Changing Glaciers and Hydrology in Asia - Environmental Health at ...

4. Improved regional cooperation (through scientific cooperation, shared monitoring andinformation programs, common educational outreach programs, community-basedmonitoring, strengthened cross-boundary institutions and treaties);5. Protection of biodiversity and maintenance of ecosystem services (through improvedwater management and ecosystem management for health);6. Better water management at all levels, from transboundary/multi-country all the way touse on farm fields and for household drinking water;7. More efficient, climate-change-resilient food production (irrigation systems, on-farmmanagement, harvest of food and fodder from forests and rangeland, and homesteadvegetable gardens);8. Creative, effective approaches to monitoring andmanaging climate-change-induced threats, startingwith glacier lakes;9. And effective disaster planning for both too muchwater (floods, GLOFs) and too little water(droughts).“We have to recognize theneed for much greaterengagement and coordinationwith all our neighbors whichshare the Himalayas.”India Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, 2009As climate change is a global and long-term issue, extending program timelines beyond 3-5 years andexplicitly coordinating projects, especially across sectoral and geographic boundaries, should beconsidered. One option is to link projects that could be completed in a decade-long sequence, inorder to allow for periodic evaluation and course correction, institutionalization of bestpractices, and scale-up. Another option is to coordinate programs with other Missions and/orsectors, exploring mechanisms to share resources and management.A crucial role USAID can play is to link up partners in the government and private sector (both NGOsand for-profit organizations) to build capacity, as many of the illustrative programs describe.USAID should take advantage of synergies by linking new initiatives, such as the Feed the Futureinitiative with its emphasis on food security and nutrition, to climate change impacts and vulnerabilitiesof glacier melt on water supply; such links will yield many “no regrets” programs. As impacts ofchanging water supply, including glacier melt, unfold, resilience can be built through such variedstrategies as diversifying diets, crops, and livelihoods; increasing productivity; and encouragingthe adoption of improved water management systems such as drip irrigation, rainwaterharvesting, and other water efficiency technologies.72