A four-day conference on addressing poverty and vulnerability in the Hindu Kush Himalayas is underway in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The conference, mainly to forge regional partnerships to enable transformative change, is being organised by The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD and the government of Nepal.
About ten Bhutanese officials from various sectors are participating in the conference.
ICIMOD is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. These include Bhutan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Inaugurating the conference the President of Nepal, Dr Ram Baran Yadav, said despite being rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge, the Himalayan region is also the place of extreme poverty and deprivation.
The conference aims to draw together science based evidence on the extent and contour of poverty and vulnerability in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH).
Participants are deliberating on the issues, challenges and opportunities to address poverty and vulnerability in the region and thereby provide scientific evidence for policy planning and action.
The conference expected to come out with a document as a mountain specific input for the consultation process for formulation of post-2015 Development Agenda.
More than 200 participants from 19 countries including scientists, policy makers, researchers, practitioners and representatives of governments, international development agencies and NGOs are taking part in it.
The conference ends tomorrow.
