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The HFP is embarking on an initiative to promote discussion and dialogue on ways that
future crisis drivers are perceived in different cultural contexts, and the ways that
possible solutions to these potential future crises could offer means for promoting new
forms of collaboration at a regional level. The Opening up Humanitarian Dialogues
initiative will focus on the crisis potential of the Waters of the Third Pole, a region
known as the “water tower of Asia” which is the scene of many interlinking vulnerabili‐
ties that directly impact over a billion people.
Based upon a joint study by HFP, University College, London and China Dialogue,
entitled Waters of the Third Pole: Humanitarian Crises of the Future, the project will
involve a series of practitioners workshops on the potential threats arising out of the
Third Pole dilemma with scientific experts and policy makers in several countries,
including India, China and Bangladesh. These workshops are intended to develop
“functional approaches” for dealing with humanitarian threats that are both highly
complex and very political. It is hoped that the practical nature of the proposed dialogue
will not only result in the possibility of innovative solutions, but that a more permanent
forum will emerge in the region that can foster and promote crisis prevention, prepared‐
ness solutions to respective governments and regional organisations
This initiative has emerged as a result of research conducted by the HFP and partner
organisations in 2009 that aimed to identify key crisis drivers that could lead to large‐
scale catastrophes over the next decade, and to indicate the sorts of catastrophes,
emergencies and disasters that may ensue. The research, including extensive interviews
with policy makers and experts in India, China, Russia, the UK and US, also explored the
sorts of futures‐orientated prevention and preparedness planning that is currently
being undertaken to address these threats. These interviews highlighted the pressing
need for greater regional and international cooperation to deal with complex long term
crises that transcend national boundaries, and the importance of understanding the
different approaches and priorities attached to crisis drivers and solutions from the
perspectives of different countries, regions and actors. The HFP hopes to further explore
these important ideas through Opening up Humanitarian Dialogues.