LAKI in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Subregion

A) Priority Setting Workshop:
As part of the implementation of the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative (LAKI), UNFCCC/NWP and UN Environment organized a priority-setting workshop for the Hindu Kush Himalayan subregion from 20-22 October 2016 in Sri Lanka with the support of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The event was organized in parallel with the workshop for the Indian Ocean islands subregion and back to back with the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network forum.

A multidisciplinary stakeholder group of core experts discussed and agreed to a pool of 16 priority adaptation knowledge gaps for the subregion through a multi-criteria analysis approach. Participants also provided a preliminary list of potential response actions, noting concrete deliverables and target beneficiaries, and provided advice as to the best-placed organisations to undertake such responses.

Click here to view ICIMOD's summary of the event.

Read the the full workshop report.

B) Priority Adaptation Knowledge Gaps and Actions Undertaken to Close the Priority Knowledge Gaps:

No.	Thematic area	Gap Description	Cluster	Knowledge user	*Actions Undertaken to close the Priority Gaps*
1)	Agriculture	Limited access to adequate, locally usable knowledge and information on weather and seasonal forecasting to assist farm production operations	Lack of access [2]	Extension workers, national hydro-met services, agriculture experts
2)	Water	Weak dissemination of evidence and successful water management practices, adaptation technologies, and water allocation and management during periods of scarcity and abundance	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Water resource planners, policymakers, communities project managers	Graduate students from Yale University (Yale School of the Environment), in partnership with NWP partners IUCN and The Mountain Institue, explored historical and ancestral practices for water management in Nepal to understand what practices exist, how they differ with seasonal dry and wet climate patterns, and how that knowledge is or can be utilized for policy makers to integrate into national adaptation planning processes. Find the case study here.
3)	Water	Lack of access to awareness-raising products and early warning systems for multiple hazards (drought, landslide, debris flow, flooding, glacier lake outburst flood in the Himalayas and downstream communities)	Lack of access [2]	Early warning system designers, town and provincial planners/watershed managers, communities	A) Graduate students from Harvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government) together with a NWP partner ICIMOD produced actionable and feasible policy recommendations: 1) An in-depth policy analysis report that analyzes barriers and solutions to early warning systems for multiple hazards in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. 2) A policy brief to inform policy-makers on the key benefits, mechanics and implementation considerations for the Community-Based Flood Early Warning System. Further details are available on the case study here. B) ICIMOD has strengthened community-based flood early warning systems across river tributaries in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan to increase access to awareness-raising knowledge products in vulnerable communities
4)	Agriculture	Inadequate information and knowledge on adaptation options and technologies suitable to address context-specific climate extremes, impacts and risks for agriculture and the net effect of climate change at the local level	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Farmers, extension agencies district agriculture officers and experts, technology users, policymakers, local non-governmental organizations
5)	Health	Limited access to weather and seasonal forecasting data for public health preparedness (heat waves, cold waves, thunderstorms, disease epidemics)	Lack of access, Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [Mix]	Health professionals and public
6)	Agriculture	Limited access to traditional knowledge and indigenous knowledge on agricultural adaptation	Lack of access [2]	Village elders, farming families, researchers, policymakers, agricultural extension workers, civil society organizations
7)	Water	Poor translations of climate data and models into understandable formats	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	National–subnational planning departments, project managers, community leaders and members
8)	Health	Lack of awareness/sensitization among public and media about climate change health impacts and adaptation/response measures	Lack of access [2]	Public
9)	Agriculture	Limited understanding of traditional knowledge and indigenous knowledge on agricultural adaptation	Lack of access [2]	Climate negotiators, policymakers
10)	Water	Knowledge on how climate change is impacting on water source/usage/availability/quality (including sanitation/water treatment/water inputs for energy/springs and natural wells, groundwater, spring water and glaciers)	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Watershed planners, settlement planners/energy planners, community leaders and civil society project managers	ICIMOD has coordinated capacity-building trainings on sprinshed conservation in Nepal and piloted flood-resilient ecological sanitation toilets in India to provide actionable knowledge on water availability and quality – knowledge that practitioners and communities need to manage watersheds effectively in a changing climate
11)	Forestry and biodiversity	Knowledge gap on methodologies and tools to quantify the impact of climate change on ecosystem services	Lack of tools/methods [4]	Researchers, academics
12)	Health	Lack of understanding/evidence of potential health co-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in various sectors	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Policymakers
13)	Forestry and biodiversity	Lack of adequate knowledge on the effects of climate change on biodiversity	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Researchers, academics, policymakers, community members
14)	Forestry and biodiversity	Need for repackaging the baseline data on the effects of climate change for forests and biodiversity for different target groups	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Researchers, academics, practitioners
15)	Forestry and biodiversity	Insufficient information on local indigenous knowledge on forest management	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Researchers, academics, practitioners, community members
16)	Water	Insufficient climate change communication on impacts on water systems/availability to determine climate change impacts and inform decision-making in designing water resource plans and implementation	Lack of actionable knowledge (e.g., in need of repackaging existing knowledge) [3]	Communities, subnational government, non-technical stakeholders