STH activities: IMI's Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) IX and the Disaster Risk Reduction Session

The Sustainable Mountain Development Summit (SMDS) is one of the flagship programs of IMI and SMDS IX along with the Youth Summit kicked off from Uttarakhand on 08Dec and ended on 14Dec2020. The 6 day event went off smoothly without any major technical hiccups or internet outages because the whole program was held virtually due to the pandemic.
The Darjeeling HImalaya Initiative which is the W Bengal State chapter of IMI was responsible for organizing and conduct of Disaster Risk Reduction session on Day -2 of the summit and we had as our main speakers an amazing line up of resource persons:

The Facebook link of the event is here

Many thanks to the resource persons and speakers during our session.Thanks also to Roshan our incomparable compere and Shreya for helping out resolve the technical issues. Our thanks to the young and vibrant IMI people from the Secretariat and of course our gratitude to the audience.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling - Kalimpong Himalaya

An event of Note : Call of the Mountains (on 30May2020 at 3.00pm IST)

The Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI) which is the W Bengal state chapter of Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) observes 30May each year as 'Call of the Mountains' day where we hold a day's event on an environmental issue of import for us living in the mountains.
This year we have invited Prof Dave Petley of Sheffield University, one of the foremost authorities on Landslide Hazards for a discourse on 'Landslide Risk in the Himalayas' 

Details
Date/time : 30May2020/ 3.00pm - 4.30pm IST
Platform : ZOOM
Link : https://bit.ly/36yBBJM

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The ZOOM workshop conducted beteen 3.00pm and 4.20pm went off wonderfully well with approx 74 people attending. Link is placed below:



Praful Rao,
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

SaveTheHills activity 11Dec2018: Celebrating International Mountain Day at Town Hall, Kalimpong

International Mountain Day is an annual event of Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (state chapter of IMI)
STH is an active member of DHI


Praful Rao,
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

STH activities in May 2018 (Call of the Mountains -a DHI event in Darjeeling) -11May2018

Press coverage of the Seminar is here
Darjeeling Himalaya Initiative (DHI) is the West Bengal state chapter of IMI and 'Call of the Mountains' is an annual event of DHI.
SaveTheHills is a part of DHI along with several other NGOs of Darjeeling and Gangtok

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district,
Darjeeling -Sikkim Himalaya

STH Activities : At Gangtok for the IRADe Workshop (06Feb2018) and the DHI meet in Darjeeling (09Feb2018)

Excerpt of Press Release
Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) in collaboration with G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development (GBPNIHESD) and North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), with support from Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) under National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) has taken up a project to develop disaster resilience action plans for Gangtok city. To achieve the desired outcome of vulnerability assessments of the city, along with the development of disaster resilience plans and capacity building on disaster resilience, a “Multi-stakeholder consultation workshop” was organized on 06th February, 2018 at Summit Denzong, Renaissance Hotel, Gangtok.
This one-day event was attended by officials from various national as well as international organizations associated with disaster resilience such as Geological Survey of India (GSI)-Sikkim Unit; Land Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Government of Sikkim; State Remote Sensing Applications Centre, Sikkim State Climate Change Cell; Urban Development and Housing Department, Government of Sikkim; Water Security & Public Health Department, Government of Sikkim; Transport Department, Government of Sikkim; Gangtok Municipal Corporation; Department of Geography, Sikkim University; Department of Geology, Sikkim University; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Central Water Commission (CWC); Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and local NGOs such as SaveTheHills and Helping Hands.
Shri Alok Kumar Srivasatav, Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim was the Chief Guest of the event. In his address, Shri Srivasatav expressed the need to shift from previous response oriented approach to disaster management to mitigation focussed efforts. He was glad to know that this was the first stakeholders’ workshop related to disaster management of Gangtok taking place in the city. He emphasized the need to adopt new technologies such as remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) for developing disaster resilience policies. He assured full co-operation from the state Government for the project.
Dr Ajit Tyagi, Former Director General of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and presently Senior Advisor, IRADe in his welcome address emphasized the need to shift from reactive approach to disaster management to proactive one. He praised the efforts of Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) in this direction. He stressed that engagement of civil society, Govt. officials and other stakeholders is necessary right from the very beginning so that the outcomes of the project are successfully implemented. The present workshop is an effort in this direction.
Dr Jyoti Parikh, Executive Director (ED), IRADe, highlighted the contributions by IRADe over the years in the Indian Himalayan cities. She presented the various reports published by IRADe documenting the rapid vulnerability assessment done for various Indian cities.
Shri Shakti Singh Choudhary, Mayor of Gangtok city, in his opening remarks, thanked IRADe, GBPNIHESD and NESAC for organizing the event. He added that the city has learned a lot since the 2011 earthquake and now there are more efforts being taken by various organizations for developing disaster resilience in the city. He welcomed the project and asserted that the organizations involved should also support in developing other city level plans for overall development of the city.
You can read about IRADe here

You can read about IMI here

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya

Nominations open for the IMI's Dr RS Tolia Award 2017 for 'Outstanding work in the Mountains'

DR R.S. TOLIA AWARD 2017

Call for Nominations
The Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) community suffered a great loss in 2016 with the passing away of its esteemed and visionary leader, elder, and guiding light- Dr RS Tolia. Dr RS Tolia conceptualized the idea of IMI, got the like-minded people on board and led it from the front as its founding President. His passion and commitment towards improving the lives of mountain communities is what drove him. There are few people who have had such a profound impact on the future direction of mountain development as Dr Tolia. His vision and commitment for the formation of a pan-Indian mountain movement not only unified diverse mountain states of India but also inspired others. His deep understanding of the links among people, cultures, livelihoods and mountain environment undoubtedly influenced a generation of researchers, organizations and policymakers.
While his passionate determination will continue to inspire people, IMI community aims to encourage passionate individuals to carry forward the cause of integrated mountain development to commemorate the memory of Dr. Tolia and in gratitude to its founding President. Therefore, in the 10th General council (GC) Meeting held on 10th February, 2017 at Delhi, the GC of IMI resolved to institute ‘Dr RS Tolia Award’ to recognize individual efforts that have made impact in integrating and addressing the issues of mountain communities.
Purpose & Rationale
The purpose of the award is to recognize and reward the exemplary work of individuals whose work has created an impact / has the potential to impact sustainable prosperity and well-being of the people of the Mountain states in India. In exceptional cases organizations can will also be considered. However, the preference will be to reward individuals.
Eligibility Criteria & Profile of the Suitable Candidate
1. Individuals whose work has created an impact or has the potential to impact the lives and sustainability of Mountain areas positively are eligible to apply for the Award
2. In rare cases, we may recognize institutions where such institutions are systematically responsible for driving action that meets the purpose of this award.
3. The award will not be restricted to any particular sectors or fields of action.
4. Innovation at grass root levels with widespread application/ impact as well as policy advocacy aimed at addressing issues and challenges of mountain states in India, are eligible for consideration for award
5. Academic research that informs policy formulation and action research with similar impact is also eligible.
6. The award is aimed at celebrating the contribution of mountain people working to improve the lives of mountain people and sustainable prosperity of IMI member states, but eligibility for nomination for the award is not restricted to people from mountains only. If some individuals’ / organizations’ work has made a huge positive difference to people of the member states of IMI, they will be recognized irrespective of where they come from
Value of the Award
The value of the Award is Rs. 1 lakh cash, citation and a medallion. In addition, IMI will cover all related expenses such as travel expenses of final nominees and the award winner as appropriate.
Deadline
Nominations for the award are now open and will be accepted till 30 June 2017 (midnight). Interested individuals/organisations must download the nomination form and send in their application along with a recent CV by this date to pd.imi@inmi.in. Late applications will not be considered.
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Read more here

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong district,
Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya,
9475033744