The HKH region is highly dynamic, with many socioeconomic and environmental drivers of change at play, including climate change. The impacts of these changes challenge the resilience of natural and human capacities and the environment. The increased incidence of extreme weather events and magnitude of associated natural disasters, believed to be related to climate change, are exacting high economic and social costs. The Himalayan region and the downstream areas that depend on its water supply and ecosystem services, including the Indo-Gangetic plain – ‘the grain basket of South Asia’ – are particularly vulnerable to these changes.

HICAP was a pioneering collaboration among three organizations – CICERO, ICIMOD, and GRID-Arendal – aimed at contributing to enhanced resilience of mountain communities, particularly women, through improved understanding of vulnerabilities, opportunities, and potentials for adaptation. Since women in the region have important responsibilities as stewards of natural and household resources, they are therefore well positioned to contribute to adaptation strategies but they are more vulnerable than men to climate change as they face more social, economic, and political barriers limiting their coping capacity.