Back to news
1 May 2019 | CryoHub

More research needed to understand the impact of cryosphere changes on mountain communities in the HKH

The role and importance of cryosphere services in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) remain largely undefined and consequently unrecognized, despite the growing demand as pointed out in a recent review by researchers at ICIMOD. The review identifies various knowledge gaps in the cryosphere’s contributions to high-mountain communities, which are among the world’s most vulnerable societies.

1 min Read

70% Complete
The high mountains are home to some of the world’s most vulnerable societies. In picture, a woman in Darchula, far-west Nepal, struggles up the hill fetching water for domestic use. (Photo: Jitendra Bajracharya)

The review brings the much needed discussion on cryosphere services and their importance to the spotlight. The high-mountain societies that live in the vicinity (within approximately 30 km) of glaciers, ice, snow, permafrost, and glacier lakes are often directly dependent on the cryosphere for their livelihoods and affected by cryosphere-related hazards.

The knowledge about the physical basis of cryospheric change in the HKH has greatly improved in recent years. However, very little is known about which social groups are most affected and how, and how politics and power influence societal responses to changes in the cryosphere.

“Any research on cryospheric changes in the HKH is only partially useful if the information about impacts on mountain communities as well as downstream users of cryosphere services does not exist,” said Anna Sinisalo, an author of the review.

One of the key messages of the study is the need to facilitate more dialogue among scientists, users of cryosphere services, and decision makers to achieve a deeper understanding about cryosphere services and their resilience. Such dialogues are important in formulating ways to address the needs of the different types of users and ensure the sustainability of cryosphere services in the HKH.

Read in detail: Contributions of the cryosphere to mountain communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: a review

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 CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

11 Aug 2015 News
Stakeholders discuss way forward for adaptation programme

Representatives of the promoters, partners, and stakeholders of the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) met in Delhi from 17-19 June 2015 ...

Understanding of glaciers’ health calls for precise estimations of ice losses into water equivalent

Glaciers in the upper Indus supply more than half of the river water and are experiencing significant melting. There is ...

26 Dec 2016 News
Poster Presentation at the AGU

[caption id="attachment_7734" align="aligncenter" width="560"] Gunjan Silwal all set for her poster presentation.[/caption] Gunjan Silwal, ...

8 Apr 2015 News
Ramkumari Kumal’s story

How poor families with farmlands that are at risk of floods and animals’ foraying into them can barely eke out ...

18 Dec 2015 News
National Experts’ Symposium on Ecosystem Based Adaptation in Pakistan

  ICIMOD, in collaboration with the Mountain Agricultural Research Centre and WWF-Pakistan, organized a two-day ‘National Experts’ Symposium on Ecosystem Based ...

10 Jun 2015 News
Myanmar to lead the way with ecotourism in protected areas

On 19–21 May 2015, the Government of Myanmar launched its ambitious Ecotourism Policy and Management Strategy for Protected Areas, developed ...

25 May 2015 News
Bhutanese farmers learn livestock and vegetable value chain in Nepal

The Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation (Himalica) programme has been implementing a pilot project in Barshong Geog ...

17 Aug 2016 News
Research Crucial to Irrigation Development in Nepal

Research on Nepal’s irrigation sector should be a priority of the Government of Nepal, irrigation experts said during the national ...