KATHMANDU, JUNE 5
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has been appointed one of three technical implementing partners in a major regional initiative by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) aimed at transforming climate and disaster risk reduction across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH).
ADB's Building Adaptation and Resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (BARHKH) initiative, launched in December 2023, with a total of $6.52 million funding for its first phase, $450,000 of which goes to ICIMOD, seeks to reduce the human and economic risks from the rising intensity and number of climate-induced mountain hazards in the region, including floods, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), the ICIMOD said.
Switzerland has contributed CHF 2 million ($2.4 million) to the project through its Regional Climate Action Partnership and is offering technical expertise via its public, academic, and private sectors. The collaboration aims to build on global knowledge and enhance regional capacity.
BARHKH's first phase, running until October 2028, focuses on Nepal and Bhutan. It includes identifying disaster hotspots, improving multi-hazard risk assessments, strengthening early warning systems, and promoting climate-resilient infrastructure and investment.
"Our warming world is unleashing devastating hazards in our mountains. Even advanced economies are being stretched – we must act now to scale proven solutions across the HKH and we hugely applaud ADB for this initiative," states Saswata Sanyal, Disaster Risk Reduction Lead at ICIMOD and Project Coordinator for BARHKH for ICIMOD.
The initiative also aims to reduce the cost of disaster management for individual countries and increase community-level resilience through data sharing, capacity building, and improved access to finance.
ICIMOD's involvement was confirmed ahead of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Geneva, where it is presenting its Community-Based Flood Early Warning System, which is presently implemented across 15 sites including sites with transboundary rivers where the organisation specialises flood warning efforts. Switzerland also supports ICIMOD's cryosphere-related work and provides core funding for several initiatives across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region-enabling research, monitoring, and capacity building to strengthen the HKH as a regional knowledge hub on cryospheric issues.
"With the hazard pattern changing so significantly with temperature rise, disaster management in the HKH is not yet where it needs to be," said Declan Magee, Principal Economist and Team Leader BARHKH for ADB. "Huge knowledge exists in this region, and beyond it. This is a first crucial step towards pooling that knowledge base and technical expertise, building the appropriate capacity and leveraging the right investment and planning guidance to save lives, and safeguard economic development."
