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Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation
Programme
The Hindu-Kush Himalaya region contains the larg-
est amount of snow and ice found outside the Polar
Regions and is the source of ten of the largest rivers
in Asia. It lies in the geographic centre of the largest
and most densely populated region in the world and is
home to an extremely fragile environment vulnerable to
global warming.
The Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme
(HICAP), implemented in collaboration with CICERO
and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development, aims to enhance mountain communities’
resilience to change, particularly climate change, by im-
proving the understanding of vulnerabilities and oppor-
tunities for adaptation.
• The findings of a 3-week field mission in the north-
ern region of Mustang Province in Nepal were high-
lighted in the Rapid Response Assessment (RRA)
Women at the Frontline of Climate Change: Gender
Risks and Hopes
.
• Prior to the launch of the RRA, HICAP partners and the
Mountain Partnership Secretariat of FAO organised a
Mountain Day event at the UNFCCC COP 17: “High-
lighting the Critical Role of Mountain Ecosystems for
Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Development”.
Lawrence Hislop, www.grida.no/photolib