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

16 Nov 2015 HKPL
ICIMOD Supports International Conference on Mountain and Climate Change

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) through its Cryosphere Initiative co-organised the International Conference on Mountain and Climate ...

23 Mar 2017 Himalica
Himalica Books on Cardamom Launched at Sixth Nepal International Trade Fair

David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD, and Harish Chilwal, Project Coordinator of the Environment Conservation ...

3 Dec 2015 News
Policymakers Instrumental in Mitigating Pollution and Climate Change in the HKH Region

Experts from the HKH region discussed efforts to integrate air pollution and climate change mitigation activities in Asia during a ...

4 May 2021 Cryosphere
Reanalysed and improved mass balance data from Mera Glacier

Mera Glacier, in the Everest region, is one of few glaciers in the HKH region whose glaciological mass balance data ...

22 Jun 2023 Cryosphere
Flood risk rising despite below-average monsoon

Key messages The 2023 monsoon is projected to be average, even below average. For disaster events, however, ...

12 Oct 2015 News
Team visits climate smart Indian cardamom farms

  Wanting to know more about sustainable management practices of cardamom produc-tion, a team of six from the International Centre for ...

22 Mar 2015 News
The Himalayan waters: complex challenges and regional solutions

It is difficult to think of a resource more essential to the wellbeing of people and their economies than water, ...

8 Feb 2016 News
HIMAP: A Monitoring and Assessment Programme to Sustain the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region as a Global Asset

From 26-28 January 2016, the first writers’ workshop for the coordinating lead authors of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and ...