8. Wrapping up my research stay at ICIMOD

Time has flown by, and my research stay at ICIMOD has already come to an end. After returning from the field trip to the eastern Himalaya, the following weeks were filled with data analysis, writing, meetings, and presentations. In this post, I want to share a brief overview of the key findings from my work at ICIMOD and explain what comes next. The good news is that the work I started during my research stay isn’t ending here, and I will continue collaborating with my colleagues in Nepal ☺️.

Key Findings: Mammal Biodiversity in the HKH

My work on the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) mammal assessment was the first step in a much larger biodiversity assessment for the region that will continue in the coming months. This bigger initiative will cover not just mammals but also plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and more, with the goal of supporting regional and national conservation strategies. For the mammal assessment, we brought together data on species distributions, habitats, elevation ranges, and conservation status, and the results gave us some important insights. We found that mammal species richness is highest in mid- to high-elevation zones, with many species living within very narrow elevational bands, which makes them especially vulnerable to climate change. Forests turned out to be the most species-rich habitats, followed by shrublands, grasslands, rangelands, and rocky areas. More than half of all mammals in the HKH are nationally threatened, and a worrying number are listed as Data Deficient or Not Evaluated — especially in Nepal and Bangladesh. National Red Lists are outdated or missing in many places. Nepal’s last assessment was in 2011, Pakistan’s in 2002, and Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Bhutan don’t have national Red Lists at all. These gaps show how urgently updated and comprehensive national assessments are needed. One finding that stood out was the importance of transboundary conservation. We identified 161 species that are threatened in more than one HKH country, with carnivores, artiodactyls, rodents, and bats being the priority groups for cross-border conservation efforts. We also saw that habitat degradation, mainly from agriculture, resource extraction, and land-use change, is the biggest threat to HKH mammals. Because there aren’t enough national-level threat assessments, we had to rely on global IUCN data, which doesn’t always reflect the realities in the region. This assessment provides a crucial baseline for prioritizing species and strengthening collaboration across borders in the HKH. It also contributes to broader regional and global efforts led by ICIMOD and GMBA and supports the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and several Sustainable Development Goals.

Shared threatened species across HKH countries. China and Nepal share the highest number of threatened and data deficient species, with 67 species in common. This is followed by India and Nepal (54 species), and Bangladesh and Nepal (42 species)

Exploring Transboundary OECMs

One way of biodiversity conservation in the HKH particularly in a transboundary context I investigated in the second part of my research stay project, focused on the potential of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in the eastern Himalaya along the India–Nepal border in the Sikkim–Ilam landscape. Through field visits and interviews with community members, stakeholders, and policymakers, we assessed whether this area could be recognized as a transboundary OECM and our early findings are promising. On the Nepali side, the community forest model, led by Community Forest User Groups (CFUGs), local governments, and NGOs such as the Red Panda Network, has already led to ecological recovery of the area, including forest regeneration, increasing wildlife populations, and reduced poaching. The area also holds deep cultural and spiritual significance, with sacred sites actively protected by local communities. Nature conservation is widely viewed as beneficial to livelihoods, particularly through eco-tourism, conservation jobs, and improved access to forest resources. The people we interviewed expressed strong support for OECM designation and often noted that current conservation efforts already align well with the OECM concept. At the same time, several challenges must be addressed before an OECM can be implemented. There is still a general misunderstanding of what OECM designation means and entails, making inclusive awareness-raising efforts key as a first step before implementation. Some farmers voiced concerns about losing grazing areas as forests recover. Although many of them are already engaged in conservation activities, they noted that current income opportunities are not enough to sustain their livelihoods and that more support in diversifying income sources is needed. There is also the risk that ecological recovery could further increase human–wildlife conflicts, so developing mitigation strategies will be crucial for successful OECM planning. Transboundary conservation is particularly important for the Sikkim–Ilam landscape. It connects key protected areas in both India and Nepal and offers continuous habitat for wide-ranging species. Although our study focused until now on the Nepalese side, similar community based conservation efforts are ongoing in adjacent areas of India. The people we interviewed mostly acknowledged the benefits to conservation across the border but also pointed to challenges such as political differences and unclear management responsibilities. for successful OECM implementation, several steps will now  be critical: awareness-raising among locals, inclusive planning, cross-border collaboration, and support for affected groups. Importantly, a similar feasibility assessment and stakeholder consultation will be carried out on the Indian side to ensure alignment across borders.

If implemented successfully, the Sikkim–Ilam OECM could become Nepal’s first—and the world’s first transboundary—OECM, contributing to global biodiversity targets.

(read more about my fieldtrip HERE).

Presentations, reports & next steps

Out of this work, I prepared two extensive reports and a blogpost for ICIMOD (the blogpost will soon be published on the ICIMOD website) and presented my findings during a brown bag talk where ICIMOD researchers from all different disciplines come together.

During the following months I will expand the HKH mammal assessment with spatial analyses to identify ecosystem types that host the most threatened species, which will inform ecosystem level conservation approaches. This work will also form the second chapter of my PhD thesis. The OECM feasibility study will serve as a foundation for spatial planning and awareness programs in the area. Collaborators of ICIMOD in India will do a similar study across the border and together the results will hopefully lay the groundwork for OECM implementation.

My time in Nepal went by way too fast, but it has been an incredibly enriching experience, personally and professionally. I learned so much about the ecological dynamics of the Himalaya, the challenges and opportunities of biodiversity conservation in the region, and how my research can actually feed into policy. The field trip in particular was a crash course in socio-ecological research, where I suddenly had to combine ecological knowledge and data with local perspectives on livelihoods and conservation — something very different from my usual data- and statistics-driven work.

It was also a great experience to live and work in a completely different culture and get a feeling for daily life at ICIMOD. The work environment is fantastic, full of happy, friendly and motivated people. We always had lunch together, often followed by a walk around the ICIMOD neighbourhood to chat or grab a cup of tea. Another regular after-lunch activity was table tennis. After our dal bhat in the canteen, we would meet up for a few rounds with colleagues from different departments. Sometimes we would go out to nearby restaurants, and on busy days, we had lunch meetings where everyone brought something to share. Of course, there were also some fundamental differences compared to the working routine I am used to in Norway. Although I didn’t feel it strongly within our direct group, there is definitely a more hierarchical structure in Nepal, where people in higher positions are seen and treated as more “superior.” The pace of work also felt very different. Meetings, presentations, and field trips were often organized (or reorganized) at the last minute. For example, about 90% of my field trip was not planned in advance but figured out on the go — something that would never happen at my home university. All my attempts to get detailed information or make a plan ahead of time (which I needed for Bergen) pretty much failed. Once I got used to this different style of working, though, I actually really enjoyed this “not planning but doing” approach but for some European planning fans, this might be a bit of a nightmare. 😉

The field trip to the eastern Himalaya was without a doubt one of the highlights of my stay. Seeing the stunning landscapes, walking through the habitats of incredible species, and getting a glimpse into a way of living so different of my own back in Europe was an unforgettable experience.

Saying goodbye to my colleagues at ICIMOD was really sad, but I am very happy that this is now also the start of an ongoing collaboration, and I’m sure there will be a chance to come back to Nepal in the near future.

Right after my research stay, I took two weeks for hiking holiday in the north-central Himalaya close to the border with Tibet. It honestly couldn’t have been a better way to end my time in Nepal than hiking through some of the most breathtaking landscapes I have ever seen. I have shared some of my favourite photos HERE.