Breaking Myths About Transboundary Floods

Transboundary river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are home to millions of people who depend on river water for their survival. Ten large Asian river systems that originate in the HKH – Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtse, Yellow, and Tarim – provide water and ecosystem services, and the basis for livelihoods to around 240 million people living in the mountains. Together, these river basins provide water to 1.9 billion people, a fifth of the world's population. The people of these river basins live in a multi-hazard environment, where floods, landslides, and droughts affect them every year.