Back to news
25 Jun 2018 | CryoHub

Regional Dialogue on Cryosphere Monitoring

A conference on “State of the Cryosphere in the Himalaya: Focus on Sikkim and the Eastern Himalaya – Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities,” held in Gangtok, Sikkim, India on 19–20 February 2018, concluded with a declaration to strengthen glacier research in Sikkim and the eastern Himalayas. Inka Koch and Anna Sinisalo of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) briefed researchers on the Centre’s latest snow research and highlighted common snow and ice research interests in the region and the need to standardize methods and work together on transboundary issues, such as mitigating the risk of glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

0 mins Read

70% Complete

Over 50 cryosphere researchers attended the conference. Participants aimed to develop a policy framework where scientific research might help develop mitigation and adaptation strategies to address societal needs. The eight point declaration recommended better assessments of water security, improved access to scientific information for actors such as farmers and hydropower companies, exploring state-of-the art techniques to monitor the cryosphere, monitoring air quality and black carbon deposition on glaciers, building capacity in cryosphere research through work exchanges, and establishing glaciology as a topic in high school curriculums.

The conference was hosted by the Sikkim chapter of the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) and the Department of Science and Technology and Climate Change, Government of Sikkim. ICIMOD was a co-organizer. The conference proceeding may be found on the Department of Science and Technology and Climate Change website.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

13 Jan 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
ICIMOD Developing Better Tools for Analyzing Air Pollution

Technology for analyzing and addressing air pollution is evolving. New tools are currently in development that can collect better data ...

24 Sep 2015 News
ICIMOD supports International conference on Mountain and Climate Change

  The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) through its Cryosphere Initiative was a co-organiser for the International Conference on ...

31 Oct 2016 News
Exchanging Knowledge on Glaciers and Climate at the Indus Forum

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) participated in the Indus Forum Workshop, a week-long event held in Switzerland ...

Yak Festival 2017

The festival took place in Phalelung rural municipality in Panchthar district, an area bordering Sikkim and the Indian territory of ...

Taungya System Workshop in Chin, Myanmar

Taungya, or shifting cultivation system, is a major food and income production system for the majority of farmers in Chin ...

10 Feb 2015 News
Hands on Training on Herbal Gardening for Teachers of Bhutan

ICIMOD, in collaboration with CoRRB, began promoting herbal gardens in Bhutan’s schools in 2012. Children plant medicinal herbs in their ...

30 Oct 2018 Cryosphere
Collaborative research on the Ponkar Glacier with Kathmandu University

The team conducted measurements at the lower parts of the glacier to quantify ice melt amount under debris layers and ...

14 Jan 2015 News
Radio Interview: Climate Change and Adaptation in Nepal

In his interview, Dr Shrestha clarified at the outset that ICIMOD is an intergovernmental organization, governed by a Board of ...