Sustainable Growth for
Mountain Region
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The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) was recognized for its pioneering work promoting sustainable development in the Hindu Kush–Himalayan (HKH) region with the third annual President's Award at the 2001 Esri International User Conference. Jack Dangermond, president of Esri, chose ICIMOD for this award after a recent visit to the region. The organization's efforts to build a GIS network inspired the theme for the 2001 conference, "Geography—Creating Communities."
Dr. J. Gabriel Campbell, director general of ICIMOD; Basanta Sherestha, acting division head of ICIMOD; and collaborating partners from Lhasa and Thimpu accepted the award. "The continuing support from Esri has been invaluable and one of the key factors of our success in disseminating this technology throughout the mountain region," said Sherestha. A display explaining the work of this organization was featured in the area adjacent to the Map Gallery at the conference. Approximately 140 million people from eight countries live in the HKH region, the world's highest and most fragile mountain region. This region is rich in natural resources—water and hydropower, wood, minerals, and medical plants—and cultural heritage. More than 1,000 tribes live in this area. ICIMOD's work promotes development of an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem and improvement in the living standards of mountain people. This nongovernment agency (NGO) generates and disseminates mountain-specific knowledge. The Mountain Environment and Natural Resources' Information Service (MENRIS), established by ICIMOD in 1991, fosters the use of GIS and related technologies in solving environmental problems in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Pakistan. In addition to generating data, this division of ICIMOD helps transfer GIS knowledge and skills to partner institutions. Nearly 800 people from more than 100 partner institutions have been trained by ICIMOD in the use of GIS technologies. To learn more about the work of ICIMOD, visit www.icimod.org.
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