The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment PDF Author: Philippus Wester
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319922882
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 638

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Book Description
This open access volume is the first comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. It comprises important scientific research on the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable mountain development and will serve as a basis for evidence-based decision-making to safeguard the environment and advance people’s well-being. The compiled content is based on the collective knowledge of over 300 leading researchers, experts and policymakers, brought together by the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) under the coordination of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This assessment was conducted between 2013 and 2017 as the first of a series of monitoring and assessment reports, under the guidance of the HIMAP Steering Committee: Eklabya Sharma (ICIMOD), Atiq Raman (Bangladesh), Yuba Raj Khatiwada (Nepal), Linxiu Zhang (China), Surendra Pratap Singh (India), Tandong Yao (China) and David Molden (ICIMOD and Chair of the HIMAP SC). This First HKH Assessment Report consists of 16 chapters, which comprehensively assess the current state of knowledge of the HKH region, increase the understanding of various drivers of change and their impacts, address critical data gaps and develop a set of evidence-based and actionable policy solutions and recommendations. These are linked to nine mountain priorities for the mountains and people of the HKH consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. This book is a must-read for policy makers, academics and students interested in this important region and an essentially important resource for contributors to global assessments such as the IPCC reports.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment

The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment PDF Author: Philippus Wester
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319922882
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 638

Get Book Here

Book Description
This open access volume is the first comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. It comprises important scientific research on the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable mountain development and will serve as a basis for evidence-based decision-making to safeguard the environment and advance people’s well-being. The compiled content is based on the collective knowledge of over 300 leading researchers, experts and policymakers, brought together by the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) under the coordination of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This assessment was conducted between 2013 and 2017 as the first of a series of monitoring and assessment reports, under the guidance of the HIMAP Steering Committee: Eklabya Sharma (ICIMOD), Atiq Raman (Bangladesh), Yuba Raj Khatiwada (Nepal), Linxiu Zhang (China), Surendra Pratap Singh (India), Tandong Yao (China) and David Molden (ICIMOD and Chair of the HIMAP SC). This First HKH Assessment Report consists of 16 chapters, which comprehensively assess the current state of knowledge of the HKH region, increase the understanding of various drivers of change and their impacts, address critical data gaps and develop a set of evidence-based and actionable policy solutions and recommendations. These are linked to nine mountain priorities for the mountains and people of the HKH consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. This book is a must-read for policy makers, academics and students interested in this important region and an essentially important resource for contributors to global assessments such as the IPCC reports.

Landslide Hazard Mitigation in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas

Landslide Hazard Mitigation in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas PDF Author: Tianchi Li
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Debris avalanches
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
Contributed articles.

Himalayan Glaciers

Himalayan Glaciers PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309261015
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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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. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security makes recommendations and sets guidelines for the future of climate change and water security in the Himalayan Region. This report emphasizes that social changes, such as changing patterns of water use and water management decisions, are likely to have at least as much of an impact on water demand as environmental factors do on water supply. Water scarcity will likely affect the rural and urban poor most severely, as these groups have the least capacity to move to new locations as needed. It is predicted that the region will become increasingly urbanized as cities expand to absorb migrants in search of economic opportunities. As living standards and populations rise, water use will likely increase-for example, as more people have diets rich in meat, more water will be needed for agricultural use. The effects of future climate change could further exacerbate water stress. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security explains that changes in the availability of water resources could play an increasing role in political tensions, especially if existing water management institutions do not better account for the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. To effectively respond to the effects of climate change, water management systems will need to take into account the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. This means it will be important to expand research and monitoring programs to gather more detailed, consistent, and accurate data on demographics, water supply, demand, and scarcity.

Murder in the Hindu Kush

Murder in the Hindu Kush PDF Author: Tim Hannigan
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 075246387X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
On a bright July morning in 1870 the British explorer George Hayward was brutally murdered high in the Hindu Kush. Who was he, what had brought him to this wild spot, and why was he killed? Told in full for the first time, this is the gripping tale of Hayward's journey from a Yorkshire childhood to a place at the forefront of the 'Great Game' between the British Raj and the Russian Empire. Driven by 'an insane desire' Hayward crossed the Western Himalayas, tangled with despotic chieftains and ended up on the wrong side of both the Raj and the mighty Maharaja of Kashmir. Tim Hannigan explores the conspiracies and controversies that surrounded his death, travelling in Hayward's footsteps to bring the story up to date, and to reveal how the echoes of the Great Game still reverberate across Central Asia in the twenty-first century.

Warning Signals from the Apple Valleys of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas

Warning Signals from the Apple Valleys of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas PDF Author: Uma Partap
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apples
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
With reference to the Himalayan mountain ranges; a study.

Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds Downhill: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Perspectives

Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds Downhill: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Perspectives PDF Author: Ganga Ram Regmi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030362752
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 890

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Book Description
This book describes the myriad components of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region. The contributors elaborate on challenges, failures, and successes in efforts to conserve the HKH, its indigenous plants and animals, and the watershed that runs from the very roof of the planet via world-rivers to marine estuaries, supporting a human population of some two billion people. Readers will learn how the landforms, animal species and humans of this globally fascinating region are connected, and understand why runoff from snow and ice in the world’s tallest mountains is vital to inhabitants far downstream. The book comprises forty-five chapters organized in five parts. The first section, Landscapes, introduces the mountainous watersheds of the HKH, its weather systems, forests, and the 18 major rivers whose headwaters are here. The second part explores concepts, cultures, and religions, including ethnobiology and indigenous regimes, two thousand years of religious tradition, and the history of scientific and research expeditions. Part Three discusses policy, wildlife conservation management, habitat and biodiversity data, as well as the interaction of animals and humans. The fourth part examines the consequences of development and globalization, from hydrodams, to roads and railroads, to poaching and illegal wildlife trade. This section includes studies of animal species including river dolphins, woodpeckers and hornbills, langurs, snow leopards and more. The concluding section offers perspectives and templates for conservation, sustainability and stability in the HKH, including citizen-science projects and a future challenged by climate change, growing human population, and global conservation decay. A large assemblage of field and landscape photos, combined with eye-witness accounts, presents a 50-year local and wider perspective on the HKH. Also included are advanced digital topics: data sharing, open access, metadata, web portal databases, geographic information systems (GIS) software and machine learning, and data mining concepts all relevant to a modern scientific understanding and sustainable management of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region. This work is written for scholars, landscape ecologists, naturalists and researchers alike, and it can be especially well-suited for those readers who want to learn in a more holistic fashion about the latest conservation issues.

Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas

Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas PDF Author: Sir William Martin Conway
Publisher: London, T. Ficher Unwin
ISBN:
Category : Himalaya Mountains
Languages : en
Pages : 754

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Book Description


Glaciers of the Himalayas

Glaciers of the Himalayas PDF Author: Muthukumara Mani
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 146481256X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Melting glaciers and the loss of seasonal snow pose significant risks to the stability of water resources in South Asia. The 55,000 glaciers in the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush (HKHK) mountain ranges store more freshwater than any region outside of the North and South Poles. Their ice reserves feed into three major river basins in South Asia—the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra—that are home to 750 million people. One major regional driver of the accelerating glacier melt is climate change, which is altering the patterns of temperature and precipitation. A second driver may be deposits of anthropogenic black carbon (BC), which increase the glaciers’ absorption of solar radiation and raise air temperatures. BC is generated by human activity both inside and outside of South Asia, and policy actions taken by the South Asian countries themselves may meaningfully reduce it. Glaciers of the Himalayas: Climate Change, Black Carbon, and Regional Resilience investigates the extent to which the BC reduction policies of South Asian countries may affect glacier formation and melt within the context of a changing global climate. It assesses the relative impact of each source of black carbon on snow and glacier dynamics. The authors simulate how BC emissions interact with projected climate scenarios. They also estimate the extent to which these glacial processes affect water resources in downstream areas of these river basins and present scenarios until 2040. Their policy recommendations include the following: Full implementation of current BC emissions policies can significantly reduce BC deposition in the region; additional reductions can be realized by enacting and implementing new policies that are economically and technically feasible. Improving the efficiency of brick kilns could be key to managing BC, and modest up-front investments could pay off quickly. Cleaner cookstoves and cleaner fuels can help to reduce BC and improve local air quality. Improving institutions for basin-based water management and using price signals are essential elements of more efficient water management. Careful management of hydropower and storage resources will require developers to factor in changing water flows and consider planning for large storage projects to stabilize water availability. Regional cooperation and the exchange of information can be an effective transboundary solution, helping countries to manage glaciers and related natural assets collaboratively. New policies are needed to reverse trends like the melting of glaciers. Success will require an active, agile cooperation between researchers and policy makers. To support an open dialogue, the model developed and used in this book is an open-source, state-of-the-art model that is available for others to use and improve on.

Mountain Ecosystems

Mountain Ecosystems PDF Author: Gabriele Broll
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9783540243250
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This volume focuses on interaction between vegetation, relief, climate, soil and fauna in the treeline ecotone, and the effects of climate change and land use in North America and Europe.

Bird Migration across the Himalayas

Bird Migration across the Himalayas PDF Author: Herbert H. T. Prins
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107114713
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 491

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Book Description
The first reference to demonstrate how birds survive the high-altitude Central Asian Flyway and the threats to this unique migration.