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

uncertainties about water availability for crops worsens the situation of hundreds of millionswho already live with food scarcity with limited government programs to alleviate it. Therefore,programs that address water quantity (especially efficient use) and quality, nutrition, foodsecurity, and agriculture will address these health vulnerabilities.A third vulnerability stems from population densities that place pressure on the areas’ watersand other natural resources. The map in Figure 3.5 shows the highest population densityconcentrated in the Ganges River Basin and high densities in parts of the Yellow and YangtzeRiver Basins. These are also areas of high agricultural activity (Figure 3.6), and the Ganges RiverBasin also has a high fertility rate (Figure 3.9). High population growth rates will increasepressures on the environment in general and water systems specifically, so vulnerability isexpected to rise under climatechange conditions.An additional climate-relatedfactor is the use of biomass(wood, agricultural waste, dung,etc.) for indoor cooking. Thesmoke generated by biomassburning releases black carbonand other aerosols (Figure 3.14at right) that affect regionalclimate and exacerbate glaciermelt while also posing a severehealth hazard, since the indoorair pollution contributes topremature deaths and variousrespiratory ailments. In addition,the South Asian AtmosphericBrown Cloud (ABC), whichcontains black carbon, has beensingled out as a contributor toFigure 3.14. Emissions of black carbon from domestic sources(cooking and heating) in 2000. See Figure 3.1 for country boundariesand basin names. Data source: ROP 4.5, http://www.iiasa.ac.at/webapps/tnt/RopDb,downloaded September 2009.accelerated melt of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan-Tibetan glaciers (USAID-Asia 2010). Exposure tothe effects of indoor air pollution from burning biomass disproportionately burdens women andyoung children with respiratory diseases as well as heart disease, stillbirth, cataracts and othervisual problems, pre-term delivery, and low birth weight (USAID 2010). In India alone, theseimpacts have been estimated to cause 440,000-500,000 premature deaths per year in womenand children under five years of age (Smith, cited in USAID-Asia 2010). The highest level ofthese emissions is found in the Ganges, Yellow, and Yangtze River Basins. Thus, programs thataddress maternal and child health, and meeting energy needs with low or no emissions willaddress these vulnerabilities while also addressing a cause of accelerated glacier melt.38