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River Basins and Cryosphere
The Koshi Basin Initiative focuses on improving livelihoods by better managing the Koshi basin, which is the lifeblood of millions across China, India, and Nepal.
At a glance
Improved water resource management in the Koshi basin and enhanced livelihoods through evidence-based decision making and basin-wide cooperation
Neera Shrestha Pradhan
Ad-Interim Programme Coordinator
BACKGROUND
The waters that feed the Koshi basin nurture a rich biodiversity and is a source of valuable ecosystem services that sustain the lives and livelihoods of communities in China, India, and Nepal. We are custodians of those waters, and we try to collaboratively shape futures that depend on the Koshi basin.
The basin plays a key role in the irrigation of downstream areas and has a large potential for hydropower development. However, the basin is highly prone to erosion, sedimentation, and natural hazards, which may worsen with climate and other changes.
This has added pressures on the basin’s freshwater ecosystems, and poor mountain women and men are often the most vulnerable to natural disasters and the least able to adapt and respond to rapid changes.
So we promote inclusive, community-centric river basin management to promote the sustainable use of transboundary water resources across its target countries. We prioritize issues concerning gender and inequality and their linkages to drivers of change and river basin management.
On the ground, we assess household water demand and use; livelihood, agricultural, and natural resource management strategies; the needs and uses of climate-, water-, and agriculture-related information; and current risk management and adaptation practices. We are committed to protecting the Koshi basin and helping its inhabitants thrive.
2012–2022
Secure river basin ecosystems and reduced poverty through integrated natural resources management and improved transboundary cooperation
China, India, and Nepal
ICIMOD VIDEO SERIES
A community-based early warning system along the Ratu watershed of southeast Nepal is helping ensure women get flood information when they need it, and transforming the way they think about floods and their own disaster preparedness.
Koshi Basin Initiative
The Koshi Basin Initiative will approach basin-wide water management with a set of processes leading to practical outputs in the form of water development strategies, plans and activities, and improved communication to support evidence-based decision making.
SHARING DATA
The application allows users to view different resources layers such as land cover, wetlands, and drainage network of the Koshi basin.
NEWS AND FEATURES
We have a deep history of work across a broad range of issues enabling sustainable development in the complex environment of the HKH. We have been protecting the pulse for over three decades.
The wetlands of the HKH are a global resource. They provide habitat for migratory birds from as far away as Siberia, support rich agricultural and wild biodiversity, and provide key services for communities both upstream and downstream, from flood control to nutrient and sediment retention to regional weather regulation.
Urbanization is leading to water scarcity for millions of people in the growing cities of the HKH.
The programme is organized around a set of interlinked components.
EVENTS AROUND THE KOSHI BASIN
Stories
Koshi Basin
How much do we really know about one of the Himalaya’s most significant basins? What are the challenges that millions of people who depend on the Koshi Basin for water and their livelihoods face? What are the climatic threats to the basin, and what are the solutions?
Feature
The Koshi DRR Knowledge Hub (KDKH) has been conceptualized as a platform, led and driven by members to foster transboundary collaboration and promote science, policy, and practice interlinkage.
The Koshi Basin Initiative prioritizes gender across its programme design, planning, and implementation for sustainable impacts that improve the lives and livelihoods of communities in the basin.
You will find publications produced or related to this Initiative in HimalDoc, our publications repository. These resources include journal articles, books, book chapters, research reports, working papers, brochures, information sheets, and publicity materials, among other products.
RELATED CONTENT
Read more about the Koshi Basin Initiative's impactful work.
