News

Women are the primary custodians of natural resources in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region and are at the forefront of the impacts of climate change.

Data has become a key driver of growth and change in today’s world. There is growing recognition that data is indispensable for effective planning and decision making in every sector. But the state of digital data in developing countries is far from satisfactory.

After successfully conducting the empowering women in geospatial information technology (GIT) training in Nepal, we rolled out the virtual training exclusively for women professionals in Pakistan in mid-July 2020.

Each monsoon brings both joy and misery to Nepal. As agriculture is primarily rain-fed in Nepal, monsoon rain is a real godsend, nourishing farmlands and securing livelihoods for many farmers. However, the same monsoon rain – increasingly intense and erratic – also triggers different kinds of disasters.

Our SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya (SERVIR-HKH) Initiative has been extended for a five-year period following the signing of a public international organization agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The monsoon floods in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region are worsening the humanitarian crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Cyclone Amphan in Bangladesh and India. Millions of people have been affected in Nepal, India (Bihar and Assam), and Bangladesh. The crisis is far from over, with more monsoon rain forecast in the coming days and weeks.

Twenty-five women from across Nepal and Australia joined in on morning conference calls for four days in May 2020 with a singular focus: to expand knowledge and skills in geospatial information technology (GIT).

Cyclone Amphan made landfall in Bangladesh and East India on 20 May 2020. The massive tropical cyclone resulted in the loss of at least 96 lives and caused extensive damage to infrastructure.

As an intergovernmental knowledge development and learning centre for the eight Regional Member Countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, ICIMOD is committed to building the capacity of relevant national agencies in the provisioning of flood risk information and early warning systems for building resilience and effective response.

When my supervisor asked me if I wanted to work on a project that would require me to travel frequently to Afghanistan, my answer was a reluctant “yes”. References to the war in Afghanistan – in the papers and on television – raced through my mind. This was four years ago.