Mountain People Adapting to Change
Transcription
Mountain People Adapting to Change
Kathmandu, Nepal Ministry of Science Technology and Environment, Nepal 9–12 November 2014 International Conference on Mountain People Adapting to Change Solutions Beyond Boundaries Bridging Science, Policy, and Practice Contents Background and theme 1 Conference programme 2 Session Briefs 7 [High-Level Leadership Panel] Managing Change 7 [Plenary] Adding Knowledge and Evidence 8 [Parallel Sessions] Moving from climate observations to scientific understanding in the HKH context 9 –– [Parallel B] Emerging Concerns 10 –– [Parallel C] Predicting Uncertainties 11 [Parallel Sessions] Bridging local and global knowledge to improve livelihoods in changing landscapes 12 –– [Parallel A] Sustaining the Mountains 12 –– [Parallel B] A Fine Balance 13 –– [Parallel C] Vulnerability and Resilience 14 [Plenary] Consolidating Knowledge 15 [Plenary] Enhancing Compatibility 16 [Parallel Sessions] Engaging actors from the periphery of adaptation policy discussions 17 –– [Parallel A] Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies 17 –– [Parallel B] Transboundary River Basins 18 –– [Parallel C] From Mountain to Mountain 19 [Plenary] Connecting the Dots 20 [Plenary] In Practice 21 [Parallel Sessions] Applying lessons from science and policy in local contexts 22 –– [Parallel A] Climate-Smart Strategies 22 –– [Parallel B] Adaptation in Action 23 –– [Parallel C] Adding Value 24 [Concluding High-Level Policy Panel] Getting Mountains on the Global Agenda 2 9 –– [Parallel A] Questions of Scale 25 Session design guide 26 List of marketplace presenters 28 Speaker profiles 29 List of participants 65 General information for participants 71 Venue map 74 Map of Kathmandu City 75 Sites of conference visits 76 Conference team 77 Cover photo: Nabin Baral Background and theme Background As the source of ten of Asia’s major river systems, the Hindu Kush Himalayas provide water, ecosystem services, and livelihoods to more than 210 million people. The region is also a source of water for more than 1.3 billion people – a fifth of the world’s population – living in downstream river basins. Climate change and other changes have already begun to impact ecosystems and communities across the region, as well as those downstream. Traditional adaptation techniques, which have supported people in mountain areas for centuries, are no longer able to keep up with the rapid pace of change. To effectively support communities in adapting to change, solutions must be developed that look beyond political, sectoral, and national boundaries. It also requires in-depth knowledge of both local conditions and broader global climate change trends. Although new reports such as ‘Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’ recently released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have provided fresh insight, there are still gaps in our knowledge about how climate change is affecting and will continue to affect the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. The Mountain People Adapting to Change Conference aims to fill some of these knowledge gaps by bringing together over 200 experts and stakeholders from around the globe, including government representatives and high-level dignitaries from the Hindu Kush Himalayas, for discussion and debate on the status of adaptation. The Conference will approach climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas from a holistic perspective, seen in the context of other change processes and in relation to changes in mountain areas around the globe. By drawing together the latest knowledge, policies, and practices on adaptation, the Conference aims to strengthen the interface between science, policy, and practice and improve communication for adaptation to change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region and downstream. Conference Philosophy The philosophy and ambition of the conference is to explore new ideas and new solutions and to fill knowledge gaps. There will be a mix of shorter formal presentations and dialogue with and among participants. All sessions will encourage conversations that are interactive, dynamic, and progressive. The overall theme of Mountain People Adapting to Change will be explored through three thematic pillars: Adaptation Science, Adaptation Policy and Action, and Adaptation Practice and Solutions. These pillars are inextricably interlinked. Within each thematic pillar, there are two plenary sessions and two parallel sessions that will explore topics in varying levels of depth. Session Briefs Most sessions will be conducted as informed dialogues. For each session, there is a short concept brief outlining the key message and questions that frame the session. These briefs are available both in this booklet (see p. 44) and for download from the conference website. With the briefs we endeavour to enable conversations that focus on solutions rather than problems. 1 Conference programme Day 1: 9 November 2014 (Sunday) – Inauguration and High-Level Leadership Panel Morning Visit to ICIMOD Knowledge Park (optional) 14:00–15:00 [Inaugural Session] Mountain People Adapting to Change: Solutions Beyond Boundaries Bridging Science, Policy, and Practice Master of Ceremonies: Naina Shakya, ICIMOD Welcome and setting the agenda: David Molden, ICIMOD Welcome by Co-organizer: Krishna Chandra Paudel, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, Nepal Lighting of the lamp Adaptation issues in the HKH: Eklabya Sharma, ICIMOD Address from ICIMOD’s BOG: Govind Raj Pokharel, Vice Chair, Nepal Planning Commission Address from Chief Guest: Rt. Hon’ble Sushil Koirala, Prime Minister, Nepal About the Conference and Vote of Thanks: Nand Kishor Agrawal, ICIMOD 15.00–17:00 [High-Level Leadership Panel] Managing Change: Challenges of translating knowledge into adaptation policy and action in the mountains Moderator: David Molden, ICIMOD Panellists: Christiana Figureres, UNFCCC [via video] Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan Mohammad Arif Noorzai, Minister of Energy and Water, Afghanistan Tarun Vijay, Member of Parliament, India Jigmi Rinzin, Member of Parliament, National Council of Bhutan Krishna Chandra Paudel, Secretary, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, Nepal Fabrizio Bresciani, IFAD NBK Tripura, Secretary, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Bangladesh 17:00 onwards High Tea Day 2: 10 November 2014 (Monday) – Adaptation Science 08:45–09:00 [Introductory Address] Solutions Beyond Boundaries: Climate change as a challenge to and opportunity for development Speaker: Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Member of Parliament; former Union Minister, India 09:00–10:30 [Plenary – Formal Panel] Megha-Malhar Hall Adding Knowledge and Evidence: Strengthening regional knowledge beyond IPCC Assessment Reports Chair: Kristin Halvorsen, CICERO; former Minister of Finance and of Education, Norway Keynote: Dipak Gyawali, NWCF; former Minister of Water Resources of Nepal Panellists: Atiq Rahman, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies N.H. Ravindranath, Indian Institute of Science Anand Patwardhan, University of Maryland Arun B. Shrestha, ICIMOD Session Host: Nand Kishor Agrawal 10.30–11:00 2 Tea 11:00–12:30 [Parallel Sessions] Moving from climate observations to scientific understanding in the HKH context [Dialogue Café] [Interactive Panel] [Interactive Panel] Mehga Hall Malhar Hall Malshree Hall Questions of Scale: Applying global and regional climate scenarios to HKH basins Emerging Concerns: Black carbon and the cryosphere Predicting Uncertainties: The challenges of disaster preparedness Chair: Asit K. Biswas (Third World Centre for Water Management) Keynote: Tobias Bolch, University of Zurich Keynote: N.H. Ravindranath (Indian Institute of Science) Panellists: Liu Suxia, IGSNRR Christopher Scott, University of Arizona Chair: Svante Bodin, ICCI Panellists: Arnico Panday, ICIMOD Cong Zhiyuan, ITP Maria Shahgedanova, University of Reading Session Host: Arun B. Shrestha Chair: V.K. Gaur, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Keynote: Anil K Sinha, Bihar SDMA Panellists: Anand Sharma, Indian Meteorological Dept. Mats Eriksson, SIWI Salmanuddin Shah, FOCUS Pakistan Bob van Oort, CICERO Session Host: Philippus Wester Session Hosts: MSR Murthy and Neera Shrestha-Pradhan 12:30–13:30 Lunch 13:30–15:00 [Parallel Sessions] Bridging local and global knowledge to improve livelihoods in changing landscapes [Interactive Panel] [Interactive Panel] [Dialogue Café] Malshree Hall Malhar Hall Mehga Hall Sustaining the Mountains: Ensuring food security through flexible production systems A Fine Balance: Connecting community and ecosystembased adaptation Vulnerability and Resilience: Integrating science with marginalized groups’ responses to change Chair: N. B. Kishore Tripura, Government of Bangladesh Chair: Sara Ahmad, IDRC Keynote: Tor Aase, CICERO Keynote: Xu Jianchu, ICRAF/ KIB Keynote: Ganesh Thapa, former IFAD Panellists: Panellists: Panellists: Golam Rasul, ICIMOD Rajendra P. Agarwalla, Govt of Assam A. Nambi Appadurai, WRI Babar Khan, WWF-Pakistan Su Yufang, KIB Nina Homelin, CICERO Feng Yan, AIRC Chencho Norbu, MoAF Session Host: Abid Hussain 15:00–15:30 Chair: V. K. Bahuguna, Govt of Tripura Luis Waldmueller, GIZ Wu Ning, ICIMOD Session Host: Laxmi D. Bhatta Elizabeth Gogoi, CDKN Suruchi Bhadwal, TERI Session Hosts: Chanda Gurung Goodrich and Anjal Prakash Tea 3 15:30-17:00 [Dialogue Café] Megha-Malhar Hall Consolidating Knowledge: Adaptation science for holistic perspectives in upstream and downstream contexts Chair: Roland F. Steurer, GIZ Nepal Panellists: Parallel session chairs (6) present one/two key issues from their sessions Asit K Biswas, Third World Centre for Water Management Svante Bodin, ICCI V. K. Gaur, CSIR, India N. B. Kishore Tripura, Govt of Bangladesh V. K. Bahuguna, Govt of Tripura, India Sara Ahmad, IDRC Session Host: Rajan Kotru 18:00 onwards Cultural Evening followed by Reception Dinner Day 3: 11 November 2014 (Tuesday) – Adaptation Policy and Action 08:45–10:30 [Plenary – Interactive Panel] Megha-Malhar Hall Enhancing Compatibility: Connecting National Adaptation Plans with global strategies Chair: Sikander Hayat Khan Bosan, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Pakistan Keynote: Atiq Rahman, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies Panellists: Rojina Manandhar, UNFCCC Arabinda Mishra, TERI University Vijaya Singh, UNDP-Nepal Batu Uprety, Least Developed Countries Expert Group Session Host: Dhrupad Choudhury 10:30–11:00 Tea 11:00–12:30 [Showcase] Voices of the Future: Innovative solutions from regional organizations and presentations from the next generation of change-makers 12:30–13:30 4 Innovative Solutions Marketplace: Over 20 organizations from HKH countries will demonstrate/showcase their work 20 young professionals selected out of about 100 submissions from HKH countries will present posters on adaptation solutions Marketplace team: Naina Shakya, Laxmi B. Dutta, Bhawana Syangden, Neera ShresthaPradhan Poster session judges: Rucha Ghate, Muhammad Ismail, Deo Raj Gurung, T. V. Padma Lunch 13:30–15:00 [Parallel Sessions] Engaging actors from the periphery of adaptation policy discussions [Interactive Panel] [Interactive Panel] [Dialogue Café] Malshree Hall Malhar Hall Megha Hall Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ensuring recovery after climate-induced loss Transboundary River Basins: Management and benefit sharing as an adaptation mechanism From Mountain to Mountain: Lessons for the HKH from other regions Chair: [TBC] Keynote: SVRK Prabhakar, IGES Panellists: Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Planning Commission, Bangladesh Chair: Anil Sinha, Bihar SDMA Chair: Basanta Shrestha, ICIMOD Keynote: Asit K. Biswas, Third World Centre for Water Management Keynote: Yuri Badenkov, Russian Academy of Science Panellists: Manfred Seebauer, GIZ Mats Eriksson, SIWI Panellists: Giovanna Gioli, University of Hamburg Ramesh Vaidya, ICIMOD Lawrence Hislop, GRID-Arendal Eddy Moors, WUR Sandhya Rao, IIT-Delhi Janine Kuriger, SDC Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, Hydro Solutions Saskia Werners, Wageningen University Session Hosts: Aditi Mukherji and Shahriar Wahid Session Host: Erling Valdemar Holmgren Anamika Barua, SaciWaters Session Host: Nand Kishor Agrawal 15:00–15:30 Tea 15:30–17:00 [Dialogue Café] Megha-Malhar Hall Connecting the Dots: Translating science to policy through effective communication Moderator: Anne Solgaard, GRID-Arendal Keynote: Ashok Gurung, China India Institute Panellists: Kunda Dixit, Himal Media Batu Uprety, Least Developed Countries Expert Group Mona Laczo, BBC Media Action Trude Rauken, CICERO Aditi Mukherji, ICIMOD Session Host: Anja Møller Rasmussen 17:00 onwards Kathmandu by Night: Optional evening walks through historic and cultural areas of the city (Patan Durbar Square) 5 Day 4: 12 November 2014 (Wednesday) – Adaptation Practice and Solutions 08:45–10:30 [Plenary – Interactive Panel] Megha-Malhar Hall In Practice: Integrating adaptation knowledge into development Chair: Murtaza Javed Abbas, Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan Keynote: Hari K. Upadhyay, CEAPRED Panellists: Mohammad Rafi Qazizada, MAIL, Afghanistan Sunil Tankha, International Institute of Social Studies Frank Laczko, International Organization for Migration Bernard Cantin, International Development Research Centre, CARIAA Muhammad Hashim Popalzai, Pakistan Ministry of National Food Security and Research Session Hosts: Dhrupad Choudhury and Erling Valdemar Holmgren 10:30–11:00 Tea 11:00–12:30 6 [Parallel Sessions] Applying lessons from science and policy to local contexts [Dialogue Café] Malhar Hall Climate-Smart Strategies: Large and small-scale innovations and services for changing climates Chair: Yang Yongping, KIB Keynote: Pramod Kumar Aggarwal, CGIAR CCAFS Panellists: MSR Murthy, ICIMOD Raminder Singh, RML Partha J. Das, Aaranyak Dong Suocheng, CAS Session Host: Suman Bisht [Interactive Panel] Malshree Hall Adaptation in Action: Indigenous, existing, and emerging practices for managing livelihoods Chair: Eklabya Sharma, ICIMOD Keynote: Bernard Cantin, IDRC Panellists: Pushkin Phartiyal, CHEA Veronika Utz, GIZ Pakistan San Win, Myanmar University of Forestry Madhav Karki, Former ICIMOD Session Host: Soumyadeep Banerjee [Dialogue Café] Megha Hall Adding Value: Promoting climate resilient livelihoods and value chains Chair: T.S. Papola, ISID Keynote: Suraj Vaidhya, SAARC CCI Panellists: Anu Joshi, ICIMOD Pankaj Raturi, Dabur K. Murali, IDRC Pradip Maharjan, FNCCI Session Host: Marjorie van Strien 12:30–1:30 Lunch and Networking 13:30–15:30 [Concluding Plenary – High-Level Policy Panel] Megha-Malhar Hall Getting Mountains on the Global Agenda: Mapping the way forward Facilitator: David Molden, ICIMOD Summary of the conference: Ganesh Thapa, former IFAD Panellists [TBC}: Govind Raj Pokharel, Vice Chair, Npeal Planning Commission Mohammad Arif Noorzai, Minister, Afghanistan Jigmi Rinzin, Member of Parliament, Bhutan Gowher Rizvi, Advisor to PM, Bangladesh Jamie McGoldrick, UN Resident Coordinator, Nepal Rojina Manandhar, Representative, UNFCCC Arjun Thapa, Secretary General, SAARC Malik Shakhir Bashir Awan, Member, National Assembly of Pakistan 16:15–17:17 Media Briefing Session briefs 9 November: Inauguration [HIGH-LEVEL LEADERSHIP PANEL] Managing Change: Challenges of translating knowledge into adaptation policy and action in the mountains Session design – Moderated Panel As the source of ten of Asia’s major river systems, the Hindu Kush Himalayas provide water, ecosystem services, and livelihoods to more than 210 million people. The region is also a source of water for more than 1.3 billion people – a fifth of the world’s population – living in downstream river basins. Climate change and other changes have already begun to impact ecosystems and communities across the region, as well as those downstream. Traditional adaptation techniques, which have supported people in mountain areas for centuries, are no longer able to keep up with the rapid pace of change. In order to help mountain communities adapt to this change, it is crucial to achieve good integration between science, policy, and practice and to engage HKH actors in global discussions and action on climate change. For this, while institutional and scientific strides are still required, there is an urgent need for a mechanism that facilitates the uptake of science in effective policy making for action. In this session, high-level policy and decision makers from the region and the international community will discuss the role of the HKH and mountain agenda in the global arena, and what the key priorities for translating adaptation science into policy and action should be. Key questions to be discussed What are the key concerns for adaptation to change in this region? As policy makers, what types of scientific knowledge do you see the need for to better develop adaptation programmes in your region? How much importance should be placed on the role of the HKH and the mountain agenda in international discussions on adaptation and the upcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How critical is adaptation in the HKH to achieving the SDGs? Are existing mechanisms adequate for harnessing scientific knowledge for policy making and action? If not, what would you suggest to make this linkage more effective? 7 10 November: Adaptation Science [PLENARY] Adding Knowledge and Evidence: Strengthening regional knowledge beyond IPCC assessment reports Session host – Nand Kishor Agrawal Session design – Formal Panel The IPCC’s Fourth Annual Report (AR4) stated that there is a gap in scientific knowledge about climate change and its impacts in the Himalayas. Since then, significant strides have been made, and the newly released AR5 provides fresh insights into the state of climate change in the region. In addition, several regional and international institutions and organizations have been working to generate knowledge from the region and have published a number of findings. Even so, gaps in our knowledge remain about climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayas. To effectively support communities in adapting to change, decision makers require in-depth regional knowledge and data to align with and strengthen global perspectives. This session will focus on identifying past strides and current knowledge gaps, setting the course for bridging these gaps, and discussing what mechanisms can be put in place to strengthen the uptake of already attained knowledge. Key questions to be discussed What new gains in knowledge have been made since the release of the IPCC AR4? What gaps are still remaining in our knowledge about climate change in the HKH region? How do we strengthen support to and networking between regional institutions and experts for bridging these gaps? How do we effectively link the IPCC and other global knowledge users to institutions and experts in the region to ensure uptake of regional knowledge? 8 PARALLEL SESSIONS: Moving from climate observations to scientific understanding in the HKH context Questions of Scale: Applying global and regional climate scenarios to HKH basins Emerging Concerns: Black carbon and the cryosphere Predicting Uncertainties: The challenges of disaster preparedness [PARALLEL A] Questions of Scale: Applying global and regional climate scenarios to HKH basins Session host – Philippus Wester Session design – Dialogue Café It is frequently argued that in order to support policy makers in developing adaptation measures, more detailed information is needed on the impacts of climate change. However, developing high-resolution climate scenarios for the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra basins is a challenging task, and these scenarios will never be able to deliver the level of certainty requested by decision makers. High-altitude climates are particularly uncertain, and the commonly used climate datasets are grossly inaccurate at high altitudes. These data constraints make it very difficult to develop accurate regional climate scenarios, using either statistical or dynamical downscaling techniques. For both approaches, General Circulation Models (GCMs) and Regional Climate Models (RCMs) need to be selected based on two fundamentally different methods. The first method aims to cover the full envelope of possible futures, while the second method selects GCMs/ RCMs on the basis of indicators of past performance. Both methods have pros and cons, but in the case of the HKH region the first method may be preferable, as current climate models have considerable difficulty in simulating past climate. As climate information is complex, and raw outputs of climate models generally have limited meaning for scientists from other disciplines, user groups, stakeholders, and decision makers, this raises the following questions: Key questions to be discussed The effects of climate change on the South Asian monsoon are highly uncertain, but of critical importance. Can we expect future scientific breakthroughs that will give a better understanding of probable changes in monsoon patterns? How do we communicate uncertainty concerning regional climate scenarios to decision makers and stakeholders in such a way that the urgency to act is not lost? As both statistical and dynamic downscaling will continue to yield a wide spread of possible future climate scenarios with high levels of uncertainty, which steps need to be taken to develop ’what if’ scenarios to support robust decision making? 9 [PARALLEL B] Emerging Concerns: Black carbon and the cryosphere Questions of Scale: Applying global and regional climate scenarios to HKH basins Emerging Concerns: Black carbon and the cryosphere Predicting Uncertainties: The challenges of disaster preparedness Session host – Arun B. Shrestha Session design – Interactive Panel Climate change has become a major issue in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region. There is increasing evidence of rising temperatures, as well as changes in precipitation patterns and snowfall, which is causing impacts such as glacier shrinkage, changes in the hydrological regime, floods, and droughts. Mountain regions are particularly vulnerable, both because of increased warming trends and because impacts are magnified by the extreme changes in altitude over small distances. The limited capacity of local people to adapt to these changes creates additional vulnerability. An increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere is primarily responsible for climate change in the HKH region. However, recent studies suggest that a large part of the observed change in the region’s climate is driven by the presence of aerosols containing black carbon (BC). These aerosols are produced by the incomplete combustion of biomass, coal, and diesel fuels, and can contribute to climate change by altering the Earth’s radiative balance and cloud properties. Recent studies show that once deposited in snow and ice, BC can result in glacier shrinkage and snow cover reduction. Researchers have suggested that BC concentration has increased two- to threefold in the last 20 years and is responsible for as much as half of all glacial melt. However, there is a great need for sound scientific consensus on the impact of BC. The objective of this session is to present and share research on BC and other atmospheric pollutants that impact the climate of the HKH region and the cryosphere melting process. Key questions to be discussed How is black carbon impacting the climate of the HKH region? What is its relative role compared to greenhouse gases and other atmospheric pollutants? What is the scientific consensus about the role of black carbon in cryosphere and glacier dynamics? Do model and in-situ studies corroborate the findings? What are the key scientific knowledge gaps with regard to black carbon and atmospheric pollutants in the HKH. and which research areas should be prioritized in order to fill them? 10 [PARALLEL C] Predicting Uncertainties: The challenges of disaster risk management Questions of Scale: Applying global and regional climate scenarios to HKH basins Emerging Concerns: Black carbon and the cryosphere Predicting Uncertainties: The challenges of disaster preparedness Session hosts – MSR Murthy and Neera Shrestha-Pradhan Session design – Interactive Panel Adaptation and disaster risk management approaches need to be pursued simultaneously for reducing and managing risks of climate extremes and disasters and to increase resilience to remaining risks as they change over time. In this way, adaptation is achieved alongside preparedness: putting plans into action in anticipation of danger to safeguard lives and investments. To do this, we are dependent on scientific models that simulate reality and help us prepare for different eventualities. However, with climatic extremes adding unexpected dimensions and complicating environmental balance, uncertainties in predicting the occurrence and nature of disaster events undermine attempts at preparedness and erode years of development achievements. The unprecedented scale of flood events in recent years serves as evidence of the close link between weather systems and disasters. In addition, rapid economic development, increasing population, and expanding infrastructure in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region are expected to escalate the cost of disasters. As a consequence, the region experiences new disasters every year, resulting in loss of lives and livelihoods. To overcome these challenges, we need to develop reliable science- and technology-based predictive and monitoring capabilities, explore innovative and inclusive low-cost community-based disaster risk reduction systems that integrate local knowledge and ensuring the right communication at the right time. To be effective, disaster risk communication must be sensitive to gender and cultural contexts based on how women and men receive, interpret, and exchange information about hazard and disasters. The objective of this session is to use current experiences to define the road ahead and to discuss how to address the challenges of disaster preparedness. Key questions to be discussed What are the key challenges in predicting disaster events and what should we do to address these challenges? What kind of disaster risk communication is most effective for adaptation and disaster risk management? What mechanisms can we use to ensure ‘gender targeted’ dissemination of risk information that reaches out to the most vulnerable communities? What are the benefits and challenges of integrating local knowledge with scientific and technical knowledge in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation? 11 PARALLEL SESSIONS: Bridging local and global knowledge to improve livelihoods in changing landscapes Sustaining the Mountains: Ensuring food security through flexible production systems A Fine Balance: Connecting community and ecosystembased adaptation Vulnerability and Resilience: Integrating science with marginalised groups’ responses to change [PARALLEL A] Sustaining the Mountains: Bridging local and global knowledge to improve livelihoods in changing landscapes Session host – Abid Hussain Session design – Interactive Panel The biggest challenge faced by mountain production systems is improving local food availability while managing the impacts of socioeconomic and climatic changes. Outmigration and decreasing interest of young people in agriculture represent major socioeconomic changes in the mountains with gendered impacts. In addition, economic shocks such as instability in food supplies from the plains and volatile prices also result in poor access to food for mountain people. Climate changes, such as unprecedented changes in temperature and precipitation, have added to mountain people’s vulnerability, causing shocks and damaging effects. These stresses are also affecting the status of mountain women and their ability to provide for their families. However, some of these changes also bring opportunities. There is a need to identify opportunities in mountains to reshape local production systems so that they may flexibly react and adapt to changes without deteriorating local diversity and ecosystems. Mountain food security differs from food security in plains areas because mountain livelihoods are largely dependent on natural resources and landscapes, livestock, and niche farming products. It may not be possible to achieve complete food self-sufficiency in mountain areas due to constraints on land and environment, but revitalizing local food systems may reduce the dependence of mountain communities on external food supplies. This session will bring into focus the possible options for mountain production systems conducive to enhancing their ability to adapt to changes. Key questions to be discussed What are the key agro-ecological and institutional challenges constrain mountain food security, including production, availability, access and affordability? What mountain-specific opportunities and potentials may contribute to the flexibility of mountain production systems? How do we ensure the integration of women so that they equally benefit from these new opportunities? Which policy measures could be implemented to encourage and promote flexibility? How can institutions be strengthened to support distribution mechanisms to meet the constraints of mountain agriculture? 12 [PARALLEL B] A Fine Balance: Connecting community- and ecosystem-based adaptation Sustaining the Mountains: Ensuring food security through flexible production systems A Fine Balance: Connecting community and ecosystembased adaptation Vulnerability and Resilience: Integrating science with marginalised groups’ responses to change Session host – Laxmi Dutt Bhatta Session design – Interactive Panel As global efforts for adaptation to climate change gain momentum, several approaches have been proposed by interested quarters, all aimed at enhancing the adaptive capacities of vulnerable communities and individual households. Two approaches that have been rapidly gaining currency in adaptation discourse and practice are community-based adaptation (CbA) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). While the former places communities at centre-stage and focuses on the ‘demand’ side to address adaptation needs, including the dependency of households on natural resources, the latter lays strong emphasis on the conservation and management of ecosystem services to ensure adaptation, thus focusing more on maintaining the ‘supply’ side of services. In the process of promoting their individual rationales, the proponents of both approaches often fail to see the synergy of these two approaches and the interdependency between them. In the process of advocating the merits of their respective approaches, the fact that these approaches are mutually inclusive and complementary is often lost, thus missing opportunities to harness them profitably. The session aims to facilitate the recognition of this complementarity and opportunities for synergy between the two approaches, and thereby contribute to strengthening efforts for enhancing adaptation. Key questions to be discussed Why do we need ecosystem-based and community-based adaptation in development planning for adaptation to climate change? How can both approaches be integrated in adaptation plans at international and national levels (NAPA, etc.)? What is the state of knowledge available on integration of EbA and CbA in the HKH region? What are the key theoretical and practical complementarities between EbA and CbA that provide cost-effective tools to support adaptation? How can opportunities for synergy and current connections between the two approaches be harnessed to improve future adaptation planning? 13 [PARALLEL C] Vulnerability and Resilience: Integrating science with community responses to change Sustaining the Mountains: Ensuring food security through flexible production systems A Fine Balance: Connecting community and ecosystembased adaptation Vulnerability and Resilience: Integrating science with marginalised groups’ responses to change Session hosts – Chanda Gurung Goodrich and Anjal Prakash Session design – Dialogue Café Climate science is able to predict some of the changes affecting people’s lives and livelihoods, producing information that contributes to reducing vulnerability and strengthening resilience. However, in most cases, climatic data has been concentrated at the aggregate level (national, regional, or state level) and generalized to represent entire countries or regions. With extensive variations in topography and microclimate, there is need for site-specific climatic data analysis to understand climate variation within local contexts. Barring a few indicators of climate variability, scientific analysis is rarely available at the community level. To adapt to changing conditions, farmers and residents have to rely mostly on their own observations and subjective interpretations based on longstanding experience and familiarity with seasonal patterns of rainfall and a set of local climate indicators. These perceptions significantly shape local people’s actions and behaviour, and influence the way they develop strategies to cope with change in the short term and to adapt to long-term variations. While dynamic and evolving, local climate perceptions are not always consistent with climatic data. As such, scientific data needs to be contextualized with the perceptions of local communities to achieve better adaptation outcomes. This session will explore and discuss linkages and gaps between climate science and vulnerabilities and the responses of marginalized social groups, particularly women, exposed to climate-related shocks and stressors. It aims to achieve a better understanding of the perspectives of the most vulnerable with an understanding to incorporate issues of socialecological resilience in climate science. Key questions to be discussed What are the latest scientific perspectives on understanding vulnerability and resilience? How can science help reduce vulnerability and increase resilience at the local level? What institutional structures and actions are required to enable two-way flows and integration of knowledge? Since climatic risks are distributed unevenly, in what ways can the latest knowledge in climate science help inform communities for adaptive action, particularly taking into account socioeconomic and gendered inequities? What systematic approach or mechanism could be used to support HKH communities in dealing with change? 14 [PLENARY] Consolidating Knowledge: Adaptation science for holistic perspectives in upstream and downstream contexts Session host – Rajan Kotru Session design – Dialogue Café This session will consolidate the key points of the day’s discussions to identify how the latest science can be used to generate holistic perspectives for policy and action. In recent years, holistic perspectives have increasingly been embedded in the planning and implementation of programmes in upstream areas addressing the challenges of climate change, with the logic that appropriate management upstream will lead to improved adaptation downstream. However, adaptation science in the HKH has yet to completely grasp the complexity of upstream-downstream linkages and their implications for climatesmart agriculture and human-wildlife conflicts. A holistic perspective requires scientists and resource managers to bridge quality science with good management and well-functioning institutions on the ground. Perspectives on climate change adaptation also differ depending on the particular background of scientists and decision makers. To ensure effective and sustainable adaptation for mountain communities and environments, holistic perspectives must be developed that bridge different scientific disciplines and practical approaches. Adaptation science in the HKH is still in the preliminary stages of developing holistic and inclusive perspectives on adaptation to climate change, and of finding effective ways to deliver this information to those who must manage natural and cultural resources in a time of change while still sustaining ecosystem services and deriving benefits. Key questions to be discussed Which holistic perspectives could be used to bridge upstream and downstream contexts for a shared understanding of adaptation? How can strong and inclusive stakeholder engagement be ensured in the generation of scientific knowledge? How can adaptation science be used to address uncertainties and allow flexibility in addressing change? How can we ensure that adaptation science is effectively integrated into policy and practice? 15 11 November: Adaptation Policy and Action [PLENARY] Enhancing Compatibility: Connecting national adaptation plans with global strategies Session host – Dhrupad Choudhury Session design – Interactive Panel As climate change and its impacts become increasingly evident, increasing the vulnerabilities of poor, disadvantaged and marginalized communities, national and international agencies are gearing up efforts to address the challenges arising from this grim reality. The UNFCCC has initiated action to support nations, in particular the Least Developed Countries, in preparing national adaptation plans (NAPs) to meet this challenge. Complimenting the UNFCCC initiative, UNDP and UNEP have launched the NAPs Global Support Programme. Despite these ongoing efforts, action on the issue is, as yet, unsatisfactory and not being taken at a sufficiently urgent pace. Although many countries have initiated action, the affected communities remain vulnerable, and adaptation does not seem to be integrated with national development plans. In particular, the integration of gender equality issues remains a big concern. This session aims to discuss the challenges facing different agencies – at the international, national and sub-national scales – and explore possible solutions, examining ways in which global and national strategies and programmes can be synchronized to make NAPs and their integration with national development programmes more effective. The session will also explore what needs to be done to take mountain adaptation concerns into the global discourse, and how the concerns of mountain nations can be aligned to the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Key questions to be discussed What are the key global programmes for supporting adaptation efforts by national governments? How are international organizations in the region currently communicating with governments and providing support to NAPs, and what is the mechanism for support? What is the level of awareness among national governments of the available international resources for support, how are these being harnessed, and what are the gaps? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that adaptation is integrated into national plans? What kind of capacity building can be done with governments and international organizations to bridge these gaps? How do we involve key relevant organizations in this? How can we improve the synergy between global- and national-level efforts? What are some examples of thorough inclusion of gender considerations in these processes? 16 [PARALLEL SESSIONS] Engaging actors from the periphery of adaptation policy discussions Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ensuring recovery after climate-induced loss Transboundary River Basins: Management and benefit sharing as an adaptation mechanism From Mountain to Mountain: Lessons for the HKH from other regions [PARALLEL A] Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ensuring recovery after climate-induced loss Session host – Nand Kishor Agrawal Session design – Interactive Panel In spite of current and future adaptation and mitigation efforts, climate change will cause several long-term irreversible losses due to the slow onset of changes in temperature, rainfall variability, soil moisture, and ground water. Some lands will suffer permanent loss of productivity, with no opportunity for livelihoods, and may even become uninhabitable. In such cases, risk reduction and recovery measures such as insurance may not be appropriate. Planned migration or improved management of remittances from migrants are potential options. In addition, the current and projected increase in climate- or weather-induced extreme events like drought and flooding will severely affect the lives of rural people and agricultural production systems. The impacts of these events in the HKH are compounded disproportionately by less reliable or non-existent physical and institutional infrastructures and physical inaccessibility. Access to climate risk insurance, conventional crop insurance and other financial safety nets could be an option, but commercial viability poses a challenge for these schemes. This session has two objectives. The first is to gain a greater understanding of potential economic and financial responses to both categories of climate-induced losses. The second is to explore potential options and mechanisms at government, community, and individual levels that can be promoted to reduce the negative impacts of these losses. Key questions to be discussed What are the current examples in agriculture and other sectors where the slow onset of changes (climatic or otherwise) has led to permanent losses, and how have institutions and people dealt with them? Are there examples of risk aversion mechanisms to reduce the impact of such losses? What are the potential sustainable options to reduce the impact of loss due to the slow onset of changes and in cases of sudden extreme events? Some known examples are weather-based insurance, disaster-linked insurance, harnessing remittances, etc. What can be done at the institutional level in the HKH, specifically using financial mechanisms, to support impacted communities in a more sustainable and systematic manner rather than as ad hoc reactions to extreme events? 17 [PARALLEL B] Transboundary River Basins: Management and benefit sharing as an adaptation mechanism Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ensuring recovery after climate-induced loss Transboundary River Basins: Management and benefit sharing as an adaptation mechanism From Mountain to Mountain: Lessons for the HKH from other regions Session hosts – Aditi Mukherji and Shahriar Wahid Session design – Interactive Panel Adapting water management to climate change concerns will require prudent sharing of the benefits that arise from water use between the major production sectors of agriculture, energy, and industry in transboundary river basins of the Hindu Kush Himalayas. This session will bring together professionals working on adaptation to climate variability and change, especially in transboundary river basins, to discuss their views on benefit sharing as an adaptation tool. The session will provide an opportunity to share experiences on adapting to climate variability and change among different water use sectors in a transboundary context; to discuss good practices and lessons learned on adaptation to climate change with an emphasis on the potential for benefit sharing in transboundary river basins (which could be shared at the Regional Process Session on integrated water resources management at the Seventh World Water Forum, Korea); and increase awareness of mutually beneficial benefit sharing options for building transboundary adaptation strategies. Key questions to be discussed What should be the focus of benefit sharing for water-centric cooperation within transboundary adaptation strategies? How do we ensure that transboundary adaptation strategies will be integrated into national plans and strategies? Are there successful examples of regional cooperation in transboundary river basin management elsewhere, and, if so, what lessons can be applied to the river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalayas? 18 [PARALLEL C] From Mountain to Mountain: Lessons for the Hindu Kush Himalaya from other regions Insurance and Risk Mitigation Strategies: Ensuring recovery after climate-induced loss Transboundary River Basins: Management and benefit sharing as an adaptation mechanism From Mountain to Mountain: Lessons for the HKH from other regions Session host – Erling Valdemar Holmgren Session design – Dialogue Café Mountain communities have a wealth of knowledge and strategies accumulated over generations on how to cope with living in remote, harsh environments and to adapt to climate variability. Regional adaptation strategies need to recognize this and build on local knowledge. When mountain ecosystems are managed sustainably they can continue to provide essential regulating services that act as buffers against climate change and natural disasters. This session will examine various regional adaptation policy success stories, strategies, barriers, and local variations that may serve as models or lessons learned for other mountain regions. The fundamental objective of this session is to facilitate cross-learning and exchange of experiences from the different mountain regions of the world. Key questions to be discussed What examples of successful climate adaptation policy implementation do we have from different regions? Are there examples of political will and economic incentives to establish climate adaptation policies? What barriers and impediments have participants experienced in implementing adaptation polices in their regions? How can we strengthen sharing and communication of good practices in adaptation and policy implementation between mountain regions? 19 [PLENARY] Connecting the Dots: Translating science to policy through effective communication Session host – Anja Møller Rasmussen Session design – Dialogue Café A critical lacuna in the uptake of scientific knowledge and findings for policy and practice has been the ineffective (or often, the lack of) communication by the scientific community of their findings to policy makers, and the general public. Effective communication, especially the translation and packaging of key messages of scientific findings, is central to the translation of science into policy and practice. This, obviously, requires specialized skills and partnerships between the scientific community and communicators. In this session, the challenges of translating scientific findings to policy makers and advocates will be explored through examples, expert advice, and informal table conversations. Focus will be on simplifying messages and building bridges between science, policy, and the general public. Some of the key challenges to be discussed will be identifying a common language and bridging gaps in knowledge. The aim of this session is to identify key strategic approaches for connecting the dots from science to policy. We will ask which strategies have worked and which have not worked, and attempt to understand what makes certain strategies successful. Key questions to be discussed What are some good communications practices and examples of successfully building a bridge from science to policy and action? What potential role may partnerships and networks play in enhancing synergies to successfully communicate science and policy to identified audiences? What action and next steps can be taken to enable implementation of and change based on science and policy recommendations? 20 12 November: Adaptation Practice and Solutions [PLENARY] In Practice: Integrating adaptation knowledge into development Session hosts – Dhrupad Choudhury and Erling Valdemar Holmgren Session design – Interactive Plenary Despite the growing number adaptation-related initiatives international agencies and national governments are undertaking, a major challenge for action on adaptation has been the integration of adaptation approaches into development planning. Several countries have identified focal ministries and established mechanisms for formulating adaptation action plans at national and sub-national levels, but the integration of adaptation approaches into regular development planning processes remains inadequate or highly unsatisfactory. There is growing recognition at different levels of the need to correct this inadequacy. This plenary session will discuss this issue and explore the challenges in integrating adaptation into development planning. The session also aims to explore the actions required to immediately address this challenge, drawing from the experiences of the different countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region and their ongoing efforts to integrate adaptation into development. Key questions to be discussed What are the major challenges in integrating adaptation approaches into development planning? What is the key bottleneck in integrating adaptation into development? Is the availability of funds the major constraint for integrating adaptation into development, or is the primary constraint an institutional issue? What would better facilitate the integration of adaptation into development planning and action? What are key action points for addressing this challenge? 21 [PARALLEL SESSIONS] Applying lessons from science and policy in local contexts Climate-Smart Strategies: Large and small-scale innovations and services for changing climates Adaptation in Action: Indigenous, existing and emerging practices for managing livelihoods Adding Value: Promoting climate resilient livelihoods and value chains [PARALLEL A] Climate-Smart Strategies: Large and small-scale innovations and services for changing climates Session host – Suman Bisht Session design – Dialogue Café In order to ensure that development is resilient to climate change, it is imperative that we integrate climate risk considerations into policy and enable innovative solutions. Climatesmart strategies that build the social and physical resilience of societies are the need of the hour. Innovation at micro and macro levels is essential for promoting climate-smart strategies. However, until now the focus has been mostly on commercial, top-down technological innovation. Technological innovations alone are insufficient to promote climate-smart practices at the local level, particularly among women who have limited access to resources and decision making and are often not able to take advantage of opportunities from new technologies and markets. Public involvement leading to small-scale actions can catalyse transformative change on a larger scale. Engaging the capacities of local women and men to implement small-scale approaches can make the process more efficient and equitable. However, those involved in bottom-up innovation often do not have the capacity to overcome barriers to make this innovation visible. In addition, the lack of strong market linkages presents a significant challenge. Creating a balance between large- and small-scale innovation requires innovation from policy makers in providing new support mechanisms, particularly to the most marginalized groups in society, including women. The objective of this session is to share programmes, policies, services or interventions that have promoted large- or small-scale innovation in combating climate change. Key questions to be discussed Besides technological solutions, how do we mainstream localized, bottom-up social innovation? What kind of mechanisms and instruments are required to support innovative approaches to help smallholder producers – both women and men – build resilience to climate change? How do we link technological innovations to local users? What are key ingredients for a ‘climate smart strategy’ that can support smallholders and marginalized groups? 22 [PARALLEL B] Adaptation in Action: Indigenous, existing, and emerging practices for managing livelihoods Climate-Smart Strategies: Large and small-scale innovations and services for changing climates Adaptation in Action: Indigenous, existing and emerging practices for managing livelihoods Adding Value: Promoting climate resilient livelihoods and value chains Session host – Soumyadeep Banerjee Session design – Interactive Panel Mountain people across the world are experiencing the impacts of different types of change. Mountain specificities, such as fragile biophysical conditions, remoteness, isolation, and marginalization, make these communities even more vulnerable to environmental degradation and climatic risks and constrain their adaptive capacities. In addition, global changes including globalization, liberalization, urbanization, connectivity, mobility, and land use changes bring new challenges as well as opportunities for both women and men. Over the years, mountain societies and institutions have worked hard to understand these change processes and their differential impacts on women and men. Across the HKH region, people, policy makers and research institutions have worked to devise gender-sensitive strategies for adaptation to change. Households, communities, and governments have tried a range of adaptation strategies. Now the impacts of such adaptive strategies are becoming visible, and thus providing lessons for others. This session will focus on sharing experiences of how women and men in local communities are adapting to change, how their adaptive strategies are helping them, whether there are limits to this adaptation at the local level, and how they are supported in adaptation. It will capture the existing indigenous adaptation options practised by local communities, identify emerging options, and acknowledge limitations of strategies adopted by the local communities. It will also discuss how institutions can be strengthened to enable mainstreaming of local and indigenous practices, knowledge (particularly women’s experiences), and technologies into formal governance systems. Key questions to be discussed Why are particular strategies considered to be adaptive strategies? What effective local adaptation strategies are currently being practised by mountain communities? How do we build upon indigenous knowledge with formal scientific knowledge to help communities to manage change? What are the emerging opportunities and potentials to enhance the adaptive capacities of marginalized mountain communities, particularly women, and what roles can technical, educational, and policy making institutions play to support mountain communities in adapting to change? What policy interventions are required for upscaling local innovations and good adaptation practices? What are the technological, institutional, and policy-related challenges in upscaling these strategies to improve mountain livelihoods? 23 [PARALLEL C] Adding Value: Promoting resilient livelihoods and climate-friendly economic participation Climate-Smart Strategies: Large and small-scale innovations and services for changing climates Adaptation in Action: Indigenous, existing and emerging practices for managing livelihoods Adding Value: Promoting climate resilient livelihoods and value chains Session host – Marjorie van Strien Session design – Dialogue Café Rural mountain people depend on an increasingly deteriorating natural resource base and are subject to often volatile climatic and market conditions, which make them highly exposed to shocks. The vulnerability to climatic variability is shaped by gender, caste, class, and other markers of social status, which also determine access to additional assets to fall back on and limited strategies for risk management in view of changes. Climate variability is one of the major risks that rural mountain people have to manage. The mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region are, meanwhile, endowed with a rich variety of natural resources that can be harnessed for livelihood products, such as cultivated off-season vegetables, honeybee products, and medicinal and aromatic plants. Diversification of livelihood sources, including engagement with mountain tourism, is a natural coping strategy for rural mountain people. Significant opportunities for rural mountain people lie in adding value to existing products and services while developing new livelihood options. Through innovative interventions at leverage points, rural communities can promote climate-resilient livelihoods and sustainable market-based solutions. Key questions to be discussed What strategies provide good options for reducing the vulnerability of rural mountain livelihoods? What role does the private sector play in strengthening the adaptive capacity of smallscale producers in developing countries, and in making their value chains more resilient? How can access to financial services be made more inclusive with the support of public institutions? What practices provide answers to demand- and supply-side financial constraints in the mountains? What kinds of interventions are likely to exacerbate gender inequalities and which ones provide the best options for reducing gender inequalities and gender-related vulnerability? 24 [CONCLUDING HIGH-LEVEL POLICY PANEL] Getting Mountains on the Global Agenda: Mapping the way forward Session design – Moderated Panel In the next few years, several important conventions and processes are scheduled that will determine the future of global action on climate change and adaptation. These include UNFCCC processes, including COP-21, the development of new IPCC Assessment Reports, and processes related to the Convention on Biological Diversity. In view of these upcoming processes, it is crucial that actors in mountain regions take steps to strengthen their efforts to position mountains as a key concern in the global climate and adaptation agenda. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to explore new ideas and solutions for adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, and to fill current knowledge gaps about climate change and adaptation in the region. This conference has attempted to address these needs by stimulating discussions on a wide range of relevant topics under the thematic pillars of science, policy, and action, all with the fundamental aim of highlighting new knowledge and opportunities, showcasing innovative approaches, and identifying the remaining gaps and challenges in knowledge, policy, and action. The conference ends with a high-level policy panel intended to map the way forward for all those working on adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas and in mountain regions around the world. The session begins with a summary of the conference identifying key lessons and burning questions for adaptation, after which a panel of high-level policy makers will discuss action steps to incorporate adaptation concerns and new knowledge in development practices in the region. The panel will also suggest strategies for action for positioning mountains as a key concern on the global adaptation agenda. Key questions to be discussed What actions can be taken by national governments to incorporate the conference learnings into adaptation planning? What specific action can we take to include mountain concerns and knowledge into the global adaptation agenda, and what roles can different representatives commit to for taking the mountain agenda forward? What processes and actors can be identified that have the potential to expedite the placement of the mountain agenda in global discourse? What should be an immediate action point that responsible actors can take up as a regional cooperation effort for the Hindu Kush Himalayas? 25 Session design guide The conference features two types of sessions: plenary sessions, which begin and end each day and are designed to explore major trends and issues; and parallel sessions, which are sets of three simultaneous sessions designed to enable a deepening of the thematic scope through dialogue among and with participants. Both types of sessions have been structured according to one of the three following designs: Formal panels are traditional panels with moderated presentations and limited time for questions from the audience. Time: Activity 5 min Opening 15 min Keynote – max 8 ppt slides 40 min Speakers present, 10 min and max 5 ppt slides each 10 min Questions from the audience – moderated interaction 5 min Summary Interactive panels have shorter presentations than formal panels, and the emphasis is on the session key messages and questions. Time Activity 5 min Introduction 8 min Keynote – 4 slides (1 key message, 1 key question) 30 min Panelists present for 5 minutes (3 slides), 1 key message/question 30 min Moderated dialogue between panel and participants 10 min Reflections back from the panel (1 minute each) 5–7 min Closing statements Dialogue cafés are designed to allow for maximum engagement with and among the audience. 26 Time Activity 5 min Opening 5 min Keynote – 2 slides (1 key message – 1 key question) 20 min Panelists give short statements of 3 minutes – 1 key message and 1 key question each 30 min Table discussions among participants 20 min Reporting back and summary statements 10 min Closing remarks Poster presenters Afghanistan Abdul Ahad [email protected] Alimuddin Naseri [email protected] Bangladesh India Anamika Barua [email protected] Sujata Bhattacharya [email protected] Subash Prasad Rai [email protected] Nazmun Mita [email protected] Satyarup Siddhanta [email protected] Amrita Mukherjee [email protected] Nepal Md Kawser Uddin Maruf [email protected] China Ou Xiaoou [email protected] Pakistan Aneeqa Aseem [email protected] Shahid Naeem [email protected] Dilli Bhattarai [email protected] Tikeshwari Joshi [email protected] Snehalata Sainjoo [email protected] Deepa Basnet [email protected] Sumit Dugar [email protected] Khadija Nisar [email protected] Veronica Utz [email protected] 27 Marketplace presenters Afghanistan UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Azim Doosti [email protected] Bangladesh Helvetas [email protected] Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) [email protected] International Development Enterprises (IDE) Nepal [email protected] Bhutan Mission East Nepal [email protected] National Land Commission [email protected] India Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) [email protected] Indian Himalayas Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP) [email protected] Powerful Hands [email protected] Real Time Solutions (RTS) [email protected] Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE) [email protected] Small Earth [email protected] Reuters Market Light (RML) [email protected] World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [email protected] Myanmar Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development [email protected] Young Professionals for Agriculture Development (YPAD) [email protected] Nepal Netherlands Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) [email protected] Climate Adaptation Services Foundation [email protected] BBC Media Action [email protected] Pakistan CEAPRED [email protected] 28 Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) [email protected] Hydro Link Texila [email protected] Conference speakers Tor Halfdan Aase is Professor at Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Norway, and affiliated Senior Researcher at Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), Oslo. He has carried out research in the Himalayan region on various topics, including in Gilgit, Pakistan (hydropower); Uttarakhand, India (innovations in agriculture); and Manang, Nepal (farming and land use). Dr Aase is presently in charge of a component on the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) labelled ‘place-based studies’, which comprises intensive case studies on the capacity to adapt to climate change in rural communities in China, Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Pramod K Aggarwal is Regional Program Leader of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Earlier, he was ICAR National Professor at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and Coordinator of the ICAR Network on Climate Change and Agriculture. He was the Coordinating Lead Author for the chapter ‘Food, Fiber, and Forest Products’ of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2007) and Review Editor for AR5. He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals on agriculture, and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Prof. Aggarwal holds PhDs from the University of Indore and Wageningen University, Netherlands. He was awarded the Ernestoilly Trieste Science Prize by the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World for his work on climate change and agriculture, which included developing crop growth models for tropical environments, and genotype of environment by management interactions. 29 Sara Ahmed is Senior Program Specialist at the International Development Research Centre, Canada. She has worked for 20 years on the political economy of water in India and connections between water, climate change, and gender issues. Ahmed also worked with NGOs in parts of India vulnerable to drought, flood, and coastal storms. She tackled issues ranging from the impacts of climate change to the role of gender in water governance and conflicts over water. Ahmed was Chair of the international Gender and Water Alliance and sat on the steering committee of the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India. She has also worked with the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, taught for a decade at India’s Institute of Rural Management, and published on many facets of water policy and gender issues. Ahmed holds a PhD in environmental sociology and an MPhil in international relations from Cambridge University (England). Yuri Badenkov is a leading scientist within sustainable mountain development and adaptation strategies for global change, with experience working in North Eurasia, Central Asia, North and South Caucasus and the Sudet Mountains in Poland. He has been head of the Mountain Group MAB-6 at the Russian Academy of Science Institute of Geography from 1983-2013. He has contributed to UNESCO work on sustainable mountain development, and the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), working to preserve mountain biosphere reserves. He received an honour medal from the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO affairs for his contribution to Russian cooperation with UNESCO. He holds degrees in Geology and Geochemistry from the universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. 30 V.K. Bahuguna is Principal Secretary for the Government of Tripura, India. His work focuses on forests, animal resources and agriculture/horticulture/ watershed management and state land use. He holds a PhD in Forest Ecosystems and an MSc in Zoology from the University of Garhwal, India; an MSc in Resource Management from the University of Edinburg, UK, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Forestry from the Indian Forest College (now Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy). He served as Director General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Chancellor of the Forest Research Institute Deemed University, Dehradun, India, and Inspector General of Forest at the Ministry of Environment and Forests, as well as Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Forest Management. He received the Queen’s Award for Forestry from the Commonwealth Forestry Association UK, and the ‘Great Son of India Award 2013’ from the All India Intellectual Federation. He has published more than 160 publications in national and international journals. Anamika Barua is currently Executive Director of SaciWATERs (South Asian Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies) located in Hyderabad, India. Her work focuses on the Indian Eastern Himalayas and Gangetic plains. She is currently on a two-year academic leave from her position as Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India. She holds a PhD in Ecological Economics from the University of Leeds, UK. Her areas of expertise includes socioeconomic understanding of climate risk and resilience, urban living, and sustainable cities. She completed a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) funded project on ‘Understanding social vulnerability to climate change in Indian Eastern Himalaya’ in collaboration with Lund University, Sweden. 31 Asit K. Biswas is one of the world’s leading authorities on water management. He is the founder of the Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico, a member of the World Commission on Water, and a founder of the International Water Resources Association and the World Water Council. He has been senior advisor to 20 governments, six heads of UN Agencies, the Secretary General of OECD, and NATO. Among his numerous prizes are the two awards of the International Water Resources Association, as well as the Stockholm Water Prize for “his outstanding and multi-faceted contributions to global water resource issues”. Prof. Biswas is a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum; the International Advisory Committee, Pictet Investments, Geneva; and the Advisory Board, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is a Strategic Advisor for the Singapore International Water Week. He is also the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Water Resources Development. Tobias Bolch received his PhD in Physical Geography in 2006 from the University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, and researched thereafter at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany, and the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. Since 2010 he has been a senior researcher at the Department of Geography of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and the Institute for Cartography at TU Dresden, Germany. His main research focuses on investigating the impact of climate change on glaciers in various mountain ranges of the world, with a focus on high-mountain Asia. He was invited as a speaker for several international conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America and has published more than 50 well-recognized papers in international journals. 32 Bernard Cantin is Program Leader for the International Development Research Centre, Canada, on a 5-year initiative called Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia, in partnership with the UK Department for International Development, which aims to build the resilience of vulnerable populations and their livelihoods in three hot-spots (major Deltas, Basin-fed glacier, and semi-arid regions) by supporting collaborative research to inform policy and practice. Bernard received a PhD in Political Science and an MSc in Economics from the University of Montreal. He specialized in international affairs, comparative politics, macroeconomics and environmental policy. His work experience includes consultancy in strategic planning and 15 years in policy work and research for the Government of Canada in the areas of agriculture policy, fisheries management, water management, and climate change adaptation. Bernard also contributed to a number of publications such as Horizons, the Canadian Water Resources Journal and Revue Canadienne de Science Politique. Partha J Das is a researcher from Assam, India, working mainly on climate and disaster risk reduction and adaptation. He has an MPhil and Doctorate Degree in Environmental Sciences from Gauhati University, Assam, where he specialized in climatology and flood hydrology. He works mainly in the northeastern region of India, a part of the Eastern Himalayas. Presently he is leading the ‘Water, Climate & Hazard Programme’ of Aaranyak, a premier environmental organization of India and a partner of ICIMOD. His team, in collaboration with ICIMOD, has been providing early warning of flash floods in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts of Assam for the last five years. 33 Dong Suocheng is a leading Professor of Knowledge and Innovation Base at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also Director of Regional Ecological Economics Research and Planning Center, Director of Resource Economics and World Resource Research Department, and Vice Director of Center of Tourism Research and Planning of IGSNRR. He holds a PhD in Regional Economics and Human Geography, and an MSc in Economic Geography, both from Northwest Normal University. He is the leading scientist of the Key Project of National Scientific and Technological Basic Research on the ‘Comprehensive scientific expedition of north China and its adjacent areas’. He is also standing member of China Society of Natural Resources and Chinese Ecological Economics Society. Prof. Dong has published more than 300 papers and monographs, and has won 12 scientific and technological progress awards and cooperation awards at the national and international levels. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, has been involved in climate change negotiations since 1995. Initially a member of the Costa Rican negotiating team, she was also a member of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism, and Vice President of the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties. She founded the Centre for Sustainable Development of the Americas, a non-profit think tank for climate change policy and capacity-building which she directed until 2003. Previously, she served as Director of the Technical Secretariat of the Renewable Energy in the Americas, at the Embassy of Costa Rica in Germany, and as Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Planning in Costa Rica, and was Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture. Ms Figueres holds a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from the London School of Economics and a certificate in Organizational Development from Georgetown University, and is a widely published author on the design of climate solutions. 34 Vinod K Gaur studied geophysics at Banaras University and Imperial College, where he discovered the ‘host rock effect’ in geo-electromagnetics, which earned him a PhD from the University of London. He has been Director of the National Geophysical Research Institute, served as Secretary to the Government of India, and is now Distinguished Professor at the CSIR Centre of Mathematical Modeling, Bangalore, in an honourary capacity. He is currently working on the characterization and modelling of critical watersheds in important river basins, and providing quantitative guides for making water management-related decisions, such as the quantum of necessary environmental flows. Professor Gaur is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. The many honours he received include the Bhatnagar Prize (1980), the Flinn Award of the American Geophysical Union (2000), and the Saha Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (2006). Giovanna Gioli is a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg. Her research focuses on the migration, environment, and development nexus, with a particular focus on gender. Drawing on political ecology, participatory research, and community-based adaptation approaches, Dr Gioli’s work addresses the role of perceptions in shaping responses to risk and adaptive strategies. She has spent extended periods of fieldwork and capacity building in South Asia (Nepal and Pakistan), and her background is in political philosophy, migration studies, and anthropology. 35 Elizabeth Gogoi joined the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) in 2011 and is currently the India Country Programme Manager, based in LEAD India in New Delhi. Prior to CDKN, Elizabeth worked on climate change and development public policy, including in the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, as a researcher in the European Parliament, and a fellow in the US Senate. In addition, she has also worked on community projects in Tanzania and South Africa. Elizabeth has a Master’s degree in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Manchester. Ashok Gurung is one of the founding senior directors of the India China Institute (ICI) and is Professor of Practice in the Julien J. Studley Graduate Program in International Affairs at The New School. A native of Nepal, he has taught several courses on development management and political and social issues in Nepal at the New School, and most recently taught a course on, “Global Himalaya: Rethinking Culture and Ecology.” Ashok has more than twenty years of international development experience with civil society groups, academic institutions, foundations and multilateral organizations and governments worldwide. He holds an MA in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, a BA in International Service and Development from World College West in Petaluma, California, and a Certificate in Norwegian Culture and Society from the University of Oslo, Norway. 36 Dipak Gyawali is currently ‘Pragya’ (Academician) of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology and Chair of the non-profit Nepal Water Conservation Foundation. As a cultural theorist upholding the idea of institutional pluralism requiring all three styles of organizing, he conducts interdisciplinary research on the interface between technology and society. A Moscow-trained hydroelectric power engineer and a Berkeley-trained political economist, he has initiated reforms in the electricity and irrigation sectors during his time as Nepal’s Minister of Water Resources in 2002/2003. He has published extensively at national and international levels and serves/has served on many international advisory panels, including UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Program, IDS Sussex’s STEPs Center, Mekong’s MPower, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and Coca Cola. Kristin Halvorsen is a former politician and served in the Stoltenberg II Cabinet from 2005 to 2013. She was the first female Minister of Finance in Norway from 2005 to 2009, and was Minister of Education from 2009 to 2013. From 2005 to 2012 she was second-in-command in the Cabinet and served as deputy Prime Minister. Kristin Halvorsen was first elected as Member of Parliament in 1989 and was the Party Leader of The Socialist Left Party from 1997 to 2012. In 2002 she was awarded for her communication skills by the Norwegian Communication Association. She has also published two books. 37 Nina Holmelin is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate at CICERO – Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo, in Norway, and at Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Norway. Her PhD project, “Capability to change in response to lare-scale uncertainty: Farming flexibility, food security and climate change in Himalaya” is part of the ICIMOD led programme Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP), which is funded by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Holmelin’s PhD project concerns small-scale food production systems in Nepal Himalaya and explores the potentials and constraints to adaptation in local, Himalayan farming communities to the multiple challenges of future climatic and market uncertainties. Holmelin holds a Master’s Degree (2010) in Human Geography and a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies (2008), both from University of Bergen, Norway. She has fieldwork experience in Nepal since 2009 and she has also been working in Peru, Estonia and Norway. Xu Jianchu is the Regional Coordinator of World Agroforestry Center, East and Central Asia, as well as Professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences; former Head of Water and Hazards at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu; and former Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge, an NGO based in southwest China working with indigenous people for cultural survival, forest management, community livelihood and water governance. He got a PhD in Agronomy from the China Agricultural University. He currently serves as board member of the International Association for Ecology and Health. Xu is a crazy Chinese with great interest in plants, trees, and soil management related matters. He has stuck his nose into rivers, mountains, and forests all over the east and central region. He is a keen traveller and researcher with an impressive reference list. 38 Babar Khan is a natural resource management professional. He holds a PhD in Ecology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an MSc in Agriculture from the Agricultural University, Peshawar. He worked for different international organizations on biodiversity conservation, participatory natural resource management with a focus on pasture/rangelands, climate change, highaltitude wetlands, human-wildlife conflict, agro-pastoral livelihoods, mountain value chains, environmental awareness, and climate risk reduction. He is Senior Programme Manager and Head of the Gilgit-Baltistan region at WWF-Pakistan. His current portfolio includes projects on snow leopard conservation, protected area management, climate risk reduction, and the protection of high-altitude wetlands. He has published over 30 articles, three books, and various reports including the recent “State of rangelands in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir” for FAO Pakistan. Among other awards, he received the Presidential Award ‘Ezaz-e-sabqat’ by the Government of Pakistan and Youth Green Skills Award for academic and research achievements and excellence. Janine Kuriger is Director of Cooperation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy, New Delhi. She specialized in project management and policy dialogue in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation and sustainable development, and has longstanding experience in development cooperation. Before her appointment to India, she was working as Programme Manager of SDC’s Global Programme on Climate Change in the Andean Region and South Africa, and co-chaired the OECD/DAC/EPOC Task Team on Climate Change and Development. She was also Deputy Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Lima, and worked for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs as Programme Manager for infrastructure financing and promotion of trade and environmentally sound technologies. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Lausanne, and Certificates of Advanced Studies in General Management and Corporate Management from the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland. 39 Mona Laczo is the Country Director for BBC Media Action in Nepal, working on climate change resilience and humanitarian lifeline programming. She received an MA in Asia Pacific Studies from the University of San Francisco, USA, and has over 16 years of development sector experience in Southeast and South Asia, with strong expertise in livelihoods including climate change and agriculture, human rights, humanitarian, governance, and gender programmes. Ms Laczo has led and engaged in climate change campaigns for Oxfam and partners in Southeast Asia, and led the development of Oxfam America’s climate change and agriculture programme. In addition, Mona engaged with Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment Climate Change Office to commission a public perception study on climate change to help development practitioners and other stakeholders including government agencies to better focus their climate change interventions. Ms Laczo has also supported the conceptualization of the Cambodian National Climate Change Conference, now a regular bi-annual event. Liu Suxia is Professor of Hydrology at Key Laboratory of Water Cycles and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is also Secretary General of the National Working Group on Predictions in Ungauged Basins. Dr Liu holds a PhD in Physical Geography from the Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where she teaches hydrology and environmental sciences in the graduate university. She was a major contributor to the Global Soil Moisture Databank, organized a series of international training courses on integrated water resources management and integrated river basin management, and worked for the World Bank on adaptation to climate change of agriculture in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Dr Liu is a member of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences and International Association of Water Resources. She has published many research articles, co-authored books, and is a reviewer for several journals, including Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, and Journal of Geophysical Research. 40 Pradip Maharjan is Chief Executive Officer of the Agro Enterprise Centre of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI). He previously worked as Component Manager on Agriculture Productivity and Income Generation in USAID-Nepal’s Education for Income Generation Program/Winrock International, and as Senior Marketing Officer for Herbs Production & Processing Co. Ltd, a parastatal organization under the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Nepal. He holds a Master’s in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines, and Master’s in Economics from Tribhuban University, Kathmandu, Nepal. His background also includes community forestry extension (Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand), and productivity management (Irish Productivity Center, Dublin, Ireland) He is a member of the Arts Faculty Board of Kathmandu University, and served as a consultant for development projects including ‘Food for Work’ in Nepal, funded by the Gates Foundation and ‘Value chain study of Ginger, bamboo and alnus nepalensis in the eastern development zone of Nepal’ with Mercy Corps, Nepal. Rojina Manandhar is a Programme Officer in the Adaptation Programme at the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Germany. She provides support to the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change. A major part of her work covers the provision of information and knowledge on climate change impacts and vulnerability assessments, and adaptation planning and practices, as well as fostering collaborative partnerships with relevant organizations. Over the past ten years, Ms Manandhar has worked on the scientific, technical, and policy aspects of impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation to climate change, and in particular the science-policy interface in South Asia, North America, and Europe. She holds a BSc in Environmental Science from St Xaivier’s College, Kathmandu University, Nepal; a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, USA, under a Fulbright Scholarship; and an MBA from the University of Twente, Netherlands. 41 David James Molden joined ICIMOD as Director General in 2011. Dr Molden is a development specialist with more than 30 years of experience in designing, planning, executing, and monitoring programmes on water management, livelihoods, environment, and ecosystem services. He has been Deputy Director General for Research at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) based in Sri Lanka, Chief of Party for the Irrigation Management Project in Nepal, Chief of Party for a water resources strategic research programme in Egypt, and Leader of the multi-institute Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture programme. Dr Molden holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, where he specialized in water resources. He contributed to the publication of nearly 200 works in books, refereed journals, research and project report series, the media, and educational materials. He has received many awards including the Outstanding Scientist Award of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in 2009. Eddy J. Moors is Head of the research group Climate Change and Adaptive Land & Water Management (CALM) of Alterra Wageningen UR. He is also Professor of Water and Climate at VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Before coming to Wageningen he worked for the World Meteorological Organization in Africa and the Caribbean. His key expertise is integrating disciplines to tackle research questions that ask for an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. Keywords in his research are: climate change, adaptation, greenhouse gas emissions, and stakeholder interaction. He is and has been coordinator of national and international projects. He is member of the Hotspot Team of the city of Rotterdam and is member of the Adaptation Services Platform of Climate KIC. 42 Aditi Mukherji is leading ICIMOD´s Water and Air Theme. She previously worked at ICRISAT in Hyderabad, India, and has over 12 years of research experience on institutions and policies of water resources management. She is an executive committee member of the Permanent Consultative Committee on Groundwater set up by the GEF and FAO, and was awarded the Inaugural Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application by the World Food Prize Foundation for her policy work in West Bengal, India. She holds a PhD in Human Geography from Cambridge University, UK, and an MPhil in Planning and Development from ITT Bombay. She has published over 50 peer reviewed research papers and two books, and was interviewed by the BBC and National Geographic. She was the associate editor of Hydrogeology Journal and regularly peer reviews articles for many journals including World Development, Agricultural Water Management, Energy Policy, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, and Ecological Economics. Kallur S. Murali is Senior Programme Officer in the Asia Regional Office, International Development Research Centre, New Delhi, on Collaborative Adaptation Research in Africa and Asia. He also worked in various UN organizations, INGOs, and NGOs. His areas of expertise include programme development, management, monitoring, and review; climate change adaptation in river basin systems of South Asia; biodiversity conservation through community participation; forest management and degradation; coastal and marine ecosystem management; and environmental impact assessments and environmental management. He is a member of the Association of Tropical Biology, USA. He was also Advisory Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Non-timber Forest Products, India, and Editor for the Asian region of Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal. He holds a PhD in Ecology from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, and an MSc in Agriculture from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. He has published over 120 scientific papers and books. 43 MSR Murthy is leading ICIMOD´s Geospatial Solutions Thematic Area. He holds a PhD in Botany from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. He has over two decades of experience in forest resources assessment and monitoring, biodiversity characterization and conservation, land use and land cover mapping, forest carbon modelling, and climate change adaptation and mitigation studies using remote sensing and GIS techniques. As Head of the Forestry and Ecology Division, National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, India, he developed operational remote sensing applications in forestry and ecology, user interfaces, and capacity building. His contributions include development of the Indian Forest Fire Response and Assessment System, the Indian Rapid Land Use Land Cover Information System, the Forest Inventory Data Analysis System, and the Indian Bio Resources Information Network. Dr Murthy was awarded the Astronautical Society of India ‘National Space Gold Medal’ and the Indian Science Congress Association National Young Scientist Award. He has published many papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals. Wu Ning is leading the Ecosystem Services Thematic Area at ICIMOD. He was Director General of the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he also previously worked as a professor, studying alpine vegetation ecology, wetland ecology, rangeland ecology, and pastoral development of the Tibetan Plateau. He handled over 60 projects from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and many international organizations, and worked on two national projects on carbon assessment of grasslands in southern China and ecological restoration of degraded mountain ecosystems in the Hengduan Mountains. Dr Wu Ning has an MSc in Plant Ecology from CAS and a PhD in Vegetation Geography from the Free University of Berlin, where was a Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He has published over 150 articles in international and national academic journals on forest ecology, alpine rangeland, alpine timberline, restoration ecology, and geography of nomadic pastoralism. 44 Bob van Oort is a biologist, trained in the Groningen University, Netherlands, and Tromsø University, Norway. He is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research - Oslo (CICERO), leader of the research team “Social Dimensions of Change” and co-lead of the HICAP project. He contributes to two components of HICAP: “climate change scenarios”, converting downscaled climate scenarios to comprehensible messages for scientists, decision makers, the public and stakeholders; and “Ecosystem services”, performing fieldwork and analysis of climate change and social context on ecosystem services. His background as natural scientist and research experience in the social sciences give him a trans-disciplinary edge to communicate climate change issues. Research interests and expertise include: Socio-ecological and livelihood consequences of climate change, (payment for) ecosystem services, climate services, health impacts, food production and food security. His main geographical focus covers the Arctic, Nordic countries and the greater Himalayan region. Arnico Panday is Lead Atmospheric Scientist and Coordinator for ICIMOD´s Atmosphere Initiative. He is also a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT, both in the USA. Arnico received a BSc in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University, an MSc in Land Resources from the University of WisconsinMadison, and a DSc in Atmospheric Science from MIT, all in the USA. His post-doctoral research, at MIT and at Princeton University’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, focused on atmospheric chemistry and physics in mountain areas, notably studying the transport of polluted air from South Asia towards the Tibetan Plateau (supported by the University of Virginia and NASA). He also served as advisor and supervisor of the Rwanda Climate Observatory Project. His interests also cover technologies and policies that reduce emissions to the atmosphere as well as ways to design sustainable cities. 45 Trilok Papola is one of India’s leading development economists with over four decades of experience in teaching, research and advisory assignments. Specialized in the areas of labour and employment, development planning, industrial economics, regional development and enterprise development, he has taught at the Universities of Lucknow, Bombay and Cambridge, and the Indian Institute of Management. He also published 14 books and over 120 research papers in reputed journals. Dr Papola worked with international organisations such as ILO, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UNICEF, UNDP and the Asian Development Bank, and was President of the Indian Society of Labour Economics and of the Indian Economic Association. He was also an Advisor to the Indian Planning Commission, and a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Dr Papola now chairs the Board of Governors at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, and the Council of Central Himalayan Environment Association. Anand Patwardhan teaches in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, USA, and is Chair Professor at the Shailesh Mehta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, India. He has worked extensively in the area of climate policy at the national and multilateral level, focusing on mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change, as well as on broader issues of science, technology, and innovation policy. He is a coordinating lead author for the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC. He is on the Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel of the GEF, and on the Steering Committee of UNEP´s Programme of Research on Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation to Climate Change. He was also associated with the Global Energy Assessment as coordinating lead author and co-chair of the Executive Committee. He served as Executive Director of the Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology, and Head at S. J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay. 46 Pushkin Phartiyal, Executive Director of the Central Himalayan Environment Association, leads developmental interventions on adaptation strategies and livelihood-based management of natural resources by strengthening environmental governance. He has 16 years of experience working in the Himalayas, and was instrumental in launching the Indian Mountain Initiative to reduce isolation, and influence policy for the benefit of mountain people in India. His received the 2012 Champion of Women’s Economic Empowerment from The International Alliance for Women, USA, and an award for grassroots innovation by the National Innovation Foundation. He is a Fellow of LEAD, Ashoka, UNEP’s Eco-Peace Leadership Centre, and UNEP’s Asia Pacific Leadership Programme. Dr Phartiyal has Post-Graduate Degrees in Sociology and History, a PhD in History and Post-Graduate Diplomas in Journalism & Mass Communication and Tourism, undertook an Environmental Leadership course from the University of California, and is a Fellow of the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship, United Kingdom. Hashim Popalzai is an Officer of Central Superior Services in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Pakistan. He holds an MBBS degree and a Master’s Degree in Demography from the University of Wales, UK. He worked in the Federal Secretariat and served in the Establishment Division, Ministry of Population Welfare and Planning and Development Division, as well as Counsellor in the Community Welfare at Embassy of Pakistan in Doha, Qatar. Dr Popalzai served in the Pakistani National Institute of Population Studies, where he conducted evaluative research on various components of the Ministry of Population Welfare. Two of his research studies have been published. Dr Popalzai has undergone training in disciplines of reproductive health, project management, and financial management in public service from international institutes. He remains a faculty member of the National Management College – an apex institution for training civil servants of Pakistan. 47 SVRK Prabhakar works on issues related to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) with focus on risk insurance, synergies between DRR and climate change adaptation, mainstreaming climate change adaptation concerns into development planning and policies, loss and damage, adaptation effectiveness indicators, adaptive policies, and training needs assessment for capacity building. Earlier, as JSPS PostDoctoral Fellow working at Kyoto University, he conducted several research projects on natural resource management and climate change implications for disaster risk management in South and East Asian countries. Prabhakar has more than 17 years of experience in participatory research and development with international and national research and developmental organizations such as ICRISAT, IARI, CIMMYT-RWC, UNDP, NIDM & Kyoto University. He obtained a PhD in Field Crop Management from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 2001. He authored several peer reviewed publications and is a contributing author to the fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu is a four-time Member of the Lok Sabha from Rajapur Constituency of Maharastra, India. He previously served as Industry Minister, Minister of Environment and Forests, and Minister of Fertilizers and Chemicals, India. He holds an FCA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and an LLB from the New Law College, Mumbai, India. He is also founder of the student organization Youth For Democracy, as well as chairman of various parliamentary forums. Mr Prabhu believes in listening to criticism of the government’s policies to help reorient the policies towards the greater common good, and believes in people’s participation, especially through the involvement of NGOs and people’s groups. He published several columns on finance and economy in the daily “Mid Day”, as well as articles in leading Marathi dailies, and has written extensively on socioeconomic issues and youth. He is Director and former Chairman of Saraswat Co-operation Bank. 48 Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, hydropower specialist and entrepreneur, is an electrical engineer by training. He is Executive Chairman at Hydro Solutions, Chairman of the Energy Committee at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), SAARC CCI Council on Climate Change, Energy and Water Resources, and CACCI Asian Council on Water, Energy, and Environment. He is also Executive Member of the Canada-Nepal Business Chamber, Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various other chambers of commerce and industry (Nepal-Russia, Nepal-German, Nepal-China, Nepal-Britain, and SAARC-Nepal); and Special Member of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As an energy and hydropower expert, he advised the Economic Advisory Council of then Prime Minister of Nepal Dr Baburam Bhattarai in 2012, and was a member of the Electricity Tariff Fixation Commission. Mr Pradhan received several awards and recognition for his contributions to the field of hydropower and clean energy including ‘Manager of the Year Award’ from the Management Association of Nepal, ‘HYDRO Nepal Excellence Award in Energy (Hydropower)’, and ‘Best Entrepreneur Award’ conferred by the Engineers’ Association of Nepal. A. Atiq Rahman is a global leader on sustainable development, environment, poverty and climate change. He was recently awarded the UN Champion of the Earth award for his distinguished leadership in global environmental issues, and was co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He was also awarded the highest national environmental award by the Government of Bangladesh, The Paribesh Padak 2008, for environmental technology and innovation. Dr Rahman is the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies and a Lead Author of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third and Fourth Assessment Reports. He played a leading role in UNCED Intergovernmental Negotiations on Climate Change (Rio, 1992) and the COP and Climate Summits in Kyoto (1997). Dr Rahman is a Visiting Professor of International Diplomacy and Sustainable Development at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Boston, USA, and Chairman of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA). 49 Sandhya Rao is currently the Executive Director of INRM Consultants, New Delhi, which is a incubatee company established through TBIU system of IIT Delhi. She has been working in the area of water resources and natural resource management for more than 25 years focusing extensively on issues related to climate change. Her area of expertise include hydrological, hydraulic modeling, climate change impact assessment in water, agriculture sectors, health sector including vulnerability and risk assessment. She has several international and national published papers. She holds a doctoral degree in water resources from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Golam Rasul, a development economist, is leading ICIMOD´s Livelihoods Thematic Area. Prior to this, he served as Head of the Economic Analysis Division at ICIMOD for approximately four years, and as a policy development specialist at ICIMOD for approximately five years. Dr Rasul holds a PhD in regional and rural development planning from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. He worked for more than a decade in the Bangladesh Civil Service in different ministries and in field administration in different capacities where he was involved in the formulation and implementation of development planning and programming. Along with development work, he has been actively involved in research in areas that include agriculture, natural resource management, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development in Bangladesh and the South Asian region. His research findings have been published in many international journals and four of his papers have appeared as ‘most read papers’ in their respective journals on Science Direct. 50 Pankaj Prasad Raturi is Head of Department at Dabur Nepal. He holds a PhD and MSc in Botany and Plant Physiology from H.N.B. Garhwal University, and an MBA from the Allahabad Agriculture Institute, both in India. He specializes in agro-practices of medicinal and aromatic plants, industrial, contractual farming, SCFE, nitrogen fixation, agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, and plant ecology, wasteland management, biotechnology, biochemistry, nursery and plantation technology, livelihoods promotion and networking, good agricultural practices, and quality insurance work, mostly in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. He conducted research on – among other things – cultivations and biotechniques of higher altitude medicinal plants, biodiversity conservation, seed testing and viability, plant ecology, Rhizobium isolation and culture, soil and plant nutrient analysis, nursery technology, field plantation and extension work, nursery development, weed composting and the making of biobriquettes, quality assurance work in the industry, beekeeping and the promotion and socioeconomic development by promoting livelihood options. He has published over 25 research papers in international and national journals. Trude Rauken is a research fellow at the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo (CICERO). Her background is in political economy and her research is predominantly on climate change adaptation governance with a particular focus on the institutional capacity for adaptation. She studies this capacity and adaptation governance at different levels of government in Norway, India, and Nepal. 51 N.H. Ravindranath, Professor for the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, has focused his research, advocacy and publications on climate change, mitigation and adaptation, forests, bioenergy and ecosystem services. he is currently an advisor for a world bank project on climate resilience forestry in Bangladesh, and working on assessing the impact of climate change and forest ecosystems of river basins of the Himalayas. He published over 150 peer reviewed research papers, and eight books, many of which on Climate Change, and contributed to several IPCC Assessment Reports on Climate Change. He was a member of the GEF Science Technology Advisory Panel for Climate Change (2008 – 2012), and UNFCCC expert for greenhouse gas inventory reports submitted to UN. He is on the Editorial Board of four international journals, and a member of various Expert Committees on Climate Change for the Government of India and UN organizations. Christopher A. Scott is Research Professor of Water Resources Policy at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, and Professor of Geography and Development, University of Arizona. He is engaged in research and outreach on mountain water towers, river-basin water security, waterenergy-food nexus, water reuse, climate adaptation, and social-ecological systems resilience, with recurring interests in the Himalayas. Dr Scott leads projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and wrote over one hundred peer-reviewed publications and nine edited books. He is a member of the International Water Resources Association. Dr Scott graduated in Engineering and Asian Studies from Swarthmore College, and received his MS and PhD in Hydrology from Cornell University. He served as Asia Regional Director for the International Water Management Institute (where he also coordinated IWMI’s Nepal programme); hydrologist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (Washington, DC); and Mexico Program Leader for IWMI (Guanajuato, Mexico). 52 Salmanuddin Shah has a Master’s in International Relations from Karachi University and is currently working at Focus Humanitarian Assistance, Pakistan. He has vast experience working in activities related to disaster risk reduction and emergency response, and believes that sustainable development can be achieved through tripartite action and cooperation between the state, civil society and business organizations. His expertise includes programme development and resource mobilization, project management, monitoring and evaluation, and research. He worked at Agha Khan Education Services, Pakistan, as a teacher and coordinator. He conducted and organized many trainings and workshops reaching community teachers of the third world country and built their capacity to provide quality education, which supports critical consciousness, intellectual competency, and high moral values. Mr Salman has taken part in numerous international conferences and workshops on disaster management and climate change and travelled to many countries, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Tajikistan, and the United States of America. Anand Sharma is the Founder-Director of Meteorological Centre, IMD, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Working for the past 25 years in various parts of India with the India Meteorological Department, his wide-ranging experience and responsibilities have included providing correct and timely weather forecasts, advisories, and warnings; devising innovative methods to issue weather forecast warnings for forest fires and landslides and weatherbased agro-advisories for farmers; popularized meteorology among the masses; and sensitizing people about various environmental issues such as climate variability, climate change, land use and land cover changes, water conservation, and harvesting. He also implemented the first ever U-PROBE project of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under which 93 meteorological observatories were installed in government colleges. He has an MPhil in Environmental Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and an MSc in Agricultural Meteorology form Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He has been trained in the USA (UNDP/WMO Fellowship) and France on early warning systems and weather forecasting. He is also a visiting faculty member at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, and Doon University. 53 Eklabya Sharma is Director of Programme Operations at ICIMOD, with over 30 years of experience in sustainable natural resource management in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Dr Sharma has a PhD in ecology from Banaras Hindu University, India. He established the GB Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development in Sikkim, an autonomous regional research centre of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, as founder Scientist In-Charge. Dr Sharma has received many national and international awards including the Young Scientist Award of the Indian National Science Academy; Eminent Scientist Award from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, (India); and Honourable Mention Paper Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society (USA). He was elected Fellow of the National Institute of Ecology, National Academy of Sciences, and Indian National Science Academy, India. He has published over 160 works, mainly in peer-reviewed international journals, and serves on the international editorial board of the journal Mountain Research and Development. Arun Bhakta Shrestha is a Senior Climate Change Specialist at ICIMOD and Programme Manager for Regional Programmes on River Basins and Cryosphere and Atmosphere. Dr Shrestha holds a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of New Hampshire, USA, and a Master’s degree in Hydraulic Engineering from Minsk, former USSR. He previously worked for the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal. His main areas of expertise include climate change, glaciers and glacial hazards, glacial lake risk mitigation, atmospheric environment, and hydrological modelling. He was involved in the Tsho Rolpa Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Risk Reduction Project and the scientific team for the preparation of the First National Communication of Nepal to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He has published several papers in peer-reviewed international journals, national journals, and magazines, and is on the editorial panel for Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk (Taylor and Francis), and Journal of Hydrology Meteorology (Society of Hydrologists and Meteorologists, Nepal). 54 Basanta Shrestha, Director of Strategic Cooperation at ICIMOD, provides strategic leadership and partnership development to bring about transformative change. Mr Shrestha has a Master’s in Engineering in Computer Science from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, and a Bachelor’s in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Madras University, India. Mr Shrestha, an experienced manager and team builder, is well-known for his outstanding strategic leadership quality and his proven track-record of networking around the world. He is a founder member of the Mountain Environment and Natural Resources Information System (MENRIS) programme at ICIMOD, widely known for its pioneering efforts in promoting the use of earth observation and geospatial technologies for sustainable mountain development. He has championed the successful partnerships with NASA and USAID to spearhead SERVIR-Himalaya programme – a flagship initiative to bridge technology and innovation to mountain development challenges. Mr Shrestha has been granted a Presidential award and Special Achievement Award by Environmental System Research Institute, USA. Anu Joshi Shrestha joined ICIMOD in August 2009 as Value Chain Development Specialist. She brings with her extensive experience in working with development agencies and bi-lateral/multilateral organizations. Ms Shrestha will be focusing on high-value product value chains, emphasizing the equitable promotion of pro-poor value chains and strengthening rural-urban linkages. Prior to joining ICIMOD, she worked as an Advisor on local and regional economic development for GTZ INCLUDE, where she worked in the value chain promotion of various potential sectors for economic development in Palpa, Kapilbastu, and Rupendehi, Nepal, including serving as the focal point for NTFP/MAPS value chains. Ms Shrestha has a strong interest in nature conservation and worked with the National Trust for Nature Conservation as a knowledge management officer. She was also a faculty member in Kathmandu College of Management, Kathmandu University. She has an MBA from the University of Wales, UK, specializing in marketing and human resources development. 55 Raminder Singh is a strategy and business development technocrat with over 34 years of experience of working with the government and private sectors. Raminder brings in a unique blend of government, corporate, and private sector understanding, creating value around responsible business practices. His academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and an MBA with specialization in marketing from Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. He has in-depth knowledge on rural marketing and rural community development, and experience running programmes on rural livelihoods and agri-marketing. He is currently working as Account Director with Reuters Market Light (RML), which offers a bouquet of information, communication, and marketplace solutions for the farming and agricultural community. RML´s products, such as RMLdirect, a personalized SMS-based information service covering all aspects of farming from pre-sowing to post-harvest that has reached millions of Indian farmers, are enabling the agricultural community across India to improve productivity, lower costs, and increase incomes, thereby helping address key national challenges. Anil K. Sinha, Vice Chairman of Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) with rank and status of a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Bihar, has served the Indian Administrative Service in various positions in Bihar and with the Government of India for about 30 years. He has served as Relief Commissioner for the State of Bihar and Government of India; Joint Secretary and Head of Natural Disaster Management Division, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture; Member Secretary, High Powered Committee on Disaster Management; Executive Director of National Center for Disaster Management, Government of India; and Member Secretary of the National Working Group on Disaster Management. Mr. Sinha has also been associated with many international and intergovernmental organizations in various capacities including the World Bank; Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok; Team Leader of United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan for the preparation of their National Disaster Management Plan; UNDP/IRP Secretariat, and Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, Japan. 56 Roland F. Steurer, born in 1953, received his Master’s Degree in Economics in 1979 and his PhD. on “Rural Development and Agricultural Marketing” in 1987 from Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany. After being employed with the “International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)” in Rome, Italy, he joined German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in 1988 as Chief Technical Advisor in Bangladesh and in Bolivia. As GIZ Country Director, he has served in Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Egypt and currently since late 2012, in Nepal. Dr Steurer’s professional expertise is concentrated on strategic portfolio management, rural development and microfinance as well as disaster risk management and conflict transformation. Su Yufang is a Deputy Director at the Center for Mountain Ecosystem Studies (CMES), a joint center between ICRAF and Chinese Academy of Sciences hosted by Kunming Institute of Botany. She has 20 years research experience in natural resources governance, land tenure, and livelihood and land use transition. Her current research focuses on local adaptation to climate change and resource management in southwest China. Ms Su completed a Bachelor’s degree programme on Geography at the Shanghai Teachers’ University in China, received a Master’s degree on Sustainable Development at the Chiang Mai University in Thailand, and is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at the Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand. 57 Sunil Tankha teaches development policy at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has lived and worked in South Asia, North and South America, and Europe. He is a specialist in policy reforms and public services delivery and is currently engaged in several research efforts focusing on policy and institutional analyses for adaptation to climate change. He also has a keen interest in mountain areas, and has studied and travelled extensively in all of the world’s major mountain ranges. Ganesh Thapa worked for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) from March 1998 to April 2014 as Regional Economist for Asia and the Pacific Region, and as Country Programme Manager for North Korea. He is currently a Visiting Scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). He has a PhD. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University, USA, and degrees from the University of the Philippines and G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, India. Earlier, he worked as Country Director for Winrock International in Nepal, led a project on policy analysis in agriculture and natural resource management, and served as Senior Economist for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nepal. He undertook research and published books and articles on risks, vulnerability and poverty reduction, sustainability of microfinance, indigenous peoples and poverty reduction, effects of new agricultural technologies on income distribution, constraints on agricultural marketing, food security and environmental policies. 58 Naba Bikram Kishore Tripura belongs to Bangladesh Civil Service of 1982 batch. He obtained his Master’s with honours in Business Administration from the University of Dhaka. He also graduated from National Defence College, Dhaka and National Defence College, Stockholm. For his participation as a student in the War of Liberation in 1971 he received Samar Padak (war medal). Before his appointment as Secretary to the Government in 2011, he held and served with distinction in many command, staff, and instructional positions during his long career in the police. He commanded a police contingent in ‘Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti’ in 1994 and received the ‘Commander’s Award for Public Service Medal’ from the Department of Defence, USA. Hari Krishna Upadhyaya has over three decades of senior-level professional experience at national and international levels in various areas, including rural and agricultural development, pro-poor planning and policy formulation, rural/micro-finance, and seed sector development. He is the founder and Executive Chairperson of CEAPRED, one of the largest and most well-known professional NGOs of Nepal specialized in high-value commercial agriculture. He was been publicly honoured for his contribution to rural poverty reduction through CEAPRED. Dr Upadhyaya has worked with the Government of Nepal at the highest policy level as a Member of Nepal’s National Planning Commission from 2003 to 2005. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of the Philippines. 59 Batu Krishna Uprety is an Expert Member of the Climate Change Council and Former Head of the Climate Change Management Division in Nepal’s Ministry of Environment, and was involved from 1983 to 2007 in institutionalising the EIA system. From 2007 to 2012, Mr Uprety worked on Nepal’s NAPA, LAPA and Climate Change Policy, initiating preparation of SNC, TNA, PPCR and SREP and developing NAPA prioritised projects. He was also engaged in establishing coordination mechanisms and a Core Negotiating Team on climate change, and facilitating Mountain Initiatives on climate change. He published popular articles on environment conservation, biodiversity, EIA and climate change in national newspapers, as well as two books on EIA: Process and Practice, and Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development, and prepared proceedings on climate change and the UNFCCC negotiation process, and on mainstreaming climate change into mountain development. He received the Science and Technology Talent Award in 2005, Philippine. Ramesh Vaidya, is Senior Advisor at ICIMOD. His interest and experience is in the economics and policy of water and energy in the context of regional economic cooperation and climate change. He has served as National Planning Commission member for water, energy and infrastructure, and later as Nepal’s Ambassador to Japan, accredited concurrently to Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. During his tenure in the National Planning Commission, the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (1996) was established and he served as its first Vice-Chairman on the Board. The Hydropower Development Policy of Nepal (2001) and the Water Resources Strategy of Nepal (2002) were also prepared during his tenure in the National Planning Commission. Dr Vaidya has represented Nepal in several international water and energy events, including the UN Commission on Sustainable Development meetings. 60 Tarun Vijay is a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha (Uttarakhand, India), President of the Parliamentary Group on India-China Friendship, Convener for the BJP Parliamentary Party’s Research and Policy Studies Cell, and Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, the BJP National Executive, the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Board of Governors, Parliamentary Network on World Bank and IMF. He has been working on climate change and environmental issues in the Garhwal Himalayas through tribal development projects, and on India-China relations on a fellowship from Sichuan University. He is Founder and Director of the India East Asia Research Foundation. He conceptualized and organized the Indus Festival (Sindhu Darshan) in Ladakh, and led India’s first Indus expedition from Demchhok to Batalik. He is an environmentalist, tribal activist and a keen photographer and writer, who has published 23 books in Hindi, Kannad, and English, and is a columnist for 22 Indian newspapers. Luis Waldmueller is a planning officer of GIZ’s (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) Rural Development and Agriculture Division. He’s in charge of agriculture and climate change within the division and responsible for technical advice to projects, carrying out project appraisal missions, project progress reviews, and coordinating activities regarding agriculture and climate change (thematic team on climate change and rural development). Before he worked as GTZ’s principle officer for the commission of the EU co-financed project ‘Sustainable Agro-biodiversity Management in the Mountain Areas of Southern China’, based in Beijing, China. With two Master’s degrees, one in Soil and Water Engineering and one in Agriculture, he has worked with GTZ for over 25 years and has gathered rich experience in the implementation of projects in the field of sustainable management of natural resources in rural areas in countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya, and Tanzania. 61 San Win is the Pro-Rector of the University of Forestry, Myanmar, and served in the Ministry’s Forestry Department. He obtained his MSc and PhD in forest management from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, where he specialized in agroforestry and bamboo forest management. He served as Forest Department forest ranger, and later worked as researcher at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) and as Assistant Lecturer at the University of Forestry. He later served at the National Commission for Environmental Affairs (NCEA) as Director and Joint Secretary. He has been a focal point for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Montreal Protocol, POPs, and WGE in the Asian Region, and worked as project director for the Initial National Communication funded by GEF and administered by the UNFCCC during his tenure at the NCEA. He was twice awarded a fellowship from the International Tropical Timber Organization, and received two scholarships from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research for e-learning courses. Yang Yongping is Deputy Director and Professor of Botany at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KIBCAS). He received a BSc from Lanzhou University and an MSc from KIBCAS. He is a member of the China Society on Tibetan Plateau, American Society of Ethnobiology, and Botanical Societies of China and Yunnan, as well as a committee member of Rare and Endangered Species of China. His is specialized in the phylogeny, ethnobotany, and biogeography of useful plants in southwest China, and in plant adaptation and evolution molecular mechanism in the extreme environment of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan alpine regions. He has authored 133 papers, 5 monographs, and 1 authorized patent, and has been named ‘Young Scientific and Technological Academic Leader of Yunnan Province’ since 2004. As team leader of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research in Kunming, he is focusing on the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan alpine regions. 62 Robert Zomer is a landscape ecologist with a broad background in plant community, forest, and agricultural ecology and advanced skills in statistical analysis, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, environmental modeling, and landscape analysis. He is visiting Professor at the Center for Mountain Ecosystem Studies, Kunming Institute of Botany, and Senior Landscape Ecologist at the World Agroforestry Centre - East and Central Asia Region. He has many years of experience working in the Himalayas and throughout Asia, including at ICIMOD in Nepal, the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, and the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in Kenya. His current research focuses on the application of advanced spatial tools at global to local levels, ecosystem management, and the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity conservation. As a Lead Researcher within the IDRC-funded Asian Highlands ‘Building Effective Water Governance’ project, he is coordinating climatic and hydrological modelling activities throughout the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Krishna Chandra Paudel is Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Government of Nepal. He has more than 30 years of experience in various government positions, including as Secretary of the Water and Energy Commission, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC); Chief Administrator for the Eastern Development Region; and Chief of the Environment Division, MoFSC. Dr Paudel has led several delegations of the Government of Nepal in international negotiations, and has served as the national focal person for UNFCCC, CBD, and Ramsar conventions, as well as other international positions. He is a permanent academician with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. Dr Paudel has contributed various scientific papers in international journals, and edited a number of publications. He holds a PhD from BOKU, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Austria, and a Master’s degree from the University of Wales, United Kingdom. 63 Govind Raj Pokharel is Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission of Nepal. He has over ten years of direct management experience as an executive director of various government institutions and NGOs, and over 20 years of experience in the academic field. He served for three years as Manager at SNV Netherlands Development Organisation based in various locations in South Asia. Under his leadership, the Government of Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) was recognized as a focal point for promoting renewable energy in Nepal and access to renewable sources of energy in the country increased. He was Professor at the Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Department, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He has authored and co-authored numerous research papers on sustainable energy, climate change, policy, and technical aspects of renewable energy technologies and financing. 64 List of participants Listed by country of residence AFGHANISTAN BHUTAN Abdul Ahad, [email protected] Rekha Chhetri, [email protected] Mir Aqa, [email protected] Kuenzang Choden A. Azim Doosti, [email protected] Pema Drukpa Nabila Horakhsh, [email protected] Cheki Dorji Ahmad Jamshed Khoshbeen Tsheten Dorji Shaista Langari, [email protected] Phub Gyeltshen Ghulam Mohammad Malikyar Kuenga Namgay, [email protected] Alimuddin Naseri, [email protected] Tshering Palden, [email protected] M. Arif Noorzai Jigmi Rinzin M. Daoud Qazizada Surja Man Thapa, [email protected] M. Rafi Qazizada Rinchen Wangdi Abdul Mateen Salek, [email protected] Tshering Wangdi Noorgul Shirzoy, [email protected] Rinzin Wangchuk, [email protected] Dorji Wangchuk, [email protected] BANGLADESH Farid Uddin Ahmed, [email protected] Md. Abdul Mozid Shah Akond, [email protected] Md. Alamgir Hossain, [email protected] CANADA Bernard Cantin, [email protected] CHINA Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, [email protected] Cao Jie, [email protected] Dwijen L. Mallick, [email protected] Cong Zhiyuan, [email protected] Kyasingmong Marma, [email protected] Dong Suocheng, [email protected] Md. Kawser Uddin Maruf, [email protected] Feng Pan, [email protected] Nazmun Mita, [email protected] Feng Yan, [email protected] Monirul Islam Monu, [email protected] Gong Hede, [email protected] Amrita Mukherjee, [email protected] Ji Xuan, [email protected] Atiq Rahman, [email protected] Li Rong, [email protected] Pinaki Roy, [email protected] Liu Suxia, [email protected] NBK Tripura, [email protected] Li Zhuoqing, [email protected] 65 Long Ruijun - [email protected] Sara Ahmed, [email protected] Luo Peng - [email protected] Arivudai Nambi Appadurai, [email protected] Ou Xiaoou - [email protected] Sailesh Ranjitkar - [email protected] Song Jingyi - [email protected] Su Yufang - [email protected] Sun Dajiang - [email protected] Sun Geng - [email protected] Wang Wenling - [email protected] Xu Jianchu - [email protected] Yang Shuo - [email protected] Yang Yongping - [email protected] Zhang Liyun - [email protected] Zhao Qun - [email protected] Robert Zomer - [email protected] Zou Yahui - [email protected] Kirtiman Awasthi, [email protected] VK Bahuguna, [email protected] Ranjita Bania, [email protected] Anamika Barua, [email protected] Suruchi Bhadwal, [email protected] Sujata Bhattacharya, [email protected] Amar Chanchal, [email protected] Partha J. Das, [email protected] Hosagrahar Dhattatreya, [email protected] V.K. Gaur, [email protected] Elizabeth Gogoi, [email protected] Sumeet Keswani, [email protected] Shimpy Khurana, [email protected] Janine Kuriger, [email protected] GERMANY Arabinda Mishra, [email protected] Tobias Bolch, [email protected] Divya Mohan, [email protected] Christiana Figueres, [email protected] Kallur Subrammanyam Murali, [email protected] Giovanna Gioli, [email protected] Vishal Narain, [email protected] Joe Hill, [email protected] T.V. Padma, [email protected] Rojina Manandhar, [email protected] T.S. Papola, [email protected] Jürgen Scheffran, [email protected] Pushkin Phartiyal, [email protected] Uwe Schneider, [email protected] Suresh Prabhu, [email protected] Luis Waldmueller, [email protected] Subash Prasad Rai, [email protected] Sandhya Rao, [email protected] INDIA N.H. Ravindranath, [email protected] Rajendra P. Agarwalla, [email protected] Tripathi Satyendra, [email protected] Pramod Kumar Aggarwal, [email protected] Rafi Ahmad, [email protected] 66 Ghanashyam Sharma, [email protected] Anand Kumar Sharma, [email protected] Subrat Sharma, [email protected] Satyarup Siddhanta, [email protected] Prasoon Singh, [email protected] Deepa Basnet, [email protected] Aditya Bastola, [email protected] Raminder Jit Singh, [email protected] Pooja Bhattarai, [email protected] Rohan Singh, [email protected] Shankar Bhattarai, [email protected] Anil K. Sinha, [email protected] Dilli Bhattarai, [email protected] Amar Singh Thakur, [email protected] Ramesh Bhushal, [email protected] Prakash C. Tiwari, [email protected] Niranjan Bista, [email protected] Sanjay Tomar, [email protected] Floriane Clement, [email protected] Tarun Vijay, [email protected] Piyush Dahal, [email protected] Sangita Dandekhya, [email protected] ITALY Fabrizio Bresciani, [email protected] Elisa Palazzi, [email protected] JAPAN SVRK Prabhakar, [email protected] Binaya Raj Shivakoti, [email protected] Manjeet Dhakal, [email protected] Reshu Aryal Dhungana, [email protected] Kunda Dixit, [email protected] Sumit Dugar, [email protected] Subash Ghimire, [email protected] Ganesh Gurung, [email protected] KYRGYZSTAN Katherine Hall, [email protected] Christian Hergarten, [email protected] MYANMAR Romi Gurung, Dipak Gyawali, [email protected] Tikeshwari Joshi, [email protected] Keshab Joshi, [email protected] Madhav Karki, [email protected] Nyunt Khaing, [email protected] Mona Laczo, [email protected] Joern Kristensen, [email protected] Anupa Rimal Lamichhane, [email protected] Tin Maung Lwin, [email protected] Yu Myat Mon, [email protected] Khin Su Wai, [email protected] San Win, [email protected] NEPAL Pradip Maharjan, [email protected] Bivekananada Mahat, [email protected] Ari Nathan, [email protected] Sushil Neupane Bashu Aryal, [email protected] Naresh Newar, [email protected] Krishna Adhikari, [email protected] Bhrikuti Rai, [email protected] 67 Om Astha Rai, [email protected] Pankaj Prasad Raturi, [email protected] Bharati Pathak, [email protected] Prabha Pokhrel, [email protected] Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, [email protected] Meeta Sainju Pradhan, [email protected] Sabina Pradhan Snehalata Sainjoo, [email protected] Manfred Seebauer, [email protected] Gayatri Sharma, [email protected] Vijay Singh, [email protected] Birkha Bahadur Shahi, [email protected] Pragati Shahi, [email protected] Bim Prasad Shrestha, [email protected] Jay Pal Shrestha, [email protected] Kanchan Shrestha, [email protected] Andrew Steela, [email protected] Roland F. Steurer, [email protected] Fraser Sugden, [email protected] Nani Maiya Sujakhu, [email protected] Ganesh B. Thapa, [email protected] Ishana Thapa, [email protected] Keshab Thapa – Deepak Thapa, [email protected] Satananda Upadhaya, [email protected] Parshuram Upadhyay, [email protected] Hari K. Upadhyaya, [email protected] ICIMOD (NEPAL) (Email: [email protected]) Gopilal Acharya Lipy Adhikari Nand Kishor Agrawal Farid Ahmad Soumyadeep Banerjee Deepa Basnet Laxmi Dutt Bhatta Suman Bisht Devjit Roy Chowdhury Dhrupad Choudhury Tashi Dorji Erling Valdemar Holmgren Rucha Ghate Shekhar Ghimire Deo Raj Gurung Dipshika Gurung Nira Gurung Chanda Gurung Goodrich Abid Muhammad Hussain Muhammad Ismail Abdul Wahid Jasra Sami Joshi CBS Kansakar Bhaskar S Karky Umesh Khanal Shiva Hari Khatri Batu Krishna Uprety, [email protected] Rajan Kotru Suraj Vaidhya, [email protected] Iris C.P. Leikanger Utsav Maden Dharma Maharjan 68 Rajendra Prakash Mali Prerna Thapa Judith Marechal Shariar M Wahid David Molden Philippus Wester Aditi Mukherji Haiya Zhang Manchiraju Murthy Santosh Nepal Wu Ning Arnico Panday Anju Pandit Pooja Pathak Aneel Piryani Neera Shrestha Pradhan Poonam Pradhan Monika Pradhan Anjal Prakash Anja Rasmussen NETHERLANDS Hester Biemans, [email protected] Hasse Goosen, [email protected] Annemarie Groot, [email protected] Adish Khezri, [email protected] Luuk Masselink, [email protected] Eddy Moors, [email protected] Christian Siderius, [email protected] Tanya Singh, [email protected] Sunil Tankha, [email protected] Arbind Man Tuladhar, [email protected] Saskia Werners, [email protected] Golam Rasul Omaid Seddiqi Amy Sellmyer Naina Shakya Yi Shaoliang Eklabya Sharma Jemima Diki Sherpa Basanta Shrestha Anu J. Shrestha Arun Bhakta Shrestha Krisha Shrestha NORWAY Tor Aase, [email protected] Bjorn Alfthan, [email protected] Kristin Halvorsen, [email protected] Lawrence Hislop, [email protected] Nina Holmelin, [email protected] Trude Rauken, [email protected] Anne Solgaard, [email protected] Bob van Oort, [email protected] PAKISTAN Rashmi Kiran Shrestha Murtaza Javed Abbasi, [email protected] Marjorie van Strien Bashir Ahmad, [email protected] Bhawana Syangden Sher Ahmed, [email protected] Deependra Tandukar Amjad Ali, [email protected] 69 Aneeqa Azeem, [email protected] Faizul Bari, [email protected] Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan Atta Elahi, [email protected] RUSSIA Iurii Badenkov, [email protected] SINGAPORE Asit K. Biswas, [email protected] Shaukat Fiaz, [email protected] Khadim Hussain, [email protected] Ahsan Iqbal Allah Bakhas Kausar, [email protected] SRI LANKA Miriam Lindwer, [email protected] SWEDEN Mats Eriksson, [email protected] Babar Khan, [email protected] Muhammad Humayun Khan, [email protected] SWITZERLAND Khurshid Ali Khan, [email protected] Antonia Sutter, [email protected] Stéphanie Jaquet, [email protected] Sherzad Ali Khan, [email protected] Jan Muhammad Khan, [email protected] Adnan Khan, [email protected] Adalat Khan, [email protected] Muhammad Saleem Malik, [email protected] Usman Mirza, [email protected] Erik Chavez, [email protected] Nathan Forsythe, [email protected] Maria Shamdegona, [email protected] Andrew Turner, a.g.turner @ reading.ac.uk Naveed Mustafa, [email protected] USA Shahid Naeem, [email protected] Sabrina Abu-Hamdeh, [email protected] Khadija Nisar, [email protected] Ashok Gurung, [email protected] Arjumand Nizami, [email protected] Anand Patwardhan, [email protected] Shaukat Mahmood Piracha, [email protected] Christopher Scott, [email protected] Muhammad Hashim Popalzai, [email protected] Shakeel Ramay, [email protected] Salmanuddin Shah, [email protected] Saleem Shaikh, [email protected] Veronika Utz, [email protected] 70 UNITED KINGDOM Pam Pearson, [email protected] Katalyn Voss, [email protected] General information for participants November is the beginning of winter in Kathmandu, Nepal. The temperature varies from 6-22 °Celsius, with average daytime temperatures around 15°C (about 59°F). There is very little chance of rain in this season, but showers can occur. Warm clothing and jackets are recommended, particularly for nighttime. Weather forecasts as of now indicate clear, sunny days for the duration of the event. Dress code for all conference and social events is smart casual. As a field visit to Godavari is planned on the first day of the event, please also carry comfortable shoes, an umbrella and plenty of sunscreen. For more general information on Kathmandu, visit online travel portals like www.lonelyplanet.com or www.tripadvisor.com. Event Venues Day 1: 9 November 2014 (Sunday) Morning field visit (Optional) ICIMOD Knowledge Park at Godavari Web: www.icimod.org/godavari Arrangement for transportation will be provided from the hotel to Godavari and to ICIMOD. Lunch will be served at Godavari Knowledge Park. Afternoon Inauguration International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Khumaltar, Lalitpur G.P.O. Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: (977) 1 5003222 Fax: (977) 1 5003299, 5003277 Web: http://www.icimod.org Map: http://goo.gl/jkWqqo Arrangement for transportation will be provided from the hotel to ICIMOD. Please be ready at 12:45 hrs sharp in the lobby of the hotel. Days 2-4: 10-12 November 2014 Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu Tahachal, Kathmandu P O Box 97 Kathmandu, Nepal Hotel front desk: 977-1-4273999 Hotel fax: 977-1-427555 Web: www.crowneplaza.com/kathmadu Map: goo.gl/Aqlo9d For guests staying at Hotel Himalaya and Hotel Annapurna, transportation will be arranged to and from the Soaltee. Please be ready by 08:00 hrs sharp in the lobby. 71 Ground Transportation For international participants whose accommodation is being arranged by ICIMOD, ICIMOD will coordinate with the respective hotels to arrange airport pickups and will provide buses to and from conference events when necessary. For your return journey, transport from the hotel to the airport will also be provided. You are requested to check with your hotel about the time of departure. Nepali participants and international participants handling their own accommodation in Kathmandu will need to make their own transportation arrangements. Accommodation for international participants Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu Tahachal, Kathmandu P O Box 97 Kathmandu, Nepal Hotel Front Desk: 977-1-4273999 Hotel Fax: 977-1-427555 Web: www.crowneplaza.com/kathmadu Map: goo.gl/Aqlo9d Hotel Himalaya Sahid Sukra Marg, Lalitpur, Kathmandu P.O. Box 2141 Hotel Front Desk: 977-1-5523900 Hotel Fax: 977-1-5523909 Web: www.hotelhimalaya.com.np Map: goo.gl/8gwjgQ Hotel Annapurna Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal P.O. Box 104 Hotel Front Desk: 977-1-4221711 Hotel Fax: 977-1-4225236 Web: www.annapurna.com.np Map: goo.gl/tWpsLV Meals Breakfast is included in the room rate for international participants staying in accommodation arranged by ICIMOD Lunch will be provided for all participants on 10, 11, and 12 November. Lunch will also be provided for participants who take part in the Godavari visit on 9 November. Dinner. All participants will be welcome at the reception dinner sponsored by ICIMOD on 10 November. All other dinner arrangements must be made independently. 72 Currency Facilities for currency exchange are available at the hotel and at banks. Several central areas in the city also have money exchange centres. All convertible currencies are accepted. As of October 2014, 1 USD is equivalent to 98.50 Nepali Rupees. Mobile Coverage Prepaid SIM mobile service provider NCELL will be available for purchase from the NCELL stall at the inaugural event on 9 November at ICIMOD premises. A passport photo and a copy of your passport are required Electricity 220 volts AC, 50Hz. There are frequent extended periods of power cuts, but these should not affect international participants staying in the hotels arranged by ICIMOD. Contact Information For any assistance during your stay in Nepal, you are welcome to contact the following numbers. Conference organizing team: [email protected] Mr Nand Kishor Agrawal [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (228) Mobile: +977 981-8518811 Ms Krisha Shrestha [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (232) Mobile: +977 9851050601 Ms Jemima Diki Sherpa [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (238) Mobile: +977 980-8844578 Ms Iris Leikanger [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (275) Mobile: +977 9803805955 Marketplace and Poster queries: Ms Bhawana Syangden [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (232) Mobile: + 977 9841336503 HI-AWARE Working Methodology Meeting queries: Mr Aneel Piryani [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (215) Mobile: +977 9803019498 Himalica Regional Workshop on Impact Pathways queries: Ms Bhawana Syangden [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (232) Mobile: +977 9841336503 Water and Air Workshop queries Ms Sarita Joshi [email protected], Tel: +977-1-5003222 Ext (261) 73 74 REGISTRATION CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT MEGHA VIP ROOM MALHAR MALSHREE BUSINESS CENTRE ROSE GARDEN BOARD ROOM Venue map SOALTEE Map of Kathmandu City 75 Sites of conference visits Sites of visits conducted as part of the conference (visit to Godavari Knowledge Park on the morning of 9th November and Patan Durbar Square on the evening of the 11th) ICIMOD KNOWLEDGE PARK AT GODAVARI The ICIMOD Knowledge Park at Godavari, on the southern slopes of the Kathmandu Valley, was set up in March 1993, following the generous provision of 30 hectares of land by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal in November 1992. The site was originally named the ‘Godavari Trial and Demonstration Site’, and was intended for testing and demonstration of various methodologies related to integrated mountain development and sustainable farming practices on the sloping land of the mid-hills of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. The site provides a practical pendant to the often more theoretical activities of the Centre – a place where different technologies, farming and other practices useful for sustainable development can be tested, selected, and demonstrated; where farmers and those who work with them can be trained; and which can serve as a repository for plant germplasm resources and associated floral and faunal biodiversity. The activities help underpin ICIMOD’s focus on the two major issues challenging the region: the reduction of poverty and the conservation of the natural resource base. All plants are grown under organic conditions, without inputs of inorganic fertiliser or pesticides. Thus the test results reflect the results that could be obtained by the mostly poor farmers in remote areas of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas who have little access to and cannot afford commercial agricultural inputs. PATAN DURBAR SQUARE Patan Durbar Square is situated at the centre of Lalitpur city, originally a separate kingdom to Kathmandu. It is one of the three Durbar Squares (temple squares built opposite the royal palaces of Newar kings) in the Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of its attractions is The Ancient Royal Palace where Malla Kings of Lalitpur resided. Surrounding the main square are several royal and religious structures, which hightlight the Hindu pantheon, particularly Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. The courtyards and streets of Patan showcase traditional Newari architecture, Buddhist and Hindu traditions and give a glimpse of the rich history of this part of Nepal. 76 With thanks to the conference team Advisory David Molden (ICIMOD) Eklabya Sharma (ICIMOD) Asun St. Clair (DNVGL) Core Team Nand Kishor Agrawal Dhrupad Choudhury Iris C. P. Leikanger Jemima Diki Sherpa Krisha Shrestha Anne Solgaard (GRID-Arendal) Bhawana Syangden With support from Laxmi D. Bhatta Suman Bisht Tashi Dorji Abdul Wahid Jasra Sushil Pandey Anju Pandit Monika Pradhan Yi Shaoling Neera Shrestha Pradhan Anjal Prakash Naina Shakya Conference Organizing Committee Farid Ahmad Rucha Ghate Shekhar Ghimire Chanda Gurung Goodrich Erling Valdemar Holmgren Rajan Kotru Aditi Mukherji MSR Murthy Wu Ning Anja Møller Rasmussen Golam Rasul Arun B. Shrestha Basanta Shrestha Philippus Wester Knowledge Management and Communication Gopilal Acharya Bjorn Alfthan (GRID-Arendal) Jitendra Raj Bajracharya Smita Ghimire Nira Gurung Shiva Hari Khatri Utsav Maden Dharma R Maharjan Judith Marechal Poonam Pradhan Amy Sellmyer Deependra Tandukar Haiya Zhang Facilitators Miriam Lindwer (MDF Asia) Andrew Steele (Leading Edge Pvt Ltd) Logistics and Procurement Narendra Bajracharya Sami Joshi Chandra Bir Singh Kansakar Rishi KC Sudama KC Prerna Thapa Motorpool Unit Travel Unit Finance Rajendra P. Mali Pramila Shrestha IT Team Saisab Pradhan Rakshya Roy 77 Note About ICIMOD The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalization and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living downstream – now, and for the future. Organized by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) ICIMOD gratefully acknowledges the support of its core donors: the Governments of Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel +977-1-5003222 Fax +977-1-5003299 Email [email protected] Web www.icimod.org