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The new climate reality of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is visible across three paradigms: thresholds being crossed as climate change accelerates cascading risks; pronounced inequalities in the adaptive and response capacities of communities across the region; and the growing need for data-driven, impact-based decisions that will determine the success of response measures.
When the World Meteorological Organization released its 2025 report, the world had just experienced its 11th warmest year on record. Global surface temperatures were recorded at 1.44°C above pre-industrial levels, indicating that warming thresholds had effectively been breached and would continue shaping the years ahead.
The World Economic Forum’s 2026 report echoed this concern, identifying extreme weather events, biodiversity and ecosystem collapse, and critical Earth system changes as defining risks of the coming decade.
On the occasion of this year’s World Glacier Day, World Water Day, and World Meteorological Day, we are given an opportunity to reflect on what these changes mean for a quarter of humanity. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) in 2026 reflects what these global assessments have long predicted. The region is undergoing rapid changes that will shape how we understand the issues, test and institutionalise solutions, and determine how effectively communities can respond and build back better.
At the core of this challenge lie three parameters: we must continue to monitor cryospheric and river basin changes, including glacier melt, permafrost thaw, and shifting water availability; we must continue to collect data while reflecting the realities of diverse and vulnerable communities; and our governance must remain central to building resilience.
The tipping point begins at the headwaters, in the glaciated regions of our river basins. With over 63,700 glaciers covering nearly 55,782 square kilometres and storing approximately 5,735 cubic kilometres of ice, the HKH holds one of the world’s largest freshwater reserves. This reserve, however, is shrinking rapidly.
ICIMOD’s analyses have consistently highlighted these changes, including through the HI-WISE research initiative, annual snow updates, and technical assessments of upstream disasters such as the Melamchi and Thame floods in Nepal. However, the issue is not confined to a single dimension – it is unfolding across the region, where snow droughts, glacial mass loss, and permafrost degradation are sending clear downstream signals.
These changes require sustained monitoring and robust data collection to fully understand the scale of risks communities face. These risks affect nearly two billion people who depend on the HKH river basins. The headwaters of these systems are critical for irrigation, hydropower, cities, and ecosystems downstream.
Yet the reality remains far from ideal. Only a fraction of glaciers is being monitored, leaving large parts of the Himalaya as blind spots. Without improved monitoring coverage, accelerated changes in water flows and cryospheric risks may go undetected until they manifest as downstream disasters.
These disasters will further deepen existing inequalities – exacerbating poverty, triggering displacement, and disproportionately burdening women and marginalised groups. Changing hazard profiles will amplify these disparities.
ICIMOD’s work across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan shows that meteorological data has been crucial in enabling communities to respond early to hazards. But a critical question remains: what is lost when this data is not translated and tailored to the needs of diverse stakeholders?
Greater granularity can ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable are heard and addressed. It also requires improving how data is generated and shared, while accounting for barriers such as language, access, inclusion, and exposure.
While data informs planning, governance is the other essential pillar for a cohesive response. Experience shows that while top-down mandates exist, local realities are ultimately shaped by community priorities.
Inclusive governance will determine how women and other groups respond and make decisions to safeguard their interests. In Nepal, for example, local planning frameworks mandate equitable representation, yet implementation remains challenging. Working with local line agencies, ICIMOD has sought to simplify and institutionalise gender, equity, and social inclusion within local adaptation planning processes.
Finally, do we have the means to support these efforts? As hazards intensify, adaptation will require innovative climate solutions. Yet the financing gap continues to widen. UNEP’s 2025 Adaptation Gap Report estimates that developing countries will need over USD (United States dollar) 300 billion annually by 2035 to meet adaptation needs.
The HKH of 2026 must therefore confront adaptation as a systems challenge. Data must inform preparedness, inclusion must guide planning, and, critically, the region can no longer afford to address these issues in silos.
As the world prepares to mark World Water Day 2026 under the theme of “Where Water Flows: Equality Grows,” global attention is turning to a critical and often overlooked reality: water security and gender equality are deeply interconnected. This connection is at the heart of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2026. The report, titled Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities, brings together evidence, policy insights, and practical solutions to advance more inclusive water systems.
Released annually by UN-Water, the report not only tracks global trends in freshwater and sanitation but also translates policy commitments into actionable pathways: from problem analysis to evidence-informed programme design and implementation. This year’s focus is clear: achieving water security requires addressing structural gender inequalities embedded within water systems.
And the numbers make that urgency impossible to ignore. In 2024, one in four women globally lacked access to safely managed drinking water, while over 40% lacked safe sanitation. Across 53 countries, women and girls collectively spend an estimated 250 million hours every day collecting water. This represents time taken away from education, paid work, and rest. In seven out of 10 households without water, this responsibility falls on women, often requiring long walks through physically and under socially unsafe conditions. These are not just service delivery gaps, they reflect deeper structural inequalities in how water is accessed, distributed, and governed.
This intersection is particularly critical in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), the “Water Tower of Asia.” This region sustains nearly two billion people, providing freshwater and ecosystem services to 240 million people in the mountains, and about 1.65 billion downstream. Its glaciers, rivers, and springs underpin the region’s agriculture, energy, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
Yet this vital system is under growing stress. Even in a 1.5°C warming scenario, glaciers could lose up to one third of their volume by 2100, and up to two thirds under current emission trends. This will fundamentally alter river flows, increasing flood risks in the short term and leading to water scarcity in the long term: a tipping point often described as “peak water.”
Within this unfolding crisis, women and girls are on the frontlines. As primary managers of household water, they are responsible for securing water for homes, farms, and livestock. Across South Asia, this translates into hours spent collecting water, often under unsafe conditions. In Nepal, women and girls are up to 25 times more likely than men to collect water where access is limited. In urban contexts like Dhaka, long queues, unreliable supply, and poor infrastructure further intensify this burden.
Empowering women in water systems is therefore not only a matter of equity, it is essential for resilience and sustainability.
At its core, water inequality is not just about access, it is about power, participation, and policy. Despite their central role, women remain underrepresented in decision making and water governance. As of 2023, 15% of countries still lacked mechanisms for women’s participation in water-related decision-making. Yet evidence consistently shows that when women are involved - from community systems to formal institutions - outcomes improve, including in productivity, nutrition, and household wellbeing.
Where water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are inadequate, women and girls bear a disproportionate burden. At the same time, their limited representation in governance, financing, and infrastructure development restricts their access to resources and decision-making power. This exclusion has cascading effects, not only on health and livelihoods, but also on food security and broader development outcomes. Structural barriers further deepen this divide. Insecure land tenure and housing rights often limit access to water services, particularly for women. Even where formal ownership exists, control over water resources is not guaranteed, highlighting the persistent gap between access and agency.
Critical investments, such as gender-responsive WASH in schools and health facilities, including menstrual hygiene management, are essential for dignity, health, and education. But beyond infrastructure, the challenge is systemic: water inequality is also a crisis of representation.
Addressing this requires moving beyond incremental inclusion towards gender-transformative approaches—reforms that tackle root causes, strengthen women’s leadership, and enable meaningful participation in decision-making. Progress, however, continues to be constrained by a lack of sex-disaggregated data in the water sector, limiting our ability to measure inequality and design effective responses.
Encouragingly, across the HKH, practical solutions are already demonstrating what inclusive water management can achieve. Spring-shed restoration initiatives are reviving drying water sources by combining science, local knowledge, and a strong gender and social inclusion lens, restoring year-round water access while strengthening climate resilience. At the systems level, tools that integrate gender and social inclusion into water modelling are helping ensure more equitable and climate-responsive water allocation.
Capacity-building efforts in integrated river basin management are equipping professionals with the skills to address water challenges through holistic and inclusive governance. Meanwhile, initiatives like the Women on Ice expedition are reshaping leadership in cryosphere science by empowering early-career women with field experience, technical skills, and regional networks.
Together, these efforts signal a critical shift: from addressing women as beneficiaries to recognising them as leaders in building sustainable water futures.
This shift is not just theoretical; it is already transforming lives. For Khanduom, an asparagus farmer in Bhutan, access to water changed everything. With limited irrigation, her one-acre farm struggled despite efforts to store rainwater. The introduction of solar lift irrigation marked a turning point. Within a year, her income more than doubled. Today, she is earning steadily and building resilience. Her story reflects a simple but powerful truth: when women gain access to water, they gain opportunity. When they gain agency, they drive transformation.
Recognising the need for systemic change, global efforts are increasingly placing gender equality at the centre of water governance. Through its World Water Assessment Programme, UNESCO is advancing tools, capacity building, and partnerships to support gender-responsive water management worldwide.
But the message of WWDR 2026 is clear: removing barriers to women’s access, leadership, and decision-making is not just a matter of justice, it is fundamental to the effectiveness and sustainability of water systems. Because when women are excluded, water systems fall short.
And when inclusion is prioritised, solutions become stronger, more equitable, and more resilient.
The challenge of water management in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) is fundamentally a systems issue, further aggravated by the impacts of climate change. Across the region, rivers face multiple pressures from climate, urban development trajectories, and institutional governance. These changes transcend across administrative boundaries and sectoral mandates, underscoring the need for an integrated basin-scale approach to water management.
Addressing this multifaceted challenge requires an Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM), which provides a holistic framework that carefully considers every element within a basin: from resources to users. However, operationalising such an approach across the region remains challenging, particularly due to limited technical capacity, institutional fragmentation, and uneven access to applied learning opportunities.
To address these challenges, ICIMOD’s annual professional training course on Multiscale IRBM in the HKH has progressively evolved from a predominantly in-person programme into a blended learning model. The programme now integrates online instruction with structured field exposure visits to key river basin management contexts across its regional member countries. The 2025 edition marked a significant milestone, with the formal integration of a massive open online course (MOOC) alongside a regional exposure visit to the Three Gorges Dam and Gezhouba dams in the Yangtze River Basin, China.
A defining strength of the training course has been the diversity of its participants. Over the past six years, it has engaged professionals from ICIMOD’s seven out of eight regional member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan), reflecting the transboundary nature of river basin challenges in the HKH. Participants represented a wide spectrum of institutions, including government ministries, hydrology and meteorological departments, energy authorities, river basin organisations, academic institutions, and civil society organisations.
Since 2019, this annual training has continued to play a crucial role in breaking down traditional sectoral silos within river basin management. By bringing together professionals from diverse disciplines, the program fosters cross-sectoral understanding and collaboration. Participants develop a systems perspective, gaining insights into how upstream cryosphere dynamics influence downstream water availability, and how cryosphere science can inform risk management planning and basin-scale water governance.
Interactive modules, case studies, and scenario-based exercises encourage teams to work jointly on real-world challenges, such as glacier lake outburst floods, springshed management, integrated flood management, drought management, Nature-based Solutions, and many more. This collaborative approach helps participants appreciate the interdependencies between their respective domains, allowing for more coordinated strategies in early warning systems, infrastructure planning, and climate adaptation measures.
The course continues to be highly sought after for the region’s water professionals, with the number of applicants increasing every year. In 2025, nearly 200 participants completed the online course. Selected participants were chosen for the onsite learning component, offering IRBM modules through a MOOC. This ensures professionals across the region can access the fundamental principles of holistic basin management.
Designed for policymakers, practitioners, and early- to mid-career professionals, the MOOC provides a strong foundation in river basin planning by integrating core Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) principles with an IRBM approach emphasising learning the biophysical processes, climate and hazard dynamics, governance and institutional frameworks, and socio-economic dimensions. Delivered through modular online content combining expert lectures, regional case studies, interactive exercises, and peer exchange, the course links science, policy, and practice while highlighting emerging priorities such as water diplomacy, leadership, youth engagement, and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI). The MOOC also serves as a common entry point to ICIMOD’s broader multiscale IRBM capacity development programme.
The onsite learning component of the IRBM course provides participants with the opportunity to translate theoretical concepts into practice by applying multiscale thinking in real river basin settings. Six top-performing attendees from the 200 who completed the online course in 2025 were selected for the field exposure visits to the Yangtze River Basin. Visits to various water infrastructure sites in Chengdu, Chongqing, and Wuhan provided a comprehensive overview of basin-scale planning and management, including watershed and hazard modelling, urban ecological restoration initiatives, and approaches to biodiversity-sensitive hydropower development. This includes a visit to the Three Gorges Dam and the Gezhouba Dam, which offer concrete examples of how large-scale infrastructure is planned and managed within a complex governance, institutional, social and environmental context.
The phased learning components of combining online instruction with field exposure strengthened participants’ ability to translate analytical frameworks into informed, context-specific decision making at the river basin scale, while also being capacitated to adapt and integrate holistic practice within their own country contexts. This reinforces both the scale and depth of IRBM capacity development.
Feedback and tracer assessments are an integral part of the training. Findings from the survey for the 2025 cohort indicate that participants gained significantly greater confidence in applying IRBM concepts within institutional and policy settings. Participants brought real-world governance challenges into discussions, including fragmented mandates, limited availability and accessibility of basin data, and coordination gaps across sectors and administrative scales.
These assessments reveal early uptake of training insights in national planning. Bhutan’s Department of Water is actively considering integration of hydrological planning, climate resilience, and risk reduction strategies into the upcoming river basin management plan.
With over 1,000 views and nearly 500 downloads, ICIMOD’s IRBM resource book is referenced by participants for applying IRBM principles in policy development, planning, and basin-level dialogue. The training is helping bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and actionable strategies.
The figure below showcases past participants’ evaluation of the course in strengthening their ability to initiate dialogue at the basin level and promote integrated approaches in planning, policy development, and project design. The module on youth leadership and GESI perspectives emphasises inclusive governance as essential for climate-resilient and socially equitable river basin management.
Collectively, these outcomes provide strong early uptake and regional signals. Knowledge and skills gained from the training are beginning to influence practical decision making, foster collaborative approaches across sectors, and promote more integrated and resilient river basin governance across the HKH region.
While the outcomes are encouraging, significant work remains before IRBM is fully embedded across the HKH river networks. Sustaining IRBM practice continues to be a challenge due to limited institutional capacity, frequent staff turnover across the region, and limited mandates for water-related governing bodies, all of which affect long-term uptake within agencies. While the MOOC has broadened access, maintaining participant engagement in online formats requires continuous attention to interactive methods, structured pacing, and institutional support mechanisms.
However, the cumulative impact of the programme is becoming evident. Over the past six years, ICIMOD’s IRBM capacity-building initiatives have reached more than 80 professionals through in-depth training. This expanding network of IRBM-informed practitioners provides an important foundation for peer learning, regional dialogue, and longer-term institutional change.
The 2025 blended learning model demonstrates the potential of combining scalable digital learning with targeted field-based experience to strengthen IRBM capacity across diverse institutional and basin contexts. Moving forward, priorities include making IRBM more accessible to youth and early-career professionals, strengthening mentorship and alumni networks, and embedding applied learning within participants’ home institutions.
Sustained efforts will be required to support regional member countries in integrating IRBM into national planning processes, expanding access to modelling tools and data platforms, and facilitating basin-level dialogue where ICIMOD can play a convening and knowledge-sharing role. As climate-driven pressures on water systems intensify across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, blended, inclusive, and practice-oriented capacity development will remain essential for advancing resilient and equitable river basin governance.
Online e-course on springshed management: https://learn.icimod.org
Pastoralism is a perfect example of adaptation to highly variable environments. In the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), mountain transhumance or agropastoralism is not only a way of life and a source of livelihood but also plays an important role in shaping and maintaining landscapes and biodiversity, particularly in high elevation areas. Pastoral mobility (transhumance) is the seasonal, rules-based movement of herders and livestock between grazing areas to balance pasture recovery, water access, and climate risk. Mobility is central to its resilience and sustainability. This traditional practice underpins biodiversity conservation and strengthens water and climate resilience. At present, pastoral mobility faces intensifying pressures ranging from land fragmentation, infrastructure expansion, protected area formation, border restrictions, climate extremes and shifting markets. Yet the importance of pastoral mobility and the challenges it faces remain poorly understood – and often misunderstood.
In this blog, we address five common misconceptions to explain why mobility is not “backward” or “random” but a smart system that deserves better policy and planning support.
To a distant observer, high-altitude rangelands of the HKH appear as vast wilderness, endless expanses of rock, alpine meadows and shrubberies, seemingly abandoned by time, with little to no life. But if we look closer, this illusion shatters. The landscape is not empty; it is as vibrant as any forested landscape, shaped and conserved by some of the most sophisticated and dynamic land use systems on Earth (Figure 1).
It is pastoral communities’ intentional adaptation to mountain topography and seasonality that allows communities to thrive where sedentary agriculture fails. By moving in sync with the pulse of the seasons, pastoralists ensure the survival of both their herds and the fragile ecosystems they call home. As pastoralists move their yaks, sheep, and goats through the mountains, hidden ecosystem interactions play out – snow leopards, bears, wild dogs and wolves trail the herds, maintaining the ancient balance between predator and prey.
The landscape and biological diversity are staggering. In the Tibetan plateau alone, 26 altitudinal belts, 28 spectra of altitudinal belts, 12,000 species of vascular plants, 5,000 species of epiphytes, 210 species of mammals, and 532 species of birds have been recorded. Species and communities are unevenly distributed and, even if we don’t immediately see them, they are present. Genetic and ecological studies report that the Plateau supports over 14 million domestic yak. They are distributed across Tibet, Qinghai, and neighbouring highland pastoral regions, where they are raised for milk, meat, fibre, and draught power.
In most sedentary societies, wealth, usually in the form of land, concentrates in the hands of elites. History shows that pastoralist societies were no different: for example, in Bhutan's high-altitude rangelands, historical inequity was created when wealthy individuals could afford to purchase rangeland rights in the 1960s while actual herders could not, leading to persistent absentee landlordism.
However, current data from Bhutan on pastoralism suggests a remarkably different social architecture among yak herders. Statistical analysis of district level yak herding household counts and yak populations reveals a "strong linear correlation" (Figure 2). This isn't just a dry statistic; it is evidence of a social levelling mechanism. Here, the data shows that the primary assets of the economy, the animals, are not hoarded by a few "land barons" while others struggle. Instead, the pastoral system operates on a structure where livestock wealth is distributed relatively evenly. This equitable distribution prevents the stark class divides common in sedentary agricultural systems, making the entire community more resilient to shocks.
While we hunt for high-tech climate fixes, an ancient "Nature-based Solution" (NbS) is the default land use in the mountains. Transhumance: the seasonal cycling of grazing areas is a masterclass in ecological timing (Figure 3).
In many high-altitude rangelands, productivity depends on rest and rotation periods of grazing, followed by recovery. Critics often mistakenly argue that moving large herds is inherently damaging. But, many studies have shown that grazing by livestock is associated with increased plant diversity and greater productivity compared to areas without grazing. This agro-pastoral mobility is the primary engine of mountain sustainability. In the HKH, pastoralism is not a fading relic; it is a sophisticated socio-ecological system that provides the blueprint for resilience in a warming world – and in areas on the frontlines of this change, due to elevation dependent warming. Pastoral mobility is a proven, high-functioning nature-based solution. This does not mean all grazing is beneficial everywhere; outcomes depend on stocking rates, timing, pasture condition, and governance.
By practicing transhumance, the seasonal rotation between summer and winter pastures, herders prevent soil exhaustion and biodiversity loss that accompany overgrazing. This allows for critical "vegetation recovery," ensuring that when a herd returns to the grazing parcel the following year, the land has had time to breathe and rebuild its nutrient cycle. This practice aligns with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis in ecology, which suggests that moderate, periodic grazing – neither too intense nor absent – maintains the highest biodiversity by preventing both competitive exclusion by dominant plant species and degradation from overuse. Think of it like pruning a garden: moderate grazing stimulates new growth and prevents a few aggressive plant species from taking over the entire pasture. As one campaign message for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 shared online puts it: “Pastoral mobility isn't just tradition; it's the lifeline of sustainable rangelands and thriving pastoral economies.”
There is a huge misconception that shared grazing lands are “open access” areas where anyone can graze anything without restraint. This “tragedy of the commons” narrative is frequently used to justify top-down, restrictive land use policies. The myth persists because the absence of fences is mistaken for the absence of rules.
But the reality is that these are highly sophisticated governance systems based on centuries of reciprocity and negotiation. Customary institutions coordinate timing, resolve conflicts, and ensure the land is not overused. When modern law ignores these customary institutions, it does more than just erase culture. It can physically degrade the land. As another IYRP message summarises: “Pastoral commons are not open access. They are carefully governed through reciprocity, negotiation, and efficient collective action."
In Nepal, the Tamang of Gatlang practice a customary governance system known as Choko, which manages social, cultural, religious, and agropastoralism affairs in the community. The Choko, normally a male leader, serves as the community governor and is selected annually based on leadership competency and community consensus. This leader holds the highest authority within the community to enforce customary laws, resolve conflicts, and regulate the seasonal movement of herds to ensure the sustainable and equitable use of pasture resources for all members.
In India, specifically within Ladakh, the Goba system functions as the primary governance structure for high-altitude pastures. The Goba, or village headman, coordinates seasonal migrations and appoints monitors known as Lorapas to track livestock movements; this prevents overgrazing of village-adjacent lands and minimizes conflicts between pastoralists and sedentary farmers. In Bhutan, pastoralism revolves around Tsamdro management, a traditional system of grazing rights documented through historical royal edicts (Kashos). Herders practice a strict transhumance cycle, moving yaks between alpine and lower-altitude pastures to exploit seasonal forage efficiently while maintaining the ecological balance of the fragile mountain landscape.
In Pakistan, the Jirga (council of elders) remains the central institution for managing communal rangelands in places like Chitral. These councils enforce rotational grazing schedules and settle territorial disputes between migratory herders and local settlers, using traditional ecological knowledge to govern natural resources without formal state intervention.
It is a bitter irony: the HKH is known as the “water tower of Asia”, yet for the pastoralists who live there, the reality is different. Traditional water sources have either dried up or are rapidly receding. Beyond climate stress, herders face heightened water stress, attributed to reduced precipitation and a delay of 15–20 days in the onset of the monsoon.
The responses from herders in Bhutan paint a startling picture of water insecurity on the “roof of the world”. According to an ICIMOD survey of 1,784 grazing areas in Bhutan (2024), 82% (1,474) of herders reported having "water-related issues” as one of the major concerns in the grazing areas they that have been using traditionally.
The situation in the Indian Himalaya is similar. According to the 2017–2018 census by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, around 23% of water bodies in the state of Jammu and Kashmir have dried up and are considered beyond restoration. In Nepal too, yak herders from Panchthar in the east to Jumla in the west, report severe seasonal water stress.
Therefore, in the mountains, from where our mighty Asian rivers originate, pastoralists face water scarcity. To bridge this gap, policy interventions must pivot toward decentralised, climate-resilient water infrastructure and high-altitude spring monitoring and restoration that specifically prioritise water access for pastoralists. Investing in these "at-the-source" solutions such as restored water points and negotiated rights is essential to ensuring that the very communities safeguarding the headwaters of the mighty Asian rivers are not the first to go thirsty.
As we mark 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), it is important that we confront these misconceptions about mobile pastoralism.
Pastoralism is the heartbeat of the high mountains, and it is mobility that keeps this heartbeat strong. To sustain this vital rhythm, governments and regional institutions need to reexamine restrictive land-use policies and enable the move towards collaborative frameworks that protect the mobility, land, and water rights of these mountain guardians – so that the rangelands remain vibrant and resilient for generations to come.
The first dedicated air quality dashboard for Bhutan (AQ Watch – Bhutan) was launched on 30 October 2025 in Thimpu, Bhutan. The dashboard was handed over to the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MoENR), Royal Government of Bhutan by ICIMOD on the same day.
The AQ Watch – Bhutan developed by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), Bhutan was jointly launched by Sonam Tashi, Director, DECC, and Ashish Tiwari, Action Area Lead, Air ICIMOD.
Following the successful completion of User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Quality Assurance (QA) processes, AQ Watch – Bhutan has been made live, enabling real-time visualisation and analysis of air quality across the country.
The dashboard provides a unified interface to monitor recent and archived air quality datasets from multiple sources, including in-situ air quality observation stations, satellite products, reanalysis datasets and air quality forecasts.
Key parameters include:
PM2.5 (fine particles) and PM10 (coarse particles), comprising tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air,
Ozone (O₃): a harmful gas on the ground level mainly formed when sunlight reacts with exhaust gases from vehicles and industries,
Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx): gaseous pollutant mainly emitted from vehicles and industries,
Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂): emitted mainly from industrial processes and the burning of sulphur-containing fuels such as coal,
Carbon Monoxide (CO): generated by incomplete combustion of fuel,
Black Carbon (BC): fine soot particles released from incomplete combustion of fuels and biomass
The interactive map on the dashboard allows users to select any region on the map and analyse the pollution trend over the time. It also allows users to select the multiple pollutants in the same region and same pollutant in different regions. This helps researchers, analysts and policy makers to make informed decisions on air pollution management. The AQ Watch – Bhutan includes an Archive section that allows users to view air quality data from the past seven days, and a Forecast tab that displays expected air quality levels for the next 48 hours, helping the user stay informed about pollution levels.
Speaking at the event, Sonam Tashi, Director, DECC, highlighted the role of reliable and accessible data. “This AQ Watch – Bhutan plays a pivotal role in ensuring that reliable air quality data are accessible to guide informed decisions to improve air quality. Regional cooperation and technology driven solutions are critical in addressing the intricate challenges posed by air pollution".
Ashish Tiwari, Action Area Lead, Air, ICIMOD, emphasised the policy relevance of the initiative. “The successful launch of AQ Watch – Bhutan will derive evidence-based policies and bridge the ambient air quality monitoring data gaps in Bhutan to understand the population exposure, hotspots and emission sources which help in designing actionable plans”.
This work has been carried out with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK under the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) programme.
This dashboard is a key outcome of ICIMOD's broader regional initiative to enhance air quality data sharing and visualisation across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) and the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) regions.
In the future, the platform is expected to evolve through potential enhancements, including expanded analytical capabilities and exploration of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) validation through ground-based observations and satellite cross comparison to further enhance data reliability and decision support.
The Bhutan-specific module represents a significant milestone in this effort, designed to support national-level air quality monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and public awareness.
The industrial sector in Bhutan has played a significant role in the country's economic development. Bhutan's industrial sector has been offering numerous benefits – employment generation, economic diversification, advancement of technology, and improving the living standards of people.
The Industry Census of Bhutan 2024 (p 20) has highlighted that the industries of all sizes collectively contributed 49.96 percent – or Ngultrum (Nu) 124.69 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.
Despite the industrial growth playing an important role in Bhutan's economic growth, it has also posed a threat to air quality. It has become a source of particulate matter, gaseous emissions, particularly from cement, ferroalloy, and small-scale manufacturing units, contributing to pollution which could impact public health if not managed properly.
Realising the need to improve its air quality Bhutan has taken a step forward in its National Clean Air Action Plan (NCAAP) with the successful completion of the industrial sector consultation held on 29 October 2025. The Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Bhutan in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) had organised the industry sector consultation.
This consultation gathered policy planners, scientists, experts, academia, industrial stakeholders and innovators to share insights on the status and challenges of industrial emissions.
The consultation focused on advancing cleaner production practices, enhancing energy efficiency, and strengthening emission control mechanisms across key industries, in line with Bhutan’s clean air and climate ambitions.
Regional experts shared their insights on industrial air pollution control and best practices. Exploring dust management, energy use, and cleaner production techniques in small-scale manufacturing industries, including Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), and understanding the social dimensions of air quality management in the industry sector were some of the key highlights of the consultation. In addition, there were interactive discussions on pathways to low-emission and energy-efficient production in cement and ferroalloy industries. The event sought to identify practical pathways for reducing environmental impact while sustaining economics progress.
“This consultation marks an important milestone in aligning industrial growth with environmental responsibility,” said Sonam Tashi, Director, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. “By working closely with industries and promoting cleaner technologies, we aim to ensure that economic progress does not come at the cost of air quality or public health,” he added.
The concept of NCAAP was formally launched at an inception workshop on 15 September 2025, in Thimphu, bringing together diverse stakeholders to establish a shared goal of improving air quality across the country. The NCAAP is being jointly developed by DECC and ICIMOD.
ICIMOD’s Air Lead, Ashish Tiwari said “Across South Asia, air pollution threatens the health of billions, undermines economies, and damages ecosystems. We commend the Royal Government of Bhutan for its visionary approach to planned air quality management – leading the region in clean air initiatives while remaining carbon neutral.”
This event also laid the groundwork for the development of an industrial emission inventory, which will form a scientific basis for policy interventions.
“Engagement like this help us understand how we can adopt cleaner production methods without comprising competitiveness. With clear policy guidance and access to innovative technology, industries can become active partner in country’s clean air journey,” said Singay Namgay Dorji, President, Association of Bhutanese Industries.
This initiative is part of Bhutan’s broader efforts to develop a robust National Clean Air Action Plan, which aims to improve air quality, protect public health, and promote sustainable economic development through evidence-based and collaborative approaches.
ICIMOD is working with its Regional Member Countries in the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) to bridge disparities in clean air actions by supporting robust national strategies, evidence-based policies, and actionable delivery plans.
Within this regional effort, ICIMOD is supporting Bhutan in its journey to address air pollution challenges with this work being carried out with the support of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK under the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP).
Covering nearly 23.4% of the total land area of the country, Nepal’s twenty one protected areas (PAs) comprising of thirteen national parks, six conservation areas, and one wildlife reserve and hunting reserve each, are home to an array of endangered and well-known flagship species like the Snow Leopard and Red Panda, and exotic habitats like the Rara Lake and Dhorpatan rangeland. These areas are national treasures that provide crucial environmental services underlying national water security, climate resilience and economic prosperity.
But not only are such services undervalued, the conventional sources of finance, such as international aids, government budgets and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, for implementing the PA management plans and initiatives in Nepal are dwindling. In contrast, Nepal’s Protected Area Management Strategy 2022-2030, delineates sustainable financial mechanisms pivotal for the self-sustenance of the PAs in the country.
In this context, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in partnership with the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) under the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Government of Nepal, convened a high-profile national consultation workshop bringing together visionary leadership for innovation in PA conservation financing from within Nepalese public and private sectors and from among the country’s conservation experts.
The mandate of this workshop was to forge new alliances for securing sustainable financing for a resilient future of Nepal’s PAs. This marked the beginning of the much-needed thought leadership towards setting a new paradigm of valuation and governance of PAs, with newly defined or revised public and private sector leadership roles and initiatives around innovative incentives, especially for wildlife branding and ecolabelling.
For decades, actions and interventions for PA conversation in Nepal have been focussed on treating the visible symptoms rather than addressing the root causes and striving for outcomes integrated into the holistic socio-economic wellbeing of the country. Public finances were directed to mitigating poaching incidents, regulate conservation habitats and building (cursory) awareness about Pas.
Motivated by evidence-based findings from across the world showing that every dollar invested in PAs returns at least six dollars in economic value through ecosystem services, tourism, and climate mitigation, this consultation forum emerged as a space for cross-sectoral synergy towards complementary and strategic investments in PA conservation. In this national consultation workshop the participants deep dived to examine the patterns, structures, and mental models1 underlying the path dependency of underfunding, and to break through the glass ceiling in sustainable financing for resilient PAs in Nepal.
Here the private and public sector stakeholders talked through brand value, species conservation and anti-poaching interventions as intersectional and interlinked issues; the tourism businesses outlined the prospect of nature-based tourism ventures as financial institutions highlighted the potential of green bonds in a shared vision for sustainability. What emerged out of these vibrant discussions, was the prospect of two innovative modalities for financing – namely, wildlife branding and ecolabelling – PA conservation, thereby elevating the understanding of conservation financing from charity to strategic investment.
While the private sector acknowledged that intrinsic brand value of the protected areas’ natural ecosystems and their services in making Nepal a premium tourism destination, in turn lending a foundation for the country’s economic growth and development, the public sector recognised the strategic role of strong public -private partnerships to harness the power of the long-term business investments for the sustainable future of the PAs.
Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD, shared an insightful perspective on regional best practice with “Endowment Fund” towards sustainably finance PAs, using the example of Bhutan for Life. While recommending the possible replication of similar efforts in Nepal, he highlighted the importance of an independent body – formed through a coalition of public and private sector partners – in operationalising the funds with impact, transparency and integrity.
1 “An interrelated set of beliefs that shape how a person forms expectations for the future and understands the way the world works”. (Source: NIH)
The meeting concluded with a strong policy roundtable, noting that Nepal is ready to embrace co-investment innovation and cross-sectoral coordination for effective management of its PAs. The consultations helped us document our future course of action towards innovative financing, by:
This event was supported by the United Kingdom International Development’s HI-REAP that aims to scale Nature-based Solutions and nature positive actions for climate resilience. To know more about the event, see
At ICIMOD, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Lars-Erik Liljelund, a respected former Independent Board Member of ICIMOD and a committed champion of sustainable mountain development.
Dr. Liljelund joined ICIMOD’s Board of Governors in 2010 as an Independent Board Member and provided thoughtful guidance and steady leadership during a pivotal period for the organisation. He served as Chair of the Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) from 2011 to 2015 and as Vice Chair of the ICIMOD Board of Governors.
As Chief Executive of the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra), Sweden, Dr. Liljelund was widely recognised for advancing strategic environmental research and for strengthening the bridge between science, policy, and real-world change. At ICIMOD, his contributions helped focus our programmatic direction and reinforced our commitment to rigorous, relevant, and collaborative work across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, colleagues, and friends. He will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude for his service, wisdom, and enduring contributions to ICIMOD and to the broader environmental community.
Message from David Molden, Former Director General of ICIMOD:
“I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Lars-Erik Liljelund. I will always remember Lars-Erik as an exceptionally supportive Board member and PAC Chair. Lars-Erik played a pivotal role in initiating ICIMOD’s work on air quality, forging key connections within Sweden and across the international community. Beyond his professional contributions, I recall with great fondness his warm, outgoing nature and his infectious, jovial laughter”.
12 May 2025. 8 AM.
I refuse to call this an elegy. Prayer flags flutter in the mountain wind. A pair of ravens circle above the offering we have laid out. I lift my gimbal, trying to capture the unfolding ceremony, but it can’t quite manage it. I feel what is happening inside my bones. The camera just cannot capture the atmosphere, the sacred energy of the moment.
The lhasang, a Buddhist purification offering is a Tibetan ritual that invokes deities. We are offering our lhasang to Yala Glacier and the peaks surrounding her – Khimshung, Dokphu, Tarna, Zokphu, Zangphu, Champu, and Serkori.
The glacier and its surrounding peaks are more than just geographical features. They are guardians, deities, and perennial sources of guidance and blessings for the communities of Langtang Valley. I look towards the glacier. I had climbed all the way to the ridge once, back in the spring of 2016. Today, standing here, it feels like I’m greeting an old friend.
In that moment, my responsibility to the glacier became clear to me – I must sound the alarm, stir some sort of action to save it. I hesitate to say that the glacier is dying; rather I choose to believe we can revive it, naïve as this may sound.
In 2016, I had stayed at the base camp for over a week, accompanying glaciologists from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) as they installed stakes and carried out a differential Global Positioning System (dGPS) survey of the glacier’s profile. Back then, I was recording the difficulties researchers faced when looking to understand the science of our frozen world. This time, I am here for a different story – that of the glacier itself.
“Argham, Padyam, Pushpe, Dhupe, Aloke, Ghende, Naividya, Shapda...”
The monks’ chants pull me back to the present. Karma Lama Tamang, who was instrumental in organising this tribute, explains the ritual to me. “These are offerings to the gods we believe reside in the peaks surrounding Yala,” he says.
Offerings include water to drink (Argham), water to bathe (Padyam), flowers (Pushpe), incense (Dhupe), light (Aloke), perfume (Ghende), food (Naivedya), and music (Shapda). Each item is offered with care and devotion to honour the divine presence of these mountains.
Just a decade ago, it would have been difficult to imagine such a solemn ritual to honour the glacier, to lament the loss of much of its ice. Yet the changes are undeniable. Yala Glacier is disappearing.
And yet, while it endures, a generation of scientists from the Hindu Kush Himalayan region have been trained by its measurements, monitoring, and movements; many of these scientists have gone on to shape regional and global climate discourse – from contributing as authors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, to serving in international bodies, national agencies, and research institutions responsible for monitoring the frozen water towers.
In this part of the world, reverence for the natural world still runs deep. It is something I can feel just a few hours’ drive or walk from any major city in the region. The idea of honouring Yala Glacier flows as naturally as a mountain spring. It means recognising the role Yala played in shaping scientific inquiry and reminding ourselves of where we stand as glaciers continue to vanish while business proceeds as usual.
When our glaciers disappear, it strikes at the very core of who we are, a stark reminder that business as usual is no longer an option. Over the years, ICIMOD has led many conversations around the region’s cryosphere – through the HI-WISE Report (2023), building on the earlier Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment (2019). Both assessments sound the alarm through facts and figures. The tribute to Yala offered a ground-level view of loss, reverence, and connection.
Yala Glacier holds deep meaning for communities in Langtang, Mundu and Kyanjin. It is the source of Yala tshaju menju. Tshaju means ‘salty water’ and menju means ‘medicinal water’. As Karma explained to me, the glacial river that melts from the snow seeps underground and emerges to form a pond.
"That pond once produced salt. People would collect the salt and trade it at a place called Tshongdue", says Karma. “The pond was said to have healing properties. Its waters could cure illness.”
The trade routes and customs Karma speaks about have faded. Communities have gradually shifted from yak herding and salt trading to tourism. Karma himself now runs a lodge, having released his yaks to roam the pastures, given the changing landscape and external demands.
“Chagg…tshelo! Chagtselo!” The crowd echoes as the two ritual helpers turn towards different directions of the mountains, bowing in reverence. This lhasang feels different from others I’ve experienced. It is deeper and more sacred. Imagine something so intimate and profound happening at over 5,000 metres above sea level (masl) – this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am not from here, but I am from the mountains in the region. The lhasang is a poignant reminder of the powerful beauty of the shared, Indigenous culture of the mountains and people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
In Tibetan, which is a common language spoken in Langtang communities, lha refers to ‘deity’ and sang refers to ‘purification’. “Just as people bathe to cleanse themselves, deities too must be cleansed, especially when their surroundings are polluted by human wrongdoings,” Karma tells me. “When gods are defiled, misfortunes follow – illness, disasters, untimely weather, livestock deaths. Deities stop protecting when we stop being responsible to nature.”
In this lhasang, incense, purifying herbs and libation offerings are presented to Yala to cleanse and purify the deity. It is a gesture to acknowledge the offence humans have caused, to apologise and ask for forgiveness for what we have done and what we have failed to do. Yala’s main deity is believed to reside in Langtang Lirung – the highest peak of the Langtang region, standing at 7,234 masl. All the ridges and cliffs around it fall under its domain.
During the ritual, the main altar faces Langtang Lirung, and the names of all the surrounding ridges and cliffs are also recited. Each peak is honoured; each sacred forest and pond is named, remembered and revered.
As the last of the tsampa (buckwheat flour) is cast in deep reverence, a flock of ravens circles above. I watch the ceremony end; the ravens descend to feast on the offerings and the crowd disperses. I carry a quiet hope that we have done enough to cleanse and honour the Yala and the surrounding mountains. I pray that their blessings will continue.
Ravens hold a sacred presence in both Buddhist and Hindu traditions. They are seen as clever messengers between worlds. In Hindu belief, they link the living with ancestors and are worshipped on the first day of one of the most important festivals, Tihar. A Hindu myth tells of Bhusunda, a sage in crow form, who is witness to endless cycles of creation and dissolution, an eternal survivor and symbol of hope.
I liken Yala to Bhusunda. With profound hope, I aspire to tell the story of the glacier that returns. With the same prayer, I pack my bags and prepare for the journey back to Kathmandu. As the team and I begin our descent of the valley, I carry Yala with me. The lhasang accompanies me throughout our journey back. Perhaps Yala is more resilient than we can imagine.
Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Arun Bhakta Shrestha, PhD for his guidance and inputs in bringing this blog to the shape.
Adorned with lush green hills, Indrawati Rural Municipality of Sindhupalchok, Nepal, is located just under 55 kilometres away from the capital, Kathmandu. The story here is like that of many other mid-hill communities in Nepal. Driven by a mix of obligations and aspirations of a better future, the locals, especially the youth, have out-migrated, leaving the warmth of their home and community to face the unfamiliar challenges that await them at their destination. Locks hang on the doors of some houses, while vacant rooms in other family homes await the return of the residents, who often come back only during festivities or after completing their employment contracts abroad. They are on the move with the hopes and determination of providing themselves and their family a better life, full of opportunities and prosperity, leaving behind their family and friends with the burden of sustaining Indrawati.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is implementing the SUCCESS project funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom, under the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) research programme. As a part of the project, our team visited Indrawati to explore the community’s perception of their new realities and uncover their desired future, amidst the rapid changes shaping their community. The participatory foresight approach was applied to achieve this purpose with two rounds of consultative workshops. Foresight is a label for methods that explore what the future can bring but go well beyond forecasting to understand complexities through an intersectional lens, considering overlapping social, economic, geographic, and demographic factors. Through participatory scenario building, it explores risks and opportunities in alternative futures to prepare and mobilise stakeholders in aligning their efforts and shared goals.
Participation was sought from all the wards of Indrawati, with careful attention to maintain gender and ethnic balance for rich insights and an inclusive perception. Building on earlier scoping work, the consultative workshops helped participants examine key drivers of change and explore emerging trends. With charts in place, the community members enthusiastically sketched their area with familiar landmarks and stories. Farming is at the heart of their lives, despite challenges with commercialisation due to poor roads and limited market access. Their mapping also documented ethnic diversity, scenic tourist spots, and disaster-prone zones, underscoring the community’s potential and vulnerability. Presenting their findings was a point of pride as it showcased a truthful representation of their community and their lived experiences.
Youth out-migration emerged as a major concern, as their departure has left behind an ageing population that can barely keep up with the intensive field work. Some households are compelled to hire costly farm labourers for the sake of continuing cultivation, but they are rarely worth the return. The additional challenge fuelled by climate change impacts, such as erratic rainfall, drought, flood, and rising crop diseases, has worsened the situation even further. The crops that do grow are often depredated by wildlife such as monkeys, wild boar, porcupines, and deer. This becomes devastating since agriculture is the main source of livelihood in the area. The current trend of decline in agricultural production has become a pressing issue, prompting them to leave a large fraction of their fertile land barren, reinforcing the pressure to migrate and seek alternative employment options.
Alongside these struggles, the community also identified social issues such as child marriage, polygamy, human trafficking, alcoholism, and smoking, coupled with excessive spending habits. These challenges are entrenched by deep-seated ethnic inequalities and systemic failure to enforce laws and uphold social justice, which collectively undermine the community's prospects for sustainable and equitable development. Furthermore, they also noted a profound socio-cultural shift observed in their own homes and communities, attributed largely to migration and growing external influences.
The mapping process developed a holistic understanding of Indrawati’s current conditions and the key drivers of change shaping the future – primarily climate change and migration. This laid the groundwork to explore Indrawati’s potential alternative future in the next 25 years through a scenario-building exercise. The resulting trajectories of scenarios were a blend of unsettling, hopeful, and eye-opening insights.
The most probable scenario revealed a sobering trajectory, where life is strained by water, facing both scarcity and destructive excess. The springs that sustain life dry up, and cracked fields become barren. While water recharge becomes essential for agriculture, the monsoon brings landslides and swells the Indrawati River. This cascades into floods that claim lives, fertile lands, and essential infrastructures. In response, the community devises adaptation strategies, such as a shift to tunnel farming and the replacement of traditional rural houses with reinforced concrete structures with air conditioning. This signals necessary modernity, but also a growing dependence on artificial solutions to adapt to a warming world. As living conditions deteriorate, the pressure to migrate intensifies, stripping the village of capable, energetic members, leaving behind an ageing population, eerily empty schools and offices, fractured family and community with strained relations, and eroding social values.
While migration is often blamed as a source of disintegration of rural communities and social values, the participants discovered a more complex reality when envisioning a scenario without migration. Initially, they confidently stated ending out-migration would resolve the labour shortage issue. However, as conversations deepened, they recognised the fundamental issues they would face, like increased water scarcity, overexploitation of resources, growing waste management issues, incidences of landslide and flood, and social issues persisting and even intensifying. They doubted that youth would engage in agriculture despite growth in population, given their changing aspirations. This spurred the community to acknowledge migration’s benefits, particularly remittances and acquired skills.
When the community members were prompted to envision an ideal future, they pictured thriving and well-managed settlements with all essential facilities, even age care homes, in anticipation of the growing elderly population. The facilities offered advanced and quality services, so people no longer needed to make long and tiring trips to access services. Black-topped roads wound through the hills, connecting the settlements with reliable transportation. All these infrastructures are designed to be inclusive and accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities.
Farming remained central to their livelihood, strengthening Indrawati’s vibrant economy through reliable irrigation, diversification, modernisation, value addition, infrastructure development, such as cold stores, collection centres, and effective marketing of organic products. Beyond farming, local resources fuelled vibrant enterprises, from Dhaka weaving to the processing of medicinal herbs. Development and recognition of their gifted natural resources attracted tourists, creating opportunities for livelihood diversification. The local economic vitality is further fuelled by skill-based learning and skill development centres, building strong foundations for the youth’s career at home. Together, these sectors generate employment opportunities, reduce poverty, and set the community’s progress towards self-reliance, freeing it from dependence on external aid. The community thrives in harmony with nature, sustainably managing resources, and effectively implementing disaster risk management and mitigation strategies. Equality is a core principle of the community, and discrimination of any form, along with social issues, is a matter of the past.
In this prosperous and resilient Indrawati, migration is no longer a compulsion but a matter of choice. People save, invest, and grow together under strong and visionary leadership. The skills and knowledge of Indrawati fuel local prosperity, filling the once vacant houses with warmth and a renewed sense of belonging.
The difference between the probable future scenario and the desired rural future is evident. While the probable future may take a grim turn, owing to climate stress, decline of livelihood options, and high out-migration, the envisioned desirable future is one of a thriving Indrawati built upon resilient individuals and community, sustainable resource use, a prosperous and diversified economy, where migration is a choice rather than a necessity. The optimism was visible but intertwined with their feelings of uncertainty. The duality was captured in their vision for age care homes, a concept still foreign in much of Nepali culture, reflecting their deep-seated fear that the elders who spent their lives building the community would one day be left alone, yearning for the care that may never come. Hope and hesitation ground their vision, which is not only about developing Indrawati but also about the belief that the roots people have left behind will one day call them home.
Transformation from the present-day reality to the desired future requires the united effort of all stakeholders. It calls for the community, local leaders, government agencies, academia, media, and development partners to collaborate, aligning resources, policies, and actions towards the common vision. The Future Vision of Indrawati 2050, co-created through a foresight process, serves as a roadmap to navigate risks and uncertainty and a powerful reminder of the collective goal they are working towards. For us, as researchers, we are grateful for the time, trust, and insightful reflections the community shared with us. Moving forward, our role is to determine potential interventions and entry points that can contribute to achieving this vision and ensure our work has a meaningful impact. While the path ahead unfolds, we remain both curious and optimistic about Indrawati’s future and the possibilities it holds.
The bioeconomy – defined by the World Economic Forum as “the use of renewable biological resources to produce food, energy and industrial goods, which supports sustainability” – was the thematic focus of a major conference which took place in Kunming, China, earlier this year.
Held from 24–28 September, 2025, at the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yunnan Province, south-western China, the fourth edition of the Mountain Futures Conference was entitled “Inclusive Bioeconomy: Mountain-Based Pathways for Nature-Positive and Climate-Resilient Futures.” Nearly 200 participants – comprising scientists, policymakers, private-sector representatives, and mountain community practitioners – from over 30 countries attended this year’s conference.
Guided by the overarching mandate of the Mountain Futures Initiative – to foster local innovations for resilient livelihoods in mountain regions worldwide – the Mountain Futures Conferences are yearly recurring events that bring together experts and stakeholders to share knowledge and innovations for ecosystem restoration, rural revitalisation, and sustainable mountain development.
The 2025 Mountain Futures Conference was organised on four thematic areas: (i) Indigenous wisdom and ecological pluralism, (ii) Scientific exploration and new quality productive, (iii) Ecological restoration and climate resilience, and (iv) Future living and green trade. The selection of these themes is underscored by the understanding of inclusive bioeconomy as a development model that integrates the traditional use of biological resources with scientific innovations.
As a a co-organiser of the event, ICIMOD facilitated the participation of a delegation of technical experts, academics, and private-sector representatives from Bangladesh, China, India, and Nepal, at this year’s conference.
Yunnan Province: A hub of emerging bioeconomy models
ICIMOD facilitated exposure visits for the delegates to a number of innovative enterprises and research centres in Yunnan Province, including: a mushroom cultivation farm in Huaning County, the Centre for Mountain Futures in Honghe County, and the Flower Research Institute, National Potato Introduction and Talent Demonstration Base, and Incubation Center for Sci-tech Achievements of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS).
Reflecting on the experience from these visits, Su Yufang, the Head of ICIMOD’s Living Mountain Lab (LML) in Nepal, said: “ Witnessing Yunnan’s technological innovations and successful models in person was a crucial first step in stimulating dialogues, building a regional network and opening pathways for sustained knowledge exchange on bioeconomy, climate resilience and sustainable mountain development across the HKH.”
The Huaning County mushroom cultivation farm – an endeavour led by women, both in its governance and management – demonstrated an inclusive community-led circular economy model of agricultural waste management, creating local employment opportunities and income. A visit to the jasmine tea factory at the Centre for Mountain Futures helped the team understand the taxonomy of managing an industrial bioeconomy supply chain starting with eco-friendly production to quality-controlled processing to efficient logistics, branding and marketing. The visit to a large-scale photovoltaic (PV) facility in Honghe Prefecture revealed the praxis and importance of energy independence for the climate resilience of remote mountain communities.
From local to regional: What are the chances of amplifying the existing prototypes?
The delegation team reflected on the insights from the exposure visits during a focused workshop, deliberating on the possibilities of leveraging the bioeconomy for building climate resilience and enabling sustainable mountain development in the region. The participants identified and brainstormed three dimensions, crucial for fostering regional collaboration:
At the heart of these discussions was ICIMOD’s Living Mountain Lab (LML), providing the guiding vision for building a regional network of demonstration and training sites across the HKH, aimed at fostering innovation and practical learning.
In this context, Anu Joshi Shrestha, ICIMOD’s specialist on rural enterprise and value chain development, highlighted the institute’s unique position as a regional convener to drive knowledge and technology transfer across the HKH – “ Through the Green, Inclusive, and Resilient Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (GIREE) Alliance, under our Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP) funded by United Kingdom International Development, we are building a hub-and-spoke model of technology transfer. This model is anchored at ICIMOD’s LML in the Godavari Municipality of Nepal. LML serves as a hub for demonstration trials, while the country chapters form the spokes. By fostering innovation, incubation, investment, and inclusion, we aim to scale bioeconomy-based value chains that generate high-value products benefiting people and planet, and boosting profit.
‘Forging alliances’ is the key to replication and scaling up
Based on the discussions from the workshop, ICIMOD convened a parallel session on the theme of ‘Future living and green trade’ at the Mountain Futures Conference, with a focus on sustainable resource use, ecological conservation, and green innovation. Panellists included private-sector representatives and other diverse specialists, showcasing practical examples from different countries. The participants and panellists explored the potential of collaborative pathways such as joint research, capacity building, and policy coordination towards advancing the development of high-value bio-products, clean energy applications, and climate-resilient transformations.
A key takeway from the 2025 Mountain Futures Conference is that the HKH region has no dearth of local bioeconomic solutions for climate resilience and sustainable development, but what it needs now is to “forge connections” for strategically linking these solutions with key talents, sound policies, and targeted investments in order to amplify them at a regional level.
Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD, reiterated this urgency for building strategic collaborations in his opening address at the Conference: “Let us use this conference not only to share ideas but to forge alliances. Let us commit to concrete actions that will empower mountain communities, protect our precious ecosystems, and build an inclusive bioeconomy that ensures prosperity for both people and planet.”
Xu Jianchu, the Conference convenor from the Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, said in his opening remarks: "This conference has not merely created a platform but has forged a dynamic new arena for global dialogue on the future of our mountains. It powerfully showcases China's proven pathways in mountain ecological preservation and green development, delivering scalable models for mountain regions around the globe.”
Among the major outcomes of this year’s Mountain Future’s Conference is the launch of the Global Montane Bioeconomy Framework, a guiding document for building sustainable development pathways in critical mountain regions worldwide. With the explicit recognition of pathways like eco-tourism and fair trade of medicinal plants, this framework not only closely aligns with ICIMOD and its member states’ long-term mandate for sustainable development of the HKH mountain regions, but also garners stronger international endorsement and opens new avenues of cooperation towards fulfilling this mandate.
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Forests are vital ecosystems that support a rich diversity of flora and fauna. They provide essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, climate regulation, and habitat provision. Forests play a significant role in regulating the global carbon cycle and mitigating climate change, making their preservation crucial for the well-being of the planet.
However, rising population pressure is driving land-use change and forest degradation, which has a negative impact on climate regulation and the delivery of ecosystem services. Regular and effective forest monitoring is required to protect these vital functions and ensure sustainable use of natural resources over time.
Traditional methods of collecting forest data, such as conducting field-based surveys, are often labour-intensive, time-consuming, and difficult to implement in large, inaccessible or topographically complex areas. Because of these limitations and high operational costs, traditional approaches are not suitable for large-scale or regular monitoring.
In contrast, remote sensing technologies are gaining popularity as efficient, scalable, and cost-effective alternatives. They enable forest monitoring over a large and consistent area, which has significant implications for environmental management and decision-making at local, regional and global levels.
In recent years, the availability of remote sensing tools and data at the local and regional levels has greatly increased. Previously, forest mappers and managers had to purchase high-resolution mapping-quality satellite images and lacked access to open-source Earth Observation data. Today, a wide range of pre-processed, analysed, global-scale, ready-to-use satellite data and thematic layers are available, along with historical archives for optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), for example, make Landsat data available for free, while the European Space Agency (ESA) provides Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery. Similarly, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) provides Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) images. These image resources provide valuable opportunities for researchers interested in forest ecosystem monitoring. However, data selection is largely determined by the study's objectives and scale. Globally available data may not always be appropriate for monitoring forests at the local scale.
Higher-resolution commercial imagery, such as GeoEye, WorldView, and RapidEye, is also available, which can be considered for more detailed forest mapping; however, the cost of acquiring such data can be high. Purchasing high-resolution commercial imagery monthly or annually is extremely difficult in the least developed countries and, at times, even for developed countries. This can raise concerns related to cost-effectiveness, particularly for annual forest monitoring.
In this context, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have emerged as a viable option for small-scale or localised studies, such as those carried out at the watershed or protected area level. Drones provide flexible, high-resolution data collection tailored to specific research needs, making them an increasingly valuable tool for forest monitoring.
Public perception and awareness frequently determine the adoption of new technology. Drones have occasionally received a bad reputation due to their association with non-civilian applications. For example, their use in special surveillance and border patrol operations has led communities to perceive them as a conflict tool or privacy intrusion. However, drones have numerous applications, particularly in environmental management and societal benefits such as delivering medical supplies, search and rescue during a disaster situation. Fortunately, many countries in the region have now adopted policies and protocols for the use of drones for various purposes, such as coastal mangrove plantation monitoring and community-based forest monitoring (CBFM) in Bangladesh, estimation of above-ground biomass and carbon stock in Nepal. With clear guidelines for drone flight operations, an increasing number of organisations are starting to use drones as an alternative or supplement to satellite-based remote sensing.
Despite this progress, the use of drones for environmental monitoring in the HKH region is still limited due to a lack of technical training, regulatory clarity, and operational capacity. As a result, drones have primarily been used for recreation and filmmaking, despite their significant potential for environmental mapping and disaster management, forest monitoring, and precision conservation planning remains largely untapped. Drone technology could be used for sustainable environmental management in the region with more technical expertise, supportive policies, and local operational capacity.
Their ability to capture high-resolution imagery greatly improves the accuracy of forest mapping and change detection. This level of detail allows for more accurate analysis of forest cover dynamics, which can inform forest management and planning. One critical application is the detection of illegal logging, for which drone imagery provides timely, actionable evidence, especially in remote or inaccessible locations. Drone data can also be used to make maps of the tops of individual trees. This can help us learn about the structure of the forest, how it is changing, and whether the trees are sick. Such drone-based images are critical for research on forest health, quality, and ecosystem resilience and must receive support from the international community through forest conservation-based incentives. Furthermore, drones can help estimate and track above-ground forest biomass and carbon stocks. When combined with National Forest Inventory (NFI) programs, drone data serves as a reliable source for cross-validation and overall forest estimates.
Drones are becoming increasingly important tools in forest restoration programs. Using drones, we can track seedling survival and growth after planting, evaluate the efficacy of restoration interventions, and develop adaptive management strategies. Regular drone-based monitoring ensures that restoration goals are met, and degraded landscapes are on their way to recovery.
Drones also contribute to biodiversity conservation by identifying and mapping habitats critical to various species. High-resolution spatial data helps locate nesting sites, migration corridors, and other ecologically significant features required to protect species and ecosystems.
Drones are extremely useful in wildfire management. They can be used for both pre-fire risk assessments, such as identifying fire-prone areas, and post-fire damage evaluations, providing quick and comprehensive information about affected forest zones.
There are various types of drones equipped with different sensors for remote sensing and mapping, including Red, Green, Blue (RGB) cameras, thermal sensors, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and multispectral sensors that capture images across bands such as red, green, blue, and near-infrared. Among these, multispectral drones are frequently the best choice for forest monitoring because they provide critical information on vegetation health, forest structure, and degradation. However, the drones and sensors used must be aligned with the monitoring task's specific objectives, such as forest cover mapping, biomass estimation, or degradation assessment.
Weather conditions are critical in drone operations. Flights should be avoided during rain, fog, haze, or strong winds, as these conditions can jeopardise both safety and data integrity. Sunny and clear days make for ideal flying conditions. Signal loss is also possible in mountainous areas with dense forests and complex terrain, which can affect flight stability and data acquisition. To address these challenges, proper flight planning and strict adherence to safety protocols are essential.
Additionally, technical expertise is needed in drone operation, data processing, and geospatial analysis. As a result, strengthening institutional capacity through targeted training and resource development is critical to ensuring the effective use of drone technology in forest monitoring.
When using drones to fly over forest landscapes, it's important to follow all national rules for the country. Failure to follow established drone operation protocols for civilian purposes can have serious consequences. These protocols typically include registering the drone, getting aviation permits, renewing licenses, and letting local stakeholders know, all of which are mandatory to avoid potential problems or misunderstandings. These processes can take a while, so they should be scheduled early to make sure the data gets collected and analysed on time.
Unfortunately, some environmental agencies that buy drones limit their use to basic photography or videography instead of systematic forest mapping and monitoring. Underutilization of such an investment diminishes its overall impact and value. To get the most out of drone technology, there is a pressing need to work on building the skills needed for drone-based mapping and analysis. Machine learning is now more important for processing drone data.
As drone regulations evolve and sensor technologies advance, it is crucial to strategically plan and prioritize skill development. Enhancing our expertise in drone operation and drone-based mapping is essential. Drones offer a novel and more efficient approach for mapping and monitoring forest health. By integrating data into frameworks such as Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), we can generate detailed ecosystem maps and comprehensive climate change reports. Leveraging these technologies has the potential to significantly strengthen efforts to protect and restore the environment.
Less than a year ago, what began as a promising dialogue between the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) has grown into a strategic partnership built on shared ambition, scientific priorities, and broader cooperation. Whilst ICIMOD’s focus is working with mountains and people to make the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region greener, more inclusive and climate resilient, the mission of CRAES is to advance environmental science and provide policy guidance to support sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate resilience both within China and internationally.
This blog reflects on the key milestones that brought us here.
In September 2024, a delegation led by the Director General of ICIMOD, Pema Gyamtsho, visited Beijing as part of a high-level mission to strengthen partnerships on environmental issues– particularly in the areas of climate change, air pollution control, and biodiversity conservation. He visited the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES) – National Environmental Policy Research Institute under the Ministry of Environment and Ecology, China.
Quan Zhanjun, the Vice President of CRAES, and his team hosted a meeting with ICIMOD’s team members to explore potential collaboration on atmospheric science, environmental policy, and regional and international cooperation. Both the CRAES and ICIMOD teams agreed to explore formalising the collaboration through a strategic partnership, with Pema Gyamtsho inviting CRAES to visit ICIMOD Headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Before the meeting, the ICIMOD team also visited CRAES’s Air Pollution Monitoring Centre for Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, along with the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment (SKLECRA), China. This centre showcases CRAES’s work to study air pollution through field measurements, lab research, and modelling.
These initial discussions revealed shared priorities – air quality, biodiversity, and regional environmental monitoring – all core areas of ICIMOD’s work identified in our Strategy 2030 – Moving Mountains.
In October 2024, a five-member ICIMOD delegation attended the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) and the fifth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI), in Cali, Colombia.
While attending COP16, ICIMOD and CRAES met again – this time building on the foundation laid in Beijing. The ICIMOD delegation held discussions with Quan Zhanjun, the Vice President of CRAES, and his team, reaffirming a strong mutual intent to turn a shared vision into concrete action. More than a formal exchange, the meeting in Cali offered an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate each other’s work and contributions to environmental science, and policy.
After initial meetings in Beijing and at COP16, momentum continued to build. A high-level CRAES delegation, led by Xue Jie, Director of the International Cooperation Center, visited ICIMOD’s headquarters from 8–12 April 2025 for in-depth technical exchanges. This included exploring potential joint projects such as data sharing, joint studies, early warning systems, capacity building, and expert exchanges, especially regarding air pollution control.
During the visit, the CRAES team held productive working sessions with ICIMOD’s three Strategic Groups – Climate and Environmental Risks, Resilient Economies and Landscapes, and Regional Action and Global Advocacy. Each Action Area dedicated half a day to engaging with the expert groups to deepen mutual understanding, address questions through interactive discussions, and define the key focus areas for upcoming collaboration.
The discussions focused on ICIMOD’s work in the HKH, particularly on transboundary issues including air pollution, and mountain ecosystems. Both parties agreed to jointly establish a comprehensive cooperation framework, including the transfer of air pollution control technologies, regional environmental flagship reports, and expert secondments and placements. They also committed to strengthening discussions and collaboration on regional cooperation mechanisms within the multilateral convention framework.
A highlight of the cooperation was the formal handover of an air quality observation instrument from CRAES to ICIMOD. Now integrated into ICIMOD’s regional monitoring network, the device underscores the shared commitment to evidence-based environmental action and will provide essential data to support air pollution control efforts across South Asia.
The visit also set the stage for future collaboration, with plans for expert exchanges and joint research initiatives to be developed under the forthcoming Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Two weeks after the in-depth technical exchange in Kathmandu, ICIMOD and CRAES took a significant step forward in their partnership by signing an MoU on 23 April 2025, during the ICIMOD–China Partners' Day in Kunming, southwest China.
The MoU was signed by ICIMOD’s Director General, Pema Gyamtsho and Quan Zhanjun, the Vice President of CRAES. The MoU signing ceremony was attended by a distinguished group of ICIMOD’s key stakeholders, including Board members, government representatives from ICIMOD’s Regional Member Countries (RMCs) – including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, and prominent Chinese institutional partners.
This MoU cements a shared commitment to tackling regional environmental challenges through joint research, expert exchanges, and co-hosted platforms. It also sets the stage for deeper collaboration on clean air initiatives, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience in the HKH region.
For ICIMOD, this agreement represents a key milestone in strengthening regional ties with China, enhancing scientific networks, and fostering action-oriented partnerships that generate real, impactful outcomes where they are most needed.
At the event, Gao Jian, Deputy Director of the Institute of Atmospheric Environment of CRAES also delivered a presentation that shared China’s approaches to air pollution control, showcasing its integrated efforts across policy, science, and cross-sector coordination – offering valuable insights for regional adaptation.
Looking ahead, the ICIMOD–CRAES partnership embodies a shared vision for addressing global environmental challenges and is set to become a model for cross-border scientific cooperation within ICIMOD’s RMCs. As environmental issues transcend borders, so too must our solutions.
This partnership strengthens our ongoing efforts across the region, including new collaborations with Chinese institutions, and reinforces our commitment to science-driven action for cleaner air and a more resilient mountain environment.
中国环科院应邀参加国际山地综合发展中心中国伙伴日活动，并签署合作谅解备忘录
中国环科院赴尼泊尔开展环境科技合作交流，推动构建山地可持续发展共同体
ICIMOD's 56th Governing Board Meeting Convenes in Kunming
Mountain biodiversity and human life are inextricably intertwined. Biodiversity directly supports ecosystem resilience, sustainable development, and human well-being, especially through critical services, including water, food, medicine, and climate regulation. Human activity has a clear and significant impact on mountain biodiversity in manifold ways.
Earlier this July, I had the opportunity to engage with thought leaders working at this vital intersection through my work supporting ICIMOD’s subforum on ‘Mountain Biodiversity and Our Life’ at the Eco Forum Global 2025 Guiyang, in Guizhou Province, south-west China. It was fascinating to see the drafting and release of the Guiyang Recommendations, reflecting our Regional Member Countries’ commitment to ecological sustainability.
Guizhou province, where the forum took place, is a land of hills and valleys, distinguished by its karst landscape of limestone caves, cliffs, and winding underground rivers. Unlike the imposing peaks of neighbouring Yunnan, Guizhou’s mountains rise gently, hosting diverse ecosystems and rich cultural traditions that have shaped life for generations.
During the forum, I met Yang Jun, a dedicated team member from the Guizhou Institute of Environmental Sciences and Designing stationed in Fatu Village, who works with the local community on rural revitalisation in his hometown. His stories brought to life the challenges and solutions around one of the village’s most precious resources: water.
Fatu Village, located in Zhuhai Town, Liupanshui City (贵州省六盘水市竹海镇法土村), sits at an altitude of 1,800 metres above sea level and spans roughly 15 square kilometres, surrounded by rolling hills and lush greenery that shape the daily life of its residents.
In Fatu Village, water is never taken for granted. With no rivers running through the village, residents have had to face water scarcity head-on, and they rely entirely on spring water for drinking, farming, and livestock. Seasonal droughts, worsened by climate change, have made water supply increasingly unreliable. Between October and March, springs can dwindle, sometimes leaving villagers with five months of extremely limited water.
The effects are clear: crop choices are constrained, harvests are smaller, and daily life becomes more challenging. Hygiene, health, and livelihoods all feel the pressure. In response, local authorities have implemented water transfer schemes, helping the community cope with seasonal shortages.
The villagers, however, have gone far beyond these reactive measures. They have shown remarkable initiative: building small reservoirs, embedding water-saving practices into daily routines, and adjusting crops and lifestyles to cope with the changing climate. Each step represents a quiet but determined effort to build water security in their community.
This struggle is shared. The Village Committee and the resident work team collaborate with the community to ensure that drinking water is safe and accessible. They maintain a ‘protective net’ around each water source, conducting careful inspections while teaching practical water-saving techniques in clear, easy-to-understand language. Over time, these repeated lessons and hands-on experiences have reshaped habits, and villagers have come to a shared realisation: water is not just a ‘lifeline’ for farming and daily life – it is the village’s ‘future line’, essential to its long-term survival and prosperity.
Local government support adds another layer of resilience. Through meticulous planning, targeted resource allocation, and coordination with neighbouring areas, authorities help ensure that even during the driest months, basic water needs are met, reinforcing the community’s resilience.
It is this combination of villagers’ self-reliance, neighbourly cooperation, proactive local organisations, and consistent government backing that has transformed a perennial challenge into a story of community strength. In Fatu, the fight against water scarcity has become more than mere survival – it is a blueprint for shared responsibility, resilience, and the most important, a way to hope.
Springs like those in Fatu Village are vital for highland communities across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, yet climate change puts them at risk. Protecting these water sources is crucial, not just for daily life, but for the long-term development of mountain communities.
ICIMOD’s work in the region promotes spring protection, community participation, and sharing of best practices across borders. Fatu Village demonstrates that sustainable water management succeeds when local initiatives, government support, and scientific guidance come together.
Fatu Village provides a small but compelling example of China’s rural revitalisation, showing how effective water management, community engagement, and proactive governance can transform the challenges of scarcity into opportunities for learning and resilience.
As rural communities around the world confront the impacts of climate change, China’s experience offers valuable lessons in balancing resource management with sustainable development.
With its towering peaks, amazing landscapes, unique cultural heritage and religious significance, the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region is one of the must-see travel destinations in the world. Tourism is considered both as a revenue-yielding activity and a conservation programme – providing livelihoods and a channel for protecting and regenerating fragile mountain ecosystems.
Before COVID, some Regional Member Countries (RMCs) of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), such as Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan, hosted around 0.3 million, 1.2 million, and 1.8 million international tourists, respectively. Post COVID, international tourists’ arrival in India reached 18.89 million, while Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan saw around 145 thousand, 1.19 million, and 1 million, respectively. The higher tourism growth indicates a great recovery trend from COVID.
This lively tourism industry is at the forefront of the changing climate. Increased temperature melts ice and snow at faster rates, resulting in floods inundating communities, while decreased rainfall and seasonal disruption are drying up springs and the groundwater table. The combined risks of too much and too little water are changing the ecosystems and the loss of intangible cultural assets. The very fabric of the HKH tourism industry is being either washed away in debris and mud, or the visitors, hosts, and natural aesthetics are being affected by the reduced water availability.
In countries such as Bhutan, Pakistan, and Nepal, communities are constantly facing disaster-induced life-threatening and economic risks, displacing them or abandoning the places/villages altogether. These countries saw an increase in outmigration from rural to more urban areas. Beyond threatening lives and livelihood security, this scenario also disrupts the labour workforce, not to mention the loss of community vitality in the rural regions of the HKH.
These challenges in the mountain tourism industry in the HKH warrant the introduction of innovative sustainable tourism development, particularly in areas of regenerative and climate-friendly tourism, highlighting policy, practice, and collaboration. As a response, ICIMOD initiated the climate-proofing mountain tourism landscape concept through a two-pronged approach – field school and policy development. These approaches are connecting communities to policy, where lessons and experiences from the field inform policy development.
The field school raises awareness and explores different dimensions of ecological, social, and governance, intending to mainstream regenerative and climate-friendly practices. It enhances community involvement and empowerment in tourism development by improving their capacities (decision making and skills) to host mindful travellers, strengthening green tourism product and service linkages, and valuing and preserving the heritage (natural and cultural), while anchoring initiatives to address the impacts of climate change in the tourism industry.
This approach is integrated in the policy practice, where regulatory guidance, policy briefs, and learning resources (curriculum and training manuals) are co-developed to address challenges or provide the enabling environment for enacting or sustaining regenerative and climate-friendly tourism practices.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), together with the National Trust for Nature Conservation – Annapurna Conservation Area Project (NTNC-ACAP), Varagung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality, Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki, and other partners, initiated and pilot tested the field school in Kagbeni and Dhakarjhong villages of Lower Mustang’s Varagung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality from 24 to 29 June. The initiative engaged communities in identifying environmental, climate, social, and economic challenges, assessing their impacts on lives and livelihoods, and defining potential solutions. Using a mix of presentations, transect walks, focus group discussions, and workshops, the field school generated recommendations for safeguarding biophysical systems, promoting agro-tourism, strengthening local economies, and enhancing business operations to build resilience. This was followed by a policy writeshop in Pokhara, aimed at promoting the villages as open climate schools for regional learning exchange and informing policy decisions through integrated planning and action. The activity brought together over 30 participants representing diverse community segments, governments, researchers and academics, community members, media, and technical and non-governmental organisations, from Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. This multi-level engagement enabled participants to learn, share insights on common challenges, and explore potential collaborations on climate-proofing the region’s tourism industry.
“Kagbeni and Dhakarjhong, part of Lower Mustang, offer oasis-like settlements in a sea of desert arid mountains dotted with unique natural features, historical and multiethnic communities. Lower Mustang is a gateway to the Upper Mustang and covers nearly half of the famous Annapurna Trekking Circuit and a pilgrimage route with Muktinath Temple as an auspicious place of worship for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is a bustling tourism site in a fragile mountain ecosystem at the mercy of a changing climate; this place is a perfect site for pilot-testing the two-pronged approach in climate-proofing the HKH tourism industry.”
Kagbeni is an established tourism destination in Lower Mustang. Located at the crossroad between two rivers – Kag Kola and Kali Gandaki, the confluence, where the two rivers meet, is an important site for Hindus offering Shraddha (a Hindu ritual for deceased ancestors) in honour of their dead parents. Centuries–old castle, hosting active community settlement, warrior camp, and monastery, dot the area, making it a living cultural and heritage site.
For the past 15 years, Kagbeni has registered decreasing snowfall, with the past three winters without snowfall. At the tip of these is the 13 August 2023 flood, which destroyed most infrastructures and remapped Kagbeni’s topography.
On the other hand, Dakharjhong is part of the trans-Himalayan region of Nepal, located at the edge of a cliff, 8.5 kilometres from Kagbeni. It lies close to the known trekking trails of Jomsom to Upper Dolpa. It is an old settlement of an Indigenous Tibetan-origin ethic group. It showcases skilfully compacted rammed earth and stone traditional houses, backdropped with a view of towering snow-capped Nilgiri mountain and hills. A budding tourism destination in the Lower Mustang, the community offers agro-ecotourism and cultural immersion experience with a great potential to develop, Nepal’s first climate resilient destination.
The community relied on snow-fed water sources and was new to frequent rainfalls. The community had not experienced snow for the last three years and is now receiving intense rainfall. Increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall have enhanced the risk of destroying and damaging the mud-packed roofing of traditional houses. Also, given the geophysical characteristics of the area – arid mountain with compacted loose soil, the village is prone to soil erosion and landslides.
An important exercise of the field school is the use of digital technology, especially the documentation of geographic information data, which is overlaid with the bio-physical, structural, agro-ecosystem and community vulnerabilities, and provision of key recommendations, for informed decision making by communities.
The policy writeshop in Pokhara, from 30 June to 3 July 2025, became more than just a technical gathering; it was a platform where communities from all three countries could reflect on the future of tourism in their mountain regions and chart practical ways forward, in the form of a policy document and curriculum/training manuals. Drawing on the lessons of the Mustang field school, participants sat together to rethink what enabling policy really means when communities, ecosystems, and economies are all at stake.
For Nepal, the conversation was rooted in the urgency of revising and reforming existing policy. The team called for streamlining coordination between federal, provincial, and local levels through a ‘One-Door System’ to cut bureaucratic delays, while also investing in stronger tourism data systems to inform decision-making. At the heart of their vision was developing local policy that enables the strengthening and scaling up of community-based regenerative and climate-friendly tourism initiatives that empower women, youth, and marginalised groups, supported by multi-level and multi-stakeholder collaboration in fragile destinations.
Pakistan, meanwhile, placed climate resilience at the centre of its agenda. The devastating floods of recent years in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan underscored how vulnerable tourism infrastructure is to climate shocks. The country’s recommendations focused on embedding disaster preparedness into tourism planning, from enforcing climate-smart building codes to installing early warning systems in high-risk areas. Pakistan also emphasised the need for inclusive tourism councils where women, youth, and indigenous communities have a seat at the table. Unlocking climate finance and engaging the private sector through green certification and partnerships were seen as vital steps to build a more resilient tourism economy.
Bhutan’s reflections, in contrast, centred on bridging the gap between its globally admired ‘High Value, Low Volume’ model and the realities on the ground. Despite ambitious visions of regenerative tourism, the country still struggles with skills mismatches, weak eco-certification standards, and persistent waste management issues. The recommendations from Bhutan, therefore, leaned toward strengthening professional training, introducing a robust national eco-certification system, and embedding digital monitoring tools to track visitor flows and ecosystem health. Equally important was the call for stronger multi-stakeholder governance, where government agencies, civil society, and private operators share responsibility for managing trails, services, and waste.
Although each country’s priorities reflected its own context, the writeshop created a sense of shared regional momentum. Participants recognised that the HKH’s landscape, its cultural circuits, and its ecological vulnerabilities are deeply interconnected. From cross-border tourism initiatives like the Buddhist Trail to shared learning on training curricula and community-driven tourism, the writeshop made it clear that building an enabling policy environment is not just a national task; it is a regional responsibility. Together, Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan are laying the foundations for a tourism sector that regenerates ecosystems, empowers mountain communities, and secures a climate-resilient future for the region.
The three RMCs galvanised important bilateral and regional collaborations from the field schools and policy writeshop exercises, which include:
In October, ICIMOD as regional knowledge hub, convenor and facilitator, will again host regional event for communities to discuss the key next steps on the agreed collaborations between countries, substantiate on the proposed regional network of mountain tourism stakeholders and cascade pilot testing of the existing recommendations on how to develop context-specific guiding manuals in the region.
What happens when you bring high-level government officials, regional experts from UN agencies, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), alongside civil society, think tanks, and researchers from across the Bay of Bengal and Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) regions into the same room? Besides technical exchange through dialogue, something deeper also begins to take shape - a deliberate, consensus-driven movement to place gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) at the heart of regional climate governance.
Held on July 14–15, 2025, at ICIMOD, Nepal, the Regional capacity building and consultation workshop for inclusive climate policy and planning was more than a workshop – it was a convergence of perspectives, mandates, and institutional strength. Anchored in the strategic collaboration between ICIMOD, UN Women, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Secretariat, this two-day gathering laid the groundwork for systematically embedding GESI within climate action across South and Southeast Asia, covering ICIMOD’s Regional Member Countries and BIMSTEC Member States.
Spanning the frozen glaciers of the Himalayas to the saltwater deltas of the Bay of Bengal, the BIMSTEC-HKH region encapsulates one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable corridors. The melting cryosphere contributes to rising seas downstream. Women, Indigenous Peoples, and marginalised groups across this geography often bear the brunt of cascading risks from flash floods in the mountains to salinity intrusion in coastal villages.
This workshop reframed climate planning as a regional continuum linking the snow-fed headwaters of the Hindu Kush Himalaya to the river basins and deltas of the Bay of Bengal. Participants emphasised the importance of integrated, transboundary approaches that recognise this hydrological and socio-political interconnectedness.
The shared insight: to ensure inclusive climate resilience, GESI cannot be localised. It must be incorporated in all forms of governance from the cryosphere to the coast.
The workshop unfolded as a multi-level policy laboratory. Sessions span from unpacking gendered vulnerabilities and exploring GESI-integrated climate finance to identifying institutional mechanisms and policy pathways. Participants examined existing national frameworks and dissected gaps in data, financing, and coordination through a GESI lens. Experts shared critical tools for mainstreaming gender in climate finance and monitoring, while country delegates presented lessons from national experiences ranging from Nepal’s gender-budgeted climate policies to Bangladesh’s cross-ministerial approaches for supporting women in coastal zones.
The output was a shared recognition that GESI integration must go beyond thematic tick-boxing. It requires strategic institutionalisation, political commitment, and transformative financing mechanisms.
The climate crisis does not respect borders, and therefore neither should solutions. Panel discussions and breakout groups emphasised the value of regional bodies in facilitating cross-border learning, data-sharing, and resource mobilisation. Several proposals, including a BIMSTEC and HKH-wide gender-responsive climate task force, regional financing facilities, and a shared knowledge hub, illustrate the momentum toward collective regional action.
By the end of Day two, the workshop yielded more than just ideas. It generated actionable roadmaps. Key outcomes included:
The facilitation team, drawn from ICIMOD, UN Women, UNEP, and BIMSTEC Secretariat, worked as a coordinated unit, enabling knowledge-sharing across ministries, sectors, and borders.
The workshop affirmed a central insight: policy shifts when women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and marginalised groups are recognised not just as ‘beneficiaries’ but as active agents of change.
This is the promise of a regional GESI agenda and not parallel to climate discourse, but integral to its architecture. The real work begins now, moving from capacity-building to coalition-building, from conversations to commitments, and from policy papers to programmatic actions.
The workshop marks a foundational step in that journey - powered by the strategic collaboration between UN Women, UNEP, ICIMOD, and the BIMSTEC Secretariat. Together, these institutions brought their distinct mandates and complementary strengths into a shared regional platform. The result: not just knowledge exchange, but co-creation; not just convening, but consensus-building.
This alliance demonstrates what is possible when multilateral organisations align their efforts around a unified vision - one that centres gender equality and regional resilience as core pillars of climate governance. Because when governments, experts, and communities collaborate, not just consult, the blueprint for inclusive climate resilience is no longer theoretical. And when that happens, the mountain and the coast speak with many voices but one vision. A vision forged in solidarity, flowing from the cryosphere to the coast.
High air pollution episodes resulting from forest fires, regional haze, and crop residue burning elevate concentrations of gaseous pollutants and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The tiny particles present in the ambient air can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, causing various health effects such as respiratory infections, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes, and premature mortality. Epidemiological studies (research on how and why diseases occur in different groups of people) so far have revealed that even a short-term exposure for few hours or a few days to elevated PM2.5 levels can increase the risk for hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiac conditions, especially among vulnerable groups like children, older people, and people with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, heart diseases or diabetes, or even outdoor workers.
Across South Asia, the proportion of outdoor workers is proportionately higher, and they are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of severe pollution events. These vulnerable groups include street vendors, rickshaw (three-wheeled passenger cart) drivers, and construction labourers.
Beyond physical health, high-pollution events can also exacerbate mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, as people are often forced to limit outdoor activities. High episode events significantly affect visibility, disrupting transportation, increasing accidents and delays. Together, these can have an impact on local businesses and tourism, ultimately reducing both local and national income. This was the case in Kathmandu Valley in March 2025, when smoke from widespread forest fires in the plains travelled long distances and significantly deteriorated the valley’s air quality. This spike in pollution showed how a single pollution event can affect areas far from its source. This underscores that air pollution from such episodic events is not just a local issue, but a broader public health and environmental concern. To stay safe during such episodes, it is important that individuals and families minimise exposure and stay safe during high pollution episodes. Below are some of the tested measures to follow:
Avoiding exposure during high pollution events is the most effective strategy for protecting individuals across all age groups. However, not everyone can afford to stay indoors, as daily responsibilities for work, commuting, and other essential activities often require outdoor exposure. While vulnerable groups such as children, older people, and individuals with pre-existing health conditions may be able to stay indoors during such periods, attention must also be given to indoor air quality, which can still pose significant health risks if not properly managed.
For those who need to commute, it is recommended to wear a well-fitted proper mask, avoid highly polluted areas like heavy traffic areas, smoky burning areas, if possible, etc. Along with these, other protective measures are explored further throughout this article.
Air purifiers are now available widely. This is increasingly becoming one of the most sought-after solutions to reduce exposure in indoor environments during high air pollution episodes. Earlier, these devices were mostly confined to hospitals or homes with elderly or critically ill individuals. In the last few years, their use has expanded, particularly in severely polluted urban centres like Delhi and Kathmandu, which experience frequent and longer duration of pollution peaks.
High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters used in air purifiers are known to significantly reduce indoor PM2.5 concentrations, offering measurable respiratory benefits, especially for vulnerable groups. However, while effective, the economic burden of purchasing and maintaining purifiers can limit access for low-income households, raising questions of equity and sustainability. In such cases, there are low-cost do-it-yourself (DIY) air cleaners made using simple materials like a box fan and a furnace filter. This method, developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides an affordable and accessible option for improving indoor air quality. Experts recommend properly sealing windows and avoiding indoor pollution sources to improve the effectiveness of air purifiers.
Wearing face masks can provide a useful layer of personal protection. It is important to note that mask fit, and sealing play a crucial role in overall effectiveness. One simple yet effective way for people to protect themselves from harmful pollutants such as PM2.5 is by wearing the right type of mask. However, not all masks offer the same level of protection. If wearing a mask feels suffocating, causes discomfort, or leads to dizziness, especially during intense physical activity, it is advisable to remove it.
N95 masks typically offer the highest protection, effectively filtering out at an efficiency ranging from 64% to over 97% for airborne particles, including PM2.5. Surgical masks also provide moderate protection (efficiency between 56.3% and 83.2%), mainly against larger respiratory droplets but less against fine particulates; these are more effective than standard cloth masks, which showed significantly lower filtration performance. Alternatives such as muslin and sponge masks, face wash tissues, and cotton or other fabric masks are known to provide limited or no protection.
Right fit and comfort of mask is also equally important, as Dr. Meghnath Dhimal, Chief Research Officer, at Nepal Health Research Council explains, “Using the right kind of respirator mask, particularly during high air pollution events, is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce personal exposure to fine particles. But it is equally important to ensure the mask fits properly”.
Stay updated on air pollution levels in your locality through various online platforms such as https://www.iqair.com, https://www.airnow.gov, smog.icimod.org, pollution.gov.np, and airquality.cpcb.gov.in, airquality.cpcb.gov.in provide real-time air quality information, helping individuals prepare and take necessary precautions to reduce exposure.
Diet and nutrition also play a supportive role in reducing the impact of air pollution. Health professionals often recommend eating antioxidant-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts, that help combat inflammation. Additionally, consuming antioxidant-rich foods is known to reduce inflammation triggered by air pollution and other and other environmental stressors, thereby supporting overall respiratory and cardiovascular health. In addition, staying well hydrated during high pollution events is beneficial, especially when exposure is unavoidable. Proper hydration supports the body’s natural detoxification processes and can help cope with pollutants more effectively. Dr. Ram Krishna Chandyo, Associate Professor at the Department of Community Medicine, Nepal Medical College, suggests that “Hydration and nutrition are often overlooked in discussions on combating the impact of air pollution. But staying well-hydrated and eating a diet rich in antioxidants can help strengthen the body’s resilience to pollution-induced stress.”
Air pollution can affect not just our physical health but also our mental well-being. It is important to maintain a positive mindset, especially if there is a limited opportunity to be outdoors. Encouraging practices in relaxation techniques can help mitigate stress and anxiety, which are often exacerbated by poor air quality.
Staying safe during high pollution episodes needs both awareness and action. While systematic solutions must come from governments’ regulations and policies, each of us also needs to do a lot through behavioural change. By staying updated, making small daily changes, and using tools like masks and purifiers, we can protect ourselves and our families from adverse air quality.
In the fragile ecosystems of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), over 100 million people depend on spring water for drinking, agriculture, and livestock. However, nearly 50% of these critical water sources are drying up due to climate change, seismic movement, and unsustainable land use. We find that the benefits of springshed revival in 14 sites across three Indian Himalayan states exceed the costs (with a net economic benefit of USD 10.27 per household per month). This should help with the planning and policies for water and climate adaptation in mountain communities.
Natural springs are vital oases to arid and semi-arid ecosystems, acting as hydrologic refuges in mountainous regions like the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). Beyond just serving as a source of drinking water, they are lifelines in some communities for human livelihoods and wildlife, and in general buffer against extreme climatic shocks. In the HKH’s fragile ecosystems, over 100 million people depend on these springs for drinking water, agriculture, and livestock rearing. Yet, the stakes are high: nearly 50% of these critical water points have either dried up or become seasonal due to geogenic pressures like shifting geology and anthropogenic risks from land use change and climate change.
Recognising that, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) rolled out a comprehensive, science-based springshed management initiative across four states in the Indian Himalayan region (IHR): Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand. The initiative marks a shift from traditional watershed conservation to a broader, more sustainable groundwater-focused strategy. To support and improve that initiative, an expert team of economists from the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) conducted a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of spring revival and springshed management in the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand, and published a research report titled ‘Cost-benefit analysis of springs revival in the Indian Himalayan Region’. This blog summarises the key findings from the report.
We used a participatory CBA approach based on a mix of scientific literature review, project-related information, and primary field insights using rapid appraisal by focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). We began with a broad desk review, scanning global studies on springshed services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with parallels to the HKH region in general and the IHR in particular.
Our data come from three different sources - first, we conducted FGDs and KIIs across the three Indian Himalayan states: Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand; second, we gathered cost data from ICIMOD’s project documents, and local stakeholders guided by the six-step protocol for springshed management; and third, we combined these two sets of data sources using a technique called benefits transfer (which adjusts information gathered from a wider literature review to site specific features).
We identified five categories of costs: material, labour, operational, transportation, and miscellaneous. Meanwhile, benefits included tangible gains like improved health, time savings, and increased access to non-timber forest products (e.g. fodder). We recognised harder-to-quantify broader ecosystems as well as cultural services, but did not include these benefits because of time and resource constraints, and because the community respondents did not give prominence to these benefits. We assumed a discount rate of 5% and a 25-year horizon while analysing field data from 14 springs across the three states.
Fetching water is time-consuming. For example, in Thanakasoga Baudi, Himachal Pradesh, households previously spent 60-90 minutes per trip to distant springs. After the intervention, previously dried up or springs with declining water yield started yielding more water. As a result, the travel time came down to 15-30 minutes, saving 45-60 minutes per trip. With 2-3 trips daily and a local wage rate of USD (United States dollar) 4.20 per day, benefits from time savings amount to approximately USD 42 per household per month. Similarly, in Dhokung Dhara, Sikkim, excess water from revived springs has reduced waiting time by half, saving about 30-60 minutes daily across two trips, valued at USD 25 monthly with an average daily wage of USD 4.50 per day. Across all sites, the value of time savings averages USD 9.5 per household per month as a result of a significant gain in water yield, which also reduces drudgery, especially for women.
As a result of an increased yield of safe drinking water, households experience improved health. For example, in Jori Mata Baudi, waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea dropped from 8-10 cases to 3-4 cases (a 60% reduction) annually. Across all fourteen sites, health benefits average to about USD 2 per household per month. Although this is not the case for every site, it is a clear indication of health benefits.
Additional water flow means extra moisture in the soil. As a result of the springshed revival, households at Upsala Shivani Dhara saved USD 9.10 monthly on fodder for cattle (avoiding fodder purchases at USD 0.12 per bundle). In Bonderi and Jalosa Ram Baudi, Himachal Pradesh, fodder production has doubled, saving about USD 2.50 per household monthly per site. The average across all sites is USD 1.01 per household per month – a small but meaningful saving.
Next, turning to the upfront and recurring costs of reviving the springs over a 25-year period (amortised using a 5% discount rate), we find that these are as little as USD 0.48 per household per month in Uttarakhand, USD 1.81 in Himachal Pradesh and USD 1.40 in Sikkim. The following table summarises the per household per month net benefits (including costs and benefits).
These results are promising, underscoring the economic viability of the springs revival project. Our findings estimate the per household, per month net benefits at approximately USD 12 in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and USD 7 in Sikkim. In simple terms, our analysis suggests that the spring revival efforts pass the basic cost-benefit test. Note, our analysis does not consider both the values related to ecosystem services, and cultural and aesthetic values tied to springs. Therefore, these figures represent only the lower bounds of net social benefits, which could only increase if we account for such additional benefits.
We observed variation in the components of both costs and benefits across our study sites. Some of the notable variations include:
Spring revival is not just about water – it is a catalyst for sustainable development:
The implication is straightforward: reviving Himalayan springs yields positive net benefits per household per month. Beyond the numbers, it safeguards a resource inseparable from cultural identity and ecological balance. As climate threats escalate in the HKH region, scaling these springs revival activities is not just prudent – it’s urgent.
In the race for rapid economic growth and abrupt demographic changes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, including rural to urban migration, it is crucial for urbanisation and development to be planned. The choice of construction material in this development is vital, in terms of quality, safety, duration, cost, and taking into account health – especially as 40% of global emissions come from the construction sector. Bricks tell the story of the region’s most preferred and traditionally used building material in the region.
Asia dominates global brick production, contributing 86.87% of the world’s total brick production. At the forefront of the brick industry is China, producing over one trillion bricks annually, followed by the South Asian region, home to nearly a quarter of global brick production, producing 31 billion bricks annually. Beyond its economic and infrastructural significance, the brick industry employs a huge workforce. In Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, brick industries employ over 16 million people. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, it employs 1.3 million people and has about 20,000 brick kilns with an estimated 1.5% contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP).
However, the brick sector remains largely informal and faces pressing environmental and social challenges in South Asia. Unlike China, which has adopted a modernised brick-making process, other South Asian countries continue to rely on traditional, and less-efficient methods with high emissions – including particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC) or soot (which is formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) – which contribute to the region’s air pollution crisis. These issues are further compounded by multiple underlying social issues. The significant number of brick workers comprises an internal and regional migrant workforce, many of whom work and migrate with families, including children, often working and living in precarious conditions. Issues such as child labour, poor occupational health and safety, and inadequate sanitation persist, while gender disparities – differences in people’s access to resources, status and level of wellbeing, based on gender – are driven by differences in skills, wages, and the nature of work undertaken, making the transformation of the sector critical.
Recognising these challenges, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has been working towards mitigating black carbon and CO2 emissions from brick production in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region since 2014. ICIMOD launched the Air Pollution Solutions Initiative in 2017 as the lead implementer of the Clean Brick Initiative of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), formerly the Department for International Development (DFID) in Nepal.
This initiative focused on reducing emissions, and promoting cleaner, more efficient brick-making technologies. A cornerstone of this initiative is the promotion of ‘zigzag’ technology, which enhances brick production efficiency and reduces emissions significantly. In zigzag kilns, bricks are arranged in a zigzag pattern, which allows hot air to flow more efficiently, improving heat transfer from flue gases to the bricks. Studies show that zigzag technology can reduce emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 35% and lower CO2 emissions by approximately 30%. PM2.5 present serious health hazards to communities, causing human illnesses and affecting animal and plant life.
ICIMOD co-developed a Social Code of Conduct to help improve the working and living conditions of workers and their families to promote safer working conditions and a socially responsive brick sector, with notable implementation in Nepal and Pakistan.
Punjab province in central-eastern Pakistan has emerged as a notable leader in the transition toward cleaner and socially responsive brick production. The transition process began in 2017 with the introduction of zigzag kilns by ICIMOD with the support of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC), Pakistan. Since then, ICIMOD has collaborated with key stakeholders to facilitate the shift from traditional, high-polluting and less-efficient kilns known as ‘fixed chimney bull’s trench kiln’ (FCBTK) to zigzag kilns. Collaborators include the Brick Kiln Owners’ Association of Pakistan (BKOAP) and various government departments like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Environment Protection Department (EPD) Punjab, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), and the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA). ICIMOD has conducted a series of capacity-building training sessions in cities across Pakistan, including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Lahore, and Multan.
Punjab is at the forefront of adopting zigzag technology after the EPD Punjab enacted a policy mandating the conversion of traditional FCBTKs to zigzag technology in 2020. To date, about 11,000 kilns have been successfully converted to zigzag kilns in Punjab province. This shift also aligns with Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2021, which prioritises the conversion of conventional kilns to zigzag kilns as a key tracking indicator for lower emissions.
EPD Punjab has played a crucial role in facilitating this transition by enforcing regulatory compliance, conducting extensive awareness campaigns, and offering technical support for kiln owners. Additionally, the department has collaborated with stakeholders, including the BKOAP, to ensure a smooth shift towards more environmentally friendly technology. It has also implemented a monitoring mechanism to track kiln conversions, imposed fines on non-compliant units, and enforced the prohibition of the use of substandard fuels to further reduce carbon emissions.
As part of its ongoing efforts, EPA Punjab has allocated unique identity cards – which include a geolocation tag and digitised identity numbers for each brick kiln – and carried out e-mapping for real-time monitoring and regulatory oversight. This initiative enhances transparency and contributes to effective tracking of kiln operations and environmental compliance. Furthermore, the department has launched a ‘Joining Carbon Hotspots with Carbon Sinks’ initiative, promoting drives to plant trees and shrubs around brick kilns to mitigate carbon emissions and improve air quality.
This proactive approach, coupled with the voluntary uptake of zigzag technology by the members of the BKOAP Punjab, has demonstrated success. As Hamid Sheikh, Director General of EPA-Punjab, remarked at the training on ‘Scaling Cleaner and Socially Responsive Brick Production in Sindh’ organised by jointly organized by EPD-Punjab, ICIMOD, BKOAP, Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) : “Punjab’s brick kiln sector’s adoption of zigzag technology is a commendable step towards ensuring cleaner air in Punjab, and is a success story for other provinces to learn from.” The lessons learnt from here offer a scalable model for other provinces to follow, paving the way to achieve nationwide environmental benefits.
The urgency for cleaner and more efficient brick technology is even more pronounced in Sindh province, southeastern Pakistan, particularly after the devastating floods in 2022 that severely impacted homes, and infrastructure. Currently, there are an estimated 5,000 operational brick kilns, primarily consisting of clamp kilns (traditional method of baking bricks, done by stacking unbaked bricks with fuel under or among them, then igniting the fuel) and FCBTKs, which are highly polluting and inefficient. With the high demand for bricks in the province’s reconstruction efforts after the flood, Punjab’s successful adoption of zigzag technology offers a proven model for Sindh to follow, aligning with national climate policies and green recovery initiatives.
Minar Thapa Magar, National Coordinator at Sindh Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform (SHRRP) highlighted the critical need for this transition:
“After the 2022 floods, Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) and the Government of Sindh had to rapidly rebuild over two million homes for families who lost everything. But reconstruction must also be climate conscious. With an estimated 60 billion bricks required solely for flood infrastructure reconstruction in Sindh, the transition of brick industries to zigzag is essential to lower emissions, reduce health impacts, improve brick productivity and protect jobs.”
Based on the urgency and the need for capacity building, EPD Punjab, ICIMOD, BKOAP, SHRRP, SPHF Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and the Asian Development Bank jointly organised a capacity-building training session in Lahore in December 2024.
The master trainers from BKOAP, backed by EPA Punjab and in support from the Federation of Nepal Brick Industries (FNBI) – under the regional network of the Federation of Asian Brick Kiln Association (FABKA) – imparted the technical and hands-on field-based training to 33 participants from Sindh. Training participants included brick kiln owners, officials from Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (STEVTA), and representatives from SHRRP and SPHF.
During the event, the Punjab Parliamentary Secretary, Kanwal Liaquat, emphasised that clean air is a constitutional right of citizens of Pakistan. She also highlighted Punjab’s commitment to sharing their knowledge from the brick sector with other stakeholders, not just within the country but also across borders. She said: “The introduction of Punjab’s first ever climate change policy, smog mitigation plan, and a historic allocation of 100 billion rupees (PKR) for climate improvement show the government’s seriousness in tackling environmental challenges.”
Following the training, Kirshan Lal Panriya, one of the brick kiln owners from Umerkot city in Sindh, expressed his commitment to change his brick kiln: “I will convert my brick kiln into zigzag technology as the technology is helpful in producing less carbon, saving the environment, and reducing my investment cost”.
The Asian Development Bank has committed to supporting the conversion to zigzag kilns in Sindh by supporting five pilot kilns, and CRS will support one pilot kiln. These efforts mark a significant step towards cleaner brick production in Sindh.
As this region’s brick sector continues to scale, the need for a sustainable transition, as demonstrated by Pakistan, has never been more crucial. The transition of the brick sector is not only about reducing emissions but also about building resilience and enhancing the livelihoods of millions of workers and communities across the region. The large share of brick industries operating across the region continue to impact both the health of the population and the environment. Brick workers, children, and neighbouring communities bear the brunt of exposure to the emission of black carbon and particulate matter that severely degrade air quality and human health. Moving forward, promoting and scaling the adoption of cleaner technologies and enforcing regulatory mechanisms that integrate the social safeguarding of brickworks is vital.
The Government of Nepal officially declared a drought emergency in the Madhesh Province on 24 July 2025, a rare occurrence in a region more often in the headlines for floods. While devastating floods and landslides across South Asia dominate the news, a slower, quieter, but no less catastrophic disaster is unfolding in the southeastern plains of Nepal. In Madhesh Province, widely known as Nepal’s ‘Grain Basket,’ a slow-onset drought is gripping farming communities at the heart of the nation’s food system.
Despite being in the middle of the monsoon season, the region has experienced persistently below-average rainfall. On 1 July, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) of Nepal forecasted low precipitation in Madhesh Province during this monsoon, as shown in Figure 1.
This rainfall deficit has severely disrupted the rice transplantation calendar, the most time-sensitive and critical phase of the rice production cycle. This delay is not just an agricultural concern; it signals the early stages of a food security crisis.
As of 27 July 2025, only 51.82% of rice land in Madhesh had been transplanted, compared to 92% by the same week in 2024. Madhesh typically accounts for around 27% of Nepal’s total rice-growing area (approximately 353,441 hectares) and produces nearly 1.28 million metric tons of rice annually, with an average yield of 3.63 metric tons per hectare. Such a sharp decline of over 40% is unprecedented in recent years. Any disruption cascades throughout the growing season in a farming community where planting windows are tightly synchronised with rainfall.
In response to these growing concerns, in July 2025 the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) conducted a situational analysis of the drought’s impact on rice production in Madhesh using a combination of satellite imagery, climatic indicators, and agricultural statistics. Analysis of Sentinel-2 (an Earth Observation satellite) imagery showed a significant reduction in vegetative cover in Madhesh province compared to the same period in 2024, as shown in Figure 2.
Based on our assessment, ICIMOD estimates that over 40% of Madhesh’s rice-growing area, nearly 142,000 hectares, is under significant drought stress. This could result in a potential production loss of approximately 400,000 – 450,000 metric tons of rice. Even if rains resume, recovery may be limited due to poor seedling establishment, soil moisture depletion, and missed crop growth stages.
The implications are severe. Nationally, Nepal grows rice on about 1.33 million hectares, producing over 4.9 million metric tons annually. A production shock in Madhesh could ripple across the country, raising food prices, increasing import dependency, impacting trade balances, and reducing household incomes. With agriculture contributing 24.1% to Nepal’s GDP and rice as its staple crop, this drought has become not only a regional crisis but a national economic and food security threat.
The Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) showed much of the region under moderate to severe drought in the Madhesh province, especially Mahottari, Dhanusa, and Siraha districts, as shown in Figure 3, which is further confirmed by the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imaging data, as shown in Figure 4.
Both figures 3 and 4 show that the Mahottari, Dhanusa, and Siraha districts of Madhesh province are experiencing the most critical drought stress. The VCI map highlights widespread extreme drought throughout these districts, reflecting significant vegetation stress, while the SPI map confirms severe to extreme dry conditions due to prolonged rainfall deficits. These Earth Observation tools validate the scenario on the ground and demonstrate the value of remote sensing for early warning, damage assessment, and decision support.
Beyond the satellite-based evidence, Madhesh Province is currently experiencing all four major forms of drought. Meteorological drought has emerged from the persistent failure of the monsoon, while a hydrological drought, driven by an unusually dry winter, has drastically reduced water levels in rivers, canals, and groundwater reserves. These conditions have triggered a severe agricultural drought, with little to no rice transplantation taking place across the region. The crisis has now extended into a socio-economic drought, as prolonged water shortages disrupt livelihoods, strain local economies, and impact society.
As a response to this domino effect, the Madhesh Provincial Government declared the province as drought-stricken on 26 June 2025, followed by the Provincial Disaster Management Committee urging the federal government to escalate this status on 22 July 2025, resulting in a drought emergency being declared in the Madhesh Province.
To catalyse this, ICIMOD co-convened a multi-stakeholder meeting on 5 August 2025, bringing together representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), and development partner World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The meeting served as a platform to discuss the development of a MoALD-led technical task force that would facilitate data sharing, produce timely advisories, and provide evidence-based policy recommendations. The proposed task force is expected to play a key role in enabling anticipatory action and strengthening Nepal’s drought resilience in the months and years ahead.
The unfolding drought crisis in Madhesh underscores the urgent need for robust early warning systems, timely response mechanisms, and science-driven policy action. In addition to this, recognising the relationship between Chure hills (upstream) and Madhesh (downstream), Integrated Water Resource Management is especially important in regions like this. As a regional knowledge centre, ICIMOD remains committed to supporting evidence-based decision-making through Earth Observation technologies, monitoring and outlook systems like the National Drought Watch Nepal, and strategic partnerships with government and development partners. The insights gained from this assessment highlight the scale of agricultural vulnerability and the transformative potential of integrating geospatial tools into disaster risk reduction and food security planning.
This activity is being implemented under the "Building Capabilities for Green, Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Development" (HI-GRID) project in the Lower Koshi River Basin in Nepal, supported by the Government of Australia.