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

Abstract

There is a growing recognition of the contribution of the cryosphere to human societies. This is especially important in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), where poverty and vulnerability are high and climate change impacts on the cryosphere are strong. However, there is a lack of synthesized knowledge about the contributions of the cryosphere to high mountain communities. This paper uses a cryosphere service framework-a derivative of the ecosystem service concept-to classify different goods and services provided by the cryosphere. Case studies were selected using an adapted systematic review methodology. These studies were then synthesized and examined through the lens of critical political ecology. The review shows that while the cryosphere provides a whole range of goods and services for mountain communities, not all of these are well documented. Material services like the supply of water for irrigation and agriculture, and disservices such as disasters, are better documented than non-material services like the spirituality of landscapes. The majority of the case studies do not use an interdisciplinary lens. While some studies on irrigation discuss the physical basis and human organization of irrigation, the literature on disasters mostly focuses on the physical processes and at most generalized loss and damage assessments. Further, most case studies do not use the critical epistemologies needed to examine how politics, power, and intersectionality influence societal responses to changes in the cryosphere. The paper suggests that future studies adopt interdisciplinary collaboration to understand human impacts and adaptive responses through critical political ecology frameworks.

Adaptation to mountain cryosphere change: issues and challenges

“…Addressing the impacts of cryospheric change requires regional and international cooperation, policy innovations, and regional and global action for effective adaptation at basin level. Mukherji et al (2019) noted that cryospheric change has a disproportionately greater impact on people living in high mountain areas, and so special efforts are necessary, particularly for those living in the global south. They require special attention because they face greater adaptation challenges owing to weak socio-economic structures, limited governmental support, physical and social isolation, and marginalization.…”

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Assist Climate Change Monitoring

“…The Ghagra sub-basin has 113 number of glacieret and snow fields occupying a much larger area of 44.35 sq km. In Brahmaputra valley, approximately 1282.92 sq km area was covered with permanent snow having 3651 number of distinctoccurrences [18]. In the Himalayan region, glaciers as well as ice cover were thinning after the conclusion of 20th century consistent with the worldwide fashion.…”

Microbial Ecology from the Himalayan Cryosphere Perspective

“…In the socio-economic perspective, Himalayan ranges serve as home to the population living in it. The mountains provide resources to the people where agriculture is one of the most important tasks that feeds the settlements and maintains the energy network in the system [9]. In the present review, we discuss the cold-adapted microorganisms in view of their contributions to the low-temperature environments of Himalaya.…”