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Cryosphere and related hazards in High Mountain Asia in a changing climate

Programmes

River Basin and Cryosphere

Venue

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Date & Time

01 November 2022 to 04 November 2022

Contact

Miriam Jackson, Deo Raj Gurung & Kristine Tovmasyan

Organizers Scientific Committee

About the conference

Through the Cryosphere Initiative, we are collaborating with UNESCO, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), the Government of Kazakhstan, and the Central Asian Regional Glaciological Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to organize the conference ‘Cryosphere and related hazards in High Mountain Asia in a changing climate.’

The international conference will bring together over 150 researchers, practitioners, policy and decision-makers, government representatives, youth, and development partners from Central Asia, South Asia and beyond, working in the cryosphere, disaster risk reduction, and climate sectors.

The conference aims to provide a platform to share knowledge, best practices, and ideas for the sustainable development of societies in High Mountain Asia (HMA) in the context of climate change. Discussions will focus on the climate-cryosphere-community nexus, contributing to the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 6, SDG 11, SDG 13. It will also contribute to SDG 17 by leveraging regional platforms for collaboration and partnership.

This event will be built on presentations and discussions, highlighting research frontiers, research opportunities and gaps, scientific uncertainties, and policy impact on larger populations in HMA.

Presentations

Technical Session I: Glacier monitoring and changes in the cryosphere in High Mountain Asia

Technical Session II: Changes in runoff from the cryosphere

Technical Session III: Glacial Hazards, Lakes and GLOFs

Technical Session IV: Permafrost

Technical session V: Changes in snow cover and avalanches

Technical Session VI: Cryosphere, climate change and sustainable development

Expected outputs and outcomes

Increased dialogue and understanding of the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere of High Mountain Asia
Shared understanding of knowledge gaps and research priorities
Opportunities for new partnerships and networks, especially between stakeholders from Central and South Asia
Networking opportunities for students and early career researchers

Participants

The conference aims to host about 100-150 participants, including community representatives, government officials, academia, international institutions, development agencies, civil society organizations and youth, from the region and beyond.

Conference design

The conference will include presentations on the status of knowledge across the HMA region on the impacts of climate change on glaciers, snow, permafrost, glacial lakes, and related hazards, including GLOFs, avalanches, and thawing permafrost.

The conference will have breakout sessions on specific hazards to share management and adaptation practices/options from the HMA region for cross-learning purposes. The discussions, good practices, and learnings will be reported back to the plenary.

The conference will also consist of sessions to ideate how best to engage and support youths and early career researchers for further research in areas of climate-cryosphere-communities nexus, and how best to benefit from citizen science. The final day will focus on a science-policy dialogue on this topic and the ways forward.

Tentative agenda

Cryosphere and related hazards in High Mountain Asia in a changing climate Almaty, Kazakhstan 181, Zheltoksan Str., InterContinental Hotel
Day 1 – 1st November
Time (Almaty, GMT+6)	Programme
13:00 – 14:00	Registration (name tag and conference materials distributed)
Opening session Moderator: Ms Kristine Tovmasyan, UNESCO Almaty. Conference room: BallroomRegistration (name tag and conference materials distributed)
14:00 – 15:50	Opening Session Opening remarks by Magnus Magnusson, OIC Director of UNESCO Almaty Office and UNESCO Representative to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – 10 min Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris (video message) Address by Zulfiya Suleimenova, Vice-Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan (online) – 10 min Address by Islambek Raimov, Deputy Head, Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty – 10 min Remarks by Nawab Khan, CEO, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Central Asia – 10 min Remarks by Izabella Koziell, Deputy Director General, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) – 10 min Welcome remarks by Takir Balykbayev, Director, Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre category 2 under the auspices of UNESCO – 10 min Voices from ground zero (recorded clip) Keynote address by Michael Zemp, Director, World Glacier Monitoring Service (online) and Christian Huggel, University of Zurich, Switzerland – 30 min
15:50 – 16:20	Group photo & coffee break
16:20 – 17:50	Panel Discussion – A joint approach to cryosphere-related hazards – senior officials from climate and disaster-related organizations in HMA. Panel description: Countries in High Mountain Asia (HMA) are facing many challenges due to changes in the climate and the ensuing effects on the cryosphere. Although there is significant variation in how fast the cryosphere is changing and the effects of these changes in different parts of the HMA, there are many similarities in the nature of the hazards as well as in the different ways communities can adapt to these changes. In a region that is data-sparse, often low on resources and also facing non-climate related challenges such as poverty and emigration, organizations in the HMA have much to gain by co-operating in monitoring these changes and finding the best ways to adapt. This panel aims to bring together key personnel from different parts of HMA and find ways to co-operate and share experiences in facing up to the many challenges posed by cryosphere-related hazards. Co-moderators: Mr Magnus Magnusson, UNESCO Almaty; Arun Shrestha, ICIMOD. Panelists: Kamal Ram Joshi, DHM Nepal; A.P. Dimri, Indian Institute of Geomagnestism, India; Hina Lotia, Pakistan; Bolot Moldobekov, Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG); Anvar Homidov, Agency of Hydrometeorology, Tajikistan.
17:50 – 18:00	Wrap-up of Day 1.
20:00	Official reception.

FIELD TRIP SESSION The field trip session is organized by the Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre as a category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO and will take place on 2 November 2022. The participants are advised to register for the field trip in advance, as the number of seats is limited. The two routes are planned in the frames of the field trip session: 1. Ulken Almaty River Valley (60 participants), including a visit to the mountain research station “Big Almaty Lake”, located at the altitude of 2500 m above sea level. Departure is from the conference venue (InterContinental Hotel) by 4 buses of 16 people each with an interval of 45 minutes. 2. Kishi Almaty River Valley (120 participants), including a visit to the Talgar Pass (altitude of 3200 m above sea level). Departure is from the conference venue (InterContinental Hotel) by 3 buses of 40 people each with an interval of 1 hour. Participants are kindly requested to prepare appropriate clothing and footwear as the temperature at the above-mentioned field sites can be around -5º-0ºC, with snow and wind. It is also recommended to bring sunglasses and use sunscreen. It should be taken into account that the conference venue is located at the altitude of 700 m above sea level and there will be significant elevation change during the short period of time. Please take into account your health condition.

Technical Session I: Glacier monitoring and changes in the cryosphere in High Mountain Asia Co-moderators: Mr Tomas Saks, Fribourg University; Irfan Rashid, University of Kashmir. Rapporteur: Khusrav Kabutov, Center for Glaciers Research, Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
9:00 – 9:15	Presentation # 1.1: “Correcting spurious data in the catalogues of glaciers and re-assessing changes in the Tien Shan glacier systems with emphasis on the Syr Darya basin”, Igor Severskiy, Scientific Supervisor, Central Asian Regional Glaciological Centre category 2 under the auspices of UNESCO, Kazakhstan.
9:15 – 9:30	Presentation # 1.2: “Catchment-scale modelling of current and future glacial retreat and lake development over northwest Himalaya under changing climate”, Ulfat Majeed, Ph.D Student, University of Kashmir, India.
9:30 – 9:45	Presentation # 1.3: “The state of the glaciers of Tajikistan in the context of climate change and the prospects for their study”, Abdulhamid Kayumov, Professor, Director, State Scientific Institution «Center for Glaciers Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan», Tajikistan.
9:45 – 10:00	Presentation # 1.4: “Studying the cryosphere of the Inner Tien Shan”, Rysbek Satylkanov, Head, Tien Shan High Mountain Research Center, National Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyzstan.
10:00 – 10:15	Discussion.
09:00 – 10:20	PARALLEL WORKSHOP ‘How to communicate scientific results for ECRs. Workshop description: The workshop will discuss how to communicate results of scientific work, significance and outcomes to your targeted audience. This session is targeted mainly at early career researchers. It will include tips to crafting key messages and how to identify the communication objective for your work. Moderator: Chimi Seldon, ICIMOD. Language of the session: English (no simultaneous translation). Conference room: Abai. Presentations: “Case study GLOFCA.org, the knowledge management system for the Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in Central Asia project implemented by UNESCO and funded by the Adaptation Fund”, Alfred Diebold, Communications Director, International Consultant of the Adaptation Fund-UNESCO GLOFCA project, Germany.
10:15 – 10:35	Coffee break
Technical Session II: Changes in runoff from the cryosphere Co-moderators: Kamal Ram Joshi, DHM Nepal (TBC), Mr Andrey Yakovlev, Uzbekistan (TBC). Rapporteur: Erlan Azisov, CAIAG (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
10:35 – 10:50	Presentation # 2.1: “Meltwater variability and its downstream impacts in the Indus Basin”, Sher Muhammad, Remote Sensing Specialist, ICIMOD, Nepal.
10:50 – 11:05	Presentation # 2.2: “Glacial and melted snow flow of the Pamir and Pamir-Alai rivers in the modern period (2000-2020)”, Jafar Niyazov, Head of the Laboratory of Climatology, Glaciology and Water Resources Modelling, Institute of Water Problems, Hydropower and Ecology, Tajikistan.
11:05 – 11:20	Presentation # 2.3: “Hydrological significance of rock glaciers in the Ozernaya river basin, northern Tien Shan region”, Liudmila Lebedeva, Senior Research Scientist, Melnikov Permafrost Institute SB RAS, Russia/Kazakhstan.
11:20 – 11:35	Presentation # 2.4: “Understanding the spatiotemporal pollution dynamics of snow melt waters of the River Jhelum Basin in Kashmir Himalaya”, Sami Ullah Bhat, Senior Assistant Professor, University of Kashmir Srinagar, India (ONLINE).
11:35 – 12:00	Discussion and summary of morning sessions.
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch break
Technical Session III: Glacial Hazards, Lakes and GLOFs Co-moderators: Natalia Kim, UNESCO Almaty; Mr Simon Allen, University of Zurich. Rapporteur: Zhanar Raimbekova, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
13:00 – 13:15	Presentation # 3.1: “Catastrophic mass movement and Glacial Lake outburst floods hazard in High Mountain Asia: From large scale assessment to local disaster risk management – insights of reconstructed real-life events to anticipated future events”, Ashim Sattar, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Zurich, Switzerland/India.
13:15 – 13:30	Presentation # 3.2: “Analysis of temporal trends, changes in spatial distribution and meteorological thresholds of GLOF and debris flows in Central Asia: tools for practitioners”, Ainur Mussina, Senior Lecturer, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan.
13:30 – 13:45	Presentation # 3.3: “A Toolbox for High-Frequency Mapping and Monitoring Central Asian Glacial Lakes from Space”, Manu Tom, Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Zurich, Switzerland/India.
13:45 – 14:00	Presentation # 3.4: “Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in the High Mountain Asia”, Finu Shrestha, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Analyst, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal.
14:00 – 14:15	Presentation # 3.5: “Glacial lake assessment and modeling of a possible outburst of high mountain lakes in Tajikistan”, Yusuf Raimbekov, Senior Geologist, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Tajikistan.
14:15 – 14:30	Presentation # 3.6: “Glacial lake hazard assessment in the Himalayas: A case studies from two potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Nepal Himalaya”, Sudan Bikash Maharjan, Remote Sensing Analyst – Cryosphere, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal.
13:00 – 18:00	YOUTH PARALLEL SESSION The session is organized by RCOY (Regional COnference of Youth), which is an officially endorsed by YOUNGO (youth constituency of the UNFCCC) event. Conference room: Abai.
14:30 – 14:50	Coffee break
14:50 – 16:00	Panel discussion: Engaging Global Policymaking Processes to Benefit Mountain Communities (organized by ICCI) Conference room: Ballroom. Panel description: Effective engagement with policy forums is essential to advancing climate action, protecting the High Mountain Asia cryosphere, and progressing sustainable mountain development for the benefit of mountain communities. It is crucial that both the best available science and local needs and interests be represented in these forums. In this panel, scientific and policy experts will discuss how conference participants can engage with policy at different scales – up to and including UNFCCC and IPCC – to benefit mountain communities, geared toward both near-term and long-term opportunities and impacts. Moderator: Izabella Koziell, ICIMOD. Panelists: Svante Bodin, ICCI; Ammara Farooq, Pakistan; Christian Huggel, University of Zurich, Switzerland; Bolot Moldobekov, Central-Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG); Nawab Khan, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Central Asia (TBC).
16:00 – 18:00	Poster Session – Opening of poster session in the poster gallery (Posters will remain on display for two days).
16:30 – 18:00	PARALLEL Technical Session IV: Permafrost Co-moderators: Mr Alessandro Cicoira, University of Zurich; Akhmetkal Medeu, Institute of Geography and Water Security, Kazakhstan (TBC). Rapporteur: Hofiz Navruzshoev, Center for Glaciers Research, Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
16:30 – 16:45	Presentation # 4.1: “Temporal and Spatial Variability of Permafrost in the High Mountain Asia During the Last Millennia: Implication to the Permafrost-Related Hazards”, Sergey Marchenko, Associate Professor, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks (ONLINE).
16:45 – 17:00	Presentation # 4.2: “Monitoring thermal regime of the ground surface to understand the permafrost distribution with temperatures loggers”, Tika Ram Gurung, Cryosphere Analyst, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal.
17:00 – 17:15	Presentation # 4.3: “Assessing permafrost distribution and ground ice volumes in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan)”, Tamara Mathys, Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland (ONLINE).
17:15 – 17:30	Presentation # 4.4: “Permafrost dynamics and its risk to downstream infrastructure over contrasting topographic zones of north-western Himalayas”, Irfan Rashid, Senior Assistant Professor, Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir, India.
17:30 – 17:45	Presentation # 4.5: “Permafrost related disasters in the Himalayas, India: An overview”, John Mohd Wani, Research Associate, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India (ONLINE).
17:45 – 18:00	Presentation # 4.6: “Permafrost-thaw related hazards in Humla Valley, Western Nepal”, Prashant Baral, Permafrost Research Consultant, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal.

Technical session V: Changes in snow cover and avalanches Co-moderators: Gany Bimurzaev, State Monitoring Service of Uzbekistan for Geo-hazard (TBC); Mr Murat Kassenov, Kazselezaschita (TBC). Rapporteur: Zuura Mamadalieva, UNESCO GLOFCA Project (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
9:00 – 9:15	Presentation # 5.1: “Systematic monitoring of snow hazards using Landsat archives: the new approach of Snow Avalanches Frequency Estimation script”, Arnaud Olivier Caiserman, Associate Director, Mountain Societies Research Institute, University of Central Asia, Tajikistan.
9:15 – 9:30	Presentation # 5.2: “Snow cover changes in Kazakhstan”, Azamat Kauazov, Head of Department, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan.
9:30 – 09:45	Presentation # 5.3: “Changes in snow avalanche activity in the Western Tien-Shan, Uzbekistan”, Eleonora Semakova, Senior Researcher, Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Uzbekistan (ONLINE).
09:45 – 10:00	Presentation # 5.4: “Contemporary fluctuations of the snow cover in the Arys River basin (Ogem Range), Tien Shan”, Nina Pimankina, Head of the Laboratory of Monitoring of Snow and Ice Resources, Сentral Asian Regional Glaciological Centre category 2 under the auspices of UNESCO, Kazakhstan.
10:00 – 10:30	Discussion and wrap-up of the session.
10:30 – 10:50	Coffee break
10:50 – 12:00	Panel discussion: Science – Policy Dialogue Panel description: Countries in High Mountain Asia (HMA) are facing many challenges due to changes in the climate and the ensuing effects on the cryosphere. Although there is significant variation in how fast the cryosphere is changing and the effects of these changes in different parts of the HMA, there are many similarities in the nature of the hazards as well as in the different ways communities can adapt to these changes. When this conference was first planned in order to bring together key people from Hindu Kush Himalaya and Central Asia who are interested in this topic, including not just scientists but also policy- and decision-makers was a key element in the motivation. Scientists and policy-makers often have very different approaches to working in disaster risk reduction and in their ideas for sustainable development of societies in HMA under the effects of climate change. However, it is vital that policy makers take scientific results into consideration in their planning and also critically important that scientists learn how to communicate with policymakers – the information that is useful to them and how to present it. This panel aims to open up the science-policy discussion so we can learn from experts and improve the dialogue in our own science-policy interactions. Co-moderators: Ms Kristine Tovmasyan, UNESCO Almaty; Ms Miriam Jackson, ICIMOD. Panelists: Nisar Memon (WEF Pakistan, former minister); Anil Pokhrel, NDRRMA Nepal (TBC); Alfred Diebold, UNESCO GLOFCA project, Germany; Vitalii Salnikov, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan (TBC); Abdulhamid Kayumov, Professor, Center for Glaciers Research of the National Academy of Sciences, Tajikistan.
12:00 – 13:00	Lunch break
Technical Session VI: Cryosphere, climate change and sustainable development. Co-moderators: Susan Legro, E Co.; Mr Mavlon Hokimalizoda, IFAS (TBC). Rapporteur: Bakhtibeki Otambekzoda, UNESCO GLOFCA Project (TBC). Conference room: Ballroom.
13:00 – 13:15	Presentation #6.1: “Community resilience through local actions – AKAH’s Community based Model”, Sher Wali, Program Manager for Risk Anticipation and New Initiatives, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan.
13:15 – 13:30	Presentation # 6.2: “Impact of climate-change risk-coping strategies on livestock productivity and household welfare”, Ashiq Hussain, Researcher, Karakoram International University, Pakistan (ONLINE).
13:30 – 13:45	Presentation # 6.3: “Empowering and inspiring women for science: Adventure of Science: Women and glaciers in Central Asia 2022”, Mederbek kyzy Aizirek, Instructor, Adventure of science: Woman and Glaciers in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan.
13:45 – 14:00	Presentation # 6.4: “Quantifying in situ climatological data coverage and human population dynamics across High Mountain Asia”, James Thornton, Scientific Project Officer, Mountain Research Initiative, Switzerland (ONLINE).
14:00 – 14:15	Presentation # 6.5: “The state of glaciers in HMA and their impact on water resources”, Ms Francesca Pellicciotti, Senior Scientist, WSL, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Switzerland (ONLINE).
14:15 – 14:30	Presentation # 6.6: “Characteristics and Changes of Glaciers and Rock Glaciers in Central Ile Alatau During the Last 50 Years”, Mr Tobias Bolch, Dr / Reader (Associate Professor), University of St Andrews, UK (ONLINE).
14:30 – 14:50	Coffee break
14:00 – 16:00	PARALLEL session “Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre as a category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO” Moderator: Takir Balykbayev, Professor, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Director, Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre as a category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. Conference room: Ablai. Language of the session: Russian (no simultaneous translation). Programme: 14.00-14.05 – Opening remarks by Takir Balykbayev, Professor, Director, Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre as a category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. 14.05-14.30 – Presentation by Igor Severskiy, Professor, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Scientific Supervisor, Central-Asian Regional Glaciological Centre. 14.30-14.45 – Questions & answers. 14.45-15.30 – Statements by the representatives of Central Asian countries on issues of mutual cooperation. 15.30-15.50 – Discussion and adoption of resolution. 15.50-16.00 – Conclusion.
14:50 – 16:10	Panel discussion: ‘Community dialogue’ Conference room: Ballroom. Panel description: Often when visualizing ‘mountain communities’ the image is that of people with low formal education. But mountain communities are diversifying and now consist of members who can navigate different languages and knowledge systems. Academia and policymakers also often ignore that mountain communities have lived with harsh environments and topography for centuries and collected a vast amount of knowledge about living harmoniously with nature and embracing uncertainties. However, the unprecedented changes brought by anthropogenic climate change are posing to be a challenge for the mountain communities to continue their way of life. This session brings together four panelists from the mountain communities of High Mountain Asia to discuss the lived experience of cryospheric changes, how communities are responding to them and how the scientific and policy community can contribute in improving the adaptive capacities of the mountain communities. Co-moderators: Ms Amina Maharjan, ICIMOD; Deo Raj Gurung, AKAH. Panelists: Sher Wali, Barkolti village, Ghizer District, Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan; Zaynura Khudoyorbekova, Khorog, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Tajikistan; Lobzang Stanzen, Domkhar village, District Leh, UT Ladakh, India; Aliya Tankibayeva, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Closing Session Conference room: Ballroom.
16:10 – 16:40	Networking Session: Explore partnership and opportunities for joint initiatives. Discussions to promote cross-region networking, exchange, joint research and projects, joint events.
16:40 – 17:10	Synthesis – key take away messages from the conference and way forward.
17:10 – 17:20	Closing remarks by organizers.
17:20	Cocktail

About the organizers

ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre working on behalf of the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). We are based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and work in and for our eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. We work to improve the lives and livelihoods of men, women, and children of the HKH and protect mountain environments and cultures. The knowledge we create, and share helps the people of the HKH become more resilient, make the most of new opportunities, and prepare for change. Our work strengthens regional cooperation for conservation and sustainable mountain development.

AKAH

The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat’s (AKAH) works to ensure that people live in safe, sustainable, and resilient habitats with the opportunity to thrive, whether in a remote mountain village, a town, or a densely populated urban centre. AKAH works with communities to help them prepare for and respond to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. AKAH also works to expand access to services and opportunity for people to improve their life. AKAH helps communities prepare for the worst; provides immediate relief after disaster strikes; and helps build back better – and greener – while planning for a better future. AKAH currently operates in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Pakistan, and India, and works with over 2,500 communities empowering them with data, world-class planning and best practices in disaster risk reduction and safe, sustainable housing and critical infrastructure to build a better future.

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was created in 1945, as one of specialized UN agencies. The UNESCO Almaty Office (established in 1994) works in four countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It works through and in cooperation with the National Commissions for UNESCO in each country and partner networks in its fields of competence. UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to peace and human development through Education, the Sciences, Culture and Communication.

CARGC

The Central Asian Regional Glaciological Centre (CARGC) in Almaty, Kazakhstan was established under the auspices of UNESCO to address water resource challenges in Central Asian Region. It focuses on detecting global changes and their impacts on water stress in the region, and studies dynamics of natural processes in a zone of runoff formation. The centre contributes to UNESCO’S strategic programme objectives.