Environment & Poverty Times

07 2012

Water security

Water security will soon rank with other main security concerns. The world community must elevate the issue of water for peace policy. As the demand for freshwater grows and in the absence of clear consensus on how best to use shared water resources for the benefit of all, that competition can create severe disputes.

The Third Pole – Hindu-Kush Himalaya narrative

By Lawrence Hislop

The Hindu-Kush Himalaya (HKH), some- times referred to as the ‘Third Pole’, is one of the most dynamic and complex mountain systems in the world. It contains the largest amount of snow and ice found outside the Polar regions, including more than 100 000 square kilometres of glacier cover, and the sources of ten of the largest rivers in Asia. This mountain system, stretching 3 500 kilometres through some of the world’s wettest and driest environments, rising eight vertical kilometres through nearly every life zone existing on Earth, and at the geographical centre of the largest and dens- est concentration of humanity, is recognized as an extremely fragile environment and particularly vulnerable to global warming.

Potential impacts of climate change Uncertainties about the rate and magnitude of climate change and potential impacts prevail, but there is no question that climate change is gradually and powerfully changing the eco- logical and socio-economic landscape in the Himalayan region, particularly in relation to water and ecosystem services, with significant implications for mountain communities and livelihoods, as well as downstream users, including women. Ultimately the changes that take place in the mountains impact the availability of resources downstream.

In the mountain areas the influence of changing climate has to be understood in the overall context of change due to moderniza- tion (communications, transport, infrastruc- ture, monetization, etc.) and migration, both of which affect traditional cultural patterns and gender relations. Climate change is one among many other drivers of change, which also need to be taken into account. Moreover, it has to be recognized that climate change, while exposing the region to severe adverse impacts, may also create opportunities, which need to be identified and leveraged.

Extreme vulnerability to natural hazards among countries in South Asia is cyclical and repeatedly causes major setbacks in the socioeconomic and equitable development of the region. According to UN estimates major disasters may cut the GDP of coun- tries in the region by up to 20 per cent. Climate change is expected to increase both the frequency and magnitude of hazards leading to disasters. It calls for speedy action to help communities cope with such large- scale disturbances.

Mudslides and unstable ground induced by floods (see figure above) are serious threats to low-income settlement areas. The rough topography of the Himalayas combined with the precariousness of many homesteads, due to low incomes, makes the region a particularly flood-sensitive area. Moreover, the risks of death and destruc- tion are increased by the fact that people, after floods, often rebuild on the same risk-prone areas.

Poor and marginalized groups such as mountain populations, particularly women, are vulner- able to climate change. Lawrence Hislop

Implications for human well-being Climate change impacts in the HKH region are particularly severe due to the large num- ber of people depending on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as agriculture. Here, more than 20 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, amounting to around 260 million people. Recent studies conclude that

the Himalayan region and its downstream areas, including the Indo-Gangetic plains, the grain basket of South Asia, are also par- ticularly vulnerable to climate change. More than 1.3 billion people live downstream from three of Asia’s major rivers and these people are strongly dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods.

Poor and marginalised groups such as the mountain populations and inhabitants of downstream flood plains are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Mountain livelihoods are much more susceptible to environmental and economic change than are livelihoods in the plains. Poverty in the mountains is exacerbated by climate change. Women are often more exposed and vulner- able to the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. From a poverty- reduction perspective, coming to grips with the expected increase in climate-induced disasters is an important step towards being prepared to face it.

About the author: Lawrence Hislop is Head of the Polar Programme at UNEP/GRID-Arendal.