HKH Countries Need $740 Billion Annually for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Says ICIMOD Director General

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, spanning eight countries including Bangladesh, requires approximately $740 billion annually to address climate adaptation and mitigation challenges, according to Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Speaking at the HKH Parliamentarians Meet 2025 in Kathmandu, Gyamtsho emphasized the urgent need for evidence-based policies, innovative solutions, increased investments, and collaborative action to ensure resilience, prosperity, and sustainability in the region.

The HKH, often called the “water tower of Asia” and the “Third Pole” due to its vast ice reserves and as the source of ten major Asian rivers, supports 240 million mountain inhabitants and 1.65 billion people downstream—nearly a quarter of the world’s population. However, the region faces severe threats from climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, with 70–80% of its original habitat already lost, exacerbating human-wildlife conflict and undermining livelihoods.

Gyamtsho highlighted the region’s escalating challenges, including rapidly melting glaciers, simultaneous floods and droughts, and severe air pollution, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan foothills, where PM2.5 levels often exceed 400 micrograms per cubic meter. These issues, combined with increasing geological, hydrological, and climatic risks, make the HKH a hotspot for multi-hazard vulnerabilities. The historic gathering, the largest of its kind, brought together over 100 parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan to discuss shared challenges like biodiversity loss, climate change, and air pollution, and to explore collaborative solutions. Nepal’s President Ramchandra Poudel addressed the event as the chief guest, joined by key figures including Dev Raj Ghimire, Speaker of Nepal’s House of Representatives, Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, and Bangladesh’s Adviser on Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Supradip Chakma. Gyamtsho stressed that the transboundary nature of these challenges requires collective action, noting that mountain ecosystems are often overlooked in global climate policies. He urged parliamentarians to enact laws, influence policies, and allocate resources to address these issues, warning that the cost of inaction is “too great to fathom.” The ICIMOD DG reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting member countries through knowledge sharing and advocacy for mountain-specific issues at national, regional, and global levels. “This meet is a small but significant first step toward building trust, fostering cooperation, and aligning regional efforts with global climate goals,” Gyamtsho said. “We have the science and data to act now. What we need is an effective regional mechanism for collective action.”

The event underscored the critical role of parliamentarians in driving policy changes and investments to combat the triple planetary crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, ensuring a sustainable future for the HKH region and its 1.9 billion inhabitants.