International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Abstract

Abstract The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) was established in December 1983 as a regional knowledge and learning center for sustainable development in the Hindu Kush‐Himalayan (HKH) region, with a mandate of improving lives and the environment in mountain communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. ICIMOD works through three key strategic and programmatic thrusts: integrated water and hazard management, environmental change and ecosystem services, and sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction. It helps clients balance the priorities of highland and lowland communities, plan for and adapt to climate change impacts, and apply effective integrated land and water resources management strategies. Using a transdisciplinary problem analysis, design, and implementation model, ICIMOD helps clients translate their concerns into operational action by supporting team work; instituting program monitoring and evaluation measures; and optimizing their use of financial, human, and institutional resources. ICIMOD's programs are committed to integrating crosscutting criteria of policy, governance, equity, and gender, and to mainstreaming principles of information and knowledge management (Bie & Qvenild 2005; ICIMOD and Asia Water Forum 2009: 1–4; ICIMOD 2010).