May 3, 2024
By Bhavya George
The Climate Uncertainties Network is formed by 3 mountainous ecosystems: Keystone Foundation from Nilgiris in India, Royal Thimphu College from Bhutan, and South Asia Institute of Advanced Studies from Nepal, all lead by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). We met at Royal Thimphu College (RTC) for two weeks from April 4th to April 14th to discuss, debate, and reflect on the commonalities and uniqueness of our experiences with climate uncertainties.
Our second workshop centered around understanding mountain communities’ local and policy responses to climate uncertainties, especially the socioeconomic and cultural aspects of living in mountain ecosystems. Jyoti (Dr. Jyotsna Krishnakumar) and I are the Keystone representatives within this network, giving us the opportunity to travel to Bhutan to meet with and learn from our colleagues. It was our first time in Bhutan—a striking environment that offered new insights into the global diversity of people and nature. We came back with valuable insights, from both government representatives and officers as well as community members.
Thimphu was our second in person workshop following the first in India in September. The
workshop at RTC involved discussing key themes, presenting preliminary research findings from each country team, meeting with Bhutan government centres (Biodiversity and Organic Agriculture, respectively), visiting Dagana for four days, and finally discussing and sharing our conclusions. Amidst it all, we found time to interact with a new environment, taking time to walk through Himalayan forests adorned with blooming rhododendrons: a full mind-body experience.
Two weeks gave us the time and space to listen, observe, discuss and reflect on climate uncertainties, and we parted with a plan to help us move forward in living amidst uncertainty.
