ICIMOD Director General says HKH countries require over $700 billion annually for adaptation and mitigation

HKH nations need $740 billion annually for climate action: ICIMOD DG

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Director General Pema Gyamtsho has said that countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), including Bangladesh, require about USD 740 billion every year to meet their adaptation and mitigation needs.

Speaking at the HKH Parliamentarians’ Meet 2025 in Kathmandu on Monday, Gyamtsho stressed that evidence-based policies, innovative solutions, informed decisions, and greater investments are crucial to ensure resilience, prosperity, and sustainability across the region.

He called on lawmakers to play a decisive role in enacting laws, shaping policies, allocating resources, and encouraging public participation, saying their responsibilities are more critical than ever.

The HKH, known as the “water tower of Asia” and the “Third Pole,” holds the largest ice mass outside the polar regions and feeds ten major Asian rivers. Spanning Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, the region supports the livelihoods of 240 million mountain dwellers and 1.65 billion people downstream — nearly one-fourth of humanity.

Over 100 parliamentarians attended the largest-ever HKH parliamentarians’ gathering to address challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, air pollution, and inclusive development. Nepal’s President Ramchandra Poudel was the chief guest, while several senior political leaders from Nepal and Bangladesh also spoke.

Highlighting the urgency, Gyamtsho warned that glaciers are melting faster than ever, leading to both floods and droughts. Around 70–80 percent of the HKH’s original habitat has already been lost, while pollution levels in the Indo-Gangetic plains and Himalayan foothills frequently rank among the world’s worst.

He noted that many of these problems — disasters, air pollution, and biodiversity loss — are transboundary, yet mountain ecosystems remain underrepresented in global climate policies. Increasing climate-related losses, he added, have driven up the region’s investment needs.

“This parliamentarians’ meet is historic because it allows us to discuss shared challenges and pursue shared solutions,” Gyamtsho said. “The cost of non-cooperation is simply too high to imagine.”

He reaffirmed ICIMOD’s commitment to supporting its member states through knowledge sharing, innovation, and advocacy, and urged greater regional collaboration to align efforts with global climate goals.

“We have the science, we have the data — what we need now is an effective regional mechanism for collective action,” he said. “This gathering may be a small step, but it is a significant first step toward a more resilient, prosperous, and safer region.”