India, Nepal, China to collaborate on eco-restoration: Ramesh

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has reiterated India's commitment to deepening regional cooperation and institution-building in the fields of environment, forestry and climate change.

Mr. Ramesh was in Nepal last week to inaugurate a conference organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which works on fragile mountain eco-systems and livelihoods of mountain people in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region.

In an exclusive conversation with The Hindu, Mr. Ramesh said India was intensifying its relationship with the ICIMOD. “Between 1983 and 2006, we gave $1 million to the regional organisation. In three years alone — 2009, 10 and 11 — India would contribute half-a-million dollars to the ICIMOD.” The ICIMOD's areas of operations include India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan.
More details...

IISD News

International Symposium on Adaptation in Himalayan Region Highlights Role of Earth Observations

The Symposium was hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and focused on: remote sensing of the cryosphere; spatial decision support systems for ecosystems; space-based information for disaster management; land-cover change and carbon stocks; transboundary air pollution monitoring; and spatial data infrastructure for adaptation. More...

SERVIR Regional Inception Workshop 7 October 2010

On 7 October the SERVIR-Himalaya Inception Workshop officially introduced the new SERVIR system at the Headquarters of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu. The one-day workshop on "SERVIR-Himalaya: Expectations and Challenges" was organized by ICIMOD in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SERVIR is an earth observation, monitoring, and visualization system that integrates satellite and other geospatial data for improved scientific knowledge and decision-making by managers, researchers, students, and the general public. Such improved scientific knowledge will be beneficial in the areas of disaster management, biodiversity conservation, transboundary air pollution monitoring, snow and glacier monitoring and mountain ecosystem management.

The workshop focused on four thematic areas: 1) Identification of stakeholders and key applications; 2) Priority products and services; 3) Policy issues; and 4) Institutional arrangements for participation and collaboration in SERVIR. More details...

Valedictory Session of the International Symposium on Earth Observation

During a Panel Discussion on the last day of the International Symposium distinguished participants resumed their take-away and action points in a plenary session. Professor Fukui proposed an integration of the regions online portal sites that have so far served the purpose of making data available to end users, in particular on issues of mitigation. He further emphasized the importance of communication within stakeholders, not only in this region but international, he encouraged a review process of the symposium outcomes, to take the cooperation a step further. Prof Li Jing saw the Symposium as a good platform to tap many resources. He suggested to also keep in mind that it is not only data but information which can be understood by the end user that is needed, in particular especially during disasters. That is why the platform could be used to share more than data, but best practices in production and technology.

Dr Thomas Painter made three points on the importance of face-to-face encounters, the applicability of the data for those implementing and youth’s role to ask questions. “Make sure that the answers you get make sense, if not, ask again. And we as the scientific community should do the same”. Soonchang Yoon commented that there is a need for concrete and accurate numbers on climate change from earth observation, as well as sound modeling and the creation of an inventory. To carry out earth observation through ground, satellite and airborne observation regional cooperation will be key in sharing the costs. In the same line, Yussif Hussin encouraged regional cooperation in capacity-building.

Jeffrey Kargel showed himself struck by the solid achievements in the form of SERVIR and the JAXA receiving station, which in his view are “semanting some of the longstanding contributions between the wealthy world and ICIMOD.” Further he saw humans as the key to understanding and supporting mountain systems: those living in them, those studying them, and those benefiting from change, downstream, and there are those that must solve problems: “Most notably the young, who will really have to grapple with the successes and failures of my generation.”

Following the deliberations participants gave their comments on the way forward after the symposium. Ramesh Maski, from Kathmandu University asked for suggestions on how to bridge the dissemination gap, in particular at the level of research institutions. Two participants from Bangladesh asked for a mechanism to access real-time data, in particular for disaster situations. Furthermore, the suggestion was made for ICIMOD to include the downstream effects of climate change – which are mainly affecting Bangladesh – to be studied as well. Further suggestions aimed at the inclusion of a regional mechanism to coordinate ground observation were also made. Finally, a representative from the youth forum asked for concrete suggestions on how youth as a stakeholder can get involved.

The chair, Tej Partop, summed up the discussion. He showed himself happy that “everybody seems to have realized the need for cooperation, need for a glue, a platform, and the role for institutions like ICIMODO.” For him the most important way for youth to get involved was to increase the critical mass of expert human resources. During the discussions he found one dimension missing, which is that of those communities already affected by climate change, such as many farming communities. Finally he suggested a future reinforced focus on the impact of snow and rainfall. Co-chair Madhav Karki underlined the role of the media and it to be more knowledge-based and informed.

ICIMOD DG Andreas Schild in his concluding remark showed himself overwhelmed with the wide participation and the political support given by ministers and agencies. He expressed his special thanks to the support received during the seminar from JAXA, NASA, USAID, and key personalities of Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh, Charles Bolden, Michael Yates and Jose Achache. In his message to the youth he picked up Bolden’s remarks: “Don’t wait to be invited, take initiative”. Schild expressed his gratitude for the many suggestions and the trust given to ICIMOD. “It is an enormous responsibility. You are expecting our staff not only to be very proficient, they also have to be able to interpret data and be able to respond to the users’ needs. It is a noble task, which will need assistance of international resource centers to make it possible.”

The session was closed by a vote of thanks by Basanta Shrestha, MENRIS Head and main symposium organizer. He was delighted about many collaborations, with NASA, USAID, GEOSS, JAXA and most recently the Chinese Meteorological Administration. His final thanks went to all the delegates and his ICIMOD team. “The kind of vibration I could feel not only during the sessions but everywhere, is calling for a new beginning.”

Speech by Hari Priya of the Youth Forum during the Valedictory Session Oct 6

An era of consumerism, an era of unsustainable practices, an era of lack of responsibility towards planet Earth. Yes, welcome to the anthropocene era that finds its luxury and happiness by slowly poisoning lives around. These words might sound cruel, but it is evident that we, the sixth sensed species are spreading like an incurable infection on the planet, disturbing the delicate balance of the earth’s climate.

Honourable Dignitaries, Delegates of the International Symposium and friends from the media, Namasthe, Good Afternoon. I am Haripriya Madhavan from India. Today I feel privileged to represent my young friends from 8 countries belonging to the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, to share the experiences we had during the 6 days of the forum on Empowering Youth with Earth Observation Information for Climate Action.
Understanding GIS and remote sensing, learning about landscape changes in HKH region, snow-cover mapping, glacier inventories and disaster risk management, performing numerous hands-on activities, listening to power-packed guest lectures by experts from ICIMOD and the supporting organizations – That was a fraction of what the youth forum equipped all of us with, in such a short period of time. Yet, it is so fascinating to realize the impact this learning could have on our community when we go back home and advocate about consequences of climate change on the HKH region. We are indeed thankful to ICIMOD because this forum has helped us to feel more attached to mountain ecosystems, especially the Himalayas, our pride and heritage that we must conserve for our future generations. We, the participants now have the responsibility to tackle our area-specific impacts of climate change by connecting with potential solution makers to fuel immediate mitigation action and also build capacities of communities to adapt. The youth forum has made us recognize the power of communication and effective sharing as key necessities for securing our future.

We look forward to play a vital role in building decision support systems with the help of Earth Observation tools and resources. Thus, with the wisdom and will of the experienced and the energy and ideas that we have, we the youth are committed to transform our world into a better place for ourselves and the young of the future.
If you have assumed that the participants of the youth forum are a group of only environmental science graduates, you are probably wrong because we also have a good representation from youth belonging to the social sciences and media background. Being a media student myself, it is my duty to voice the concerns of this section as well. Media is a platform with immense potential to reach the people at their doorsteps and desktops. So it is essential that the issues surrounding climate change are given prominent space in newspapers, television, radio and online news portals. Hence, we urge the media community to bridge your knowledge gaps in the field of climate change in order to ensure responsible coverage backed with the necessary follow-up and not just momentary reporting. Moreover, a participatory approach to involve the people, especially vulnerable communities, in the process of reporting, popularly known as citizen journalism, could enable media to act as catalysts of change in the society.

At the outset, we also have a message for the women community at this international forum. We are considered as creators of the human race. Hence it is our duty to take up the mission of conservation as a challenge to prove our willpower and determination in protecting our Earth. What we require is women activism to combat climate change.

We might represent different professions, different genders, different communities, different ideologies, but we are all under one sky, as humans, humans with love for each other. We are not deterred by differences. We, the youth are concerned about a secure future not just for ourselves, but for the entire human kind. We do not want our children to be born as environmental refugees. We do not want to see suffering and pain in the eyes of our kith and kin whose lives are dependent on the Himalayan ecosystem. The fact that the countries from the HKH region are extremely dependent on climate sensitive sectors makes us the most likely victims of failing crops, potential famine, floods and disease. We do not want to wait for major disasters to happen, which is why we look up to our leaders and policy makers of our respective countries for immediate affirmative action.

The message from the youth forum is going to be a beginning in itself – for advocacy based on good science, for building regional and international cooperation, for responsible action, and we hope, for good governance as well. I would like to share with you an inspirational quote by one of my friends, “What will decide the destiny of our future is not the power of uranium or plutonium, but the power of this millennium’s youthanium”.

Speech by Kamran Hussain of the Youth Forum during the Valedictory Session Oct 6

My name is Kamran Hussain and I am representing the Youth Forum on Empowering Youth with Earth Observation Information for Climate Actions. The Youth Forum represents the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan regions from China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Afghanistan. We are among the hundreds of millions of young people who are frightened about their future because we know that we will become in the age group of 62 to 68 in the year 2050. We read science and we understand that we must now release ourselves from business as usual and take a momentous leap forward to grasp our sustainable future with both hands. Because we all know that HKH region needs much more attention from local to global levels as hotspot of climate change and calls for urgent action. Climate Change, no doubt, is one of the most critical global concerns of this generation where the youth of the region will face enormous challenges in future and our future depends on your decisions which you are going to take today. Therefore, it is important to actively engage us in the areas of preparedness, risk reduction, adaptation and mitigation because we, the youth, believe that we have innovative ideas and abundant energy to take the local actions.

We would like to thank specially ICIMOD and also NASA, USAID and SERVIR-Himalaya for recognizing the role of youth as agents for change and effective communicators because raising awareness among youth and engaging them in action on ground is an important factor for addressing the climate change issues in HKH.

Earth Observation is proving to be vital tool to improve our understanding the climate change phenomenon by providing information on the changes on various attributes which are indicators to climate change and will also help us to use the scientific approaches in advocacy.

The six day youth forum exposed us to various earth observation tools like satellite images, GIS/RS and Google earth to analyze the impacts of climate change on land, water, air and glaciers and identifying the climate change issues in our communities. The forum enhanced our capacities to use the climate, EO data and products more effectively to integrate climate risk management into national policies for sustainable development.

To the delegates of this symposium: you have only few months to improve your position and we implore you to work harder. We urge you too to take ambitious nationality appropriate mitigation strategies to take action now. We can’t solve climate change without you. We would like to ask you, all here, a very important question which we think you will all take a moment to consider – How old will you be in the year 2050? I said that we will be in the age group of 62 to 68 hoping to retire after 4 decades of working for capacity building of youth on earth observation, awareness campaigns within the communities on climate change issues, bridging the data gaps between generations and institutions and decarbonising our society.

As a youth, we commit to working with all of you now and over forty years to achieve this transformation. Inter-generational equity is crucial but we need more than that because we are the people who will be implementing these targets.

To conclude : we challenge each one of you to come and meet us here and back home in your country and guarantee that you are confident that we still have a liveable planet in the year 2050? We need this guarantee because in 2050 we will still be here in this planet earth.

Nepali Times: Kailash conservation

Announcing the plan for the trans-boundary sanctuary in the Himalaya, India’s Minister for Environment and Forestry, Shri Jairam Ramesh said: “This is an important regional eco-system initiative and will address
the environmental, economic and spiritual aspects of Kailash-Mansarovar and will be similar to other transboundary initiatives like Kangchenjunga and the Tarai Arc landscape.”

Ramesh was in Kathmandu on a three-day visit to attend a regional conference on climate change in the Himalaya organised by ICIMOD. He said India had decided to be “much more active” in supporting ICIMOD and would take on an “expanded role”. He handed over a cheque for $160,000 for this year, and pledged another $200,000 for next year.More details...