Shillong, Jan 29: Meghalaya will host an international conference on “Scaling Nature-Based Solutions for Himalayan Resilience” on January 30 and 31, bringing global and regional focus to climate resilience strategies for the fragile Himalayan region.
The two-day conference, jointly organised by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), will bring together policymakers, climate practitioners, scientists, development partners, private sector representatives, youth groups, and community leaders from across the Indian Himalayan Region and the wider Hindu Kush Himalaya.
The Indian Himalayan Region is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable landscapes, facing increasing threats from erratic rainfall, extreme weather events, ecosystem degradation, floods, landslides, and biodiversity loss. These challenges have direct implications for water security, food systems, livelihoods, and human settlements, officials said
The conference will focus on scaling Nature-based Solutions (NbS)—approaches that work with natural ecosystems to address climate change, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development simultaneously. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have emerged as a globally recognised framework for addressing climate change, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development together.
While NbS initiatives such as springshed management, watershed restoration, agroforestry, and community-led conservation are already underway across the Himalayas, many remain fragmented and limited to project-level interventions, organisers noted.
According to officials, the Shillong conference aims to bridge this gap by linking NbS design with policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, governance structures, technology, and cross-sectoral partnerships required for large-scale impact
Meghalaya has been positioned as a key case study for the dialogue, with the state adopting an integrated landscape and natural resource management approach through MBDA. Flagship initiatives such as the MegARISE project demonstrate how NbS can be implemented at scale through afforestation, soil and water conservation, springshed revival, agroforestry systems, payment for ecosystem services, sustainable livelihoods, participatory finance, and GIS-based natural resource management tools
At the regional level, ICIMOD will bring its experience from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, including work under the Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP), which supports regional cooperation, knowledge exchange, and investment models for scaling NbS
The conference will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical sessions, community and youth engagements, and discussions on financing and technology. Outcomes are expected to include actionable NbS pathways for Meghalaya, policy and finance-oriented recommendations for the Indian Himalayan Region, and stronger regional collaboration on mountain-specific climate solutions.
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