Changing Glaciers and Hydrology in Asia - Environmental Health at ...

Current Work on Issues Related to Glacier Melt/Retreat in AsiaAppendix A.1 ‐ Main DatabaseOrganization DetailsName Key Contact Contact Details URLMultilaterals and UN AgenciesWorld BankUNEPClaudia Sadoff, LeadEconomist, SouthAsia Region; CharlesCormier, Head,Environment Team(India); Tapas Paul,Sr. EnvironmentSpecialist, India;Sanjay Pahuja,preparing newGanges Basinproject, IndiaDechan Tsering,Deputy RegionalDirectorCsadoff@worldbank.orgdechen.tsering@unep.org,http://www.worldbank.org/www.unep.org/geo/geo_ice/,www.rrcap.unep.org/glofbhutan/BhutanGeographicArea of FocusAfghanistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan, China,India, Pakistan,and NepalRegional focuson Central andSouth Asia.GLOFmonitoring inthe Hindu‐KushHimalayanregion withparticularlyemphasis onBhutan. Alsotwo majorconservationinitiatives inCentralKarakorum andKailash SacredMountainareas.Subject Area of Focus andExpertise in Relation toGlacial Melt Summary of Activities PartnersMostly watermanagement relatedactivities related to glacialmelt.Global Outlook for Ice andSnow investigateslinkages between Ice,snow and climatechange.GLOF research inHindu Kush; Conservationbasedadaptation andmitigation in mountainregions.About to initiate national project on Integrated Water Resources Management in Kabul RiverBasin, Afghanistan. Undertook review in 2008: Europe and Central Asia Region: HowResilient is the Energy Sector to Climate Change? Which included review of potential glacialmelt impacts; Nepal Water Resources Knowledge Base Development project proposal tostrengthen the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) to become a centre ofexcellence in terms of possessing a state‐of‐the‐art spatial knowledge base on the majorbasins of the country and the modelling and stakeholder facilitation skills to help developbasin plans. Will build a spatial database on water resources that will include up to dateinformation on glaciers, glacial lakes, and GLOF risk. To be completed July 2010. South AsiaWater Initiative (See DfID)In Nepal, WB is working withWECSFacilitated the first major publication on Inventory of Glaciers, Glacial Lakes and Glacial Lake ICIMOD; AIT; WCMSOutburst Floods in Bhutan and Nepal in 2001 with ICIMOD and other expert institutions.Facilitated the assessment of the impacts of climate change on Himalayan glaciers andglacial lakes in 2007 with ICIMOD and other expert institutionsFacilitated compilation of Inventory of Glaciers, Glacial Lakes and the identification ofpotential Glacial lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Pumqu Basin, Tibet Autonomous Regionof PR China, Tista Basin, and Sikkim Himalaya.Facilitating the establishment of a network of strategically located black carbonobservatories in Hindu Kush Himalaya and Karakorum region with EVK2‐CNR. 6‐year timeseries data on black carbon have been compiledIn Central Karakorum and Kailash Sacred Mountain areas, UNEP are working with AIT todevelop two sustainable development master plans and mainstreaming climate changeadaptation and mitigation options in the development agenda. Also sponsored recentInternational Workshop reviewing State of Troposphere Temperature, Pollution, MeltingGlaciers and their Potential Impact on Monsoon and High Altitude Vegetation in theHimalayas‐Tibetan Plateau, Dec 28‐29, 2009, New Delhi. India. Workshop report includes fulldiscussion of recent IPCC glacial melt statement controvery, with many of the implicatedactors present. Comments/Relevant Publicationsand ResourcesSent short brief on potential role forUNEP in possible USAID investmentprogramme, available on request.Inventory of Glaciers:http://www.rrcap.unep.org/issues/glof/glof/index.htmBlack Carbon Data:http://www.rrcap.unep.org/abc/data/abc/index.htmlAssessment Report:http://www.rrcap.unep.org/abc/impact/index.cfmUNDPGernot Laganda,Regional TechnicalAdvisor ClimateChange Adaptationgernot.laganda@undp.orghttp://sdnhq.undp.or GLOF projects GLOFg/gefadaptation/projects/Pakistan, Nepalin India,websites/index.php? and Bhutan;option=com_content Communitybased&task=view&id=203;http://www.undp.org adaptation.bt/project inKazakhstanReducing Climate Change‐induced Risks and Vulnerabilities from Glacial Lake Outburst DIP‐ECHOFloods in the Punakha‐Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys. April 2008 ‐ December 2012. Projectinvolves education of GLOF risk in the Punakha‐Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys in Bhutan. Theproject will integrate climate risk projections into existing disaster risk management practicesand implement corresponding capacity development measures. It will demonstrate practicalmeasures to reduce climate change‐induced GLOF risks from the potentially dangerousThorthormi glacier lake, and facilitate replication of the respective lessons learned in otherhigh‐risk GLOF areas, both within and outside Bhutan. Will also ensure that early warningmechanisms for the Punakha‐Wangdi Valley, which is currently not equipped to handle the fullextent of potential GLOF risks, is expanded to incorporate coverage of this growing threat.Lessons learned from this initiative will enable up‐scaling of early warning systems in otherdisaster‐prone areas downstream of potentially hazardous glacier lakes. Regional GLOF RiskReduction Project. The project aims to complement the structural approaches towards GLOFrisk reduction with sociological and community‐based strategies for GLOF risk mitigation andpreparedness as community participation in GLOF risk reduction has received little or noattention to date.Undertaking community based adaptation programmes with mountaincommunities in Kazakhstan, some of which specifically address glacial melt vulnerabilities.6