At an ICIMOD dialogue in Kathmandu, participants called for institutions that treat mobility as climate adaptation while addressing rising distress across mountain communities under pressure from shrinking coping options.
Climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region poses a human security challenge that threatens livelihoods, access to basic services and people’s ability to live safely and with dignity, a senior Norwegian diplomat said on Thursday.
Kristine Hauge Storholt, Chargé d’Affaires of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu, made the remarks at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development Roundtable Dialogue on Internal Migration Management in South Asia.
Storholt reaffirmed Norway’s long-standing partnership with ICIMOD and welcomed the launch of the report, “Human Security under Climate Stress in the Region.”
She also praised ICIMOD for bringing together science, policy and practice to advance resilient, inclusive and people-centred solutions for mountain communities across the region.
Participants at the dialogue stressed the need for policies and institutions that recognise human mobility as a natural form of adaptation to climate change.
They also noted that migration can be a sign of growing distress when livelihoods and local coping mechanisms come under increasing pressure.
