Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences (KIAS) organized 4th MoChWo Conference (“Mountains in the Changing World”) on October 18-19, 2019 at Radisson Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal. KIAS is organizing conference every year since 2016 in collaborations with several organizations as a part of its flagship annual program to stimulate interactions about various facets of mountains. The fourth conference was attended by 259 participants around the world including Nepal, the Netherlands, France, China, USA, Cyprus, India, Singapore and Poland. A total of 127 research papers were presented on various issues of mountains, ranging from hydroclimatic systems, disasters, climate change, biodiversity, environmental pollution and water resource management.

“A major motivation of organizing MoChWo Conference is bringing together experts, policy makers and practitioners under a roof to discuss on emerging issues on a regular basis”, said Dr. Prakash K Paudel, Convener and Executive Director, KIAS. “We’re hopeful that MoChWo will contribute in linking science with policy in mountain regions”.

“A major motivation of organizing MoChWo Conference is bringing together experts, policy makers and practitioners under a roof to discuss on emerging issues on a regular basis”--Dr. Prakash K Paudel, Convener and Executive Director, KIAS. 

The scientific program of conference was structured into a keynote session, four symposia, seven technical sessions and one poster session. The major theme of conference was "Understanding hydroclimatic systems for sustainable livelihoods”. “The conference gave an unparallel opportunity to interact with many of the best-known scientists working on cryosphere and mountain climate in Himalaya”, said Dr. Dibas Shrestha, member of Organizing Committee and one of the co-conveners of symposium “Mountain Climate, Cryosphere, Hazard and Livelihoods”.

Symposium on “Mountain Climate, Cryosphere, Hazard and Livelihoods”

“High mountain Asia has been impacted seriously by climate change, far more than global average and our projections”, cautioned Prof. Dr. Walter W. Immerzeel, keynote speaker. “There are some advances in understanding how and why Asian mountains are being impacted rapidly, but more researches are urgently needed to fully understand gravity of problems” said Prof. Immerzeel. “Hindu Kush Himalaya water resources, critical for billions of people, are at risk due to climate change and there are environmental, sociocultural, and economic consequences, impacting sustainability of entire region” said Dr. Arun Bhakta Shrestha, another keynote speaker.

High mountain Asia has been impacted seriously by climate change, far more than global average and our projections-- Prof. Dr. Walter W. Immerzeel

There are environmental, sociocultural, and economic consequences of climate change in HKH waters, impacting sustainability of entire region--Dr. Arun Bhakta Shrestha

Experts also discussed on interactions among climate change, biodiversity, disaster and livelihood on symposium “Biodiversity and Climate Changes: What Conservation Biologists Should Worry in Nepal? Symposium on “Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management: Citizen Science and Beyond” gave opportunity to share research work done on water resource management using citizen scientists, and contributed in disseminating a new approach in research and education.

Symposium: Climate Change and Biodiversity: What Conservation Biologists Should Worry About in Nepal?

Symposium on "Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management: Citizen Science andBeyond "

The two-day conference was co-organized with Kathmandu Center for Research and Education (KCRE). Conference partners included Central Department of Environmental Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Hydrology and Meterology, Tribhuvan University , Smartphones For Water Nepal and Nepal Chapter of Society for Conservation Biology.

Conference drew a wide media coverage, including EKantipur, Kantipur, Nepal Khabar , Republica and Kathmandu Post.