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With climate change accelerating, disasters are no longer isolated events across the globe. In the Hindu Kush Himalaya, increasingly complex and interconnected natural hazards are becoming more frequent. Events such as floods, landslides, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and cyclones – whether occurring independently or interacting – are causing massive loss and damage (Maharjan, et al., 2021). The impact of such events in the countries of the HKH is elevated due to its dense populations, fragile geography and rapid unplanned development (Tsering et al., 2021).
Addressing these challenges requires a shift from assessing single hazards to a comprehensive multi-hazard risk assessment (MHRA) approach. Multi-hazard risk assessment is a process of evaluating the impact of multiple natural hazards in a specific geographic area and time. By examining how different hazards interact and amplify one another, policymakers and communities can better prepare for future disasters. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is at the forefront of these efforts, working to develop innovative disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies that integrate MHRA into planning and policy frameworks across the region. By bringing together experts and policymakers, ICIMOD plays a critical role in ensuring that risk assessments translate into real-world policies that protect lives and livelihoods.
As a regional intergovernmental hub, ICIMOD facilitates knowledge sharing and learning among its eight Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, aiming to influence policy and practices to address critical environmental and livelihood challenges.
A key component of ICIMOD’s 2030 strategy, and especially within our Action Area on cryosphere and water and our Intervention on DRR – is a strong emphasis on MHRA, which aims to understand how various hazards interact. This approach helps communities and policymakers in the HKH develop effective mitigation strategies in response to the growing frequency of such disasters.
One example from the HKH includes the cascading floods in Melamchi, Nepal in 2021, which were triggered by heavy rainfall, snow melt, a GLOF and ‘landslide damming’ – a permanent or ephemeral interruption of a river caused by landslide deposition. Other examples include the devastating floods in Sikkim, India in 2021, resulting from intense rainfall combined a GLOF; and the compound impacts of a dry winter followed by widespread forest fires in Nepal in 2024. Such extreme events underscore the critical need for integrated MHRAs in the HKH.
ICIMOD’s mid-term action plan for 2023–2026 emphasises the need for RMCs to integrate innovative DRR approaches into their policies and investments. To achieve this, ICIMOD has been advocating for the adoption of comprehensive MHRAs that consider cascading, compound, and amplifying impacts.
ICIMOD developed a MHRA framework in 2022–23. With the increasing impact of multi-hazard risks in the HKH, the team revised the draft framework to integrate how hazards interact with each other in the region through computer modelling. These modelling helps to analyse past disaster as well as future scenarios. The proposed framework also aims to assist stakeholders in implementing MHRAs, in order to enhance resilience and inform effective risk mitigation strategies.
As a part of its efforts to provide the RMCs with a regional framework for MHRA that addresses interaction between the hazards, ICIMOD’s DRR intervention team organised a five day ‘hackathon’ in September 2024 at Lalitpur, ICIMOD headquarter. A hackathon is an event, typically lasting a few days, where individuals or teams collaborate intensively to create ideas or innovative solutions, within a limited time frame.
The MHRA hackathon brought together experts, early career professionals, and students with a background in modelling to form interdisciplinary groups to MHRA case studies. These case studies are aimed to leverage computer models, remote sensing data, field research, and secondary data sources to test the HKH-MHRA framework. Six different teams were formed during the MHRA hackathon, each team focusing on specific hazard interactions such as cyclone, drought, forest fire, Glacier Lake Outburst Flood, and landslide.
As a part of the MHRA hackathon, participants and experts from these teams visited the Melamchi area in eastern Nepal, which had been hit by severe flooding in June 2021, to observe the cascading impacts of the disaster and to model different scenarios of hazard interaction in the different RMCs. Melamchi flood-affected area to. A report published by ICIMOD confirmed that heavy rainfall, snow melt, erosion of glacial deposit, glacial lake outburst, landslide and river damming, riverbank erosion and debris deposition triggered severe flooding in Melamchi river and caused damages to the nearby areas.
The primary objective of the project is to develop a validated and replicable MHRA framework. Once established, this framework will be disseminated across the RMC counties. The project will then move toward actively engaging with the National Disaster Management Authorities of the HKH countries. ICIMOD intends to promote the integration of the MHRA framework into national policies by collaborating closely with these agencies to foster a proactive and coordinated approach to multi-hazard risk reduction. This effort will pave a path on creating methods for modelling multi-hazard interactions and advancing multi-hazard early warning systems.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) family is deeply saddened by the loss of a distinguished food microbiologist, mentor, and leading expert on the ethnic food cultures of the Himalaya, Professor Jyoti Prakash Tamang.
Tamang served as ICIMOD Mountain Chair from 2019–2021. During his tenure, he worked closely with Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) members in Bhutan, China, and Myanmar to conduct research on ethnic foods and promote regional collaboration for research on mountain food systems and cultures.
Prof. Tamang was born in Darjeeling, India, in 1961. He completed his PhD in microbiology from the University of North Bengal, India, in 1992; post-doctorate research in molecular microbiology from the National Food Research Institute, Japan, through the United Nations University – Kirin Fellowship in 1995; and another post-doctorate research from the Institute of Toxicology and Environmental Hygiene, Germany, in 2002, through the Volkswagen Foundation Fellowship.
As a pioneering food microbiologist, his work centred on the interpretation of ethno-microbiology to metataxonomics and metagenomics associated with fermented foods and beverages prepared and consumed by different ethnic peoples of the Himalayan region of Bhutan, India, and Nepal. His research covered a wide range of subjects – from microbiome diversity and food safety to nutrition and probiotics. He published several books and over 155 research papers.
Prof. Tamang continued to provide mentorship and guidance to HUC early/mid-career researchers from the region in collaborative research and education on food and nutrition security and ethnic culinary heritage. He was an active member of the HUC Thematic Working Group on Mountain Food Systems.
Prof. Tamang taught microbiology and biological sciences for 33 years and supervised several doctoral and post-doctoral students. At Sikkim University, India, he served as the officiating Vice-Chancellor during 2017–18 and from 2011 till his departure, as Professor of Microbiology and Dean of the School of Life Sciences. He received several prestigious awards, such as the United Nations Association of University Women Award in 1996; National Bio-Science Award of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, in 2005; and Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2010. He served as a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India; the Indian Academy of Microbiological Sciences; and the Biotech Research Society of India.
Chi Huyen (Shachi) Truong, HUC Secretariat, said: "Prof Tamang was a passionate lifetime advocate for genuine dialogue between modern science and Indigenous traditional ways of knowing. Approachable and young-at-heart, he inspired generations of scholars and students to thrive for academic excellence while keeping the core respect for local knowledge. As one of three ICIMOD Mountain Chairs, Prof. Tamang laid the foundation for regional collaboration in scientific research and education on mountain-focused, HKH-specific issues amongst the HUC community. His personal warmth and scholarly dedication will be missed by his fellow ICIMOD Mountain Chairs, HUC fellows and affiliates who were fortunate to receive guidance from him, and the HUC community at large."Bandana Shakya, Landscape Lead at ICIMOD said she was “deeply saddened" by Prof. Tamang’s death. She described him as “a brilliant mind and passionate advocate for local food systems and nutritional security. Working with him on our book on ethnic cuisine and sustainable food system dialogue was an inspiring journey for me. His deep respect for traditional knowledge around local food and dedicated research on their nutritional value will certainly leave a lasting impact, especially to enrich our food heritage from the Himalayas. May his good work continue to inspire and guide us.”
The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, with its towering peaks and dynamic landscapes, presents both opportunities and challenges for hydropower development. Among these, scientific cooperation is emerging as a pivotal force in ensuring that these projects provide clean energy and prioritise safety and socio-environmental resilience. International scientific collaboration, exemplified by initiatives like the NSFC-ICIMOD partnership, along with the growing role of women in geological sciences, is proving to be a strong element in driving innovations in hydropower safety and sustainability.
The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region has significant hydropower potential that is crucial for addressing energy needs and driving economic growth. However, hydropower faces challenges, particularly from climate change. These issues include glacier retreats, erratic precipitation, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), and landslides, all of which threaten water and energy infrastructure. As climate impacts intensify, integrating climate risk-proofing for infrastructure investments and climate adaptation options becomes increasingly critical.
The region’s vulnerability has been starkly highlighted by recent GLOFs in India (Sikkim 2023) and Nepal (Thame 2024). These destructive events have caused severe damage to hydropower plants, disrupted communities, and underscored the urgent need for climate-adaptive solutions. Safeguarding this vital energy source requires a holistic understanding of the cryosphere, hydrology, and geology-related risks and the integration of adaptive measures that protect the infrastructure and ensure sustainable energy production. Strengthening hydropower resilience is essential for securing livelihoods, promoting economic growth, and supporting sustainable development in the HKH region; therefore, science-based support is vital to effectively address the complex climate risks and the knowledge gap associated with hydropower infrastructure.
The collaboration between the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has shown how a science-backed partnership can help shape the future of hydropower in the region. The joint work has helped crucial geological hazard assessments at the Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project. The project emphasises a thorough multi-hazard assessment by incorporating scientific knowledge into engineering design, concentrating on geological risks such as landslides and debris flows for safeguarding hydropower infrastructure and communities in the vicinity.
The joint team, led by Professor Chen Ningsheng of Yangtze University, China, who serves as the Chinese Co-Investigator of the NSFC-ICIMOD-funded project ‘Understanding landslide-induced multi-Hazards for building resilient communities along trans-Himalayan socio-economic corridors,’ carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the Marsyangdi Hydropower Project site. The team, including graduate students and an expert from ICIMOD, assessed geological hazards around residential and plant facilities, gathered soil samples from various sites for luminescence dating to establish sediment deposition dates and performed comprehensive particle experiments. Based on the survey and sample analysis, the team presented an innovative and integrated plan to mitigate the geological hazard risks for the Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project site.
Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project: The 135 MW Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project in Manang, along with the 139.2 MW Lower Manang Marsyangdi and the 327 MW Upper Marsyangdi-2, was developed in a cascade model, forming one of Nepal’s largest and most pioneering hydropower ventures, boasting a total combined capacity of 601 MW.
Their approach is divided into three key aspects to prepare for any disaster event, which include combining the blocking and draining method, blocking out large debris and draining smaller ones. This means building check dams in the debris flow channels to stop large boulders, while also creating drainage channels to redirect the flow away from construction areas. This strategy was well-received among the stakeholders of the hydropower project, presented during the discussion session as an effective means for mitigating geological hazard risks.
This comprehensive approach enhances the safety and resilience of the hydropower project site, serving as a model for similar projects across the HKH region, exemplifying the journey from science to action. These efforts have strengthened safety protocols, highlighting the significance of merging academic research with practical engineering solutions, and initiated discussions for enhanced international cooperation between ICIMOD and Yangtze University.
Prof. Chen and his team have also supported the Bhote Koshi (45 MW) and Upper Arun (1,063.36 MW) hydropower projects near the Nepal-China border, contributing to resilient hydropower development in Nepal. Our collaboration reflects an effort built on the ICIMOD-initiated ‘Guideline for climate resilient hydropower development in Nepal,’ which seeks to foster collaboration, share knowledge, and develop Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM)-strategies to enhance climate resilience in hydropower projects across Nepal and the HKH region.
This brings us to the question of inclusive science. Our collaboration with NSFC is focused on doing better science to action and seeking to recruit more women and members of Indigenous communities in geological science. The field investigation team at the Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project was joined by a cohort of what we call ‘Women on Rock’.
Traditionally, the field of geological sciences has been dominated by men, but recent developments are challenging this status quo. The rise of women researchers in the field, both in a literal and metaphorical sense, is inspiring a new wave of aspiring geological engineers, particularly women, to explore careers in geosciences.
Promoting the Women on Rock initiative in this collaborative project provides avenues for comprehension of better understanding the Earth’s processes via practical, science-to-action activities in both China and Nepal. These emerging leaders are poised to bring fresh perspectives and drive innovation in a field long constrained by gender imbalance.
The ‘Women on Rock’ initiative echoes the spirit of another ICIMOD initiative launched last year – HKH Women on Ice – which empowers young female researchers from the HKH region with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration needed to excel in cryosphere science. Together, these efforts are paving the way for a more inclusive and innovative future in geoscience.
The support provided by the ICIMOD-NSFC collaboration to the Manang Marsyangdi Hydropower Project exhibits how scientific cooperation can serve as a cornerstone for developing resilient infrastructure in geologically complex regions. As the HKH region continues to harness its immense hydropower potential, such collaborative models, rooted in rigorous scientific inquiry and enriched by diverse perspectives, will be crucial, particularly for transboundary river basins like the Yarlung Zangbo–Brahmaputra River basin. Fostering international partnerships and amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups, including women and youth in science, the hydropower sector can address the energy demands of today while simultaneously laying the foundation for sustainable, secure, and inclusive development for future generations. This aligns seamlessly with ICIMOD’s vision for a greener, more inclusive, and climate-resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya. Let the spirit of scientific innovation and cooperation continue to ‘rock’ the region.
News link “我院师生赴尼泊尔科技指导马楠马相迪水电站地质灾害防治工作 ” by Yangtze University: https://dqkx.yangtzeu.edu.cn/info/1059/13156.htm
A dedicated cross-chapter paper on ‘mountains’ has been incorporated into the report outline for the upcoming 7th IPCC Assessment Report, reflecting the urgency of addressing mountain-specific climate impacts.
Mountain ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures and challenges brought by climate change, such as a changing cryosphere, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss, have severe socio-economic consequences that impact the lives and livelihoods of mountain communities, rendering them more vulnerable. In response to this, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing science related to climate change, has drawn attention to the need to respond to the impacts of climate change in mountain regions since 2023, in its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
The IPCC’s Assessment Reports, published every five to seven years, provide a comprehensive scientific assessment of climate change, its impacts, and potential future risks. By providing an outlook on current and future climate scenarios, the assessments inform, and influence governments’ climate change mitigation and adaptation plans, as well as their investments in climate actions.
As the upcoming Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) is being prepared, there has been a push to more systematically include the ‘mountain agenda’ in the report, especially from a number of mountain nations. ‘Mountain agenda’ is a catch-all phrase to highlight and address the vulnerabilities of mountain people and to respond to the impacts of climate change on mountain regions.
At the 62nd IPCC meeting (IPCC 62), which took place from 24 February to 1 March 2025 in Hangzhou, China, delegates from 195 member countries discussed and agreed on the outline and key topics for the upcoming assessment report, AR7. The Panel’s agreement included the work of defining the scientific content of AR7, organised around the IPCC’s three Working Groups which assess (I) the physical science basis of climate change, (II) impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, and (III) mitigation of climate change.
Representatives from six of ICIMOD’s eight Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan – participated in the IPCC 62 discussions. A number of RMCs led an intervention to request a dedicated chapter on ‘Mountains’ in the AR7. As a result, Working Group II endorsed a cross-chapter paper on ‘high altitude and mountains’, which is to be considered by the Working Group II authors. Furthermore, Working Group I will explicitly mention ‘mountain regions’ in its chapters on assessing regional climate and extremes and on earth system processes and changes. Cross-chapter papers synthesise information and insights from multiple chapters or Working Groups within the report to provide a more holistic and in-depth analysis of a specific topic.
As defined by UNEP, ‘loss and damage’ in the context of climate change refers to the negative impacts, both economic and non-economic, that arise from the effects of climate change – particularly those that go beyond what people can adapt to, like the loss of life, property, and cultural heritage. The impact of climate change on ICIMOD’s RMCs includes increased loss and damage risks. These countries face rising threats from climate-induced disasters, including floods, landslides, droughts, and the melting of glaciers and snow, leading to loss of lives, ecosystem change, damage or destruction of infrastructure, and vanishing cultural heritage. Working Groups I and II of AR7 have included policy-relevant assessments for loss and damage in their outline, and Working Group II has a dedicated chapter on the subject. The topic is also assessed in multiple other chapters. The proposed AR7 chapter on loss and damage received unanimous support from ICIMOD’s RMCs.
RMCs that are also least developed countries (LDCs) joined hands in requesting the IPCC to assess information particularly relevant to LDCs. This led to Working Group II approving the inclusion of a cross-chapter paper on LDCs as a part of its regional assessment chapters.
Despite agreeing on the outline of all three Working Group reports, the Parties (member countries of the IPCC) did not reach a consensus on when the reports would be delivered, nor on the outline of the methodology report of the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory. Thus, these decisions have been postponed to the upcoming 63rd IPCC meeting to be held in Lima, Peru towards the end of 2025.
During plenary sessions, working group discussions, and informal group discussions at IPCC 62, some ICIMOD RMCs expressed the view that the AR7 report should be delivered in time for the Global Stock Take (GST) in 2028, while others feel that a more thorough review process is needed. This is consistent with past IPCC assessments, which typically take between five to seven years.
The Parties agreed that the Working Groups could begin to solicit author nominations and plan the first lead authors’ meeting as approved in the 2025 budget.
ICIMOD has had observer status to the IPCC since 2012. Since then, our experts have been contributing to IPCC reports and special reports as coordinating lead authors, lead authors, contributing authors, and chapter scientists. ICIMOD co-hosted the IPCC lead author meeting for AR6 (Working Group II) in 2019 and has engaged in various IPCC outreach events.
ICIMOD will continue to work with the RMC governments and experts from the region to contribute to all the assessment areas raising and highlighting the mountain agenda. We will continuously provide support to authors on content that is important for mountain regions and their communities to raise their voices and build an evidence base for policy formulation. Furthermore, ICIMOD will work with its government partners to increase their capacity to meaningfully engage with and contribute to IPCC and other global assessment processes. To facilitate greater engagement from the region with the AR7 process, ICIMOD hosted a regional webinar featuring IPCC Bureau members in early April 2025, to build understanding of the expert nomination process and other engagement pathways for AR7.
Mountain air was crisp and piercing, despite the midday sun shining bright above us. As I checked out the vast valley before me, I felt the sharpness of each breath I drew, a constant reminder of the extreme environment we were there to study. I was in Shodug, Bhutan, in the headwaters of Thim Chhu, a river that flows through Thimphu valley, Bhutan’s capital city. I coordinated a team of researchers from Bhutan’s National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) on a mission to install ground temperature sensors in areas of possible permafrost occurrence in the Bhutan Himalayas.
This was Bhutan’s first initiative to monitor permafrost, an important milestone for both the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and NCHM. It also happened to be our first day of installing sensors, naturally, enthusiasm was running high. But as we moved forward, it quickly became clear that the rugged terrain was more challenging than expected. Navigating unstable, unfamiliar ground without proper trails was painfully slow, and at the rate we were progressing, it would take us days longer than planned to deploy all the sensors.
That is when we met Kinzang Wangchuk, a local yak herder who owns over eighty yaks and also someone who was everything we were not in this environment: confident, swift, and deeply in tune with the land. When we asked if he could guide us, he agreed with a smile that seemed almost effortless. Over the following days, I was amazed by how well he knew the terrain. It was as if every rock and ridge held a story he had heard a hundred times. We simply pointed to where we needed to go, and Kinzang would lead the way, moving through the treacherous terrain with the ease of someone walking on flat ground.
We identified a potential site with a high probability of permafrost occurrence and asked Kinzang to take us there. Without hesitation, he nodded and said, ‘Ah, that’s where we collect cordyceps.’ I did not think much back then, but the next site we identified as having a high probability of permafrost also happened to be an area Kinzang frequented. As I pointed out the general direction, Kinzang’s eyes lit up, ‘I know that place. That is another spot where we gather cordyceps.’ Second time! Could this be just a coincidence? A likely connection between the two highland occurrences of cordyceps collection and high-probability permafrost areas piqued my curiosity.
Cordyceps sinensis (Ophiocordyceps), a caterpillar fungus locally known as Yartsa Gunbu (summer grass winter worm), is generally found across the Himalayan range. Given its high medicinal value, Yartsa Gunbu is often referred to as ‘Himalayan gold’ and is highly sought after in the market.
Permafrost is the soil, rock, or sediment, usually held together by ice, that stays frozen for at least two consecutive years. It can be found in high-latitude and high-elevation regions, mostly 4,500 metres above sea level in the high mountains in the case of the Hindu Kush Himalya (HKH) region. The health of permafrost is critical for mountain ecosystems, but it is also the least studied component of the cryosphere, especially in the HKH region.
Could it be that Cordyceps sinensis favours colder, permafrost-rich environments? The question persistently swirled in my mind. To test my theory, I pointed to another area with medium to high permafrost probability. ‘I bet we will find cordyceps there too,’ I said, half-joking. Kinzang confirmed with a grin, ‘Yes, we do.’
That only deepened my curiosity, I felt like I had landed on a gold mine of information. I prodded further, taking the reverse approach. I picked a spot far away from likely to find permafrost. Pointing at it, I asked sarcastically, ‘How about there? Lots of cordyceps, I am sure.’ Kinzang shook his head with certainty. ‘No cordyceps there.’ This pattern set my mind buzzing with questions.
Walking forward, jokingly, I said, ‘If you want to collect a lot of cordyceps next season, let me know. I can pinpoint exactly where to look!’ Of course, this was a hyperbole; Kinzang knew this landscape better than anyone. But he dropped his final surprise, ‘Cordyceps are not abundant every year. It is only abundant every three to four years.’ Kinzang further pointed me towards something intriguing – the cyclical abundance of cordyceps.
This was too much of a coincidence to leave at that, it deserves more research. From the literatures I reviewed, I found that while cordyceps thrive in cold environments, there is no specific mention of permafrost influencing their distribution. Surprisingly, the literature also revealed that ghost moth larvae, which cordyceps parasitise, take three to five years to mature in the soil, their development and maturity are closely tied to soil temperature.
It is still early to establish the temperature of the ground as the likely connection to the habitat, development, and maturity of Cordyceps. however, this theory needs to be assessed in other permafrost regions in the HKH as well. Now, I am curious to explore this phenomenon further based on:
Permafrost in the region remains largely under-researched, although through what we know, its changes can have the most implications for the mountain communities. My conversation with Kinzang Wangchuk and potentially the newfound understanding and linkages between cordyceps and permafrost raised a bigger question in my mind – could thawing mountain permafrost disrupt this delicate relationship between cordyceps and their habitat? For mountain communities like Kinzang’s, whose livelihoods depend on harvesting cordyceps, the impacts could be profound. This likely connection between permafrost and cordyceps calls for more research to better understand the phenomenon and to prepare for potential changes in a warming world.
Additionally, through my coincidental encounter with Kinzang Wangchuk, I have developed a profound respect for the role of Indigenous knowledge in the scientific process. It has reinforced how local knowledge and empirical science can complement each other, providing deeper insights into complex environmental systems. Through the integration of the two valid sources of knowledge, we can uncover new research questions and enhance our understanding of intricate ecological connections. This will not only enrich scientific questions but also pave the way for more informed and context-specific decision-making, one that is data-driven and deeply rooted in lived experiences.
What started as a challenging expedition became an enlightening journey, blending traditional knowledge and scientific curiosity to uncover nature’s hidden links.
As the season of droughts and forest fires looms over Nepal, here’s a look at what could be done to avert the worst.
Droughts are a complex hazard due to their multifaceted causes, encompassing meteorological shifts, human activities, and socio-economic pressures.[1] This complexity is further amplified by the cascading hazards they trigger, most notably, in terms of the increased frequency and intensity of
forest fires.[1] The prolonged dry conditions of droughts desiccate vegetation, thereby providing ample fuel that render landscapes highly vulnerable to forest fires while also creating a setting for dangerous feedback loops.[2]
In Nepal, forest fires are getting more and more intense with each passing year. While the country saw a restoration of its forests due to national-level community forest management practices during the 1980 and ‘90s, the gains are now being challenged by the escalating impacts of climate change – reduced rainfall and drier winters (1, 2) These have led to forest fires becoming a recurring hazard. The figures speak for themselves – while in 2021, the country recorded over 6,000 forest fires, last year, 2024, saw more than 5,000 fires burn through the countryside.
Data from the Forest Fire Detection and Monitoring System (FFDMS) in Nepal (Graph 1) shows that the frequency of forest fires has more than doubled in the last decade, while 2025 is projected to be one of the worst years yet. Every two to three years, a high incidence of forest fire has been recorded. This increase is not just in terms of number, but also in terms of the scale and intensity of the fires.
This year, the National Agricultural Drought Watch of Nepal has already issued an advanced warning of drought. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for the months of January and February (Map 2) showed that the majority of the districts were experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. Almost every district in the western region of Nepal has been experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions. The forest fire risk map (below) also shows the districts that are vulnerable to forest fire. The map, which integrates climate, land-cover, and geophysical data, shows that some regions, particularly in the mid-hills and the Terai, are expected to face significantly higher risk of forest fires this year. Districts like Banke, Bardiya, Dang, Kailali, and Kanchanpur of Terai, and Surkhet, Salyan, Dadeldhura, Pyuthan, Doti, and Arghakhanchi of the hills have been identified as high-risk districts for forest fire. These areas have already been experiencing more frequent drought conditions and have become highly prone to higher temperatures and lower rainfall. The SPI has also shown moderate to severe drought conditions for these areas. The SPI map and the forest fire risk maps of Nepal reveal a strong correlation between drought severity and forest fire risk.
Drought acts as a silent yet potent trigger that causes devastating forest fires. It is not merely a prolonged dry spell but rather the build-up of a combination of several factors that lead to ideal conditions for the igniting and spreading of forest fires. The key factors include:
In the context of Nepal, these factors are particularly influenced by monsoonal pattern changes, deforestation, land-use changes, forest management activities (human and forest interactions manipulating forest fuel), and the effects of climate change.
As Graph 1 indicates so clearly and alarmingly, between the years 2012 and 2024, the frequency of forest fires escalated dramatically across Nepal, while more than 300 such incidents have already been recorded in the first two months of 2025, whereas the peak season for fires, which is usually the pre-monsoon months of March to May, is yet to come.
From 2012 to 2025, forest fires have consistently surged during the dry months, especially in the pre-monsoon season (March–May), which coincides with the peak of Nepal’s dry periods. The increased frequency of drought events, coupled with the severe drying of vegetation, creates a dangerous convergence of conditions conducive to fires. It is crucial to note that the districts that are the worst hit by forest fires are also the most affected by drought, which is an illustration of a vicious cycle that may only worsen with time.
Data from Graph 2 shows that districts like Banke, Bardiya, Chitwan, Dang, Surkhet, Kailali, and Kanchanpur experience higher incidents of forest fire (more than 1,500 forest fires from 2012 to 2024). These districts, located in the Terai, also suffer high temperatures and prolonged droughts, making them hotspots for forest fire outbreaks.
Meanwhile, hilly districts like Achham, Dadeldhura, Doti, Makwanpur, Pyuthan, Salyan, Sindhuli, and Udayapur, with their vast forested areas, also show a high frequency of forest fires, which further emphasises the link between drought severity and forest fire occurrence. The drought conditions in these areas increase the likelihood of fast-spreading fires that are difficult to control, and threaten both rural settlements and biodiversity. Each year, an average of 3,000 forest fire incidents were recorded in Nepal from 2012 to 2024, of which Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Chitwan, Dang, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Parsa, Salyan, Doti, and Dadeldhura recorded over 1,000 forest fire incidents each in 12 years.
As drought conditions intensify, Nepal is heading towards a future where forest fires could become a regular, uncontrollable phenomenon. This would contribute to climate change, worsen air quality, and displace local communities. Already this year, the air quality index (AQI) of Nepal’s major cities has touched the unhealthy mark, and the upcoming forest fire threat during the dry months is sure to further degrade the air we breathe.
In 2024, the major cities of Nepal breathed significantly poor air, with forest fires being a primary cause for the abysmal air quality. Similarly, in 2023, Nepal and its neighbouring countries saw air quality deteriorate due to forest fires and residential biomass burning. Analysis from ICIMOD’s air pollution dashboard showed elevated levels of carbon monoxide, which, when inhaled, can lead to changes in lung function and make breathing difficult.
Furthermore, forest fires are a precursor to other hazards. They can cause soil erosion and landslides, particularly in mountainous terrains. During such fires, all the vegetation, including the root structure which stabilises the soil, burns out, leading to increased surface run-off and weakened slopes. So, in fire-affected slopes, even moderate rainfall can trigger a landslide and also move debris and sediments into rivers and block waterways, thereby threatening life downstream.
It was based on the pressing need for a scientific forest fire detection and monitoring mechanism that ICIMOD and Nepal government’s Department of Forests and Soil Conservation (DoFSC) jointly developed the web-based FFDMS. This tool serves as a key resource for forest fire risk assessment, monitoring, and management, thereby enabling decision-makers to enhance preparedness and responses during forest fires. In addition, it not only provides real-time information on the occurrence of forest fires but also sends SMSs and email alerts to officials of all forest divisions, subdivisions, and to the members of community forest user’s groups nationwide.
Badri Raj Dhungana, Director General of DoFSC,emphasised the significance of this system in enhancing Nepal’s fire-response capabilities, stating, “Such technological innovations can serve as a critical tool in enabling the authorities to act swiftly, thereby minimising damage and improving disaster preparedness.” He also stressed on the importance of fire prevention regulations, saying, “Strict fire prevention regulations must be implemented and those individuals responsible for starting fires should be penalised. There should also be incentive mechanisms to encourage the reporting of fire incidents by local authorities.”
As the months of forest fire incidents are approaching, it is time for immediate action. In addition to this warning and monitoring system, the government, local authorities, and communities must work together to strengthen the firefighting capacity, implement strict forest fire prevention measures, and invest in reforestation and fire-resistant vegetation. Constructing firebreaks in high-risk areas and implementing sustainable forest management practices can help contain fire spread. Public awareness campaigns are also critical to educate citizens about the dangers of forest fire and the role drought plays in exacerbating forest fire risks. A community-based fire management (CBFiM) approach can empower local residents to take an active role in early fire detection, prevention, and suppression efforts. Furthermore, integrating fire risk assessments into national disaster preparedness strategies will enable policymakers to proactively address fire-prone zones and implement preventive measures before peak dry seasons.
Additionally, strengthening Nepal’s firefighting capacity through the provision of modern equipment, advanced training, and remote sensing technologies is essential to combat forest fire effectively. The combination of earth observation systems, early drought monitoring, and robust forest fire management plans in land use planning can help mitigate this growing threat and create long-term resilience.
Guest Author: Dawa Zangpo
With over 60 percent forest cover and more than half of the country designated as Protected Areas (PAs), Bhutan has a strong incentive to conduct Natural Capital Accounting (NCA). Bhutan’s strong policy mandate encourages NCA which has important strategic linkages to national and international conservation targets. Conducting NCA, especially for PAs, requires a participatory approach as well as good data. With strong enablers at play, Bhutan can pioneer NCA for PAs to showcase its rich natural capital.
NCA has been gaining recognition in the global conservation agenda especially to account for climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem services degradation, with the System of Environment Economic Accounting (SEEA) serving as a global framework.
The Bhutan government adopted SEEA as the official environmental economic accounting framework in 2012. This allows Bhutan to measure its natural resources, outlined in their national implementation plan for SEEA in Bhutan (2024-2029), which plans to account nine different thematic areas by prioritising accounts based on different timeframes.
Under the SEEA framework, SEEA-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) integrates measures of ecosystems and their flow of services with measures of economic and other human activities. Protected Areas (PAs) in Bhutan encompass a variety of ecosystems and using SEEA-EA helps determine the contribution of those ecosystems to their respective PAs whilst also tracking their condition and health over time. Further, accounts such as the ecosystem services and monetary assets account utilise the principles of the System of National Accounts (SNA) to link the contribution of ecosystem services with the economic beneficiaries in the accounting period.
ICIMOD with DoFPS, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Bhutan, aims to publish NCA guidelines for PAs along with an experimental account for Jigme Dorji National Park (JDNP). Under the leadership of DoFPS, various activities were conducted in 2024 to sensitise and build the capacity of multiple stakeholders to ensure that the process is inclusive and representative of diverse perspectives (Figure 2).
The first set of activities included consultations with the community (20 March 2024 in Barshong village), and with local leaders (22-23 March 2024 in Paro). These consultations helped identify ecosystem assets, ecosystem services, challenges and opportunities in JDNP. During the national-level consultation (25-26 March 2023 in Haa), existing datasets of different agencies were mapped (Figure 3).
The importance of data was emphasised by Lobzang Dorji, then Director of Department of Forest and Park Services, who said, “It is our duty to value the sustainable usage of goods and services that are consumed on a daily basis.” Geley Norbu, Director of National Land Commission, encouraged inter-departmental collaboration for data sharing to take NCA forward.
The consultations were followed up with a technical exercise involving ICIMOD’s experts and an interdisciplinary Geographic Information System/Remote Sensing (GIS/RS) team from different departments in Bhutan to co-create a comprehensive set of accounts for JDNP that would feed into the guidelines (2-5 July 2024). This interdisciplinary team was transformed into a Technical Working Group (TWG) and it was decided that the directors of the respective departments would be part of the Steering Committee (SC).
Creating NCA guidelines is a reiterative process that requires revision and validation of data and any temporal changes, the results from the technical exercise were shared with the Technical Working Group (18-20 March 2024) and Steering Committee (24 March 2024) for further feedback and presented during the national consultation (25 March 2024) in Bhutan (Figure 4).
The consultations were important to build the capacity of the TWG to assess natural capital data of JDNP, receive inputs from PA officials on the NCA guidelines and create a first draft of the guidelines which includes an experimental account of JDNP. This complements other steps which focus on refinement. The final steps are identifying how NCA can help with PA management in terms of improving current conservation as well as identifying new investments.
Increasing awareness among stakeholders is necessary to successfully implement NCA guidelines in any given region. The concerned authorities and stakeholders need to be aware of the benefits and incentives of implementing NCA in their region. Stakeholders should include PA managers, authorities of the concerned ministries and departments, local communities (including youths, girls, women, and people from marginalised communities and different ethnic groups), community-based organisations, private sector, non-government organisations, international non-government organisations, and inter-government organisations actively working in the area.
The successful implementation of NCA guidelines and the development of NCA accounts relies on the experience, skills, and capacity of the technical persons and institutions involved. The technical exercise brought together a working group that consisted of experts from different departments along with ICIMOD experts (Figure 5). They engaged in collecting, curating, validating, and analysing the data required for NCA. This engagement along with other future capacity-building programmes will help to strengthen their skills and develop a better understanding of NCA.
Data is a key component for assessing ecosystem stocks and flows while accuracy of the data is crucial for rightly informing the decision-making and planning process of the development of accounts and the formation of a new strategy. Learning from the experience of developing an NCA account for JDNP, it is necessary to form a central data repository system under the National Statistical Bureau (NSB) where data is regularly and effectively updated, curated, managed, and analysed to serve the NCA accounts.
Different consultations that took place in 2024 have laid the foundation for creating the NCA guidelines for Protected Areas. It is a reiterative process that requires a lot of back and forth with multiple stakeholders involved from different government departments, agencies and institutions. The mix of socio-economic, bio-physical and remote-sensing data makes it a robust process which is necessary to showcase the rich natural capital that Bhutan possesses. With strong enablers, it is imperative to build upon it through awareness, capacity building and data management which will help to facilitate the implementation of these guidelines at a national level.
Dawa Zangpo is the Principal Forestry Officer at the Department of Forest and Park Services, Bhutan.
With 261 transboundary river basins covering 45% of the Earth’s land surface, and 19 of them shared by five or more states (Wolf et al., 2010), the necessity for coordinated, multi-scalar river basin governance is undeniable. The Multi-Scale Integrated River Basin Management in the Hindu Kush Himalaya training organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) provided a comprehensive and multi-dimensional perspective on transboundary river basin management, emphasising both its intricacies and the critical need for integrated river basin approaches. The training examined the hydrological interconnections between upstream and downstream regions, emphasising cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaborations, groundwater and surface water systems integration, and the need for a hydrosocial approach in river basin planning and implementation.
Historically, river basin management has been infrastructure-centric, focusing on water access and control. However, with changing river basin drivers such as rapid urbanisation, population growth, and economic expansion, contemporary strategies have called for a transition toward a supply-side management approach. The Dublin Principles (1992) marked a pivotal shift, recognising water as a scarce resource and underscoring the role of government institutions, non-governmental organisations, research bodies, and financial agencies. This paradigm shift led to the development of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which goes beyond hydrological concerns to encompass social, political, economic, and cultural dimensions. As articulated by the Global Water Partnership (2000), IWRM promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources to maximise social and economic welfare while ensuring ecological sustainability. The World Water Commission (2000) further emphasised the need for participatory, scientifically informed decision-making at various scales, reinforcing the Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) framework.
The theoretical foundations of IRBM, grounded in Ostrom’s Social-Ecological System (SES) framework and the Common Pool Resources (CPR) design principles, were explored in depth through case studies spanning multiple governance models across the world. Notably, since 1964, France implemented a governance structure based on six river basins, managed by elected water parliaments and executing water boards. Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin pioneered water allocation strategies to promote private-sector participation and water markets. Meanwhile, the United States relied on water collectives, while India established river tribunals and boards to address inter-state water disputes. In Nepal Koshi River Basin Management Strategy (2011) introduced basin-level risk assessment tools and mitigation strategies, further broadening the scope of IRBM at national and regional levels. Furthermore, the training highlighted key socio-hydrological factors, including gender, caste, class, religion, and other influences impacting river basin management strategies. The gender equality, disability, and social Inclusion (GEDSI) framework highlighted the essential need for the inclusion of women and youth representatives in river basin management plans, recognising their historically marginalised position in decision-making processes.
Technical modules of the training introduced state-of-the-art analytical tools for IRBM, such as scenario modelling and hydrological simulations. The Regional Database System (RDS) developed by ICIMOD for the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region demonstrated both the potential and limitations of integrating hydrological and social dimensions into decision-support frameworks. Another key insight was the need to integrate simulation models with optimisation frameworks, incorporating socio-economic and climatic factors to create operational climate risk assessment tools – an area demanding further research.
The training also facilitated a deep dive into governance models and transboundary cooperation frameworks. Discussions covered District Ganga Plans in India (2023), Nepal’s 2024 Response Strategy for Water Resource Management, Pakistan’s Living Indus Initiative, the Mekong River Commission, the China-Laos Agreement on the Lancang-Mekong River, Joint River Basin Management in the Danube Basin, the EU Water Framework Directive, and nature-based solutions for disaster risk reduction and wetland conservation. These case studies provided invaluable insights into adaptive strategies, policy frameworks, and collaborative initiatives that can be cross-fertilised and adapted to different regional contexts.
One of the most enriching aspects of the training was the exchange of knowledge and experiences among fellows from Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. These discussions allowed for a comparative analysis of river basin management approaches, illuminating both shared challenges and region-specific nuances. A particularly insightful exercise involved role-playing different stakeholders in transboundary water negotiations. This simulation brought to life the complexities of water diplomacy, highlighting the political, economic, and environmental trade-offs involved in developing sustainable water-sharing agreements. A compelling discussion centred on Toomey’s cognitive science research, which explores why facts alone often fail to change minds, highlighted the critical role of effective science communication in water governance.
Field visits played a pivotal role in bridging theory and practice. The Bagmati River Basin, Nepal visit provided a firsthand understanding of urban flooding impacts, especially in the aftermath of the devastating flash floods of September 28–29, 2024. These floods, exacerbated by rapid urbanisation and destruction of natural drainage systems, reinforced the urgent need for improved risk assessment tools and disaster mitigation strategies. The impact of the flood in the Koshi River Basin, one of the most catastrophic in decades, further underscored the necessity for integrated flood management strategies.
Additional field visits in Thailand provided a holistic perspective on water governance and infrastructure management. Interactions with the Royal Irrigation Department, the Mekong Institute, and Water User Groups offered practical insights into community-based water governance. Site visits to the Pa Sak Cholasit Dam and Khao Yai National Park helped contextualise the hydrological, ecological, and socio-economic challenges of river basin management, particularly within the HKH region.
Being a part of this training broadened my perspective on the opportunities, challenges, and future directions of integrated river basin management. The exposure to historical and contemporary water governance models, combined with exercises, interactive sessions, dialogues, and field visits deepened my appreciation of the multi-disciplinary and multi-scalar nature of water resource management. As climate change intensifies and water scarcity becomes an ever-pressing global challenge, it is imperative to adopt integrated, evidence-based, and participatory strategies for sustainable river basin management. This training reinforced the importance of transboundary collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive governance models in shaping resilient water management frameworks for the future in different river basins in the HKH region. This experience has significantly shaped my perspective on water resource management and is gradually informing my current work, which focuses on water auditing and studies of river islands within the Mula-Mutha River basin, Pune district, India.
Today is a day to celebrate the success of women and our journey towards gender equality. However, it is also a day to reflect. Despite significant progress, much remains to be done.
I often see organisations’ social media posts about signing cooperation agreements or some other announcements. Too often, women are barely visible in these ceremonial photos. Recently, I saw a photo with 15 smiling men and another with 14 men and just one woman. Let’s not forget that ‘women hold up half the sky’. So, whilst we have made progress, we are not where we need to be yet.
With this in mind and having spent the last 30 years working in different organisations and work environments across the world, I thought this would be a good moment to share my nine power moves, or top tips, for women as we move forward into the second quarter of this century.
Early in my career, I was often scared to state my views, assuming the men around me knew more. I had to work hard to overcome this, and it was only when I realised that I have a lot to contribute and pushed myself ‘over the edge’ and started making more of a noise – after this ‘aha’ moment I did not look back. I still see this happening in many meetings where women, especially younger women, are largely silent. We need to make sure our voices are heard because we need to be a part of the conversation. So, do not be shy, speak up in meetings, and find ways to overcome those fears. Believe in yourself, your views, and your right to make sure your views are heard.
Also, remember that female voices may be quieter than those of men, so make sure you take a deep breath and speak clearly from a grounded position. Being heard also means not being overly modest. You do not need the perfect words – many men would not even give ‘perfection’ a thought; they just go for it!
It is all too tempting to slide into a meeting room and avoid being in a place where you are seen. At meetings or conferences, notice where women sit. All too often, it is not at the front, but near the back or at the very back. If you are sitting at the back, you will not be seen, it will be harder to make a point or get to the microphone. So make sure you sit close to the action. I am not saying go and grab the ‘best’ seat; rather, make sure that you are not hidden away – it is also good to be seen if you are not quite yet ready to be heard! Take it step by step.
Ensure women are fully represented in your organisation’s positioning, whether its in images, pictures, presentations, conferences, committees, or social media. Too often, men take centre stage – ask yourself how often women are sufficiently represented. Make sure your organisation joins the Panel Pledge, which ensures, as far as is possible, equal representation of women on conference or workshop panels.
Look around you – see if all the committees and management teams of your organisation have fair female representation at all levels. I say all levels because women remain under-represented at senior levels. Evidence shows that organisations without women in senior roles do not reach their full potential – it is like fighting with one arm tied behind your back. So, it is in everyone’s best interest to get women at the top table and in numbers.
It seems absurd that in this day and age, that women frequently are not equally paid. Women often hesitate to negotiate, fearing they do not deserve a higher salary. Men, on the other hand, negotiate without such doubts. Whilst things are improving on this front, speak to your human resources department and ask them to conduct surveys in your organisation to monitor gender pay levels.
Do not tolerate being mansplained to or bullied. A few men (not many, but a few) may talk over you or be condescending. This is sometimes done deliberately and sometimes subconsciously. Sometimes it’s obvious, more often it can be very subtle. Either way, it does not matter. Stand your ground. Keep talking even if they try and interrupt you, or come back tactfully and repeat your point, so it is clear it was your point that has been hijacked. Do not let someone claim your idea for theirs. If you are uncomfortable about something, that usually means something is not right, so address it as tactfully as you can. If you are bullied, report it. Stand firm.
As we address the issue of work-life balance, an organisation must have female-friendly polices – specifically a decent maternity policy (and I include paternity policy here too) and recognition of the extra load that many women must carry at home (in addition to work). When I was the sole carer for my small children whilst also holding down a responsible job, I used to say that if I had the luxury of someone sharing the care, I would look at my colleagues who had someone managing the home, and I would think – well, if I had that I would have been a superstar. That said, I knuckled down, did not complain, did not say anything, but just managed to somehow balance out both work and home responsibilities. Bold visions of ‘inclusion’ and ‘gender equality’ are meaningless unless backed by real action and support – it is not right that women have to continue to be silent about this.
Having faced discrimination for years, we must also speak up for other disadvantaged groups – the poor, the less educated, the LGBTQIA+, the disabled and the elderly. Look for men and peers who will support you and understand those who don’t. It is true that sometimes a man can also be your best advocate, and not a woman. Pick your allies and stick with them they will help you defend others and yourself.
Whilst it is hugely important to recognise that many men are our supporters too, and that sometimes women may not always help each other, at ICIMOD we have started a group that meets monthly and discusses the issues we all face in our lives as women. I am often surprised how many women think their struggles are unique (including myself!), only to find others facing the same challenges. As a group, we are a unifying voice for women and can resolve some issues, but it is important to learn from each other, solve problems together, and lend our fellow women support and advice.
We cannot fight on everything all at once, so be strategic and thoughtful on what and when you need to stand your ground. But, equally, do not let modesty hold you back.
I am proud to be the first woman to hold the position of Deputy Director General of ICIMOD, I am also proud that many of our staff are women, including at senior and Board levels. In 40 years, ICIMOD has had eight male Director Generals. I hope that within the next decade, we will finally see a woman in this role. Our day is coming!
Following a challenging session at the sixteenth meeting of the CBD COP 16 from 21 October to 1 November 2024 in Cali, Colombia, the next chapter of international biodiversity talks unfolds this year from 25 to 27 February 2025 in Rome, Italy, as the COP 16 session resumes. Here we explore the critical issues on the agenda, the progress made, the ambitious goals set to protect our planet’s diverse ecosystems, and reflect on mountain issues from past negotiations and priorities for the future.
Last year, some of the COP 16 agenda items were suspended due to lack of quorum and will reconvene this year at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome. Delegates will focus on resolving key issues left unresolved from the negotiations in Cali last year. These include resource mobilisation, monitoring framework, and accountability for monitoring and reporting.
Hopes were high at COP16. It was the first CBD COP since the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted at Montreal in 2022, which the UN Secretary General described as a chance to “reset relations with Earth”. Key expectations from COP 16 included a stocktake of progress in implementing the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), focusing on alignment with National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and resource mobilisation to meet the targets set for 2030. While there was consensus on many issues, such as a benefit-sharing mechanism for genetic resources and a permanent body for Indigenous peoples, the conference ended without achieving consensus on other critical issues, including the creation of a new funding instrument and the finalisation of a new framework for monitoring countries’ progress on tackling biodiversity loss.
The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region is home to a host of unique and diverse flora and fauna. This rich biodiversity plays a significant role in the livelihoods and economies of mountain and downstream communities, who depend on natural resources. In the last century, the HKH region lost 70% of its biodiversity to various drivers including climate change, habitat loss due to land use changes, and pollution. Positioning mountain biodiversity agenda in global Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), such as the CBD COP process, ensures that biodiversity conservation in mountain areas is included, prioritised, and reflected in global conservation actions. These MEAs inform and influence parties’ biodiversity conservation plans as well as international conservation organisations and donors’ conservation action priorities. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAPs) is a notable example of MEA.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) collaborates with its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – in addressing biodiversity challenges in the mountain areas. As an observer to CBD COP, ICIMOD’s participation ensures recognition of mountain biodiversity and its vulnerability to climate change in global discussions, and advocates for increased investment and actions at all levels of governance.
From the HKH perspective, COP16 was a ‘mixed bag’. Five staff members of ICIMOD participated and contributed to the negotiation process, and raised mountain- and HKH-specific issues in various discussions and decision-making processes. Due to our collaborative efforts with our RMCs, several countries including Bhutan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan highlighted ‘mountains’ in their statements ensuring prominence of the mountain agenda in relevant COP decisions.
We highlighted issues from our region at over 20 events and worked with other organisations to present a united voice on mountain issues. We participated in over 25 bilateral meetings to discuss funding opportunities, build and strengthen networks, and promote the HKH-specific agenda. We also showcased our work on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) through a video on Community Conserved Areas in Nagaland, India. The CBD Secretariat and the French Development Agency expressed keen interest in supporting ICIMOD’s work on OECMs in the HKH region.
Overall, 119 countries, representing 61% of parties to the convention, submitted national biodiversity targets, and 44 countries have submitted NBSAPs. Only three HKH countries (Afghanistan, China, and India) submitted their NBSAPs. Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal submitted their national targets in line with KMGBF, and they plan to submit their NBSAPs by COP17 in 2026.
Many HKH countries are facing challenges in developing and updating their NBSAPs, often due to a lack of capacity. Other challenges include limited funding resources, and a time-consuming multi-stakeholder process, including coordinating diverse actors to align on priorities, policies, and actions. NBSAP preparation also requires substantial financial resources and efficient expenditure. Several countries in the HKH are facing challenges in securing funding and spending on time for planning and execution of NBSAPs.
On resource mobilisation, through our RMCs, we will join parties in highlighting the financing gaps in the implementation of the NBSAP and advocating for the development of the global Resource Mobilisation Strategy aimed at securing USD 200 billion annually by 2030. ICIMOD advocates for the adoption of the Resource Mobilisation Strategy by the HKH countries, and for donors to commit and contribute funding for speedy and effective implementation of the GBF.
We will also look into contributing to the COP CBD agenda on Planning, Monitoring, Reporting and Review (PMRR) mechanism, particularly highlighting the issues related to limited capacity for data collection, management, access to datasets, and reporting. ICIMOD’s suggestions for the Parties include simplifying the monitoring framework and building the capacity of HKH Parties on reporting progress of the framework’s implementation.
There are three items in the resumed sessions agenda that are of critical importance for the HKH region: highlighting mountain-specific indicators in the targets, the development of a new Resource Mobilisation Strategy for the GBF Fund, and the PMRR mechanism.
Building on the outcomes of Cali and continuing talks in the resumed sessions in Rome, ICIMOD will support its RMCs in advocating the inclusion of the Green Cover Index for Mountains (GCIM) as a major indicator in the KMGBF. GCIM measures changes of the green vegetation in mountain areas – i.e. forests, shrubs, trees, pastureland, cropland, etc. – to provide indications on the status of conservation of their environment. Despite its importance, mountain biodiversity remains underrepresented in the KMGBF. Inclusion of these indicators in the KMGBF will ensure that relevant countries will reflect, act upon and measure impacts of biodiversity conservation in mountain ecosystems in their NBSAPs.
We will also work on therevival of theProgramme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity (PoWMB), which traces its roots to COP 7 in 2004 in Malaysia, where Parties adopted decision VII/27. This encouraged parties to implement PoWMB considering the ecosystem approach to reduce the rate of mountain biodiversity loss by 2010, contribute to poverty reduction, and benefit Indigenous peoples and local communities dependent on mountains. However, PoWMB has been dormant over the last decade, even as we see accelerated loss of mountain biodiversity. Together with RMCs and like-minded mountain countries, we will continue the discussion on the planned revision of PoWMB, picking up from the discussions during the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBBSTA 60) at COP 16 resumed session.
As biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, the decisions made at the resumed CBD COP 16 will chart the course for the future of our planet. With mountains’ unique ecosystems at risk, the call for action has never been louder.
By:
Faisal Mueen Qamer, Intervention Manager, Resilient River Basins, ICIMOD
Yumiko Asayama, Chief Manager, Japan Water Forum (JWF)
Climate change severely threatens the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, where declining cryosphere threatens water security for nearly a quarter of the world's population. Cryosphere in the HKH, vital for major Asian river systems, are shrinking rapidly due to global warming. The Global Cooperation Barometer 2025 reveals a troubling stagnation in international cooperation, essential for tackling transboundary issues like water management. Declines in international cooperation along with geopolitical tensions, economic disparities, and uneven capital flows, call for innovative and collaborative solutions to protect regional and global ecological and humanitarian futures.
Historically, emerging challenges have often spurred the creation of innovative institutions or approaches. For instance, the establishment of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) are some examples of efforts in science diplomacy to address global and regional issues. These developments highlight how science diplomacy facilitates new collaborative frameworks, integrating scientific insights to deliver inclusive and effective solutions.
The International Year of Glaciers' Preservation 2025 commenced on 21 January, with a panel discussion as a side event hosted by ICIMOD and the Asia Pacific Water Forum. The panel discussion on ‘Tackling glacial melt and water challenges in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: a science diplomacy approach for regional cooperation,’ focused on science-based collaborative strategies to tackle the urgent challenges of glacial melt in the region. It aimed to highlight the interdependence between the cryosphere, river systems, and regional stability, promoting science diplomacy for effective transboundary water management amidst climate change.
At the panel discussion, experts from major river basin countries and international organisations explored a variety of topics including regional cooperation, sustainable water management, and the role of science diplomacy in addressing the interconnected challenges of the HKH region. Each panellist shared unique insights and here are a few highlights:
In the wrap-up session of the panel, Dr. Shahbaz Khan summarised the discussions and emphasised the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to address the complex issues of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, including glacial melt and water insecurity. He highlighted the importance of integrating scientific research with traditional wisdom and local expertise. He also stressed the need for collaborative frameworks that engage scientists, policymakers, and community members. Here are the key discussions:
The event underlined the necessity for interdisciplinary collaborations and regional cooperation to comprehensively address the challenges the HKH region is facing. The panel reaffirmed the need for a commitment to develop sustainable and inclusive strategies for managing climate impacts and water security, by integrating science, policy, and community insights, setting a foundation for resilience.
Additional reading:
IYGP 2025 side event Panel on Tackling glacial melt and water challenges in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: A science diplomacy approach for regional cooperation
Humans and nature are inextricably interlinked. Although modern life in urban centres might seem to distance many of us from the natural world, this planet and the environmental conditions it provides are essential to humanity’s continued survival. This interconnectedness is the focus of a report published in December 2024 by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent intergovernmental body that strengthens the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services.
The report, entitled the ‘Assessment Report on the Interlinkages Among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health’ is the result of an ambitious, three-year scientific assessment by 165 leading international experts from 57 countries. Known as the ‘Nexus Report,’ the paper provides evidence from multiple knowledge systems to assess trends in the interconnections between biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate. These are known as the five ‘nexus elements’ – which reflect the interrelationships, synergies and trade-offs between them.
The report explores more than 60 specific response options to simultaneously address the interconnected challenges confronting the nexus elements, with a particular emphasis on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people.
ICIMOD’s Sunita Chaudhary, Biodiversity Lead, and Abid Hussain, Economies Lead, are lead authors of the Nexus Report’s Chapter 2, which focuses on ‘Status and trends of interlinkages between the nexus elements.’ It evaluates diverse governance and management strategies designed to address challenges, leverage opportunities, foster synergies and minimise trade-offs between the nexus elements.
ICIMOD hosted the final IPBES authors’ meeting in February 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal, where more than 130 experts from around 50 countries came together to finalise the third order draft report and develop the ‘Summary for Policymakers’ document.
Current actions fail to tackle the complexity and interconnected problems of the nexus elements, which results in inconsistent governance; this is because most systems are made up of separate departments, with staff often working in ‘silos’. To address this, the report recommends the adoption of a ‘nexus approach’ which recognises that, as the nexus elements and challenges are interconnected, sustainable and interlinked solutions must be implemented simultaneously. The approach advocates a sustainable use of resources by focusing on the synergies across sectors, improves efficiency in the way resources are used, and increases the access of resources to all, including the poor and disadvantaged groups, while minimising loss across the sectors.
In Chapter 2, Sunita and Abid led the analysis of the nexus elements at the global scale, with further region-specific insight of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), one of the representative ecosystems in the assessment. Sunita also contributed to the Indigenous Peoples (IP) group in the IPBES study, sharing IP-specific information into the assessment.
Sometimes known as ‘the water tower of Asia’ due to its abundant water resources supporting 10 major river basins, the HKH is an ‘alpha ecosystem’ where the five nexus elements come into play – providing water, food, and energy to the resource-based economies of 270 million people in the region and to nearly 2.1 billion people living in its upstream and downstream areas. In the mountains of the HKH, the effects of climate change are having a significant impact on the lives, livelihoods and culture of all communities depending on the region’s natural resources. The vulnerability of the HKH to climate change, especially glacier loss and its cascading impacts on biodiversity, show the intertwined challenges of water and food security in the region – which is covered by the report. The opportunity to lead the development of Chapter 2 provided ICIMOD a platform to highlight key issues from the HKH and include data, insights, analysis and lessons learned from the region, focusing on the role, importance, and impacts of climate change on mountains.
Here we share eight critical steps on how the HKH could deliver action points based on the report’s recommendations. Focused particularly at the intersection of science and policy, they look at how policy and programme interventions should be attuned to address the complex and interconnected challenges of the nexus elements within the HKH context.
As the region’s main knowledge centre on mountain ecosystems in the HKH, ICIMOD supports regional country members as they tackle the interconnected challenges on biodiversity, food, health, water, and climate.
ICIMOD aims to integrate report recommendations at appropriate scales across different nexus elements, while focusing on transboundary issues and concerns. As a facilitating and convening regional body, ICIMOD’s integration of nexus thinking will help to expand focus on biodiversity as the foundation to achieve water and food security, healthy communities, and contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The centre plans to facilitate the scaling-up of existing community-based programmes to regional scales and strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration within and beyond the HKH region.
Designing, planning, and implementing a holistic nexus approach in tackling interconnected challenges requires a balanced approach – across the nexus elements, and in policy interests, development priorities, and governance structures of the countries in the HKH region. This will require a paradigm shift and a meticulous and determined approach to achieve sustainability and resilience of all ecosystems within the HKH region.
Read the IPBES Nexus Report media release here.
Access the Summary for Policy Makers based on the IPBES Nexus Report here.
The Lal Bakaiya River, which flows through Bara and Rautahat districts in Madhesh province, in the southern lowlands of Nepal, poses a significant threat of flooding to over 260,000 residents living downstream. To understand this risk better, in 2023, ICIMOD conducted a study that included detailed analysis of flood risk and water scarcity, flood modelling, and consultations with residents. The study identified a critical need for a Community-Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS) for the vulnerable communities living in the municipalities in the watershed.
ICIMOD worked with a local partner, Mandwi, to conduct a detailed scoping review and risk assessment of at-risk municipalities of Rautahat district. These municipalities were Gaur, Ishnath, Rajpur, Paroha, Dewahi Gonahi, Baudhimai, Gujara, Fatuwa Bijayapur, Maulapur, Kathariya, Rajdevi, Madhavnarayan, and Yamunamai. The team assessed the need to install monitoring instruments that are part of the CBFEWS, as well as the need to provide training on disaster response at the community level.
The CBFEWS system integrates technical and social tools to provide real-time early warning to at-risk communities. Its value lies in its ability to provide a lead time to downstream communities to respond to impending floods. This requires strong cooperation between people that live along the flood-prone river. As many of Nepal’s rivers are transboundary, the CBFEWS system has also been installed through cross-border collaboration between India and Nepal, as happened in 2017.
What makes the CBFEWS approach unique is that it encompasses the four pillars of the UN’s ‘Early Warnings for All’ initiative, which include:
Importantly, the CBFEWS approach also includes an additional pillar – sustainability, which covers the financial, institutional, technological and social aspects of the CBFEWS.
ICIMOD held a workshop on 30 May 2024 to develop a mechanism for ensuring the sustainability of the CBFEWS installed at the Lal Bakaiya river. The event was held in Guar, which lies on the border of Nepal and India, and was attended by mayors and chief administrative officers of each of the municipalities. The workshop was a culmination of a long series of discussions that aimed to strengthen the community’s role in the maintenance and operation of the CBFEWS.
In the company of the Chief District Officer, Hiralal Regmi, all representatives from the 13 municipalities signed a cooperative agreement for the creation of a dedicated basket fund, where each municipality pledges to contribute approximately USD 750. The fund is to be used for the continued operation and maintenance of the system with the support of local stakeholders, including a caretaker, local municipalities and the local partner.
A similar agreement was signed in 2019 in Saptari district, where municipalities agreed to create a combined fund of USD 970 to support the functioning of a CBFEWS.
The CBFEWS agreement in Lal Bakaiya aims to strengthen cooperation among upstream and downstream municipalities within the flood-prone regions of the Lower Koshi River Basin in Nepal. The transboundary Koshi river is prone to water-induced hazards such as floods.
The agreement marks a crucial step towards ensuring the long-term sustainability of the CBFEWS. This collaborative effort will empower communities to build resilience against floods. As Hiralal Regmi, Chief District Officer of Rautahat, said, “I urge all municipalities to extend their support in institutionalising this initiative. Our district is highly vulnerable to the impacts of floods, and collaborative efforts like this are crucial for enhancing preparedness and response.”
This work is supported by the Building capabilities for green, climate resilient, and inclusive development in the Lower Koshi River Basin (HI-GRID) initiative. HI-GRID is supported by the Australian Government and implemented by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), local government organisations and project partners to enhance resilience towards the challenge of Too Much and Too Little water in the Lower Koshi River Basin in Nepal.
As World Wetlands Day approached – held every year on 2 February – we found ourselves reflecting on wetlands we had visited, studied, and cherished. As landscape researchers and practitioners, we have to hand some figures about wetlands in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, but numbers do not tell the complete story.
Wetlands are also spaces of myth and magic. They feature in creation stories and legends, and are revered for their role in sustaining lives and livelihoods. From sacred lakes to floating islands, from a wish-fulfilling lake to life-giving floodplains, wetlands are invaluable intangible cultural heritage. We feel that highlighting the ecological and cultural values of wetlands is truly needed in these rapidly changing times.
In the western Himalaya, the Kailash sacred landscape spans parts of China, India, and Nepal. Towering over this transboundary landscape is Mount Kailash, the mythical abode of Lord Shiva, revered as the ‘God of Gods’ in Hinduism. At its feet lies Mansarovar, a high-altitude lake believed to cleanse sins and ensure a place in heaven for those who bathe in its waters. Guarding Mount Kailash are the twin lakes of Rakshastal and Yakshastal – mystical lakes with deep mythological roots.
In the eastern Himalaya, the Khecheopalri Lake in Sikkim is revered as a wish-fulfilling lake. Radiocarbon dating suggests the lake is over 3,500 years old, and the locals believe it to be holy. Legend has it that not a single leaf is allowed to rest on its surface – whenever a leaf falls, birds swiftly pick it up. The local communities strictly refrain from exploiting the lake’s resources, believing that it could bring misfortune, or anger the guardian goddess. Religious festivals and community rituals strengthen the spiritual connection to the lake, ensuring its protection through social sanction.
Nepal has several hot springs. The most popular ones are ‘Tatopani’ along the Kodari highway, near the Nepal-China border, others in Jomsom, Mustang District and Ghorepani, Myagdi District in western Nepal. Local communities cherish these wetlands, not just for their healing properties and warmth, but also for their deep cultural and spiritual significance. Many believe that soaking in hot springs cleanses both body and mind.
In the eastern Himalaya, as the mighty Brahmaputra meanders and braids, it nourishes a vast network of floodplain wetlands – beels, jheels, and pats (wetlands in Assamese, Hindi, and Meitei, respectively) – that are lifelines for fishing-dependent communities. Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site near Guwahati, northeastern India hosts tens of thousands of migratory waterfowl each year. Loktak Lake in Manipur, northeastern India, another Ramsar site, is famous for its floating islands, which are masses of vegetation. The Meitei (ethnic group native to Manipur) fishermen live on these floating islands, and their livelihoods are intricately linked to the wetland. The lake hosts over 30 migratory bird species, including the ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) and the critically endangered Baer's pochard (Aythya baeri). It is also the last stronghold of the Manipur brow-antlered deer (Rucervus eldii) – considered the world’s most endangered cervid, (of the deer family).
To the north of the Himalayas, the Ruoergai (Zoige) peatlands in the Tibetan plateau, whose soils consist of organic matter from decaying plants, hold a staggering 750 megatonnes of carbon – 7.5 times the annual emissions from China’s transport sector. Despite appearing vast and untouched, these peatlands are increasingly degrading. Their immense carbon storage capacity makes them critical for climate mitigation, yet their degradation could release massive amounts of stored carbon, accelerating global heating.
Beyond their ecological importance, wetlands have long been central to religious ceremonies and traditions. In India, as of 31 January, over 296.4 million pilgrims have already visited the ongoing Kumbh Mela at the sacred Triveni Sangam, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers meet. It is the largest human gathering in the world. The faithful believe that taking a dip at this confluence purifies the soul and washes away sins, much like wetlands filter impurities and maintain ecological balance.
Similarly, the Gangtey-Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan is a Ramsar site renowned for its deep spiritual connection to the endangered, black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis). Every year, the Gangtey Monastery hosts the Black-Necked Crane Festival, where locals celebrate these majestic birds through dance, music, and folklore. The cranes are revered as spiritual messengers, and their arrival is considered auspicious. Such cultural ties play a crucial role in wetland conservation, as local communities take pride in safeguarding these sacred ecosystems.
The intricate link between nature and spirituality underscores the urgency of wetland conservation. Wetlands are not just ecological entities; they are living cultural landscapes, sustaining both biodiversity and heritage. Conservation efforts must integrate local beliefs and traditions, ensuring that wetlands remain protected not just through policies, but through the reverence of those who have lived alongside them for centuries.
At the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), our work focuses on supporting the management of Ramsar sites across the HKH region. We provided technical guidance for the Gangtey-Phobji Ramsar site’s management plan in Bhutan, which was approved by the government and launched in November 2024 during the Black-Necked Crane Festival. Implementation has begun, reinforcing the community’s role in wetland protection.
We are also mapping high-altitude peatlands to assess their carbon stocks and understand their responses to global climate change. Such initiatives align with international goals, including the Ramsar Convention, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the Paris Agreement.
Wetlands are more than just ecosystems; they are sacred and life-sustaining landscapes. Their degradation results in both ecological loss and cultural erosion. Protecting them requires a holistic approach – one that values their scientific importance while embracing the myths and magic that have kept them revered over generations.
As we celebrate World Wetlands Day, let us remember that protecting wetlands is not just about conserving nature, but preserving age-old traditions and beliefs that tie us to nature. It is only by honouring the science together with the myths and magic of wetlands that we can truly revere, understand and safeguard them.
| Wetlands cover anywhere between 70,000–80,000 km² to 340,000 km², approximately 10% of the total HKH area. Wetlands store an estimated 20–30% of the global carbon pool, making them indispensable for climate regulation. Of the 440 Ramsar sites – wetlands of international importance – in Asia, 208 are in the HKH countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Among them, 44 Ramsar sites lie within the HKH, including 21 high-altitude wetlands located above 3,000 metres. Bhutan and Nepal alone have over 5,000 high-altitude lakes, serving as vital habitats for migratory birds, including the globally threatened wood snipe (Gallinago nemoricola). More than 150 plant species have been recorded in the Phoksundo lake in northwestern Nepal. |
What happens to the human body when it’s exposed to relentless heat? According to India’s Meteorological Department, heatwaves occur in India when temperatures reach 40°C in the plains, 37°C in coastal areas, and 30°C in hilly regions. During such conditions, the body struggles to cool itself, leading to heat stress, dehydration, and, in severe cases, organ failure and even death. These extreme conditions, often lasting three or more days, can wreak havoc on health and livelihoods, particularly for those in vulnerable professions.
In his 2024 SANDEE Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture, Professor Eswaran Somanathan, renowned environmental economist and professor at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, explored the far-reaching economic impacts of extreme heat, focusing on informal-sector workers in India. His findings reveal a stark reality: rising temperatures are eroding productivity, reducing earnings, and deepening inequality in low-income, high-temperature regions.
On 13 December 2024, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) hosted the Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture as part of the 48th SANDEE Research and Training Workshop.
Moderated by Soumya Balasubramanya, Senior Economist at the World Bank and SANDEE advisory committee member, the hybrid event drew participants from across South Asia and beyond.
Professor Somanathan provided a ‘helicopter view’ of existing literature on heat and its impacts on incomes and the economy. Drawing from macro and micro studies, he highlighted consistent evidence of sharp productivity declines with rising temperatures – effects that are disproportionately felt in low-income areas with hotter climates (generally above 30°C).
While global studies suggest that GDP growth drops by 1.7–2.5% per degree Celsius rise in temperature, the impacts are far more severe in poorer states or districts within India, where declines can reach up to 4.7%. These findings echo the reality of deepening inequality in the face of climate change, as the poor are the least equipped to adapt to extreme heat.
The highlight of the lecture was Professor Somanathan’s recent study with his collaborator on informal-sector workers in Delhi during the summer of 2019. Over 80% of India’s labour force works in the informal sector, which lacks protections like climate-controlled workplaces, social insurance, or formal labour rights. This study captured daily records of both labour supply and productivity effects across two slum communities in Delhi.
The findings were alarming:
These effects were not simply limited to productivity loss; many workers could not go to work at all due to extreme heat, worsening income losses. The study underscored that over 320 million informal-sector workers globally face similar conditions for at least a month every year.
Professor Somanathan emphasised the need for urgent policy interventions to protect vulnerable workers. Recommendations included:
While adaptation remains vital, he stressed that mitigation, reducing global carbon emissions, is the most critical solution to address the root cause of rising temperatures.
The lecture was followed by a robust discussion, with participants raising critical questions on gender impacts, urban planning, and the role of social protections. Professor Somanathan noted that further research is needed on gender differences, particularly on women’s mobility and labour challenges during extreme heat.
In his closing remarks, Director General of ICIMOD, Dr Pema Gyamtsho, reflected on the importance of integrating economic analysis into climate action, particularly in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. He pointed to opportunities for future research on how warming temperatures might affect mountain economies, such as tourism and agriculture, while acknowledging the vulnerability of Himalayan communities to heat stress.
As a participant in the lecture, Tanu Gupta from the Indian Statistical Institute later reflected on the event, remarking:
“The lecture was thought provoking and addressed the critical issue of heat stress, which affects a large portion of the population in India. In Delhi, for instance, we see people falling sick or even losing their lives due to extreme temperatures. As someone researching air pollution and its impact on labour supply, I found the discussion on heat stress and its effects on labour market outcomes, particularly for informal workers, highly relevant and inspiring for my work.”
The SANDEE Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture honoured a pioneer of environmental economics and brought urgent attention to a growing climate crisis. With heat impacts threatening the livelihoods of millions, particularly in the informal sector, Professor Somanathan’s research serves as a wake-up call for policymakers to prioritise equitable and evidence-based climate adaptation strategies.
As ICIMOD and SANDEE continue to build research capacity across South Asia, this lecture reaffirms the power of regional collaboration and research in shaping solutions for a sustainable future.
South Asia has the highest population-weighted pollution concentration in the world (HEI-Report, 2020), and the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and Himalayan Foothills (HF) of South Asia is the region’s pollution hotspot.
The impacts of these emissions are manifold.
The health impacts of toxic air are so stark that they alone provide the imperative for action.
Globally, every year, over eight million people die as a result of diseases caused by breathing polluted air (including respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses IHME, 2024), making it the leading environmental threat to human health (World Bank, 2020).
In South Asia, air pollution is currently the second-leading risk factor for adverse health outcomes and the third-leading risk factor for premature deaths. It accounts for 11% of premature deaths and results in 40 million disability-adjusted life years, with the majority of the disease burden attributed to particulate matter (PM) (S. A Jabbar et al, 2022).
It’s also been proven to cause cognitive impairments, including in children’s brain development and educational attainment. This means that breathing pollution of the severity we routinely see in this region when young can cause changes to cognition and examination achievements that ricochet down a child’s entire life course.
Pollution in South Asia also disrupts everyday life and livelihoods. It causes schools and public spaces to close, the grounding of vehicular and air transport, and construction work to stop. The hit to the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is also significant.
Less well-publicised perhaps, in this region at least, is the link between air pollution and temperature rise.
It has just been confirmed that 2024 was the first time that temperatures worldwide passed 1.5ºC above preindustrial times.
We know the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is warming at double the global average, with frightening implications for regional water, food, and energy security due to the losses such warming causes to the region’s vitally important frozen water stores.
Air pollution accelerates these losses in two ways.
First, a significant percentage of air pollution in this region is composed of greenhouse gases (GHGs). These regional pollutants – carbon dioxide (CO2), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), black carbon (BC), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH4) – contribute to long-term warming, accelerating cryosphere losses and intensifying extreme precipitation and other weather events, including heatwaves, and droughts.
Secondly, regional pollutants add to the already-accelerating melting of glaciers in the short term too, with sooty deposits, called ‘black carbon’, from combustion being carried long distances and settling on top of glaciers. These deposits darken snow and ice – transforming white surfaces so the cryosphere absorbs, instead of reflects, heat from the sun’s rays.
It has also been proven, in a cruel irony, that air pollution can actually impede the transition away from fossil fuels – limiting the effectiveness of solar panels by blocking sunlight and dirtying solar panels that should be able to power the urgent shift away from planet-warming combustion.
While a variety of combustion sources contribute to South Asia’s now world-renowned toxic air, smoke from burning agricultural residues is one of the biggest sources, particularly during the pre-monsoon (March, April, May) and post-monsoon (October, November) seasons. With everything we now know about the impacts of continued incineration, taking action to curtail this practice should now be a top priority for policymakers, environmentalists, stakeholders, and agricultural bodies. So, how did the burning of agricultural residues become so prevalent, and what can we do to reduce it?
The IGP-HF comprises 13.5 million hectares, which span Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
The rich water resources of the Indus and the Ganges rivers make these regions among some of the most intensely farmed areas on the Sub-continent, and the four largest contributors to emissions from agricultural waste, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, are hugely dependent on farming. The farming sector contributes 24% to Pakistan’s GDP, is the largest source of livelihood in India, and engages 66% of the population in Nepal and nearly half of the population in Bangladesh.
Until the middle of the 20th century, in this region, farmers used agricultural residues as animal feed, fodder, fuel, roof thatch, and mulch for packaging and composting or fertiliser for the soil, with just a small amount burnt in fields.
Burning agricultural residues on the scale now seen is an unintended byproduct of the 1960s Green Revolution, which saw the introduction of faster-cropping cereal varieties and mechanised farm tools.
These new crops and technologies, while boosting productivity and yields, resulted in shorter cropping windows and faster harvesting cycles, meaning that the burning of agricultural residues became an expedient way to clear the ground after harvests, especially in October and November, to make way for a second planting.
A number of sources continue to label the burning of agricultural residues as ‘agricultural waste burning’, though even this nomenclature contributes to continuation of the harmful practice. As noted by the World Bank (Cassou, 2018), “Burning, for example, can be held in place by the notion that crop residues are a form of waste, rather than a resource, and the customary belief that burning is the least costly way of removing a cumbersome waste stream. The idea that crop residues are a waste stream can also minimise the feeling of loss associated with burning.”
As well as the opportunity to fit two or more crops into one calendar year, the practice also continues to be fuelled by:
Burning agricultural residues can feel like a quick fix. However, such combustion unleashes a combination of substances – including planet-heating GHGs, suspended particles (aerosols), most of which are known or suspected carcinogens, and toxic compounds and heavy metals that deplete the ozone layer and can form secondary GHGs (Mehta & Badegaonkar, 2023; Lin et al., 2022; Bhuvaneshwari et al., 2019).
In the wider South Asian context – which also covers Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka in addition to the countries of the IGP-HF – the gas pollutants produced through burning are:
The region’s emissions from crop residue burning also release PM – suspended particles, also known as aerosols, that are particularly linked to adverse health effects. In South Asia, the burning of agricultural residues releases:
Bangladesh: Agricultural residue burning is responsible for 39% of Bangladesh’s total emissions (WRI CAIT, Mehta & Badegaonkar, 2023). Open burning of rice straw is not currently widely practised in Bangladesh, as crops continue to be mostly harvested manually, with residual straw tending to be ploughed back into the ground. Recently, however, with the rise in the use of combine harvesters and reapers, more farmers are burning residues. Farmers in Bangladesh choose to burn long types of straw, such as the residue of Aman rice, in the low-lying areas of the country. In 2020–21, 73.36 million tonnes of agricultural residue were produced, out of which 0.22 million tonnes were burnt.
Figure 1: Open burning of agricultural residues is still a major challenge throughout the IGP-HF despite strict regulations and grave concerns about air pollution. Photos: Chimi Seldon/Anil Maharjan, ICIMOD
India: India is the second-largest crop producer in the world (FAO), producing around 500 million metric tonnes (MT) of agricultural residues annually, of which 100 MT are burnt. According to the Economy Survey of India, 2020, the total amount of agricultural residue generation in India rose from 80 MT in 1950–1951 to 520 MT in 2017–2018 (Lan et al., 2022). Since the early 2000s, there has been a rise in the burning of agricultural residues, which has led to PM2.5 levels that are 15–45 times higher than the safety standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Between 2003 and 2019, burning agricultural residues caused 44,000 to 98,000 premature deaths annually owing to PM exposure in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh (Lan et al., 2022). Recent data shows that the Air Quality Index (AQI) over Delhi ranges between unhealthy and hazardous levels, which severely impacts people’s health, transportation, well-being livelihoods, etc.
Nepal: 52% of Nepal’s total GHG emissions in 2013 came from agriculture (both burning of agricultural residues and enteric fermentation from livestock Mehta & Badegaonkar, 2023). Burning of agricultural residues continues to rise in Nepal, increasing from 2,280 gigagrams (Gg) in 2003–04 to 2,908 Gg in 2016–17, which represents a 25% rise. Over 90% of residue burning in Nepal takes place in the Terai region, the southern part of the country and its main rice-growing area. According to Das et al (2023), as with Bangladesh, one reason for the rise in agricultural stubble burning is the adoption of modern agricultural equipment like combine harvesters.
Pakistan: 20% of Pakistan’s emissions come from the agriculture sector. Between 2000 and 2014, the aggregate amount of crop residues from four crops (rice, wheat, sugarcane, and maize) was 757,000 Gg, of which, approximately 228,000 Gg was incinerated in the field (Azhar et al., 2019;Raza, M. H., 2022). Air pollution causes more than 22,000 premature adult deaths (Iqbal, M.P., 2024) in the country each year. In the last two weeks of October 2024 , the country has withstood acute air quality spikes, with AQI in Lahore hitting unhealthy to hazardous level. On November 15, Lahore recorded AQI of nearly 1,600 making it the most polluted city in the world. Government measures to avoid hospitalisations include shutting schools, airports, and highways, with a significant impact on GDP.
South Asia consists of approximately 57 percent of arable or agricultural land, and around 60 percent of the population is involved in farming (FAO).
Burning rice stubble continues to be a common practice for millions of farmers in the region, especially across the IGP-HF.
Given the large population sizes involved, transforming emissions from the burning of agricultural residues in the IGP-HF region will require a huge collective effort.
A wide array of stakeholders – from researchers, policymakers, businesses, and beyond – are already working hard to advance this work: from prototyping, scaling, incentivising, and marketing solutions to creating the right regulatory environment to support change and generating the evidence base to inform decision-making.
This work could not be more urgent, and with burning of agricultural residues such a significant contributor to total emissions in the region, tackling the practice is a key route for countries to meet their commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement and other agreements, as well as meet citizens’ expectations for improved living and health standards.
A footnote on our analysis of agriculture residue burning
We used the information from the CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) to make an estimate of the number of pollutants that were released into the atmosphere by fires over the IGP-HF during the month of October 2024. This was done so that we could better comprehend the effects of burning. The fire radiative power (FRP), the dry matter burned, and emissions from biomass burning are all components of the GFAS data output for a wide variety of chemical, GHGs, and aerosol species that are available at a horizontal resolution of 0.1 degrees beginning in 2003 and continuing onward. With the help of the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) version 8.1 datasets, we determined the emissions from burning of agricultural residues of CH4, NH3, NOx, PM2.5, and NMVOC for 2022 for the countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. All countries except Bangladesh show the highest emissions of PM2.5 followed by NMVOC, but in Bangladesh, NMVOC emission is more than PM2.5.
Table 1: Edgar v8.1 Emissions of pollutants from burning of agricultural residues in 2022
| Country | CH4 (kt) | NH3 (kt) | NOx (kt) | PM2.5 (kt) | NMVOC (kt) |
| India | 390 | 324 | 371 | 792 | 782 |
| Pakistan | 65 | 53 | 62 | 132 | 75 |
| Bangladesh | 20 | 18 | 18 | 41 | 46 |
| Nepal | 7 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 13 |
Furthermore, we made use of the real-time fire detection data and information that was provided by the Geo-KOMPSAT-2A (GK2A), which is a geostationary (GEO) satellite managed by South Korea. This satellite is capable of providing high-resolution pictures with a variety of spectral bands, such as visible, near infrared, and thermal infrared. These bands are helpful for monitoring atmospheric phenomena, land surfaces, and fires. The Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) instrument onboard GK2A provides continuous observation of fire events in real-time and detection of fire hotspots at intervals of 10 minutes during the daytime. In addition, it provides a combined product that can recognise smoke, cloud cover, and flames that are medium to large in size. On the other hand, its spatial resolution, which is less than 4km across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), makes it difficult for it to identify smaller fires in the area.
In comparison, we also take into account the satellites that are in low earth orbit (LEO), which are known as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). These satellites are responsible for providing global fire detection products. MODIS, which is carried by NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, and VIIRS, which is carried by the Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 satellites, both collect data in spectral ranges that are comparable to one another. These ranges include thermal infrared bands, which are sensitive to the heat that is released by fires. To detect small-scale fires that GK2A is unable to detect, MODIS and VIIRS combined data products that have a spatial resolution of 1 km and 375 metres are used, respectively.
Figure 2.1 illustrates the spread of fires that occurred throughout the IGP-HF region from 1–25 October 2024. This particular time was selected since a large-scale emission from fires and burning was taking place in various regions at the time. For instance, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute reported that the state of Madhya Pradesh, in central India, had the largest number of stubble-burning cases, totalling 536, between the dates 19–25 October 2024. Punjab had 410 cases, and Haryana had 192 cases.
Figure 2.2 presents the RGB (red, green, and blue) true-colour imagery captured by GK2A-AMI, which depicts haze and smoke over the IGP-HF – features that are strongly associated with ongoing fires. This imagery offers a clear visualisation of the atmospheric effects caused by fire activity, illustrating how toxic gases/pollutants from fires contribute to reduced air quality and visibility over the affected areas.
Figure 3 demonstrates that regions that are classified as fire hotspots are responsible for emissions and contribute to an increase in the background concentration of pollutants. Within the scope of this analysis, we focus on the emissions of NH3, CH4, BC, and PM2.5 that are produced by fires. However, there are additional pollutants that are released during fires that influence the air, ecology, and health.
This impact analysis was conducted using the GK2A-AMI and MODIS/VIIRS satellite data accessed through SERVIR-HKH. Additionally, data was used from the freely accessible emission inventories, including the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS), and ICIMOD AQ Monitoring System.
The author would like to thank Arun B. Shrestha, Bertrand Bessagnet, and Bhupesh Adhikary for their review and guidance, which helped to do this analysis. The author would also like to thank the ICIMOD communication team, mainly Annie Dare, Gillian Summers, and Chimi Seldon, for editing.
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ICIMOD 伙伴在前线：对 2025 年西藏地震的人道主义响应 - ICIMOD Regional
At 9:05 am on 7 January, a powerful earthquake registering a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale struck Cuoguo Township in Dingri County in the Xizang Autonomous Region of China.
126 people lost their lives. 188 sustained injuries, and thousands of villagers lost their homes.
Rescue operations continue, as emergency responders provide temporary shelters for displaced residents in the quake-stricken regions. With temperatures reaching -17°C, the situation remains urgent. In Cuoguo township, located at the epicentre, and Chamko township, the hardest-hit area, widespread building collapses have forced many residents to flee to open spaces for refuge.
Dingri, which lies on the northern slopes of the Himalayas, borders Nepal to the south, standing at an average elevation of 4,500 metres.
It is home to the northern basecamp of Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,848.86m, and is inhabited by approximately 61,000 people, making it one of the largest border counties in Xizang.
The tremor, with a shallow depth of 10km, was felt far beyond its epicentre: not only across China but also in neighbouring countries including Nepal, Bhutan, northern India, and even parts of Bangladesh.
The state response has been swift and large scale. From the very first moments, rescue teams and essential supplies were dispatched by government authorities at all levels. President of China, Xi Jinping, urged all-out efforts to save lives and to minimise casualties, while Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing led a task force on-site to oversee the rescue operations.
Currently, over 12,000 rescue workers – including firefighters, military personnel, police, and specialised teams – are actively involved in the rescue efforts. In addition, the central government has rapidly sent over 22,000 winter relief items, including tents, clothing, and quilts, specially designed for the region’s cold, high-altitude conditions.
The Red Cross Society of China has also launched its own emergency response, delivering more than 4,600 relief items such as tents, blankets, and warm clothing to the disaster area. Meanwhile, efforts to restore communication have been progressing quickly. By the evening of the day of the earthquake, all communication had been fully restored in the three worst-hit townships near the epicentre.
Moreover, the Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Centre of Xizang has deployed teams to monitor drinking water quality in the affected areas. Several remote-sensing satellites have been deployed to capture images of the earthquake's impact, supporting ongoing rescue efforts from the skies.
All of these actions have taken place within the first 48 hours following the quake.
China Qomolangma Station for Atmospheric and Environmental Observation and Research, located in Zhaxizong township, Dingri County, sits at an elevation of 4,276 metres above sea level (masl). Managed by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ITP, CAS), one of ICIMOD’s key partners in China, the station carries out atmospheric and environmental monitoring of the region and serves as an essential hub for scientific expeditions to the world’s top.
Situated approximately 30km from the Mount Qomolangma Base Camp, 80km from Dingri County, and 650km from Lhasa, the station lies perilously close to the earthquake’s epicentre and was rocked by strong tremors.
According to the team, at 8:12 am local time, a magnitude 4.5 foreshock rattled the ground, but the main shock struck at 9:05 am, measuring 6.8, causing severe shaking that forced the station’s three team members – Xi Zhenhua (operations manager), Haibing Zheng (driver), and Tsangzhu Tsonam (observer)– to evacuate.
Despite the intensity of the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, all staff remained safe, and the team immediately began assessing the damage.
The station was among the first to deliver aid to Dingri, working closely with local authorities to document and distribute critical relief supplies.
Mount Qomolangma itself was not impacted by the earthquake. According to Ma Weiqiang, the station’s director, there were no signs of icefalls, avalanches, or other significant geological changes.
As ICIMOD’s longstanding partner and China’s first specialised institute dedicated to disaster prevention, mitigation, and post-disaster reconstruction, the Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), responded promptly to the recent earthquake.
The day after the disaster, IDMR quickly assembled an expert team equipped with drones and advanced tools to assess the damage at the epicentre, structural losses, and secondary disaster risks, providing critical scientific support to inform government decision-making.
IDMR’s support team employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing and geographic information technologies to monitor and analyse ground deformation caused by the earthquake. This work helped identify high-risk zones and provided vital technical support to the teams working on the ground.
Simultaneously, IDMR faculty members developed a local language earthquake preparedness handbook to help affected communities build awareness of disaster risks and improve their self-rescue capabilities.
Leveraging its academic expertise in disaster prevention and mitigation, IDMR swiftly and effectively mobilised, providing professional support to disaster-stricken areas while reaffirming its steadfast commitment to responsibility and proactive action.
As aftershocks and subsequent earthquakes in the area continued, the immediate priority has been to provide relief to those affected by the earthquake. The disaster has posed significant challenges, particularly in remote, high-altitude areas, necessitating sustained efforts across multiple sectors.
ICIMOD’s long-time partner, particularly the team at Qomolangma Station acted swiftly, supplying relief and supporting local authorities, emphasising the critical role of scientific institutions in disaster response.
This prompts further reflection: how can researchers contribute more in times of crisis? Beyond ensuring their own safety, what more can they do to support recovery and rebuilding?
ICIMOD will continue to support its partners in China, our regional member country, focusing on monitoring, collaborative efforts for long-term recovery, and building resilience for the future.
A special thank you to my ICIMOD colleague, Zhang Qianggong, and Tian Bingwei of Sichuan University for sharing the frontline stories of the Qomolangma Station for Atmospheric and Environmental Observation and Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Sichuan University – Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction(IDMR)
China Focus: Xizang quake kills 126, all-out rescue effort underway
All-out rescue efforts underway following Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake
Braving cold, quake rescuers race against time on world's highest plateau
Xinhua News | China deploys satellites for Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake rescue efforts
Mt. Qomolangma reports no geological disasters after Xizang quake
646 aftershocks detected after Xizang 6.8-magnitude quake
Guest Author: Dr. Sangay
Natural capital is the value of everything that comes from nature; however, the economic contributions it makes are not adequately reflected in any national gross domestic product (GDP), the main economic indicator of most countries. This highlights the need to measure the role of nature, which is an essential part of not only economies, but also people’s livelihoods and wellbeing.
Many countries measure their economic growth through GDP, which measures the economic value of goods and services produced within a given territory and accounting period. This has been the standard for compiling economic measures based on accounting and economic principles since the adoption of the System of National Accounts (SNA) in the early 1950s. According to the World Bank, global GDP is estimated at $105.44 trillion for 2023, while the International Monetary Fund reports that it is still going to grow by 3.2% in 2025.
The question is, do these numbers reflect the true wealth of the world? Is the GDP standard appropriate to measure economic prosperity? Is GDP truly the single most powerful economic measure?
It begins in England with Sir William Petty creating a framework to measure wartime income and expenditure to sustain the British economy. Further methodological additions were made by Adam Smith and Colin Cark to include foreign trade and national income as indicators. An American economist and Nobel Laureate, Simon Kuznets is eventually credited for creating the modern GDP and SNA framework aiming to capture the economic output of all economic agents (individuals, household, and government) produced within a given territory in a specific period.
However, Kuznets himself had some doubts whether GDP can measure overall prosperity when a good proxy for welfare was still missing. US politician and lawyer, Robert F. Kennedy, said, ‘GDP measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile.’ This points towards the fact that GDP currently only measures market-based transactions and income. Non-market-based activities such as home care, household work, or leisure, which are important to wellbeing, are not considered.
Most recently, economist Sir Partha Dasgupta highlighted the neglected role of natural capital, which has plummeted nearly 40% whilst GDP per capita has doubled from 1992–2014 in economic assessments (Figure 1), which exposes the consequences of valuing short-term gains over long-term planetary health. Traditional economic models fail to include nature in their application as natural capital is taken for granted. GDP can be seen as an example of a faulty measure that does not consider nature as an asset, nor does it consider the adverse impacts of the depreciation of this asset. This needs to be considered to make sure that nature is as much part of the economy and vice-versa.
The relationship between nature and economy has always been one-sided. For the economy to develop, it has mostly relied on nature as a source of raw materials whilst also using it as a sink for waste from economic processes, overlooking nature’s contribution to people (Figure 2). This has exacerbated the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss and efforts made are not sufficient to counter adverse effects. Instead, looking at it as a two-sided relationship will contribute towards a holistic wellbeing that not only benefits the economy but also individuals, society, and the environment.
The idea of NCA is rooted in the concept of ‘Green GDP’ which was conceptualised in the 1980s to include environmental and social costs into the National Accounts Framework.
Two international events flagged the importance of natural capital in economic decision making. The 1987 Brundtland Report (also entitled ‘Our Common Future’) highlighted the need for a new methodology to reflect the value of natural resources and ecosystems and to mainstream it. The 1992 Rio Summit addressed NCA as part of its broader agenda through Agenda 21, which recommended signatory countries to undertake environment and economic accounting for an integrated approach to development.
In 1993, the UN Statistics Division developed a framework to prepare the System of Environment Economic Accounts (SEEA) and published a handbook which allowed environmental data to be integrated with the existing National Accounts Framework. Integrating SEEA with the System of National Accounts (SNA) meant that SEEA used the concepts and principles of SNA which allowed for consistency and comparability. Further revisions were made until 2013, when the UN Statistical Commission officially adopted the SEEA Central Framework (SEEA-CF) as the international standard for environment economic accounting. This was complemented by two documents: SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) and Applications and Extensions aligning with SNA.
The methodology behind SEEA is outlined in three documents: i) Central Framework ii) Experimental Ecosystem Accounting, and iii) Applications and Extension. The main objective of these accounts is to record different kinds of environmental data and link it with the economy.
The SEEA Central Framework mainly focuses on environmental flows, stocks of environmental assets, and economic activities related to the environment. Experimental Ecosystem Accounting, on the other hand, accounts for various types of ecosystems and their services in terms of their extent, condition, flow of services, and monetary assets. Lastly, Applications and Extension highlights how to integrate the data from these accounts with SNA in contributing towards indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Global Biodiversity Targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for policy makers and decision makers (Figure 3).
According to the 2023 Global Assessment of Environmental-Economic Accounting and Supporting Statistics, 90 countries have already implemented SEEA in their statistical compilation and disseminate the accounts on a regular basis. Other countries are still in the process of adopting the SEEA methodology.
The United Kingdom released their natural capital accounts in 2023, following the SEEA-Ecosystem Accounting methodology, which showed their natural capital assets to be worth just over £1.5 trillion with recreation and aesthetic services having the highest contribution (~29%). Just for comparison, the current UK GDP stands at around £3 trillion, which means the value of natural assets is half of its GDP, underscoring the substantial importance of environmental accounting.
The European Union’s pilot ecosystem accounts have paved the way, contributing towards various SDG indicators as well their own biodiversity targets. For example, ecosystem services contribute around 21% to the total yield in crop production, underscoring the essential role ecosystems play in supporting agricultural productivity and food security. China uses the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP), which follows the SEEA framework. In Qinghai Province in 2000 and 2015, the GEP higher was than its GDP, showcasing that investing in large-scale restoration activities provides multiple benefits. India has also been releasing environmental accounts since 1997 whilst also publishing their ecosystem accounts consistently since 2018, each having a different theme and objective, with a specialised biodiversity thematic account.
Bhutan began its NCA journey by assessing its readiness in terms of the legal, science, policy, and capacity requirements for NCA. Below are key factors that enable Bhutan to innovate their national economic accounting system:
Bhutan’s approach to growth consists of attempts to harmonise economic prosperity with enhanced wellbeing. As a country that prioritises Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than GDP, Bhutan emphasises the importance of environmental conservation, cultural preservation, good governance, sustainable socio-economic development and each citizen’s overall wellbeing. This holistic development philosophy places the wellbeing of its citizens and the health of the environment at the forefront of national priorities. NCA complements this approach by putting nature at the heart of economic decision making, ensuring that its values are fully recognised and integrated.
Bhutan has a strong mandate towards environmental conservation which provides a good foundation for NCA. In 2008, the GNH index was instituted in the Constitution as one of the government’s goals, ensuring its commitment towards a holistic view of development. With one of the pillars being environmental conservation, Bhutan’s 13th Five Year Plan has also emphasised the development of an NCA system that provides guidance to integrate environmental stability to economic decision making. This is also supported by Milestone 13 of Bhutan for Life’s mandate which states that natural capital valuation of key ecosystem services should be incorporated in the country’s national Five-Year Plans and the management plans of PAs. These strong policy mandates and commitments demonstrate that Bhutan has established a solid foundation and is well-prepared to implement NCA initiatives.
Bhutan has always had a strong conservation ethos in terms of environmental stewardship that is deeply engrained in its culture and policies, leading to pro-active measures for preserving its natural resources. Two statistics that highlight this are the total forest cover of the country and the Protected Area Network. The current forest cover stands at an impressive 71%, with a mandate of maintaining at least 60% cover in perpetuity. Meanwhile, the Protected Area Network covers nearly 52% of the country, revealing the country’s commitment to the conservation and sustainable management of its ecosystems. This can be attributed to a strong conservation ethos backed up by sound policies, which is another reason why NCA makes sense for Bhutan.
Bhutan possesses a wealth of natural resources and has been committed to being carbon neutral forever. Despite forests and PAs covering more than half of the country protecting natural resources and supporting a wide range of social and economic benefits, the true potential to support Bhutan’s economy, climate resilience, and social wellbeing is not adequately recognised. Traditional economic measures have failed to capture this hidden figure which can truly be seminal. NCA can be that bridge to help show Bhutan’s unwavering efforts towards conservation and management by providing a comprehensive framework for valuing and integrating natural assets into national economic planning.
Dr. Sangay is a Principal Forestry Officer at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Forestry Research and Training, Bhutan.
By: Sunder Subramanian
Springs are places where life is highly concentrated. The species occurring at or around springs include taxa or groups of organisms from uplands, riparian areas (adjacent to rivers), wetlands, and aquatic areas. Springs-dependent species (SDS) are organisms that require spring habitats for at least one life stage. Some SDSs exist only in spring sources and outflows, while others – dragonflies, aquatic true bugs, tiger and diving beetles, some species of flies, amphibians, fish, and other vertebrates – require spring habitats for spawning and/or larval rearing.
Wildlife adapted to drylands have developed specific strategies to minimise water loss and optimise water recycling through anatomical, physiological, and behavioural adaptations [1, 2]. Although some ungulates (hooved mammals) and herbivores can extract enough water from their food [3], most species need to drink regularly, and the availability of water strongly influences their daily, seasonal, or annual movements [4, 5].
Since standing water from precipitation is typically absent in dry environments, large herbivores have to regularly access waterpoints, such as springs, that serve as vital oases in arid regions. Waterpoints tend to be scarce and constitute distinct spaces that stand out from the surroundings. As such, they are places where herbivores become particularly vulnerable to competition, disturbance, and predation [6]. Many predator species in the mountains, including snow leopards and Eurasian lynx, also use waterpoints or springs to drink [7, 8].
Springs support not only the endemic species but also migratory ones and provide water for thousands of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Hence, understanding the factors affecting water use in space and time is a precondition for understanding movement strategies and habitat use of wildlife in arid ecosystems. Yet, in spite of the critical nature of water in arid climates, many springs remain unmapped. Without this basic information, conservation organisations and managers cannot protect these ecosystems or the species that rely on them.
It is highly likely that some springs serve as refuges for many species in isolated habitats where they can survive despite climate change-induced drying [9]. Understanding whether springs will provide hydrologic refuges from future climate change is important to biodiversity conservation but is complicated by precipitation and water flow variability among springs, data limitations, and multiple non-climate threats to groundwater-dependent ecosystems.
Clues about wildlife dependence on springs and the capacity of springs to act as refuges for isolated wildlife can be assembled from various approaches, including camera trapping, anecdotal information from local communities or pastoralists, monitoring signs of biological activity in and around springs, and remote sensing. Integrated evidence combining expert knowledge, prior experience, and research findings can be used to predict which springs may become future refuges for species of concern, strengthening the long-term effectiveness of their conservation and restoration, and informing climate adaptation for terrestrial and freshwater species.
It is becoming increasingly important to understand dynamics of competition in the use of spring water, existing or potential conflicts, and threats from conjunctive use, i.e. the coordinated use of surface water and groundwater from springs for agriculture, industry, and domestic use, livestock, and wildlife. For example, grazing is typically constrained to pastures close to water, thereby often reducing water and pasture accessible to wildlife [6]. Shared use of springs harbours the risk of disease transmission between livestock and wildlife. Further, the diversion of water for irrigation results in habitat conversion and, when associated with fencing, tends to block wildlife access to water altogether.
Thus, identifying key waterpoints and understanding their temporal and seasonal use by water-dependent wildlife, especially herbivores and other mammals, is an important first step to guide conservation planning, including anti-poaching programmes [10]. This is also relevant for booming sectors such as tourism (and the planning and regulation thereof), especially in many mountain contexts – for example, ensuring that humans remain at a certain distance from waterpoints, especially at night so that wildlife can access waterpoints without being disturbed by unpredictable human activity [11]. As such, key springs should receive some form of protection that, at a minimum, ensures unlimited access by wildlife and limits disturbance to the surrounding habitat.
Sunder Subramanian is an independent development consultant and policy advisor with three decades of highly multi-disciplinary experience including with academia, the private sector, the non-profit sector, development research, and consulting. Sunder’s main domains of work and interests include – mountain development, climate change, environment, natural resources management, biological diversity, landscapes, protected areas and conservation, water, wastewater, and sanitation, among many others.