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WORKSHOP
River Basin and Cryosphere & Cryosphere Initiative
ICIMOD Knowledge Park, Godavari
14 June 2022 to 17 June 2022
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Miriam Jackson
We are organising a three-day workshop that will help us develop a draft strategy to monitor permafrost in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region and define ICIMOD’s role in the process. This workshop will also contribute to developing a framework for regional cooperation to monitor permafrost changes and its consequences in High Mountain Asia.
Furthermore, the workshop will define a working group focused on generating and imparting the permafrost know-how for the HKH and conceptualise an integrated approach for comprehensive monitoring of permafrost in the region. The workshop is being organised as a follow-up to the permafrost forum held online in September 2021.
Permafrost is a major component of the cryosphere and is present over much of High Mountain Asia, but despite its widespread abundance in the HKH, direct field-based monitoring of permafrost is limited, and existing observations are primarily dependent on remote sensing methods. Most in situ observations are focused on the Tibetan Plateau while permafrost in the high mountains remain uninvestigated.
Hence, there is a necessity for a regional approach for permafrost monitoring in the HKH. High mountain areas, much of which is underlain by permafrost, cross several political boundaries. Design and implementation of a sustainable transboundary network for integral assessment of permafrost environment in the HKH is essential to understand spatial and temporal variations in permafrost characteristics and their potential significance.
Climate warming has increased permafrost thawing in the HKH. Impacts of thawing permafrost on livelihoods and ecosystem services are visible but little understood. Recent observations indicate that permafrost warming has also possibly increased the probability of mass movements and compound extreme events in this region. The Chamoli disaster in Uttarakhand in 2021 was probably linked to changes in permafrost. Hence, assessing the consequences of thawing permafrost through systematic observations directed towards understanding permafrost distribution and dynamics is necessary and needs immediate attention.
Time (NPT)
Programme
17:00 – 18:00
Informal discussion: what do we want to get out of the workshop?
18:30
Dinner, Hotel View Bhrikuti
8:30 – 9:00
Commute to Godavari Knowledge Park
09:00 – 9:30
Opening and welcome remarks: Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD
9:30 – 10:30
Introduction
Miriam Jackson, Programme Coordinator, Cryosphere Initiative, ICIMOD
Dorothea Stumm, Permafrost Consultant, Switzerland
10:30 – 11:00
Group photo and tea break
11:00 – 12:30
Participants presentation on permafrost monitoring
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 15:00
15:00 – 15:30
Tea break
15:30 – 16:00
16:00 – 17:00
Hybrid discussions with external participants
Rapporteur: Prashant Baral, ICIMOD
17:00 – 17:15
Transport to Hotel View Bhrikuti
Reception dinner at Hotel View Bhrikuti
Commute to Hotel View Bhrikuti
09:00 – 10:00
Group discussions: identify goals for the strategy
10:00 – 10:30
Group presentations
10:30 – 10:45
10:45 – 11:45
Plenary discussion and summary
Rapporteur: Amrit Thapa, ICIMOD
11:45 – 12:15
Policy brief on permafrost monitoring – key questions
12:15 – 12:45
Policy brief – group discussions
12:45 – 13:30
13:30 – 14:30
Tour of Godavari Knowledge Park
14:30 – 15:00
Policy brief – discussion in plenary
Discussion: How to achieve goals of the strategy and best resource use:
Rapporteur: Sharad Joshi, ICIMOD
15:30 – 15:45
15:45 – 16:15
Discussion: Prioritise goals of the strategy
16:15 – 17:00
Writeshop: Draft outline of strategy
Rapporteur: Tika Gurung, ICIMOD
Dinner at Hotel View Bhrikuti
9:00 – 10:30
Writeshop on monitoring strategy
10:45 – 11:30
11:30 – 12:00
Roles and communication for future collaboration
12:00 – 12:30
Working group for permafrost monitoring in the HKH
Hybrid discussions and feedback
15:30 – 16:40
The way ahead:
Workshop participants + others from ICIMOD
16:40 – 17:00
Closing remarks – Arun Shrestha, Regional Programme Manager, River basins and cryosphere programme, ICIMOD
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Through the Cryosphere Initiative, we are collaborating with UNESCO, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH), the Government of Kazakhstan, and ...
Permafrost remains poorly addressed in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region although it contributes significantly to catchment hydrology and hazards ...