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Glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate, threatening water supplies, ecosystems, and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. To bring global attention to this crisis, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP 2025). It also highlights the crucial role of high mountain areas as key sources of freshwater, and ecosystem services for communities around the world.
Glaciers are incredibly powerful indicators of climate change, and important source of fresh water. There are over 275,000 glaciers, storing up to 70% of Earth’s freshwater. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are melting at an alarming rate.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are facilitating the implementation of IYGP 2025 and the World Day for Glaciers, in collaboration with governments, and relevant organisations. An advisory board and four task forces, representing over 75 international organisations and 35 countries, are overseeing the coordination of activities.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is one of the international organisations supporting the IYGP secretariat and is leading task force 2 – International Conferences, Regional Workshops and Capacity Building. ICIMOD is a member of all four task forces.
ICIMOD is one of the few intergovernmental organisations in the region to have consistently advocated and researched the impacts of climate change on the region’s cryosphere – frozen water part of the Earth system, including ice and snow on land and water. Through our long-standing engagement, we have built a strong foundation of understanding and knowledge about the Hindu Kush Himalaya’s cryosphere, challenges it faces, and the actions needed to conserve these vital freshwater resources in the region.
The accumulated knowledge from our works (Water, Ice, Society, and Ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HI-WISE) report 2023, and the HKH Assessment 2019) clearly show that accelerating climate change poses an unprecedented threat to the region’s glaciers. However, the scale and urgency of impacts on glaciers and their consequences do not match with corresponding actions needed to conserve them.
ICIMOD joins the global community in recognising 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, aiming to raise awareness, and promote actions that support sustainable measures for glacier conservation. This includes fostering transboundary cooperation where applicable and encouraging integrated management at all levels.
Link: https://www.un-glaciers.org/en
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