Learning from artificial glaciers in the Himalaya: design for climate change through low-tech infrastructural devices

Clouse, Carey

doi:10.1080/18626033.2014.968411

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, researchers still need to quantify the extent of these benefits and the relative cost analysis of this intervention, inclusive of other types of design opportunities. Above all, we must recognize that these climate change adaptations do nothing to stop the persistent erosion of natural glaciers (Clouse, 2014). The incorporation of artificial glaciers into the agricultural landscapes of Ladakh must be viewed as an interim solution, not a substitution for climate mitigation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ladakh’s artificial glaciers: climate-adaptive design for water scarcity

Clouse

Anderson

Shippling

2016

Climate and Development

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For decades, the artificial glaciers in Ladakh, North India, have been trumpeted as useful water-harvesting devices for subsistence farming communities. In this context, the massive masonry structures link low-tech, vernacular hydrological thinking with design innovation to create a popular climate-adaptive design solution. While these interventions appear to provide promising new strategies for water harvesting in this dry desert region, very little data exist to substantiate, quantify, or contradict the project claims. This paper interrogates these structures through the lens of the design disciplines and considers the functional aspects of a prototypical artificial glacier system. Six different artificial glacier systems were studied over a period of two summer months, revealing a variety of design and construction approaches. These findings give rise to a number of engineering patterns that may be found in an archetypical artificial glacier system.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ladakh’s artificial glaciers: climate-adaptive design for water scarcity

Clouse

Anderson

Shippling

2016

Climate and Development

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“…For example, solar pumps constructed for mountain-specific environments have been scaled out to 10 sites by the United Nations Development Programme, and the federal government plans to install 150 systems in 10 districts in Gilgit-Baltistan (Dhakal et al 2021). Although ice reservoirs provide temporary relief, they are sensitive to climate change and hampered by factors such as labor shortages, high costs, and funding availability (N€ usser et al 2012;Clouse 2014;Clouse et al 2016;Shaheen 2016;. The government and NGOs could provide advice with context-specific measures for the local population to cope with the challenges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ladakh Region: In Ladakh, artificial glaciers have a long tried-and-tested history of providing water during the agricultural season (Hasnain 2012;N€ usser et al 2012;Clouse 2014Clouse , 2016N€ usser, Dame, Parveen, et al 2019). This represents the coevolution of environmental processes and local livelihoods under a sensitive sociohydrological system.…”

Section: Adaptation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptation Strategies to Address Challenges of Traditional Agricultural Water Management in the Upper Indus Basin

Wagle

Dhakal

Shrestha

2021

Mountain Research and Development

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“…There is a long tradition of research on human-water relations in the upper Indus Basin, in both Ladakh, northern India (Labbal 2000;Nüsser et al 2012) and various locations in northern Pakistan (Kreutzmann 2011;Nüsser 2001;Parveen et al 2015;Nüsser and Schmidt 2017). Our study extends the sociohydrological discussion to water harvesting structures in Ladakh, commonly called Bartificial glaciers,^which have been framed as adaptive strategies to climate change (Bagla 1998;Vince 2009;Clouse 2014). Land use in the cold-arid region of Ladakh has always been prone to seasonal water scarcity, affecting irrigation and domestic water supply (Dame and Mankelow 2010;Nüsser and Baghel 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Socio-hydrology of “artificial glaciers” in Ladakh, India: assessing adaptive strategies in a changing cryosphere

et al. 2018

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The consequences of even small glacier decrease and changes of seasonal snow cover are critical for the functioning of meltwater-dependent mountain agriculture. In order to deal with recurrent water scarcity, different types of ice reservoirs, commonly called Bartificial glaciers,^have been introduced in Ladakh and promoted as appropriate adaptive strategies to cope with changes in the cryosphere. The resulting seasonal ice reservoirs increase meltwater availability during the critical period of water scarcity in spring. We examine the efficacy of 14 ice reservoirs through a long-term analysis of their functioning within the environmental and socioeconomic context of Ladakh. Using multi-temporal satellite data (1969-2017), close range photogrammetry, and repeat field measurements (2014 and 2015), we provide an inventory and typology of these ice reservoirs and estimate storage volume of one selected structure, which ranges from 1010 to 3220 m 3 of water. We extrapolate this volume to all ice reservoirs and estimate potential irrigation cycles of cropped areas, which vary between less than 0.1 in unfavorable cases and almost 3 in optimal cases and years. Based on interviews and field surveys (2007-2017), we discuss the benefits perceived by local smallholders, such as the reduction of seasonal water scarcity and resulting crop failure risks together with the possibility of growing cash crops. We argue that Bartificial glaciers^are remarkably suited to the physical environment. However, their usefulness as a climate change adaptation strategy is questionable because climatic variability, natural hazards, and an incomplete integration into the local socioeconomic setting significantly reduce their efficacy.

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Learning from artificial glaciers in the Himalaya: design for climate change through low-tech infrastructural devices

Cited by 8 publications

References 5 publications

Ladakh’s artificial glaciers: climate-adaptive design for water scarcity

Ladakh’s artificial glaciers: climate-adaptive design for water scarcity

Adaptation Strategies to Address Challenges of Traditional Agricultural Water Management in the Upper Indus Basin

Socio-hydrology of “artificial glaciers” in Ladakh, India: assessing adaptive strategies in a changing cryosphere

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