Overview of Mountain Hazards Issues

The HKH region is highly vulnerable to earthquake and water-induced disasters. This fragile mountain region is under tremendous stress of climate change and land use degradation that accelerated flash flood, river-line flood, erosion, wet mass movement during monsoon period and drought in non-monsoon period. In the backdrop of intensifying disasters, it is important to examine the social, economic, environmental and geo-political implications of increasing hazards at different levels: local, national, regional and up-stream and down streams of river basins. Further, there is an urgent need for documenting physical and scientific data and analysis of upstream and down stream hazards, inter linkages and impacts. Particular focus Is required to understand the emerging risks as a result of climatic and land use changes and other a wide range of drivers contributing to increasing disaster risk in the region and to analyze the responses to disaster risks and disaster events by communities in the up stream and don stream countries in the region and national and regional policies and agreements that govern disaster risks in the HKH region. In this backdrop, based on research and evidence based knowledge shared by several authors in this book volume, this chapter provides a overview of bio-physical, climatic, environmental and site specific aspects of hazard risks in the HKH region and the importance of rivers, river basin ecology, social and gender based vulnerabilities and the role of national policies, institutions and regional cooperation for disaster risk reduction in the HKH region.