Tuesday, November 22, 2011

ICIMOD at COP 17 in Durban (28 November - 9 December 2011), South Africa



The participants of this workshop are expected to actively engage in discussions during the meetings and to contribute by own interventions from their professional experience and institutional embeddedness. The group that has been selected is representing the five regions that are covered by the GIZ-sponsored mountain programme, i.e., Pamirs of Tajikistan, Hindu-Kush and Karakoram in Pakistan, West Kun Lun Shan and Tien Shan in Xinjiang, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal. The aim of the meeting is to share experiences from the regions and to develop policies and practices that could contribute in packages and schemes for the respective Asian mountain region.

The challenges and constraints affiliated to global and climate change severely impact Asian mountain regions and lead to a wide spectrum of adaptations. The aim of our meeting of minds is to learn from national experiences and to identify replicable role models. The sharing of knowledge is a necessary precondition for formulating areas, sectors and instances for regional cooperation. Due to the nature of the mountain programme special emphasis will be put on capacity development and knowledge management for the benefit of mountain communities.

Venue: Cathedral Peak Hotel in Drakensberg (http://www.cathedralpeak.co.za/) and Selborne Resort (close to Durban) (http://www.selborne.com/)

For further information: Dr. Madhav Karki and Dr. Bhaskar Karky


2.   Mountain Day (4 Dec 2011)

Mountain Day will assemble a high-level panel of global personalities, ministers, and scientists to advocate the value and critical role of mountains and share scientific evidence and examples of challenges and opportunities. The day-long programme will also include plenary presentations and discussions, working groups, and panel discussions. The organisers hope that Mountain Day will conclude with the adoption of the Durban Declaration on Mountains and Climate Change.

Mountain Day will call to the COP17 delegates and global development partners for more concerted and long-term actions at the national, regional, and global levels to save vital mountain ecosystems. It is hoped that the knowledge shared and the evidence presented will provide a powerful and convincing message to ensure that UNFCCC deliberations include provisions for protecting mountain systems’ integrity for the survival of current and future generations. The Mountain Day will also features Photo Exhibition and an Information on the Knowledge Market Place for selected partners to exhibit their works.

Highlights of Mountain Day
·         Keynote Speech by Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Chair, IPCC and Director General, TERI, India
·         Mountain Ministers’ Panel – Bhutan, Chile, Italy, Nepal, Slovenia, and Tajikistan
·         Working Sessions
·         Information Knowledge Market Place
·         Photo Exhibition: ‘Himalaya – Changing Landscapes’
·         Book launches

Venue: The Breakers Resort, 88 Lagoon Drive, Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu Natal, 4321, Durban, Time: 9:00- 18:00


For further information: Dr. Madhav Karki, Ms. Naina Shakya and Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org)


The Himalaya Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) is the first south-south-north collaborative, policy relevant project focused on knowledge from and for local communities and for on the ground impact. HICAP is an example of integrated research across the sciences dedicated to identifying credible, legitimate, and salient adaptation challenges and opportunities in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya region. This side event presents the background of the collaboration, design principles, and main research areas. Through a combination of approaches, methods and scientific tools, HICAP is aimed at developing solutions by producing new climatological and hydrological scenarios, assessment of ecosystem services and food insecurity, a large amount of new household and community survey data about socio-ecological changes, macroeconomic and socio-economic modeling, methodological and theoretical innovation, and ethnographic, gendered knowledge. Women and gender aspects are a fundamental crosscutting issue.  HICAP is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The side event will be structured as a roundtable discussion

Participants:
·         Chair: Norwegian Journalist (TBC)
·         Representative from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TBC
·         Mr Krishna Gyawali, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Government of Nepal
·         David Molden, Director General, International  Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
·         Pål Prestrud, Director, Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO)
·         Lawrence Hislop, HICAP Leader, UNEP-GRID Arendal
·         Eklabaya Sharma, Director Program Operations, ICIMOD
·         Representative from a partner institution from the region
·         Ritu Verma,   Division Head, Gender and Governance, ICIMOD
·         Asuncion Lera St.Clair, HICAP Leader, CICERO

Date/Venue: 6 December 2011, Time: 11:30 to 13:00, Venue: Room 5 

For further information: Dr. Eklabya Sharma

4.   Launch of 2 reports on Glacier Studies in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region

ICIMOD is leading glacier studies in the Himalayan region for over a decade and have brought out some of the most cited comprehensive publications, helping the researchers, planers, policy makers, development agencies and mountain communities to better understand the glacial environment and subsequent impacts downstream in the Himalayas. The two special reports aimed to be released at Durban are seen as state-of-art in glacier research in the region.

For further information: Mr. Basanta Shrestha, Mr. Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya and Mr. Deo Raj Gurung



The IPCC 4AR was characterized by an absence of data on the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) System and the region remained largely underreported. In the meantime, a lot of research has been initiated and it is likely that the next report will give another picture. However the new IPCC 5AR will only be available in 2013. The aim of this report would be to bridge the knowledge gap for the HKH region and disseminate science–based information in a readable and easily understandable way which will be useful to the UNFCCC meetings. Such report will also be important to support the discussion on the Rio+ 20 conference and Multi–lateral Environment Agreements as the reports will capture the leading knowledge from the region and on the region with a specific focus on the mountain situation.

For further information: Dr. Bhaskar Karky

6.   Information Booth

ICIMOD will also have an information booth at the COP 17 venue, from where the visitors can collect relevant publications, get information about relevant events and meet ICIMOD experts and associated partners.

Venue: International Convention Centre (ICC), & Durban Exhibition Centre (DEC)

For further information: Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org) and Dr. Bhaskar Karky

7.   Virtual platforms

A microsite is developed as http://www.icimod.org/cop17, where we aim to put further details as developed and agreed with the partners. We are also working with our global partners – members of the Mountain Partnership Consortium (MPC) to ensure there is coordination at higher level to advocate mountain issues. MPC/Mountain Forum has also developed a separate microsite with global scope.


For further information: Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org)

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