Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security

Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security

Book Detail 

Paperback: 218 pages

Publisher: National Academies Press (December 31, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0309260981

ISBN-13: 978-0309260985

File Size : 20 Mb | File Format : PDF

Book Description 

Scientific evidence shows that most glaciers in South Asia's Hindu Kush Himalayan region are retreating, but the consequences for the region's water supply are unclear, this report finds. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the location of several of Asia's great river systems, which provide water for drinking, irrigation, and other uses for about 1.5 billion people. Recent studies show that at lower elevations, glacial retreat is unlikely to cause significant changes in water availability over the next several decades, but other factors, including groundwater depletion and increasing human water use, could have a greater impact. Higher elevation areas could experience altered water flow in some river basins if current rates of glacial retreat continue, but shifts in the location, intensity, and variability of rain and snow due to climate change will likely have a greater impact on regional water supplies.

Table of Contents 

1  Introduction

Study Context and Charge to the Committee
Geographic Scope
Study Approach and Methodology
Organization of the Report

2  Physical Geography

Glacier Mass Balance
Regional Climate and Meteorology
Paleoclimate
Regional Hydrology
Physical Extreme Events
Conclusions

3  Human Geography and Water Resources

Population Distribution and Migration
Patterns of Water Use
Clean Water and Sanitation Access
Measuring Water Scarcity
Water Management, Institutions, and Hydroclimatic Change
Conclusions

4  Environmental Risk and Security

Natural Hazards and Vulnerability
Security Dynamics and Water Conflict
Conclusions

5  Conclusion

References
Appendix A   Workshop Agenda and Participants
Appendix B   Summaries of Workshop Presentations
Appendix C   Glacier Measurement Methods
Appendix D   Disaster Agencies and Databases
Appendix E   Acronyms and Abbreviations
Appendix F   Institutional Oversight
Appendix G   Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

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