Working primarily on water governance issues in the Himalayan countries China, Pakistan and Nepal, the project's main concerns are improving the livelihoods and wellbeing of Asian Highland people that is consistent with their own culture through participatory and representative planning practices.

Limited understanding about climate change impacts on water resources; vulnerability of Asian Highlands people (especially the poor and women) to ongoing change; lack of participatory dialogue across stakeholder groups; low capacity to consider integrated frameworks for regional peace and security - these are problems demanding solutions. The potential for cascading effects on ecosystems leading toward “tipping points”, critical thresholds at which small perturbations may determine future large-scale ecological functions, also increases pressure to act now to minimize future risks.

Using a set of nested research modules that explore these issues from the local/village to catchment level to national and multi-state scales, we expect the results from this project to increase flows of new information about climate change, reduce gaps in understanding of and sharing about resilient adaptations of local peoples, facilitate collaborative water resource management between multiple stakeholders and increase the capacity of decision makers to respond to the needs of their highlands constituencies.

We try to increase flows of new information about climate change, reduce gaps in understanding about resilient adaptations of local people, facilitate exchange between multiple stakeholders, and increase the capacity of decision makers to consider transboundary resource flows. This project considers the potential impact of hydro-climatic change on local people, communities and water managers across the study region, and assesses policy barriers and options for more cooperative local and regional governance.

Read more: http://asianhighlands.org/