19 May 2016, Kathmandu: The Government of Austria has decided to continue its cooperation with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Channeled through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the Austrian fund is mainly used for the core and programme support to enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation.
At an official event today, ICIMOD’s Director of Programme Operations, Dr Eklabya Sharma, said ADA, the operational Unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), has been supporting ICIMOD and its activities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region for more than 20 years. One of its earliest support was in rangeland management of high-altitude areas in the six countries of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. “This support resulted in the formulation of rangeland policies in Bhutan, Nepal, and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan,” he said. The ADA support has been instrumental in developing renewable energy access to mountain herders of the above six countries.
The Director of ADA, Dr. Martin Ledolter, said the Government of Austria’s more recent support to ICIMOD extends to develop the strategic Transboundary Landscapes Programme which addresses the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in landscapes. ICIMOD has identified six transboundary landscapes - Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Pamir, Kailash, Everest, Kanchenjunga, Far-Eastern Himalayas, and Cherrapunjee-Chittagong. Bhutan, ADC’s main focus country, forms part of the Kanchenjunga landscape.
ICIMOD’s transboundary landscape management programmes address the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources - biodiversity, rangelands, farming systems, forests, wetlands, and watersheds - in landscapes defined by ecosystems rather than administrative boundaries. ICIMOD strives for improved cooperation among the regional member countries for sustainable and inclusive ecosystem management in identified landscapes for enhancing and equitable livelihood benefit sharing, and contributing to global conservation goals.
The ADA is also looking into the option of developing a Himalayan Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in cooperation with ICIMOD. “Such a Centre could build strong capacities in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Dr. Ledolter. A feasibility study is being carried out on the Centre.
The Director of ADA launched a publication titled Yak on the Move: Transboundary Challenges and Opportunities for Yak Raising in a Changing Hindu Kush Himalayan Region. The book is the result of ADA’s support to the transboundary landscape programme at ICIMOD, and is expected to fill the significant research gap on yak and pastoralism in the region. It can downloaded at this site: http://lib.icimod.org/record/31938 .
Mr. Johannes Binder, Head of the Austrian Coordination Office in Bhutan, overseeing the regional ADC Himalaya Hindu Kush Programme, said: “I look forward to a broadened and deepened cooperation with ICIMOD to sustainably further develop the livelihoods of the mountain people of the region.”
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For more information please contact:
Nira Gurung
Senior Communications Officer, ICIMOD
Tel: 5003222 (ext 115)
Email: Nira.Gurung@icimod.org
Note to Editors:
ICIMOD www.icimod.org
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Our aim is to influence policy and practices to meet environmental and livelihood challenges emerging in the HKH region. To do this we bring together researchers, practitioners, and policy makers from the region and around the globe to generate and share knowledge, support evidence-based decision making, and encourage regional collaboration. ICIMOD delivers impact through its six Regional Programmes of Adaptation to Change, Transboundary Landscapes, River Basins, Cryosphere and Atmosphere, Mountain Environment Regional Information System, and Himalayan University Consortium. These regional programmes are supported by the four Thematic Areas of Livelihoods, Ecosystem Services, Water and Air, and Geospatial Solutions and underpinned by Knowledge Management and Communication. ICIMOD seeks to improve the lives and livelihoods of mountain women and men.
Nira Gurung
Senior Communication Officer
Media and Dissemination Unit
Knowledge Management and Communications
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel +977-1-5003222 Ext 115 Fax +977-1-5003277 Web www.icimod.org
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