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Environmental safeguarding assessment for climate adaptation interventions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HI-CAS Project)

  • calendarMay 20, 2026
  • time 2 min

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) spans 3,500 kilometers across eight countries and supports critical freshwater, biodiversity, and ecosystem services for up to 2 billion people, which includes communities in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. It serves as the headwaters of major transboundary river basins. This makes it central to regional ecological stability and sustainable development.  

However, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change, where rising temperatures drive glacial retreat and disrupt hydrological cycles. Communities in mountain areas depend on spring water as their primary source of drinking water and small-scale irrigation, yet its availability has fallen sharply across the region. 

Without structured safeguard assessments, well-intentioned interventions may cause unintended ecological disruption, exclude marginalized communities, or fall short of international compliance standards. Gaps in site-specific evidence constrain the ability of implementing organizations to manage risks, realize co-benefits, and align with national and donor requirements. 

The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) engaged MSC to conduct environmental safeguards (ES) and gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) assessments. These assessments were done across Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. This work was carried out under the HI-CAS project, supported by Global Affairs Canada. It focused on three key climate adaptation interventions: Springshed management, solar-powered irrigation, and agrobiodiversity practices. 

MSC conducted extensive review and mapping of  environmental risks, regulatory requirements, and co-benefits across different intervention types. This was followed by in country field work to engage with community members, indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), farmers, water and forest user groups, and government representatives. MSC used  Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework and developed site-specific environmental management plans (EMPs). Through  subsequent consultations and cocreation processes MSC refined the ES and GESI assessment of outputs and strategies. 

MSC delivered site-specific EMPs with mitigation measures, monitoring indicators, and compliance requirements. It also developed an evidence base to support environmentally sustainable and inclusive adaptation scaling across mountain ecosystems. 

The ICIMOD commissioned the project as part of the HI-CAS initiative, with support from Global Affairs Canada. 

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