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The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) to be held in June 2012 will have green economy as one of its two main themes
. This paper has been prepared to strengthen arguments for discussing mountain issues at Rio+20 and in other global discourses. The aim is to ensure renewed efforts and commitment by the global community at Rio+20 to prioritise mountain issues in development agendas and processes dealing with poverty reduction, food security, climate change, and other issues that are critical to sustainable development in mountain areas. The paper is the outcome of three days’ deliberation among key stakeholders at the International Conference on Green Economy and Sustainable Mountain Development, jointly organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Kathmandu, Nepal from 5 to 7 September 201
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ICIMOD is continuously making efforts to help its regional member countries (RMCs) gain from each other's experiences and best practices
. Through consecutive phases of ICIMOD's development, India has been an active RMC, playing a lead role in formulation of the centre's institutional and programmatic strategies and action plans. Its contribution has gradually become more and more important and useful in the development of regional themes for action in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region (HKH). On 30 September 2011, a day's programme was organised to highlight the ICIMOD-India collaboration and further strengthen it. This booklet prepared for the occasion reflects on past efforts and achievements and identifies gaps to reorient the collaboration for enhanced action on the regional issues of mountains and their people
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This paper revisits the mountain agenda
. The basic hypothesis is that the challenges of today should encourage us to particularly include socioeconomic, demographic, and ecological factors. For the first time in 20 years, the climate change and green economy debates have created the possibility of mainstreaming sustainable mountain development in the international development agenda
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This case study is one of three carried out at selected sites in India, Nepal, and Pakistan to look at the phenomenon of migration, and the flow of remittances, in the western Hindu Kush-Himalayas
. A synthesis of the findings has been published by ICIMOD in the document: Hoermann B; Banerjee S; Kollmair M (2010) Labour migration for development in the western Hindu Kush-Himalayas. The publication presented here is the full summary of the case study carried out in Uttarakhand, India
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This case study is one of three carried out at selected sites in India, Nepal, and Pakistan to look at the phenomenon of migration, and the flow of remittances, in the western Hindu Kush-Himalayas
. A synthesis of the findings has been published by ICIMOD in the document: Hoermann B; Banerjee S; Kollmair M (2010) Labour migration for development in the western Hindu Kush-Himalayas. The publication presented here is the full summary of the case study carried out in Uttarakhand, India
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Migration is a traditional phenomenon in the western Hindu Kush-Himalayas, but has increased considerably in recent years in response to global changes
. The financial and human capital generated by migration can be used to support local development and thus help reduce poverty. However, in order to develop strategies that can help people benefit more from the existing migration, more needs to be known about the process and the way it affects and is used by society. This report provides a synthesis of the findings of three case studies carried out in India, Nepal, and Pakistan to gather information about the present patterns of migration and the flow of remittances at different sites. Results include the type, volume, and mode of transfer of remittances; the impact in terms of financial flows and the transfer of new skills; and gender aspects. The study made five recommendations: (1) Foster and mange skilled migration; (2) Make more financial services available in rural areas and build financial literacy; (3) Increase competition for remittance transfer and adopt new technology for improved outreach of financial services; (4) Facilitate the investment of remittances; (5) Address the feminisation of rural mountain communities
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Most of ICIMOD’s regional member countries have a good legal basis for ensuring environmental justice, but knowledge about the legal options and processes is limited
. This book aims to provide a reference book and training resource to increase local-level awareness of environmental justice, focusing on legal approaches. It is an outcome of the ‘Minority Rights and Environmental Justice’ project initiated in 2004 by the Ford Foundation and ICIMOD. The knowledge provided by the book, with its examples from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, should help users to become familiar with the basic legal concepts and practices related to the environment in these countries. It will be of use to many people and organisations trying to decrease the environmental burdens of marginalised people and contribute to socially and environmentally sustainable societies
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This Framework Paper presents the Regional Cooperation Framework developed for implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in the southern part of the Kangchenjunga landscape, which includes parts of Nepal, Sikkim (India), and Bhutan
. The Framework is the result of a long process that started with a pilot initiative on transboundary biodiversity management. It is intended as a guide, with provisions that can be adapted and applied to the individual countries in the landscape to achieve cooperation for implementation of the CBD at national level. Based on the principles of the CBD, and taking into account the national biodiversity strategies and action plans of each of the three countries, it gives directives on four constitutive elements of biodiversity conservation: transboundary biodiversity conservation, scientific and technical cooperation, information exchange and sharing, and regional guidelines and soft legal instruments; and touches upon the implementation mechanisms and identification of stakeholders and their key roles at local and national, and regional and international, levels. The paper discusses the concept of transboundary landscape management within the context of conservation of biological diversity and the CBD, describes the historical development of transboundary biodiversity conservation and cooperation in the eastern Himalayas and the development of the Framework, as well as presenting the Framework itself.
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The conditions in mountain areas are significantly different from those obtaining in the plains
. These differences have not been adequately reflected in national agricultural policy, research, extension, and credit, and in other programmes promoting agricultural development in many countries, especially in South Asia, with its vast mountain areas. Past policies and strategies aimed at promoting mountain agricultural development, applying green revolution technologies that have worked well in the plains, have thus not been quite successful because they fail to consider the inherent differences of the mountain condition.
This Talking Points document offers an alternative mountain-specific framework that calls for an integrated and holistic approach to agricultural development in mountain areas, the removal of policy biases, and a fundamental change in perception and approaches. Instead of a blanket approach to the agricultural development of a country, the paper recommends the development of a strategy specific to mountain agriculture, one that takes into account its agro-ecological potentials, the biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of mountain farmers, and the consideration of specific measures to overcome difficulties in market access. The framework highlights the mountains comparative advantages, such as the potentials for organic and niche mountain products, and advocates adding value to mountain environmental services. Policy makers, planners, development practitioners, and academia may find the perspective and views offered useful in designing policies and programmes for agriculture development in hilly and mountain areas. The framework offers a basis for future in-depth research on mountain agriculture.
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