ICIMOD

ICIMOD was established in 1983 to address the challenges of socioeconomic and environmental development in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas covering parts of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. ICIMOD mission is to develop and provide integrated and innovative solutions in cooperation with national, regional and international partners, which foster action and change for overcoming mountain peoples economic, social, and physical vulnerability. To achieve its objectives, the Centre carries out six Integrated Programmes, namely: (1) Natural Resources Management, (2) Agricultural and Rural Income Diversification, (3) Water, Hazards and Environmental Management, (4) Culture, Equity, Gender and Governance, (5) Policy and Partnership Development, and (6) Information and Knowledge Management. With the devolution of MAPPA to ICIMOD, the Programme expands its reach to the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region. The Centre institutional strengths, mission, and vision make ICIMOD and MAPPA the perfect fit. MAPPA and ICIMOD together form a unique combination of institutions and programmes with a mandate to address both national and regional biodiversity conservation and livelihoods issues with a mountain and a rural focus. As a regional knowledge and management centre operating in partnership with national organisations, ICIMOD-MAPPA has the legitimacy to access location-specific options and institutional support. Based on its focused work on medicinal plants, ICIMOD-MAPPA is in the position to document, monitor, test, and improve these options through regional adaptive trials, and extend their application throughout the region. It can also review and suggest policy reforms governing poor peoples access to and utilisation of resources to generate gainful employment and local income, alleviate rural poverty, and promote sustainable conservation throughout South Asia and the HKH region.