As mountains melt, more cooperation in Hindu Kush Himalayan region needed

The mountains are warming at a greater speed, leading to a rapid melting of the glaciers that provide water to a fourth of the world's population

A need to act urgently and decisively – “Scientists may have time, but the climate does not,” as one participant put it – was the key message that emerged from a two-day workshop in mid-November calling for greater regional cooperation between countries that are home to the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH).

The workshop – organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) – was aimed at getting government representatives, policymakers and scientists together to discuss the contours of greater transboundary cooperation, made particularly important in the face of climate change.

“What happens in the Hindu Kush Himalayas effects a fourth