GS Paper III

News excerpt:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced the launch of an initiative to address the adversities of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, a vital source of water for billions of lives.

 More details on news:

• Through technical assistance, ADB will undertake deep analysis of multi-hazard risks which include landslides, earthquakes, and floods—including from glacier lake outbursts—and vulnerabilities in Bhutan and Nepal.
• The initiative will help these nations with technical assistance to enhance the government’s capacity for risk assessment with priority river basins, early warning systems, and risk management strategies for future infrastructure development. 
• ADB’s assistance will help the governments, private sector, and local communities to understand the risks they face so they can decide on disaster risk reduction and adaptation measures, as well as risk transfer solutions including insurance.
• As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, ADB aims to provide $100 billion in climate financing from its own resources from 2019 to 2030, including $34 billion for adaptation.
• In 2022, ADB committed $7.1 billion of climate finance, including $4.3 billion for mitigation and $2.8 billion for adaptation. 

Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH):

• The HKH stretches 3,500km from Afghanistan to Myanmar, and has the highest mountain ranges in the world.
• It has the largest volume of ice on Earth outside the Polar Regions and holds all or parts of four global biodiversity hotspots supporting diverse flora and fauna.
• The Hindu Kush Himalayas feed 10 major rivers which sustain the livelihoods of 240 million people in the mountains and more than 1.6 billion people downstream.

Adversities of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region

• According to ADB, the Hindu Kush Himalayan region can lose up to 75% of the glaciers by the end of the century. 
• Loss of glaciers can cause frequent hazards, day zeros, loss of biodiversity and climatic catastrophe. Nepal and Bhutan face increased threats like landslides, earthquakes, and floods.
• As per the data of ADB, economic losses in the region from disaster totaled $45 billion from 1985 to 2014, more than any other mountainous region in the world.
• Since then, the increasing frequency and intensity of disaster events have pushed up economic losses and the number of people killed or displaced by such events.

Key issues identified in the HKH assessment report:

• Geological Fragility: The HKH region is geologically fragile, characterized by young and rising mountains. This geological vulnerability makes the region prone to erosion and landslides even without human interference.
• Climate Change: These changes include shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, and the frequency of extreme weather events, posing a significant threat to the ecosystems and communities in the HKH.
• Disasters: The region is susceptible to various disasters, such as floods, landslides, and earthquakes, which can have devastating impacts on both the environment and human settlements.
• Infrastructure Development: The construction of roads, dams, and other infrastructure projects can disrupt ecosystems, alter water courses, and contribute to habitat loss, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Mains PYQ

Q. Bring out the relationship between the shrinking Himalayan glaciers and the symptoms of climate change in the Indian sub-continent. (UPSC 2014)