Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Production Team Nand Kishor Agrawal, ICIMOD Mozaharul Alam, UN Environment Björn Alfthan, GRID-Arendal

Contributors We would like to extend our thanks to all the participants of the “Regional Policy Workshop on on the Adaptation Outlook for the Hindu Kush Himalaya” which took place on 2–3 February 2017 at ICIMOD in Kathmandu, for their valuable feedback and expert opinion in the development of the report: Ahammad Shah, Subinay Bhattacharya, Chencho Norbu, Sangay Chedar, Sangay Lhazom, Wangmo Wangmo, Yang Shuo, Manohar Lal, Puneet Nagar, Subhash Ashutosh, Thundikkandy P. Manoj, Uttam Sinha, Yogita Moza, AungThu Han, Nyunt Khaing, Pasquale Capizzi, Batu K. Uprety, Bhoj Raj Joshi, Bimal Kumar Nirmal, Madhu Ghimire, Pragyajan Y. Rai, Rabindra Maharjan, Sumana Devkota, Yubak Dhoj, Ali T. Sheikh, Qamar Chaudhry, Shehzad Shigri, Mozaharul Alam, Laurie Vasily, Nira Gurung, Utsav Maden, David Molden, Eklabya Sharma, Arabinda Mishra, Philippus Wester, Dhrupad Choudhury, Larisa Semernya, Laxmi Dutt Bhatta, Suman Bisht, Shahriar M. Wahid, Basanta Shrestha, Rucha Ghate, Farid Ahmad, Chanda Gurung, Rajan Kotru, Arun Shrestha, Surendra Joshi, Soumyadeep Banerjee, Iris C.P. Leikanger, Sabina Uprety, Nishikant Gupta, Jun Jun Zhou, Samita Sharma, Gitte Thorup, Sunita Ranabhat, and Prativa Sapkota. For further details of the policy workshop, please see the Proceedings of the regional policy workshop on adaptation outlook for the Hindu Kush Himalaya. ICIMOD, Proceedings 2017/5. Kathmandu: ICIMOD. We would further like to thank Yi Shaoliang and Idunn Holthe (ICIMOD) for their kind assistance in the final stages of preparing this report.

DISCLAIMER The development of this publication has been supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), GRID-Arendal and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The report has benefited from co-financing and knowledge generated through the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP). HICAP is implemented jointly by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), GRID-Arendal and the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo (CICERO), in collaboration with local partners, and is funded by the governments of Norway and Sweden. The methodology for this report was developed for the Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series in the context of the project “Climate change action in developing countries with fragile mountainous ecosystems from a sub-regional perspective”, financially co-supported by the Government of Austria (Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism). The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UN Environment, GRID-Arendal, ICIMOD or contributory organizations or any governmental authority or institution with which its authors or contributors are affiliated, nor do they imply any endorsement. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct and properly referenced, UN Environment, GRID-Arendal and ICIMOD do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the content of this publication. We regret any errors or omissions that may unwittingly have been made. The policy analysis and the conclusions based on this analysis was undertaken in late 2017/early 2018 and may not reflect any more recent policy developments. Most of the analysis is done at the national level and not for mountain-specific areas, so conclusions should be interpreted with care. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UN Environment concerning the legal status of any country, territory or city or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of a commercial company or product in this publication does not imply endorsement by UN Environment, GRID-Arendal or ICIMOD. This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided that acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEnvironment, GRID-Arendal and ICIMODwould appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source.

Front cover photo: Farm near Pokhara, Nepal

Magnus Andresen, UN Environment Hanna Lønning Gjerdi, GRID-Arendal Hanne Drangsholt, Independent Consultant Nishikant Gupta, ICIMOD Matthias Jurek, UN Environment Tina Schoolmeester, GRID-Arendal Jun Jun Zhou, ICIMOD

External Reviewers Subinay Bhattacharya, TBC

Dhrupad Choudhury, ICIMOD Pasquale Capizzi, UN Habitat Kiran Pandey, Department of Livestock Services, Government of Nepal Tashi Dorji, ICIMOD Yang Shuo, Yunnan Academy of Environmental Sciences, China Batu K. Uprety, Nepal

Layout GRID-Arendal

Cartography Nieves López Isquierdo

ISBN: 978-82-7701-179-0

Recommended Citation Alfthan, B., Gupta, N., Gjerdi, H.L., Schoolmeester, T., Andresen, M., Jurek, M., Agrawal, N.K. 2018. Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Mountain Adaptation Outlook Series. United Nations Environment Programme, GRID-Arendal and the International Centre for IntegratedMountainDevelopment, Vienna, Arendal and Kathmandu. www.unep.org, www. grida.no, www.icimod.org

UN Environment promotes environmentally sound

practices globally and in its own activities. This publication is printed on fully recycled paper, FSC certified, post-consumer waste and chlorine-free. Inks are vegetable-based and coatings are water-based. UNEP’s distribution policy aims to reduce its carbon footprint.

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