ICIMOD’s Work on
Sustainable Livelihoods
and Poverty Reduction
Michael Kollmair, Programme Manager SLPR
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
What makes the
‘Third Pole’ unique?
210 Million People
•
60% ‘Poor’
Understanding Mountain Poverty
Vulnerability and Adaptation
Conceptual framework of vulnerability assessment
Con Climate
Non-climatic factors
change and
variability
Adaptive
Exposure
Sensitivity
Vulnerability
=
capacity
Exposure + Sensitivity – Adaptive Adaptation
Capacity
Impacts (of climate change and other factors)
Climate Change is an additional stress
factor
intensifying
Vulnerability
(to climate and others
other factors)
Adapted from Fuessel & Klein
Physical cause-effect
relationship
Functional relationship
(A partly determines B)
Effect of
human action
Perception and interpretation
of human action
Adaptation in the Mountain
Context
• Mountain people are
experienced in adaptation
• Local/autonomous adaptation is
is central
• Understand to support
local adaptation with
planned adaptation
NCVST 2009 (ISET)
ICIMOD’s Mission
To enable and facilitate
equitable and sustainable
well-being of the mountain
people of the Hindu-Kush
Himalaya by supporting
sustainable mountain
development through
active regional cooperation
Sustainable Livelihoods and
Poverty Reduction Programme
“Reducing vulnerability, improving adaptive
capacity and enhancing resilience”
Action Area
Action Area
High Value
Products and
Value Chains
(HVP/VC)
Innovative
Livelihood
Options
(ILOp)
Division
Division
Economic
Analysis
(EAD)
Gender and
Governance
(GGD)
Innovative Livelihood Options
• Promotion of
innovative livelihood
practices and
approaches through
regional exchange
• Exploring the
opportunities of
remittances and propoor tourism
Migration and Development
Central driver for mountain development
• Rural-Urban Migration
(mnt-lowland)
• Labour Migration
(within region and
beyond)
Remittance Flow
Mio. US$
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
Bangladesh
Nepal
Pakistan
2,000
World Bank, 2010
Feminisation of Mountain
Livelihoods
Use of Remittances
High Value Products
• Promoting the
development of
mountain high value
niche products (e.g.
Non-Timber Forest
Products, medicinal,
aromatic plants,
beekeeping) and
increasing their value
for mountain people
High Value Products
Comparative Advantages:
• Highly diverse resource base in the
mountains
• Traditional knowledge is available
• Less competition with plain areas
• High demand for products in emerging
markets
Mountain Specific Value Chain
Approach
Key Features: Addressing mountain specifities
• Long value chains (often transboundary)
• Many traders, middlemen
• High diversity, but small quantities of products
• Inadequate infrastructure and policies
Mountain Specific Value Chain
Approach
Generic Value Chain Approach
Unique niche products and services
Mountain Specifities
Mountain Specifities
Accessibility, Fragility, Marginality, Diversity
ICIMOD’s regional VC pilots
• 6 own VC pilots, close to 20 partners
• Almost all HKH covered
• From agriculture, NTFP to service sector
• Focus cross-border VCs and comparison same product but from different RMC
Increasing Income of Poor
Producers of Bay Leaves
Impact Pathway
Bay Leaf – Uttarakhand, India
ICIMOD Output
Outcome
Impact
• Pro-poor mountain
specific value chain
methodology piloted
• (leverage point
‘policy’ identified)
• Pilot model for
NTFP policy
readjustment
• Co-management
favoured by NFTP
policy makers
• Collection permits
for Bay Leaves
issued
• Rotational mandis
(markets)
established
• Improved
marketing and
payment system
benefit the poor
producers
• Increased and
secured income for
collectors
• Sustainable
harvesting from wild
• Government
investment in upscaling to other
NTFPs
Thank you