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

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in action and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), too, has not been a strong governancemechanism, although recent efforts are being made to make both more effective.Water disputes are a feature of Central Asian politics as well. The upstream and glaciatedcountries, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, have no hydrocarbon resources but ample water resourcesand hydropower potential–the opposite is true of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Intheory, these resources should be exchanged, but withholding on both sides has taken place.This situation has been in place since the break-up of the Soviet Union and is vulnerable tochanges in water availability. Glacier melt is of concern to all countries, with its implications forshort- and long-term water supply.In summary, various governance issues are contributing to current vulnerabilities, which glaciermelt impacts may exacerbate. There is a strong need to build capacities in the areas of scientificcooperation, regional institutions for data gathering and water management, and environmentallaws and their implementation.42
SECTION 4EXISTING ACTIVITIES RELATED TO GLACIER MELTAs well as scoping the extent of short- and long-term concerns stemming from glacier retreatand identifying societal vulnerabilities to these changes in the near and longer terms, the studyteam surveyed activities already underway relating to the issues of climate change impacts onglaciers and high-altitude hydrology. The aim of this survey was to find out what otherorganizations are doing in relation to glacier melt and what the gaps are that might inform therecommendations of this study. An understanding of these current activities will enableresources to be allocated appropriately to areas where no programs exist, USAID activitiescould complement other activities, or USAID could cooperate or partner with other funders.The geographic scope of this task included all countries of the Himalayan Plateau and its outlyingsub-ranges (including India, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan), the countries ofSoutheast Asia, and the Central Asian Republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). The approach adopted for this review involved desk-basedliterature review, internet searches, phone and email conversations; and in-person meetings orvisits undertaken where feasible. Information requests included the activities of organizationsrelating to glacier melt, and key partners and recommended contacts. To help inform dataanalysis, more detailed phone and in-person interviews were conducted with several keystakeholders who provided additional information on impressions of data and information gapsrelating to work currently being undertaken on glacier melt in Asia. Organizations contacted oncountry visits to India and Nepal in April 2010 were also added. Another important list ofresources can be found in the feasibility study of the Asian Research Center of Excellence forClimate Change and Development (ARC) (USAID 2010).The results from this search are presented in the form of an Excel spreadsheet (see Appendix A)with a main database (Appendix A.1) which contains all the information gleaned from this study,and two summaries: according to country or region (Appendix A.2); and thematically (AppendixA.3).4.1 EMPHASES OF CURRENT ACTIVITIESMost of the current activity specifically related to glacier melt is taking place in India and China;relatively less activity was found in the Central Asian Republics, although there is a wealth ofdata from the Soviet era and active research programs. The current situation is not surprising,given glacier distribution patterns and the comparative resources available for glacier meltresearch across the region.Thematically, most research and activity to date has focused on glacier monitoring, althoughGLOF risks are receiving increased attention as a key climate change hazard in the Himalayanregion. Less attention has been paid to downstream implications of glacier melt and adaptationstrategies. There is very little assessment of the factors underpinning risks from glacier melt that43
Page 5 and 6: Changing Glaciers and Hydrology in
Page 7 and 8: AcknowledgementsThe diversity of in
Page 9: NGOOFDAPAIREDDRH/FPRIMESRDMASPOT5SR
Page 12 and 13: elevation, retreats. Measuring the
Page 14 and 15: Potential for Cross-Sectoral, Multi
Page 16 and 17: 7. More efficient, climate-change-r
Page 18 and 19: An outcome of this process was incr
Page 20 and 21: changing ecosystems and land-use pa
Page 23 and 24: SECTION 2GLACIERS AND HYDROLOGIC CH
Page 25 and 26: complex and time consuming, so only
Page 27 and 28: The World Glacier Monitoring Servic
Page 29 and 30: and a decrease in the summer/winter
Page 31 and 32: alance. Berthier et al. (2007) comp
Page 33 and 34: forcing (climate change) (Ramanatha
Page 35 and 36: contribution, compared to total run
Page 37: These concerns are mirrored in the
Page 40 and 41: Human health and ecosystem impacts
Page 42 and 43: Glaciers are also an important sour
Page 44 and 45: and China (Figure 3.13 on page28).
Page 46 and 47: Figure 3.13. Projections of water s
Page 48 and 49: uncertainties about water availabil
Page 50 and 51: River Basin) include southern Kazak
Page 54 and 55: exacerbate vulnerability on the gro
Page 56 and 57: Another major information gap in th
Page 59 and 60: SECTION 5APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING C
Page 61 and 62: is deposited on reflective glacier
Page 63 and 64: Central Asian Republics. Like the I
Page 65 and 66: and snow water equivalent) and sate
Page 67 and 68: serious food security problems in P
Page 69 and 70: Another dimension of water manageme
Page 71 and 72: increased attention to WASH interve
Page 73 and 74: development that predispose areas t
Page 75 and 76: Demographic and socioeconomic facto
Page 77 and 78: a. Strengthen the capacity of commu
Page 79: carbon on young children. Appropria
Page 82 and 83: 4. Improved regional cooperation (t
Page 85 and 86: REFERENCESADB and IFPRI [Asian Deve
Page 87 and 88: IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Cl
Page 89 and 90: ased on Chinese Glacier Inventory a
Page 91: APPENDIX ATASK 2 DATABASEThe databa
Page 95 and 96: Current Work on Issues Related to G
Page 103 and 104:
Current Work on Issues Related to G
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109:
Appendix A.2Summary by Region
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119:
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