International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

The idea of creating an institution to promote the ecologically sound development of mountainous regions was discussed at the International Workshop on the Development of Mountain Environment in December 1974 in Munich, Germany, but it was only five years later in 1979 during a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Regional Meeting in Kathmandu, under the framework of the Man and the Biosphere Programme, that concrete commitments were made to establish the centre. The Government of Nepal offered to host the new institution, and the Governments of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany and UNESCO agreed to act as the founding sponsors. His Majesty's Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed the agreement that provided the legal basis for establishing the Centre in September 1981 in Paris. The centre was finally established and inaugurated on 5 December 1983 with its headquarters in Lalitpur, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.[9]

For the first 20 years, i.e. from late 1983 till late 2004, ICIMOD was based at a rented premises in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur. On 5 December 2004, the 21st anniversary of ICIMOD, a new headquarters for ICIMOD was inaugurated by King Gyanendra of Nepal at Khumaltar, Lalitpur. The 1.5 hectares for this headquarters campus, worth over US$1 million, were contributed by the Government of Nepal.[10] The governments of China and India contributed US$100,000 each, for the construction of the new headquarters. The government of Pakistan committed US$100,000 for its construction. The government of Bangladesh contributed US$28,300, including a Bangladesh pavilion in the campus. The government of Bhutan contributed in kind, in the form of a Bhutan pavilion in the campus.[11] In the earthquake of 25 April 2015 in Nepal, the headquarters received minor damages, but the Bhutan pavilion completely collapsed.[12] The pavilion was subsequently rebuilt and re-inaugurated in 2016.

Since its inception, ICIMOD has been headed by a Director General. The first head of ICIMOD, Prof. Kenneth Colin Rosser, was designated as the 'Director' of ICIMOD. All subsequent heads have been designated as the 'Director Generals' of ICIMOD. Following is a list of all the Director Generals of ICIMOD till the present:[13][14][15]

1. Prof. Kenneth Colin Rosser, from the United Kingdom (1984–1989)[16]
2. Dr. E.F. Tacke, from the Federal Republic of Germany (1989–1994)[17]
3. Mr. Egbert Pelinck, from the Netherlands (1994–2000)[18]
4. Dr. Gabriel Campbell, from the United States of America (2000–2007)[19]
5. Dr. Andreas Schild, from Switzerland (2007–2011)[20]
6. Dr. David Molden, from the United States of America (2011–2020)[21]
7. Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, from the Kingdom of Bhutan (2020–present)[22]

Dr. Pema Gyamtsho from Bhutan is the first Director General from an ICIMOD regional member country.

The highest governing body of ICIMOD is its Board of Governors, which consists of one high-ranking state official from each of its eight regional member countries, and independent members who are nominated by the ICIMOD Support Group based on their recognized professional expertise and experience. The ICIMOD Support Group consists of representatives from among the organizations and institutions that provide financial contributions to ICIMOD.[23]

The programmes and activities of ICIMOD are supported by long-term sponsors, who provide funding to the institution. These include the governments of all the eight RMCs, and the governments of Australia, Austria, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Programme donors include the ADA (Austria), BMZ and BMU (Germany), the UK govt, the EU, SIDA (Sweden), IDRC (Canada), IFAD, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and USAID.[24]

ICIMOD draws its core staff from a variety of backgrounds, including researchers, academics, development practitioners, professional in relevant fields, and bureaucrats on deputation. Over the years, the disciplinary backgrounds of its staff have exhibited a wide range, and have included various pure and applied natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, and professional streams such as journalism and business studies.[25] This interdisciplinary mix aims to holistically shape research and actions which are planned and implemented through ICIMOD's 'Regional Programmes'.[26]

ICIMOD actively uses earth observation science and applications for environmental management, disaster risk reduction, and enhanced resilience in the HKH region. Several ICIMOD researchers are involved in their research in different topics of earth observation science. Among the different remote sensing work, the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (RLCMS) is most mentionable as that provides a series of 30-m resolution annual land cover maps with harmonized land cover data for the years 2000–2018.[28] These regional land cover maps are highly consistent and are designed to serve explicit user-defined objectives. Besides that, ICIMOD is involved in rapid mapping of flood inundation for the Koshi river basin, Bangladesh, Nepal, soil erosion and sedimentation yield spatial distribution and many more mapping activities for the regions.[29][30]

A 2021 case study of ICIMOD from the World Bank by Aditya Valiathan Pillai comments on ICIMOD's role as an apolitical intergovernmental platform:

In the Himalayas – where national interests are often seen as contradictory to regional interests – regional institutions are forced to devote considerable effort to making their case. ICIMOD’s story demonstrates useful methods of achieving this objective: proactive engagement with political constituencies; efforts at reputation building through research to earn a place in likeminded global and regional networks; and hiring recognized subject experts to carry the institutional flag. These efforts are still a work in progress at ICIMOD, but they seem to be producing results.[31]

Immediately after the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake, scientists at ICIMOD began supporting rescue and relief efforts by closely monitoring landslides, glacier lakes and dammed rivers through the analyses of satellite images, and providing the latest information to the Nepalese government and relief agencies. ICIMOD scientists also worked with traffic controllers at the Tribhuvan International airport, Kathmandu, by providing assistance to assess weather and terrain conditions. Teams of volunteers from ICIMOD went to aid relief efforts in villages nearby ICIMOD and Kathmandu.[32]