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Summary
The river basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers are endowed with rich natural resources, exceptional biodiversity, and vibrant indigenous cultures. Across the region, large hydro development is undermining social and environmental well-being; however, local practitioners are advancing pico hydropower as a nature-based, community-centric alternative that promotes both climate and economic resilience.
As part of the SEEED Accelerator, HPNET launched the GBMS SEEED cohort in partnership with International Rivers, to advance community-scale hydropower in the region. With support from TROSA and funding from the Government of Sweden and WISIONS, the SEEED cohort engaged in capacity building, multi-actor dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, including through a two-day virtual exchange event.
Presentations and dialogue focused on:
In addition, the following cross-thematic aspects were addressed:
Day 1: Practitioner Exchange
Day 1 provided an opportunity to hear from locally rooted practitioners across the Asia Pacific. The half-day event was divided into two sessions, each consisting of two parallel panel presentations, as follows:
Opening Session: Welcome & Overview
The river basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers are endowed with rich natural resources, exceptional biodiversity, and vibrant indigenous cultures. Across the region, large hydro development is undermining social and environmental well-being; however, local practitioners are advancing pico hydropower as a nature-based, community-centric alternative that promotes both climate and economic resilience.
As part of the SEEED Accelerator, HPNET launched the GBMS SEEED cohort in partnership with International Rivers, to advance community-scale hydropower in the region. With support from TROSA and funding from the Government of Sweden and WISIONS, the SEEED cohort engaged in capacity building, multi-actor dialogue and peer-to-peer exchange, including through a two-day virtual exchange event.
Presentations and dialogue focused on:
- Technology reliability
- Productive end use
- Grid interconnection
- Watershed strengthening
- Social enterprise and finance
- Integrated energy planning
In addition, the following cross-thematic aspects were addressed:
- Women-centric processes
- Indigenous peoples and cultural value systems
- Climate resilience solutions
Day 1: Practitioner Exchange
Day 1 provided an opportunity to hear from locally rooted practitioners across the Asia Pacific. The half-day event was divided into two sessions, each consisting of two parallel panel presentations, as follows:
Opening Session: Welcome & Overview
- Welcome, Nalori Chakma, International Rivers
- Key Note, Augustus Suting, Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) and Meghalaya State Council of Science & Technology (MSCST)
- SEEED Accelerator and Event Overview, Dipti Vaghela, Hydro Empowerment Network
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Session 1: Panel A
Technical Reliability & Capacity Building Moderator: Joe Butchers Session 2: Panel A
Social and Environmental Approaches Moderator: Nalori Chakma
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Session 1: Panel B
Utilization (PEU, eCook, Interconnection) Moderator: Vishwa Bhushan Amatya
Session 2: Panel B
Enterprise, Finance, & Integrated Planning Moderator: Dipti Vaghela |
Event Materials - Day 1
Day 2: Multi-Actor Dialogue Exchange
Building on Day 1, Day 2 of the virtual exchange event focused on participant driven, multi-actor dialogue on challenges and opportunities in the GBMS basin regions (i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand). For more details on the topics addressed and interactive process used in Day 2, click here.
Participants collectively prioritized several next steps and strategized pathways forward for advancing community-scale hydropower in the GBMS basins. The exchange will be followed by a customized capacity building workshop, to continue supporting practitioners as they advance their community hydropower initiatives.
Event Materials - Day 2