at the ICIMOD Dr David Molden said adding that the investments are needed to reduce the risk, and climate action is needed to limit global warming.

“Glaciers are part of global heritage, managing that is a transboundary issue and a collective responsibility so the decisions need to be made together,” UNDP Resident Representative for Nepal Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labe said, while launching the report. “We are sure that these studies can connect scientists, researchers and climate activists together and thrust for strategic decisions that reconcile the people with Nature,” she said, adding that making climate finance a reality is a global promise, but in order to access climate finance, particularly for issues like glacial lakes, one need robust scientific studies and that's why we need to invest.”

“You need data, research and analysis, experts and instructions. Countries like Nepal have to move fast to compete for less and less available climate funding,” said Medagangoda-Labe. “We hope that a study like this will give the country additional chances.”

Scientists rank world’s most important, most threatened mountain water towers

Scientists from around the world have assessed the planet’s 78 mountain glacier–based water systems and, for the first time, ranked them in order of their importance to adjacent lowland communities, as well as their vulnerability to future environmental and socioeconomic changes. These systems, known as mountain water towers, store and transport water via glaciers, snow packs, lakes and streams, thereby supplying invaluable water resources to 1.9 billion people globally; roughly a quarter of the world’s population.
The research – published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature – provides evidence that global water towers are at risk, in many cases critically, due to the threats of climate change, growing populations, mismanagement of water resources, and other geopolitical factors. Further, the authors conclude that it is essential to develop international, mountain-specific conservation and climate change adaptation policies and strategies to safeguard both ecosystems and people downstream.
Globally, the most relied-upon mountain system is the Indus water tower in Asia, according to their research. The Indus water tower – made up of vast areas of the Himalayan mountain range and covering portions of Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan – is also one of the most vulnerable. High-ranking water tower systems on other continents are the southern Andes, the Rocky Mountains and the European Alps.
To determine the importance of these 78 water towers, researchers analysed the various factors that determine how reliant downstream communities are upon the supplies of water from these systems. They also assessed each water tower to determine the vulnerability of the water resources, as well as the people and ecosystems that depend on them, based on predictions of future climate and socioeconomic changes.
Of the 78 global water towers identified, the following are the five most relied-upon systems by continent:
Asia: Indus, Tarim, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Ganges-Brahmaputra
Europe: Rhône, Po, Rhine, Black Sea North Coast, Caspian Sea Coast
North America: Fraser, Columbia and Northwest United States, Pacific and Arctic Coast, Saskatchewan-Nelson, North America-Colorado
South America: South Chile, South Argentina, Negro, La Puna region, North Chile
The study, which was authored by 32 scientists from around the world, was led by Prof Walter Immerzeel and Dr Arthur Lutz of Utrecht University, longtime researchers of water and climate change in high mountain Asia.
Arun Bahadur Shrestha, who leads the River Basins and Cryosphere Programme at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), as well as co-author of the report, said that taking forward the findings of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment report, this study showcases the vulnerability of river basins that are fed by mountain catchments. The study has found the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) river basins to be increasingly vulnerable, and implies the need of global attention to build resilience in these basins.
“Four out of the five most relied-upon and vulnerable water towers in all of Asia are located in the HKH region,” water and climate specialist at ICIMOD, and also a co-author Santosh Nepal said, adding, “Even when we assess at a global scale, the Indus in particular is one of the most critical and vulnerable water towers in the world. This is something the region as a whole needs to take seriously and work on addressing collectively.”
This research was supported by National Geographic and Rolex as part of their Perpetual Planet partnership, which aims to shine a light on the challenges facing the Earth’s critical life-support systems, support science and exploration of these systems, and empower leaders around the world to develop solutions to protect the planet.

Transboundary river basins in South Asia disaster hotspots

A recent UNESCAP disaster risk-focused report has identified transboundary river basins in South Asia as disaster hotspots. One such area in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the Koshi basin. Covering approximately 75,000-sq-km across the borders of China, India, and Nepal, the Koshi basin directly supports over 40 million people and hosts a rich biodiversity. It is, however, also highly prone to disasters – glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides, and floods, among others – that are transboundary in scale and have trans-border implications. “There is also a gap between research, policies and its implementation on disaster risk reduction, the report reads, adding that as climate change is expected exacerbate extreme weather events in the region developing plans and policies with the future outlook become critical. “Thus collaboration between upstream and downstream communities as well as different sectors for evidence based planning for disaster risk reduction is needed for the Koshi Basin.”
Against this backdrop, a two-day country level consultation ‘Koshi Disaster Risk Reduction Knowledge Hub (KDKH) Nepal country consultation: Building a resilient Koshi basin’, was organised yesterday and today in Kathmandu to bring together representatives from the government, public, private, and development sectors in Nepal and discuss strategies to improve disaster risk reduction (DRR) within the Koshi basin. The KDKH aims to strengthen a basin perspective while creating space for interaction between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners for informed policy making. This KDKH country consultation in Kathmandu marked an important milestone by bringing forth Nepal’s perspectives on DRR-related challenges, issues, and good practices in the basin that can contribute to improved transboundary collaboration.
The country consultation discussed the formation of a country-level chapter that will form working groups on topics such as GLOFs, floods, landslides, and sedimentation, and community-based disaster risk management. Under the leadership of the government and with support from public, private, and development partners, a technical working group will work on the country chapter’s structure. “The National Planning Commission supports the formation of the country chapter for the KDKH,” asserted Dil Bahadur Gurung, Member, National Planning Commission (NPC).
Speaking during the country consultation, chief of the National Operation Emergency Center at the Ministry of Home Affairs Shambu Regmi highlighted the Disaster Risk Reduction National Strategic Plan of Action (2018–2030), which has defined priority actions for comprehensively understanding disaster risks and improving collaboration. Joint secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Ram G Kharbuja, spoke about leveraging the KDKH to expand DRR across the Koshi basin.
“The KDKH can play an important role in contributing to trust building among countries within the basin, as well as utilizing diplomatic channels in the region by leveraging ICIMOD.”
The KDKH’s seven working groups presented on ongoing initiatives on floods, landslides, sedimentation, and other areas and identified priorities areas for future action in the Koshi basin. On the occasion, joint secretary at the National Planning Commission (NPC) Biju Shrestha noted that such working groups reduce gaps between research and policy making and implementation. “The development plan and DRR must go in hand-in-hand,” joint secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment Badri Dhungana said, adding that the KDKH can function as a think tank that can support development in the Koshi basin, in partnership with stakeholders in Nepal and its neighbours.
In a session on identifying priorities of the government with respect to DRR, secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, Province 2 Krishna Hari Pushkar, pointed out that technical publications are readily accessible to the Ministry but that the KDKH could work with them to apply this information into action. “Federal–provincial–local level representatives spoke about a host of challenges, ranging from greater communication among ministries to access of relevant information for at-risk communities.”
“The Koshi basin has unique challenges in the upstream and downstream, so solutions need to be tailor made,” remarked Ward Chairperson of Khumbu Laxman Adhikari. Commenting on the remoteness of the region, Adhikari said that along with area-specific DRR plans, benefit sharing from DRR is also essential. In his view, motivating communities to be part of the DRR process is essential in making any risk reduction planning a success.
Chairing the session on the possible operational structure of the KDKH’s country chapters to support the priorities of the working groups, joint secretary at the NPC Kiran Rupakhetee noted that an effective structure is required to provide useful knowledge for decision making at different levels.
Addressing the event, resident representative at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Ayshanie Medagangoda Labe emphasised the need for collaboration and trust among all partners to build a resilient Koshi and region as a whole. Highlighting a UNDP and ICIMOD study (under review), which identifies 42 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Koshi basin, Labe said that UNDP’s commitment towards GLOF risk reduction and enhancing the livelihoods of vulnerable downstream communities.
The Nepal country consultation was organised by the Koshi Basin Initiative (KBI) at ICIMOD, in collaboration with the NPC. It was supported by the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (CDHM) under Tribhuvan University; Disaster Preparedness Network–Nepal (DpNet-Nepal); the International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Lutheran World Relief (LWR); UNDP; and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). A similar national stakeholder event was held in Bihar, India, in July 2019.

Nepal holds discuss on climate change

The Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations (UN) in New York and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has organised a side event entitled, ‘Impacts of Climate Change on the Mountains’ on the sidelines of the 2019 High-Level Political Forum at the UN Headquarters in New York today.
Permanent representative of Nepal to the UN ambassador Amrit Bahadur Rai welcomed the participants to the event organised to share the key findings of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Report of recently released by ICIMOD and also to draw lessons from the recommendations for inclusive mountain development. He said that the discussions will contribute to the ongoing exercise for the UN secretary-general’s Climate Action Summit to be held in September 2019.
National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chair Dr Puspa Raj Kadel, who is in New York leading the Nepali delegation to 2019 High-Level Political Forum, on the occasion, underlined that the impact of climate change on vulnerable countries is extremely high and countries like Nepal are facing disproportionate brunt of climate change despite their insignificant emissions. Kadel also shared that the government has decided to convene a Sagarmatha Dialogue, a global platform to exchange views on areas including climate change.
The side event featured a presentation by director general of ICIMOD Dr David Molden, on key findings and recommendations of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Report. Dr Molden cautioned that even if global warming was limited to 1.5° C by 2100, there would be a 1.8° C rise temperature rise across the region and up to 2.2° C in the mountains due to the Elevation Dependent Warming (EDW). He further said that if it is unchecked, this will adversely impact the lives of not just the 240 million mountain dwellers but also 1.6 billion people downstream. He warned that the melting of ice and loss of glaciers on the mountains will impact agriculture productivity, hunger and poverty, migration, rich ecosystems and biodiversity.
He concluded by highlighting six urgent actions including cooperating at all levels, limiting global temperatures, enhancing ecosystem resilience, recognising and prioritising uniqueness of mountain issues, achieving SDGs and sharing information and knowledge.
Following the presentation, a moderated interactive discussion took place for further deliberation on the serious message and implications of the report, as well as way forward to address this issue. Ambassadors and representatives of Austria, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh, Bhutan also shared their views on the occasion. The discussion was moderated by former Permanent Representative of Nepal to UN and former UN under-secretary-general Gyan Chandra Acharya.
Delivering his closing remarks, secretary-general’s special envoy for the 2019 Climate Action Summit ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba thanked Nepal and ICIMOD for organising the timely event. He also expressed his hope that the event would be able to raise awareness in the region as well as at the global level and contribute towards the drive of climate action, including through a greater focus on ‘nature based solutions’ as well as through coming together for achieving ‘carbon neutrality’ by 2030.
Summing the event ambassador Rai stressed that the efforts to combat climate change will go a long way to secure our planet and save present as well as future generations.

Himalayan consensus summit concludes

The fourth edition of Himalayan Consensus Summit concluded today with six sessions and three presentations. The summit – an annual event bringing together pioneers, business and financial leaders across the region to forge pragmatic ways to local challenges – was hosted by the Himalayan Consensus Institute, Hong Kong with Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) as its secretariat.
The annual summit stands atop the Himalayan Consensus process that was initiated with the issuance of the Himalayan Consensus Declaration in November 2014, according to the organisers. "The process symbolises a unique paradigm focused on keeping socio-economic development abreast with environmental conservation in one of the world’s most economically dynamic, environmentally fragile and socially vulnerable regions that is the Himalayan region."
The process concentrates on Himalayan knowledge and traditions and channelises the same through the summit to achieve solutions in the form of concrete outcomes that are pragmatic, policy-driven as well as applicable and adapted by the concerned governments in the region.
The Summit this year was supported by Peak Re, a reinsurance company based in Hong Kong and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC as the principal sponsors. Altai Himalaya, Embassy of Australia in Nepal, Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany Kathmandu, European Union in Nepal, Himalayan General Insurance, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office for Nepal and The Asia Foundation were the sponsors.
The Summit – cantered on the emerging concept of Himalayan Circular Economy – witnessed various presentations on impacts of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Likewise, speakers in other sessions highlighted the much needed transformation towards a prosperous and low-carbon development in the region and its effects on the contemporary developmental issues, particularly in the Himalayan region.
As four of the states in the Himalayan region are preparing to graduate from the least developed country status by 2025, one of the presentations in the summit analysed ‘the future of work’. ILO Country Office for Nepal director Richard S Howard, on the occasion, stressed that more investments need to be poured into peoples’ capabilities, institutions of work and decent and sustainable work.

Third edition of NBBF on Thursday

Third edition of Nepal-Bangladesh Business Forum (NBBF) is sell set to begin on Thursday March 28. The NBBF has been proved a best platform for promoting and strengthening bilateral cooperation between two crucial members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
A joint endeavor of Kathmandu-based think tank Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA) and Embassy of Bangladesh in Kathmandu, the theme of NBBF this year is ‘Navigating the Next Phase of Socioeconomic Cooperation.' The third NBBF focuses on two major issues; strengthening media cooperation and expanding multimodal connectivity.
Economic and commercial cooperation between two countries is growing over the years. This is high potential for expanding and diversifying economic and trade relation between two countries. There is a huge potential between two countries on energy cooperation as two countries signed a cooperation agreement in the energy sector – last August – which is expected to pave the way for the export of electricity.
Moreover, media cooperation between Nepal and Bangladesh is vital for fostering trade and economic relations, strengthening transport and energy connectivity, promoting tourism, educational collaboration and people-to-people contact, enhancing bilateral cooperation in common platforms like SAARC, BIMSTEC, BBIN , exchanging the respective climate policy paradigms (CPPs) among others.
According to the AIDIA, energy minister Barsha Man Pun will be the chief gust of the programme. Other prominent guests are former communication minister Mohan Bahadur Basent, ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal Mashfee Binte Shams, transport secretary Madhusudan Adhikari, former foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya, deputy director general Department of Road Keshab Kumar Sharma,  spokesperson Bibeksheel Sajha Party Dr Surya Raj Acharya, chief economist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Golam Rasul, former executive director at the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB)  Laxman Bahadur Basnet and editors of the prominent dailies.
"In-depth and on-the-spot media coverage will promote the better understanding of the matters of mutual bilateral concern and there are ample of such common concerns between Nepal and Bangladesh,” said founder and CEO of AIDIA Sunil KC. "The third NBBF intends to hold the intense discourse involving policymakers and government officials, business executives, media practitioners, scholars, academicians among others."

Hydropower developers to benefit from new guidance

Ministry of Forests and Environment, with the technical support of IFC, has launched the Hydropower Environmental Impact Assessment Manual that will help streamline existing regulatory and review processes, and guide developers on how to minimise negative impacts on the ecosystem while maximizing development benefits.
"Nepal’s efforts to develop more hydropower projects to meet the growing energy needs of the country must go hand-in-hand with doing more to avoid, mitigate, and better manage environmental and social risks,” minister of Forests and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet said, adding that the Manual provides the guidance that hydropower proponents and developers need to better identify and manage environmental and social risks and impacts.
Energy continues to take precedence as an important sector for the government with an ambitious target to harness 10,000 MW by 2030. Hydropower is the dominant source of power in the country. Sustainable hydropower development is the key to the long-term success of Nepal.
Following an extensive gap analysis, stakeholder engagement and review of international best practices, the manual emphasises the importance of identifying and engaging a range of stakeholders, conducting baseline studies, and enabling better prediction of project impacts, among others.
“IFC is pleased to have been part of this technical collaboration with the Ministry of Forests and Environment," IFC country manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, Wendy Werner said, adding that they will work together to develop hydropower projects sustainably and provide capacity to the government and the private sector to use the manual.
IFC’s support to the ministry of Forests and Environment is part of a larger effort in Nepal to improve the environmental and social standards of the hydropower sector. The programme is supported by the governments of Australian and Japan and was carried out in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Dabur, ICIMOD sign agreement

Dabur Nepal and International Center for Itnegrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to contribute towards sustainable mountain development through responsible business practices.
The partnership was done with an objective of meaningful collaboration on areas of mutual interests through a principle of partnership based on synergy, equity, mutual trust, and transparency.
Director general of ICIMOD Dr David Molden and business head SAARC of Dabur HS Bedi signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations in Kathmandu today.
The partnership focuses on various components like partnership and regional cooperation, livelihood component covers livelihood option by promotion of bee keeping and medicinal plants agroforestry model, research and innovation, joint activities and projects, capacity building and technology transfer, knowledge development and exchange of information and joint events.
Dabur Nepal and ICIMOD started their association in 2002 with a joint project in the field of medicinal and aromatic plants. Since then, various joint initiatives have been carried out. They have also promoted herbal gardening in various schools of Nepal to generate awareness on the importance of medicinal and aromatic plants. ICIMOD allotted space in its Knowledge Park in Godavari where Dabur has developed and maintained herbal garden since 2013, which has been visited by thousands of people from all over the world.

ICIMOD, NMB Bank join hands for mountain communities in Nepal

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and NMB Bank, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide the mountain communities in Nepal better access to finance today.
NMB and ICIMOD hope to build on each other's network and strengths to foster cooperation and contribute to sustainable mountain and socio-economic development in Nepal through knowledge intervention and business promotion, according to a statement issued by ICIMOD.
The partnership focuses on achieving and delivering the shared values and goals of the organisations. The three broad focus areas of the collaboration are access to finance, impact investment, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for the benefit of mountain communities.
"ICIMOD is increasingly stepping up to work closely with private sector organisations in Nepal and other regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region," said director general of ICIMOD David Molden, speaking after signing the MoU.
"We see that there is synergy in businesses and would like to engage in a meaningful partnership with NMB Bank to enhance our impact on mountain communities," he added.
ICIMOD recognises NMB as a strategic private sector partner that can provide communities the much-needed access to finance for sustainable livelihoods and the success of interventions in Nepal.
For NMB Bank, ICIMOD is a strategic knowledge and technical partner to link to social and environmental activities as well as activities related to business links and business opportunities in Nepal.
NMB is a financial institution and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. "NMB believes that investing in real economies is pertinent to the long-term economic sustainability of Nepal,"chief executive of NMB Bank Sunil KC said, adding that the collaboration with ICIMOD is in line with the bank's faith in value-based banking. "We are pleased to add value to ongoing ICIMOD activities by providing mountain communities better access to finance. Our partnership with ICIMOD will provide economic and social benefits to mountain people and help increase their income."
“For ICIMOD, working with the private sector provides greater development impact, opportunities to upscale and longer-term sustainability,” director of Strategic Cooperation, ICIMOD Basanta Shrestha said, stressing that ICIMOD, through its partnership with NMB, would like to 'leverage knowledge resources from its research, demonstration, and pilots for business development opportunities and promote social impact investments for the benefit of mountain communities.'
In August this year, Department of Irrigation, the Government of Australia, and ICIMOD, in partnership with the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), launched solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) in Saptari. The SPIP project is an ICIMOD pilot on clean, reliable, and affordable technology for year-round irrigation.
NMB Bank offered a special loan package to farmers, which allowed them to purchase SPIPs. As part of its CSR activities, NMB also handed over varieties of seeds to flood victims in Saptari.

Experts suggest relook in water, energy policy

Experts emphasised on need to review and reinforce the energy and water cooperation in South Asia.
Addressing a workshop jointly organised by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) and Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET)-Nepal, ‘Rethinking water and energy cooperation’, here in Kathmandu today, they suggested for a review of existing cooperation modalities to share benefit for improved and quality lives of people of regional or sub-regional level through effective utilisation of water. Discussing on political, economic and ecological dimensions of water cooperation in South Asia region, they also stressed on need to review Nepal’s water and energy policies.
Presenting a thematic paper, executive director at ISET-Nepal Ajaya Dixit said that the impact of climate change is already visible in Nepal’s water resources. Citing International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), he said that between 1977 and 2010, Nepal’s icecaps have receded by 29 per cent.
Likewise, water reserve in springs in mid-hills has depleted, and at the same time, rivers have deteriorated into sewerage channels. Water-related disasters of recent times – such as western Nepal’s 2014 flood caused by three days of torrential rains and the 2008 Koshi flood – show the erratic nature of the rivers.
Dixit stressed that our focus on river conservation has mostly centred on the Himalayan rivers. But bilateral and multilateral platforms need to consider water-sharing and management issues of rivers originating from the Mahabharata and Chure as well.
Commenting on Dixit’s presentation, former deputy-managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and chief executive of Kabeli Energy Sher Singh Bhat pointed out that the major problem in Nepal’s hydrological management is lack of intra-sector and inter-sector coordination. As an example, he pointed out that licensing authorities grant clearances for projects without considering effects of upper stream projects on lower stream and vice versa and also how some hydropower projects could possibly adversely impact irrigation.
Vice president of Independent Power Producers’ Association (IPPAN) Kumar Pandey, on the occasion, opined that government sorely lacks policies for effective utilisation of water resources while developing multipurpose projects; hydropower, irrigation benefits, tourism activities (rafting).
Likewise, chairman of SAWTEE Posh Raj Pandey said Nepal’s inability to properly manage its water resources and energy potential has left it not only in power deficit situation but with a large trade deficit too. Nepal’s increased dependency on India would translate to soaring payments deficit in this fiscal due to increased power purchase, he added.
Pandey also urged the government to insert electricity import cost in trade deficit figures.
The current trade deficit figures published by Nepal Rastra Bank exclude the electricity import cost. Nepal's electricity import increased by 28.36 per cent to 1,758.41 GWh in the last fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year.
Though the sixth periodic plan had introduced the idea of exporting electricity back in the 1980s, the possibility of beginning power export in the near future appears slim. Rather, power import is increasing at an alarming rate in recent years.
The participants, on the occasion, said that the idea itself is flawed as importing energy from Nepal was neither a priority for India in 1980s, nor now.
“Almost all the policies of the past five decades in water and energy cooperation have failed and they should be revisited,” according to a senior journalist and an advisor to former President Ram Baran Yadav Rajendra Dahal. "We have not seen any indication that India will buy Nepal's energy. The southern neighbour is only eying on water resources."
Dahal's view goes against country's policy documents which envisage narrowing down the bulging trade deficit with India by exporting electricity. Indian leaders and diplomats often claim that Nepal can narrow down the widening trade deficit by exporting energy to the southern neighbour.
When talks of building Arun III project was doing rounds in the 1980s, those who were in favour of building the plant had argued that export of even half of the energy generated by Arun III could put the country in a trade surplus situation, Dahal said, adding that Nepal has managed to end load-shedding at present by increasing energy imports from India. "Thus, our focus should be on becoming self-sufficient in electricity."
Stating that the country was facing resource crunch to develop big hydropower projects, Dahal also said that the country needs to attract foreign investments in hydropower sector.
The participants, on the occasion, also suggested strengthening institutional capacity of organisations like NEA to streamline hydropower generation and distribution.
They also lamented that water discourse in Nepal has always been limited to energy generation and as a result other potential usage of rivers such as for navigation, fisheries and even for keeping ecological balance have been ignored.