Introduction
GLOF-II & UOBS Projects
The University of Baltistan Skardu and GLOF-II are teaming up to study glaciers and their impact on the Baltistan region, including how they affect the local economy and way of life. They're exploring cool ideas like grafting glaciers, building ice towers, and even harvesting avalanches. The University is engaged in projects of making ice-reservoirs of irrigation scale that directly contribute meeting water needs as well as improving micro-climate. If scaled up, these activities will can potentially make a difference in regional climatic indicators. We are preserving and reviving the best indigenous practices and knowledge that help us learn more about how nature and society are interconnected in the valleys of Baltistan.
- Climate Change in GB
- The University located at The Third Pole
- Regenerative Strategy
- General approach and the paradigm shift
- Glaciers as sensors of Climate Change
- The way out to conserve Solid Water Reservoirs
- Techniques of Growing Glaciers and Ice-Towers
- Gilgit-Baltistan, is known as the Third Pole due to its largest glaciated area after the poles.
- The Ecology of the region including biodiversity, climate variations and water resources all depends on the glaciers of the region.
- Glaciers are the life lines of this region and the Indus Basin.
- University of Baltistan, Skardu is helping and educating the mountainous communities for reducing climate change impacts at local level through regenerative indigenous practices of Growing Glaciers (G2).
- The general approach to reduce impact of climate change is indirect and preventive in nature. (Reduce emissions, or increase vegetations etc.)
- We have shifted the paradigm on proactive and preemptive direct measures to reduce impact of climate change at micro and local level through human created Ice-Towers and Grafted Glaciers.
- Glaciers are natural sensors and indicator of climate change that can speak loudly the scale, intensity and impact of climate change.
- The mass balance and ablation rate of glaciers, resulting in flood disaster and /or water scarcity are major impacts of CC.
- Floods or water scarcity lead to multiple ecological and socio-economic hazards.
- The glaciers in the Himalayas are under rapid melting as compared to the Glaciers in the Karakoram.
- Over all protection, retention and supplementing glaciers are the dire needs of time to mitigate impact of CC particularly on water bodies.
The Glacier growing techniques would be the direct method to control impacts of climate change at micro level, which if multiplied has the potential to stabilize the ecology at regional level contributing to global SDGs on climate change. Following are the methods:
- Glacier Grafting
- Ice-Towering,
- Avalanche Harvesting
