Mountains are a part of global biodiversity repository and play vital role in maintaining global ecosystem and supporting millions of people. Mountains possess a large variation in landscape features and also act as global water towers. Similarly, mountains offer a ‘niche or comparative advantage’ at operational levels such as medicinal herbs, tourism and hydro power. In the meantime, they are the most vulnerable to the effect of global change.

Data suggest that mountain communities are among the poorest and most affected by development programs that are not tailor-made for mountain conditions. Furthermore, the cascading effects of climate change on water resources and biodiversity have severe consequences on local livelihoods, and consequently result in a downward spiral of poverty. The mountains, as a whole, require tailor-made solutions based on mountain-specific research and knowledge.

Therefore, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences (KIAS) is organizing a series of international conferences on Mountains in the Changing World (MoChWo) to create a forum for exchanging scientific knowledge on mountain-specific research among scientists, decision makers (bureaucrats and politicians) and development practitioners.

Specific objectives include:
The MoChWo conference is an annual conference that aims to develop a long-term partnership with academic institutions and other organizations. The main purpose of the MoChWo conference is to bring scientists, experts and researchers from government agencies, development practitioners and academia to share research frontiers on sustainable mountain development.

a) To share mountain specific research findings;
b) To identify critical issues affecting livelihoods and well-beings of mountain people;
c) To foster collaboration and networking among academia, NGOs and governmental agencies;
d) To promote knowledge based policy interventions by creating a discussion forum among three key players: (a) academic institutions, (b) government agencies, and (c) international development agencies through a policy dialogue.

Target audiences:
The MoChWo conference started inn 2016. A typical MoChWo conference receives 200 abstracts submitted from ~20 different countries. It hosts about 100-150 technical presentations including keynote, invited, oral and poster and 150-200 participants from Nepal, India, Bangladesh,

The target audience include:
– University and college faculty
– Research students
– Researchers
– Practitioners
– Policy makers

Focus areas:
Each #MoChWo conference has a major focus, but covers following areas:

Environmental pollution;
Disasters, resilience, and adaptation;
Biodiversity conservation;
Climate change;
Forest management;
Soil, water and atmospheric research;
Agriculture and agro-ecology;
Sustainable livelihood;
Policies for mountain resources and livelihood;
Emerging contaminants such as micro- and nano-plastics;

Conference Design:
The #MoChWo includes following activities:
(a) Panel discussions and policy dialogue
(b) Keynote, invited and oral presentations
(c) Poster presentations
(d) Exhibition stalls
(e) Short courses, workshops and trainings
(f) Networking sessions

Past MoChWo conferences:
1st MoChWo conference
Date: 1-2 October, 2016
Venue: Hotel Grand, Kathmandu Nepal

2nd MoChWo conference
Date: 27-28 October 2017
Venue: Hotel Radisson , Kathmandu, Nepal

3rd MoChWo conference
Date: 9-10 October 2018
Venue: Hotel Radisson , Kathmandu, Nepal

4th MoChWo conference
Date: 18-19 October 2019
Venue: Hotel Radisson , Kathmandu, Nepal

5th MoChWo conference
Date: 18-19 October 2020
Venue: Virtual