The Upper Indus Basin Network: Promoting science-based cooperation in the region

Climate change is leaving an indelible mark on the high-mountain regions of the Indus basin. Challenges stemming from this change have profound impacts on countries that share the basin: Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan. This underlines the need for regional cooperation and knowledge sharing. Prior to establishing the network, a monitoring working group (MWG) was setup in 2012 – with support from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) – as a working group of professionals focused on the basin. In 2014, this group was established as the Upper Indus Basin Network (UIBN), a knowledge-sharing to address gaps in climate research, community interventions, and policies. The UIBN is a voluntary and informal knowledge and research hub for national and international institutions and researchers working on the basin. It aims to strengthen upstream–downstream linkages and foster increased coordination and research related to the climate, cryosphere, water, hazards, vulnerability, and adaptation.