……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Gehendra B. Gurung
Team Leader: Reducing Vulnerability
Practical Action Nepal
Pandol Marg, Lazimpat
P. O. Box 15135, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977 1 4446015, 4434482
Fax: +977 1 4445995
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
I am not quit familiar with how this e-mail discussion works. I would suggest to provide a guiding instruction to the members.
Secondly I would suggest to post an opening key e-mail to stimulate the discussion. I think the priority of the discussion is to highlight the impacts of climate change in Nepal and need for adaptation to it. In many cases when climate change discussions take place, it focuses on projections for the future - future climate change, its impacts etc. To me our priority is not to make future projections. Our priority is to take immediate actions for adaptation. So our discussion should focus on what are impacts on human life and natural systems in Nepal, what we need to do for adaptation and coping.
Again he wrote:
I am Gehendra Gurung working at Practical Action Nepal (former ITDG), an INGO with its head office in the UK. Climate change adaptation is one of my responsibilities and subject of interest. My interest is on adaptation to climate change. There have already been considerable impacts of climate change in Nepal including glacier melting and snow line retreat and the adaptation and coping measures have become urgent without any delay. I hope this e-conference will bring out some of practical measures to help the communities and the Himalayan nations to adapt to climate change.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dr. Vishwambhar Prasad Sati
Asso Professor and Head
Department of Geography
GovernmentPostGraduateCollege
Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, India
Phone: 0091 94257 10429
Fax: 0091 7492 401157
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
I am Dr. Vishwambhar Prasad Sati, working as Associate Professor of Geography, in GovernmentPostGraduateCollege, Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, India. My field of interest is Mountain Ecology and Development in general and Uttaranchal Himalaya in particular. The e-conference on Climate Change and Himalayan Glaciers is very interesting. I hope, we will reach upto the expected outcome.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. G. Prasad Babu
GIS Engineer,
Spatial Modeling Group
RMSI Pvt. Ltd.
Mobile: 09899068975
Office: 0120-2511102 Ext. 2641
URL:
Date: May 7, 2007
Hi,
This is G. Prasad Babu, currently working as GIS Engineer at RMSI Pvt. Ltd ( ), Noida, India.
Earlier I was there in Royal University of Bhuta as a lecturer in Geology and Remote Sensing. I had had enjoyed the pleasant surprises of Himalayas.
I am focusing in the areas of Natural Hazards in Himalayas, worked in Environmental issues, Landslides, Glaciers, Earthquakes and Floods using Remote Sensing, GIS and GPS.
In comming days,, I would like to share my little knowledge and looking forward to learn more from peer group.
I wisheveryone allthe best and let us have a healthy discussion toSAVE MOTHER EARTH.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Vibek Raj Maurya
Special Correspondent
Himalkhabar Patrika
Himalmedia Pvt Ltd
Hattiban, Lalitpur, NEPAL
Phone: (977 1)554 3333
Fax: (977 1)552 1013
URL:
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
I am Vibek Raj Maurya and I am working as a journalist for Himalmedia.I am environment science graduate by training. I have been coveringenvironment, development and science-technology related stories forvernacularfortnightly Himalkhabar Patrika ( I also write for Nepali Times ( oursister publication.
I expect that coming e-conference shall help me understand impact ofclimate change in the Himalayan Region deeply and critically.I wish very best for all the participants.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Krishna Rokka
Graduate student
YaleSchool of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Date: May 7, 2007
Greetings to all,
I am Krishna Roka from Nepal. I am a graduate student at Yale School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies and will be joining Pennsylvania
StateUniversity for doctoral program in Fall 2007. My interests are
focused on poverty, natural resource management, and governance in ruralcommunities in the mountains.Since climate change is a cross cuttingissue that is or will be affecting all of the above, I aspire to betterunderstand the issue and try to actively participate during the
conference. My best wishes to all the participants and thanks to theorganizers.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Keshav Kumar Sharma
Forum for Justice (FORJUST)
299- Madhya Marg, Buddhanagar
New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
GPO Box: 19062
Tel: 4783532, 4783395, 4783607
Fax: 4782765
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
Accept my sincerest greetings. I am Keshav Kumar Sharma, an MS (Research) student at KathmanduUniversity, Dhulikhel. As a researcher at KU I am evaluating the sciences of Land and Water Management in Rainfed Farming System in Siwalicks and Lower Foothills of Nepal. Which broadly represent sampling areas. Kapilvastu (Barkalpur VDC-2)and Pyuthan (Bangesal VDC-2)will be the districts where I will carry out my research activities. Providing these information, I am pleased to admit that my research work willalso deal with analyzing the total carbon stock/sequestration in theagricultural field of these districts.
With this e-conference, I am interestingly looking ahead to receiving more knowledge particularly in soil carbon sequestration in the dry soils of rainfed farming which is less favor area for pursuing agricultural activities with copies perspective.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Adam Liddle.
Postgraduate student
MSc in Environment & Development
University of Edinburgh, UK
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
My name is Adam Liddle. I am a postgraduate studentstudying for an MSc in Environment & Developmentat the University of Edinburgh, UK. My dissertation is in conjunction with Mercy Corps (through whom I have been introduced to this conference), and will focus on the impacts of climate change on snow melt and glacier retreat and the effects for land-use and livelihoods in downstream communities of North West Nepal.
I shall be researching in Kathmandu from 11th May - 8th June, and hopefully I will be able to meet up with some of you in person to discuss livelihoods issues in more detail. As I am relatively inexperienced in this field and can only offer academic opinions rather than practical knowledge, my main objective of the following discussion is to learn - and maybe quote some of you in my dissertation!
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dr. Narayan Chaulagain
Project Promotion Manager
People, Energy & Environment Development Association (PEEDA)
Bhanimandal, Ekantakuna, Lalitpur
P.O.Box 8975, EPC 2157
Tel. 00977-1-5530337, 5540792,
Fax: 00977-1-5529873
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear all,
I am Narayan Chaulagain, Civil Hydropower Engineer by education. I have completed PhD in Energy and Resource Economics from the University of Flensburg, Germany, with the title of the dissertation “Impacts of climate change on water resources of Nepal: The physical and socioeconomic dimensions”. Before that I had finished MSc in Energy Systems and Management from the same University. The areas of my interest are renewable energy, climate change, sustainable development and poverty reduction.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Tek Jung Mahat
ICIMOD, Nepal
Coordinator, E-conference on Climate Change and the Himalayan glaciers
Date: May 7, 2007
My name is Tek Jung Mahat and I am from Kathmandu, Nepal.
I have a Masters Degree in Environmental Science from TribhuvanUniversity, Nepal with specializations in Mountain EnvironmentManagement and Environmental Economics and am currently completingMasters in Anthropology as a second degree.
I have about six years of working experience with competent NepaleseNGOs, The Explore Nepal and Nepal River Conservation Trust (NRCT) invarious capacities and about 22 months of working experience with Asiaregional organisation Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN), globalorganisationMountain Forum (MF) and intergovernmental organization International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) as thelatest assignment. Besides, I am also working as a part-time Lecturer atcouple of colleges affiliated to the Tribhuvan University (TU) and thePurbanchal University (PU). In addition to this, currently I am runningan independent knowledge network the Environment Professional Group(EPG) and serving NRCT as a Technical Advisor.
My areas of expertise are: natural resources conservation andmanagement, economic valuation, environmental communication andapplication of ICT for knowledge management, social mobilization,project planning and management, environmental pollution control andclimate change (scientific research and responses including policymeasures).
My ethnic root belongs to indigenous mountain community "Khasa" based inJumla district of Nepal.
In the ongoing e-conference, I am responsible to ensure propercoordination and making the system work.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Susheel Dangol
Survey Officer
Ministryof Land Reform and Management
Student
KhwopaCollege
Date: May 7, 2007
I am Susheel Dangol curently engaged in government service as SurveyOfficer at Ministry of Land Reform and Management. I have finishedM.Sc. in environment science from KhwopaCollege and doing thesis inFlood Hazard Mapping. My interest is in application of GIS and RS in the field of Environmental Disaster. With this e-conference, I am looking ahead to get more knowledgeparticularly in Application of GIS and RS in environmental studies.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ms. Saima Siddiqui,
Research Officer/Lecturer,
Centre for Integrated Mountain Research,
University f the Punjab, Quaid-i-Azam Campus
LahorePakistan
Phone/Fax 92-42-9230587
URL:
Date: May 7, 2007
Dear All,
Greetings from Pakistan
I am Saima Siddiqui working as Research Officer/Lecturer in Centre for Integrated Mountain Research, University of the Punjab. I have done M.Sc. in Geography from University of the Punjab and now doing MS in Total Quality Management with special reference to Health, Safety and Environmental Management. Working in the field of Mountainous Studies is a great interest of mine and I love to learn more and more about the Mountains.
It will be a matter of great interest to you all that more than 58% of Pakistan's NationalTerritory consists of Mountainous areas and these areas needs special attention in terms of Research and Development.Our Centre is starting its first ever M.Sc.academic Program in Pakistan in “Mountain Conservation and Watershed Management (MCWM)” w.e.f. September 2007that will be helpful in producing skilled manpower that will be able to work for the mountain environments/regions in terms of research and development.
As far as the e-conference is concerned I hopeit will behelpful to share experiences and knowledge of Mountains in terms of Climatic Change and gives opportunity to address Climatic issues in HimalayanMountains too. I assure you my full participation in the e-conference.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Vimal khawas
Associate Fellow
Council for Social Development
New Delhi-110003, India
Tel: 91-11-24615383, 24611700, 24618660, 24692655
Date: May 8, 2007
I am currently, Associate Fellow at the Council for Social Development and Senior Research Scholar, at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi.
I have been trained in geography and regional development from Centre for the Study of Regional Development, JNU, New Delhi and in Development Planning from the School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, Ahmedabad. Born and brought up in rural Darjeeling Himalaya, I have an inherent fondness to work on issues pertaining to environment and development dynamics of theHimalayas.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. R. Sreedhar
Managing Trustee
Environics Trust
33 B Third Floor,
Saidullajab, M-B Road,
New Delhi– 110030
Telefax:91-11-29531814
URL:
Date: May 8, 2007
Dear all,
My name is R. Sreedhar. I am a geologist and after having been with Dept. of Atomic Energy and ONGC for the past two decades have been working in the Himalayas, largely in NW Himalayas. I am a co-founder of Environics Trust with which I have been associated for over a decade. I am also a co-founder of the Indian Network on Ethics and climate Change (INECC). INECC has over the last decade apart from raising the issue from a community perspective has been publishing a quarterly newsletter.
Coming to the issue of Climate Change in the Himalayas
1) One fundamental question is what is caused locally and what is contributed by the global processes - there seems to be very little clarity;
2) We have been witnessing extreme weather events - short bursts of rain - cloud-bursts and micro-climatic variations which are not well recoded to understand the trends - we found in several parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal rhododendron (burans) flowering in January!
3) What are means to cope? A decade ago when we conducted a meeting on climate change and people in glacial margins we realised that there were years when snow did not melt until late and cropping was not possible- yet governments have no mechanism for support as they have for drought or floods.
The conference is very important and wish it all the success.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dr. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Environmental Science & Engineering
KathmanduUniversity
Dhulikhel, Kavre
P.O. Box 6250Kathmandu, NEPAL
Phone: 977 11 661399 Ext. 189
Fax: 977 11 661443
Date: May 9, 2007
Dear all participants,
Hello!
I am Dr. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha from Bhaktapur, Nepal. After completing the Master course from the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, I went to NagoyaUniversity, Nagoya, Japan for Master course in Glaciology in 1991 and became the first Glaciologist of Nepal in 1994 and joined the Snow and Glacier Hydrology Unit, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Kathmandu, Nepal. After
working 3 and half years as glaciologist in DHM, I received Doctorate Degree in Glaciology from NagoyaUniversity in 2001. Then I worked as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoc Researcher in NagoyaUniversity from 2001 to 2003. From 2003 to 2005 I worked as a Max Planck Postdoc Researcher in the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany. From 2006 I am in the Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, KathmanduUniversity, Dhulikhel, Nepal as an Assistant Professor.
I have worked on many Nepalese glaciers and glacier lakes such as Glacier AX010, Yala Glacier, Khumbu Glacier, Lirung Glacier, TshoRolpaGlacierLake, ImjaGlacierLake and ThulagiGlacierLake. I have visited the Everest Base Camp, Machhapuchhre Base Camp, Annapurna Base Camp and Chhota Shigri Glacier in India. My research papers are on glacier mass model based on energy balance calculations, positive degree-day method for estimating ablation on both debris-covered and debris-free glaciers and the Himalayan glacier hydrology.
For your kind information, some of my relevant papers for this e-conference are:
1) Use of positive degree-day methods for calculating snow and ice melting and discharge from glacierized basins in the LangtangValley, central Nepal. Kayastha, R. B., Y. Ageta and K. Fujita (2005). In: Carmen de Jong, D. Collins and R. Ranzi (eds) Climate and Hydrology in Mountain Areas, John Wiley, Chichester, 7-14.
2) Changes of the equilibrium line altitude since the Little Ice Age in the Nepalese Himalayas. Kayastha, R. B. and Harrison, S. P. (2007). In: Glacier Fluctuations in the Asian High Mountains, IUGG Conference,Perugia, Italy, 2007 (accepted in JMS027 UCCS Symposium posted by IAMAS)
3) Effect of climate change on Nepalese water resources. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, 2007. In: International Conference on Emerging Issues on Research and Development organized by Japanese University Students’Association, Nepal (JUSAN).
4) Practical prediction of ice melt beneath debris cover of various thickness on Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, using a positive degree-day factor (2000). Rijan B. KAYASTHA, Yukari TAKEUCHI, Masayoshi NAKAWO and YutakaAGETA. In: Debris-Covered Glaciers (Proc. of Intl. Workshop on debris-covered glaciers, Seattle, USA, Sept. 2000), IAHS Publ. no. 264, pp. 71-81.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Dr (Miss) Harshvanti Bisht
FRGS, Arjuna Award 1981
Member Indian Everest Expedition 1984
Reader Department of Economics, Govt. P.G.College, Uttarkashi, U A, India
Date: May 9, 2007
Hello to all,
I a mountaineer, Reader Economics, in GovernmentPostGraduateCollege, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India and a eco-activist. I have climbed Nanda Devi the second highest mountain peak of India. I was member to Indian Everest Expedition 1984. But my latest interest is eco-conservation and plantation of Bhojpatra (Birch)in Bhojbasa area (altitude 12500 ft ) just 4 k.m.down below the snout of 28 k.m. long Gangotri glacier. It is well known that Himalayan glaciers are receding. So,how to adjust and work with the changing scenario of water supply, agriculture, horticulture, socio -cultural and economic situation? This will be the biggest problem for the high Landers.
I hope this e conference will come to the conclusion to show right path to the people to fight the problems.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Ripendra Awal
Date: May 9, 2007
I would like to know about different studies related to climate changeand its impact on river flow (Nepalese river). The maximuminstantaneous discharge of many stations published by DHM in 1998 and2004 is different but I am not sure about daily discharge. You can seethe comparison of data set of two stations in attached file but Idon't know the reason behind the discrepancies in two data sets.If dataitself is not correct it is hard to believe conclusions derived fromsuch studies.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Vimal khawas
Associate Fellow
Council for Social Development
New Delhi-110003, India
Tel: 91-11-24615383, 24611700, 24618660, 24692655
Date: May 9, 2007
Global warming and consequent changes in the climatic pattern across the geographies of the planet has been a hot topic in recent times across disciplines- both natural and social sciences. Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan emphasised at the 'Climate Change Conference in Nairobi' in November 2006 that climate change is not just an environmental problem, but also a health problem, a security problem and an economic problem for all nations. Today it is largely accepted that planet-wide environmental degradation has been occurring largely due to unscientific anthropogenic activities and such activities have led to global warming. The situation has become a serious concern for all of us.
Before the discussion takes off, I would like to be clarified with some of the points, thatI have in my mind, by the experts working on the subject. These are not my personal points. They are published and are available to the readers. The points are pasted below:
1. There are many scientists [e.g. Prof. Ian Clark, expert in palaeo-cimatology from the University of Ottawa; Prof. Paul Reiter, expert in malaria from Pasteur Institute in Paris; Gary Calder, former editor of New Scientist; Prof. Philip Stott, professor emeritus of biogeography at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London]who do not accept the theory that greenhouse gases cause global warming and subsequent global climate change. They state that there is little scientific evidence to support the theory. According to them, global warming could be caused by increased solar activity such as a massive eruption. Ian Clark claims, '…warmer periods of the Earth's history came around 800 years before rises in carbon dioxide levels. After World War II, there was a huge surge in carbon dioxide emissions, yet global temperatures fell for four decades after 1940'. According to Philip Stott, 'the system is too complex to say exactly what the effect of cutting back on CO2 production would be or indeed of continuing to produce CO2. It is ridiculous to see politicians arguing over whether they will allow the global temperature to rise by 2c or 3c'. [See: The Times of India, "Researchers rubbish greenhouse theory", (Times International), March 7, 2007.]