Capacity Building for Improved Monitoring of Snow, Ice and Water Resources in the Indus Basin
The Indus basin covers an area of about 128,000 square km and is shared by Afghanistan, China, India and Pakistan. Glaciers are major landscape features of this region. Snow and glacial melt contributes to nearly half of the average flow of the Indus River and its tributaries. The ongoing climate change is impacting the glacial regime in the basin.
The initial phase of the Indus Basin initiative is outlined for two years and is support by the Federal Foreign Office through the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ). The long-term goal of the initiative is to contribute to safe and reliable access to water for household consumption and food production and other sectoral usages in the Indus Basin. The expected outcome are better informed policy and decision makers as well as scientists, and the public at large, in the region and beyond, regarding the status of ice and water resources in the Indus Basin and its impact on water availability; and local communities and stakeholders enabled in risk management and approaches and techniques for climate change adaptation.
The following local partners are involved:
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Tongue of Passu glacier which is melting fast due to climate change
(© ICIMOD)
Afghanistan: Ministry of Energy and Water, Kabul Polytechnic University, Kabul University, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Meteorological Department/Ministry of Aviation and Transport, and National Hydrological Committee for Afghanistan.
Pakistan: Ministry of Environment, Water and Power Development Authority, Pakistan Meteorological Department, Water Resource Research Institute, Global Change Impact Study Centre and Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission.
