The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have agreed to collaborate to establish a joint framework for regional cooperation to develop and share knowledge, promote capacity development, develop policies and practices, and enhance collaboration in the Hindu Kush Himalayan countries.

UN Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja and ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the collaboration on Thursday. In a statement, UNDP Nepal said the partnership will also focus on transboundary climate risk reduction and adaptation to climate change through data sharing and a joint strategy to enhance resilience, socio-economic security, and food security.

“I am pleased to sign this agreement to deepen our long-standing partnership to build resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalayan countries,” the statement quoted Wignaraja as saying. “Addressing complex challenges facing the region requires transboundary cooperation among the countries sharing the same river basins. In the case of the Himalayas, this would need to cover the entire Ganges River basin, involving China, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. We would encourage the sharing of climate data and technology; climate security and risk sensitivity planning; and cross border financing and insurance for flood resistant infrastructure and coverage of loss and damage.”

Gyamtsho termed the collaboration “a game-changing partnership arrangement” that will enable UNDP and ICIMOD to work together in the Hindu Kush region by drawing on their respective strengths and comparative advantages. “The urgency of actions required to address climate change, biodiversity loss and air pollution warrants this level of collaboration and scaling up,” he was quoted as saying.