KATHMANDU, APRIL 3
The UN Capital Development Fund has partnered with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development for coordinated action on adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the highly vulnerable Hindu Kush Himalaya.
The mountainous region is considered the highest point on the planet and the rise in temperature has already caused devastating consequences on the environment and communities. As a result, those living in mountainous region are battling with extreme water insecurity, rapidly melting glaciers and worsening floods and droughts.
The work will be implemented in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan, the countries that share the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
UNCDF is the United Nation's flagship catalytic financing entity for developing and least developed countries. Catalytic financing involves leveraging public finance to attract or catalyse further investments from the private sector primarily for development projects.
Such financing also aims to mitigate and distribute risks among multiple investors and aggregate small projects to combine resources and endorse public–private co-investments.
This agreement is to be implemented through the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), which was designed by UNCDF over ten years ago and is today a global mechanism for channelling climate finance to local governments for adaptation at the community level.
The LoCAL promotes climate resilient communities and local economies by increasing investments in climate change adaptation at the local level in target countries.
LoCAL contributes to the vertical integration and achievement of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly poverty eradication, sustainable cities and communities and climate action.
ICIMOD, established in 1983 and based in Nepal, works to harness collective strengths of its eight regional member countries and address issues that affect the entire region, including the impacts of climate change.
"We're delighted to be joining forces with ICIMOD to scale up our adaptation activities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya," said Sophie De Coninck, Global Manager, Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, UN- CDF.
"This is a region that is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change where greater cooperation can deliver impactful results for communities across the region."
A version of this article appears in the print on April 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
