International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas.[2] ICIMOD serves eight regional member countries (RMCs) of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan—and the global mountain community.

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
ICIMOD Logo
Formation5 December 1983
HeadquartersLalitpur, Nepal
Membership
8 member countries
Director General
Dr Pema Gyamtsho[1]
Websitewww.icimod.org

Founded in 1983, ICIMOD is based in Lalitpur, Nepal, and brings together a partnership of its regional member countries, partner institutions, and donors to secure a better future for the people and environment of the extended Himalayan region.

Vision

Men, women, and children of the Hindu Kush Himalayas enjoy improved well being in a healthy environment.

Mission

To enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation.

History
A main building at the ICIMOD

The idea of creating an institution to promote the ecologically sound development of mountainous regions was discussed at the International Workshop on the Development of Mountain Environment in December 1974 in Munich, Germany, but it was only five years later in 1979 during a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Regional Meeting in Kathmandu, under the framework of the Man and the Biosphere Programme, that concrete commitments were made to establish the centre. The Government of Nepal offered to host the new institution, and the Governments of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany and UNESCO agreed to act as the founding sponsors. His Majesty's Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed the agreement that provided the legal basis for establishing the Centre in September 1981 in Paris. The centre was finally established and inaugurated on 5 December 1983 with its headquarters in Lalitpur, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.[3]

Earth observation science at ICIMOD
MODIS satellite receiving station at ICIMOD

ICIMOD focused working area is Hindu Kush Himalaya Region (HKH) region, a vast area. ICIMOD actively uses earth observation science and applications for environmental management, disaster risk reduction, and enhanced resilience in the HKH region. Several ICIMOD researchers are involved in their research in different topics of earth observation science:

Among the different remote sensing work, the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (RLCMS)[4] is most mentionable as that provides a series of 30-m resolution annual land cover maps with harmonized land cover data for the years 2000-2018. These regional land cover maps are highly consistent and are designed to serve explicit user-defined objectives. Besides that, ICIMOD is involved in rapid mapping of flood inundation [5] for the Koshi river basin, Bangladesh, Nepal, soil erosion and sedimentation yield[6] spatial distribution and many more mapping activities for the regions.

References
  1. "Pema Gyamtsho". ICIMOD. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  2. "Regional Information". ICIMOD. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  3. "International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)". China Environment and Health Resources Hub. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. Uddin, Kabir; Matin, Mir A.; Khanal, Nishanta; Maharjan, Sajana; Bajracharya, Birendra; Tenneson, Karis; Poortinga, Ate; Quyen, Nguyen Hanh; Aryal, Raja Ram (2021), Bajracharya, Birendra; Thapa, Rajesh Bahadur; Matin, Mir A. (eds.), "Regional Land Cover Monitoring System for Hindu Kush Himalaya", Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 103–125, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73569-2_6, ISBN 978-3-030-73568-5, S2CID 238902124, retrieved 10 November 2021
  5. Uddin, Kabir; Matin, Mir A.; Meyer, Franz J. (January 2019). "Operational Flood Mapping Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 SAR Images: A Case Study from Bangladesh". Remote Sensing. 11 (13): 1581. Bibcode:2019RemS...11.1581U. doi:10.3390/rs11131581.
  6. Uddin, Kabir; Abdul Matin, Mir; Maharjan, Sajana (December 2018). "Assessment of Land Cover Change and Its Impact on Changes in Soil Erosion Risk in Nepal". Sustainability. 10 (12): 4715. doi:10.3390/su10124715.

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