Back to news
24 Aug 2017 | News

Participants of On-the-job Training Develop Glacier Change Data for Selected HKH Basins

From 10 April to 9 June 2017, six faculty members from Tribhuvan University (TU) in Kathmandu completed a two-month on-the-job training on the application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) for the mapping and monitoring of glaciers. The output of the training will be included in a glacier change assessment of five river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), to be delivered by the end of 2017.

“We were working independently through the process of mapping glaciers from satellite images. This helped further develop my remote sensing skills and my skills using different software, “said Ramita Bajracharya, Assistant Professor, Central Department of Geology, TU. Bajracharya is working on the eastern side of the Upper Brahmaputra Basin. She plans to use the skills from this training to conduct similar research in the future.

As part of the on-the-job training, the attendees downloaded satellite images from 1990, 2000, and 2010 and generated glacier maps for each year for selected basins or regions in the HKH. The data was compiled to prepare decadal glacier change for the selected basins. Training attendees used semi-automatic delineation of clean ice and debris covered glaciers using eCognition software and developed their glacier databases using ArcGIS.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Ramita Bajracharya, Assistant Professor, Central Department of Geology, TU mapping eastern side of the Upper Brahmaputra Basin

The outcome of their work was reported to their supervisors at ICIMOD on a weekly basis, where assigned experts provided feedback and technical guidance on improving final products.

The Cryosphere Initiative of ICIMOD which partners with TU under the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme in Nepal (CMP-Nepal) organized the training to develop the capacities of professionals from partner institutes and transfer knowledge on a wider scale. The on-the-job training was a follow up to a recent one-week training on the same topic and meant to maximize the benefits of the one-week training. While short-term trainings do familiarize participants with the tools and techniques necessary for mapping and monitoring glaciers and glacial lakes, when the participants of these workshops return to their regular work or study routines, it becomes difficult for them to practice and further develop their remote sensing techniques. CMP-Nepal focuses on longer-term on-the-job trainings that provide opportunities attendees the opportunity to further develop and apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt through short-term trainings.

Over the course of their on-the-job training, the six TU faculty members mapped the glaciers of the Brahmaputra Basin and some parts of the Ganges Basin. They will continue to work further to improve the glacier database. The attendees can now explore the RS tools and techniques to conduct independent research.


Glacier mapping of Brahmaputra basin as prepared by training participants using object-based image classification method , Image: Anita TuiTui/TU

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

28 Feb 2016 Himalica
Beekeeping Makes for Better Lives Nepal

Beekeeping is an income generating option in several areas across HKH region. A group of experts from the Initiative International ...

9 Dec 2016 Gender in Koshi
ICIMOD-supported Local Water Use Plans Gain Momentum

For the people of Bhimeswar in the Koshi basin of Nepal’s hilly Sindhuli district, the winter harvest season began with ...

15 Apr 2015 News
Countries endorse post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

A post-2015 Disaster Risk Reduction Framework that aims to reduce ‘substantially’ the global disaster mortality and the number of people ...

8 May 2015 News
ICIMOD maps earthquake-affected settlements to aid relief and recovery efforts

Responding to a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs, ICIMOD has deployed a task force made up of GIS ...

1 Mar 2015 News
Second Workshop on Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP)

Perceiving Drivers of Change as the key global issues and trends driving change in the HKH Region, International Centre for ...

Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KLCDI) Pilot Implementation Phase Underway

The G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment & Sustainable Development, (GBPNIHESD), the Indian nodal organisation with support from ...

8 Mar 2018 Gender in Koshi
Women and Fieldwork: Reclaiming public spaces and transgressing curfews

Women’s Day brings into focus women situated at various intersections of class, age, caste, race, education, culture, and geographical location. ...

18 Dec 2015 HKPL
Regional consultation on Karakoram-Pamir-Wakhan Landscape Initiative

A regional consultation workshop on programme development for Karakoram-Pamir-Wakhan Landscape Initiative jointly organised by the Wakhan Corridor Initiative and the ...