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We are ICIMOD, a unique intergovernmental institution leading the global effort to protect the pulse of the planet - the HKH - and the people, resources and culture that define it.
PROTECTING THE PULSE OF THE PLANET
Knowledge is the first step towards innovation and impact. We work relentlessly to understand problems by facilitating research and producing data.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre working on behalf of the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). We are based in Kathmandu, Nepal and work in and for our eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
We work to improve the lives and livelihoods of men, women, and children of the HKH and protect mountain environments and cultures. The knowledge we create and share helps the people of the HKH become more resilient, make the most of new opportunities, and prepare for change. Our work strengthens regional cooperation for conservation and sustainable mountain development.
We are an intergovernmental institution set up by our eight RMCs, whose governments support us and provide us strategic guidance.
OUR MISSION AND VISION
To enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation.
WHY WE EXIST
Men, women, and children of the Hindu Kush Himalaya enjoy improved well-being in a healthy mountain environment.
ICIMOD believes in a future where the region’s mountain people can experience enhanced livelihoods, equity, and social and environmental security; where they can adapt to climate, environmental, and socioeconomic change; and where future generations of mountain and downstream populations can enjoy the benefits and opportunities afforded by the region’s natural endowment. ICIMOD foresees a future in which the role of the HKH as the water tower for close to two billion people, as a cultural and spiritual hub, as the home of global biodiversity hotspots, as a significant ecological buffer zone, and as a source of resources and services for mountain and lowland people is upheld, valued, and recognized globally and regionally.
ICIMOD is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre that develops and shares research, information, and innovations to empower people in the eight regional member countries of the HKH – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. We serve the region through information and knowledge generation and sharing to find innovative solutions to critical mountain problems. We bridge science with policies and on-the-ground practices. We provide a regional platform where experts, planners, policy makers, and practitioners can exchange ideas and perspectives towards the achievement of sustainable mountain development. We facilitate knowledge exchange across the region, help customize international knowledge and tailor it to the region’s needs, and bring regional issues to the global stage.
CORE PILLARS
Our activities range greatly from hands-on research and piloting of solutions, to policy implementation with governments, to mountain advocacy on the global stage. What unites everything we do, is a core focus around these fundamentally important defining objectives.