SERVIR-Himalaya Small Grants Programme Knowledge Sharing Workshop

Date 22 Dec 2014
Venue Hotel Sarina, Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contact Persons Mostafa Ali
Type Workshops
Programmes MENRIS

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Develop (ICIMOD), in collaboration with the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), Bangladesh, is organizing a knowledge-sharing workshop on the SERVIR-Himalaya Small Grants Programme in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The workshop seeks to generate ideas on how some of the science applications developed by SERVIR-Himalaya could be extended in Bangladesh, especially those related to ecosystem and disaster management.

Objectives

 

  • Exchange knowledge gained so far among the SERVIR-Himalaya Small Grants Programme partners;
  • Knowledge sharing and consultation on the selected SERVIR applications in the context of Bangladesh and generate ideas how those could be extended in Bangladesh;
  • Discuss and review the progress of implementation of SERVIR-Himalaya Small Grants projects, with a focus on technical/ programmatic areas and financial management procedures;
  • Strengthen a networking forum of SERVIR-Himalaya grantees and product users for knowledge sharing. 
  • The Small Grants Programme seeks to expand the network of organizations in the HKH region to promote evidence-based decision making and to generate innovative ideas for applying earth observation data and geospatial method/tool for decision making. 

 

Out of the 191 proposals submitted, eight organizations from four countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan – were selected for the grants. Their proposed projects focused on harnessing geospatial technologies to support informed decision making in the Hindu Kush Himalayas. The projects are currently being implemented. (For details, please visit the website http://www.icimod.org/?q=servir-himalaya_sgp). Following a successful kick-off workshop in July 2014, it was agreed that a midterm workshop on knowledge sharing could mutually benefit the participating grant partners, ICIMOD and stakeholder organizations in the region.

SERVIR is a unique combination of science, technology and development programmes established through a joint partnership between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SERVIR-Himalaya is one of the three hubs of the SERVIR programme and hosted at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The SERVIR programme touches upon multiple sectors related to international development and supports the objectives of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in the areas of agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, disasters, ecosystems, health, water, and weather. With an eye towards this goal, the SERVIR-Himalaya programme works to build the capacity of government and non-government organizations, universities and other key stakeholders in Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region to integrate earth observation information and geospatial technologies into development decision making for sustainable mountain development, with a special focus on climate adaptation, vulnerability, and mitigation.