Identifying climate change information needs for the himalayan region: Results from the GLACINDIA Stakeholder Workshop and Training Program

A workshop was jointly organized by the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India, and the Climate Service Center 2.0, Hamburg, Germany, within the framework of the multidisciplinary international research project GLACINDIA. The main objectives of the GLACINDIA project were introduced at the beginning of the workshop and the concept of climate service information was briefly discussed. A major focus of the workshop was given to breakout groups to identify data and information needs. Based on their backgrounds, participants formed four discussion groups along the key sectors: water, land use and agriculture, ecology, and energy. Stakeholders from all groups agreed that climate change information has to be provided in different forms for different target groups. Government and academic scientists need access to the raw data, together with uncertainty information. Stakeholders also identify key sectors within the Himalayan region that have to receive targeted climate service information. These are economics, ecology, urban and social, agriculture, hydropower, tourism, transhumance (seasonal migration), livestock, horticulture, floriculture, hazards, and disasters.