Inventory of High-Altitude Himalayan Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction
Implementing Partner: Build Change
Project name:Inventory of High-Altitude Himalayan Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction in India
This project investigated Himalayan wetlands’ inventory and dynamics to enhance ecosystem sustainability across the transboundary region.
Using a maximum entropy algorithm and geospatial data, it modeled India’s wetland distribution, analyzing spatiotemporal changes and forecasting new formations.
Climate change impacts, including Himalayan glacier retreat, were integrated to assess future risks. These insights support disaster risk reduction, environmental management, and policy interventions, ensuring resilient conservation strategies for these critical ecological systems.
affected by climate and
human activity
in the Himalayan region
Impact
1
Accelerated glacier melting in the Himalayas, driven by rising temperatures, is forming new wetlands in low-lying areas. This evolving landscape transformation alters hydrological patterns, reshaping ecosystems and impacting biodiversity, water resources, and regional environmental stability in significant ways.
2
The study found a higher probability of new wetland formation in the eastern and western Himalayas, where favorable climatic and topographic conditions at high altitudes drive wetland development, reshaping ecosystems and influencing regional hydrology and biodiversity.
3
Emerging Himalayan wetlands are vital for biodiversity and water regulation, reinforcing ecosystem stability. Continuous monitoring is essential to enhance disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, ensuring sustainable management of these dynamic landscapes amid ongoing environmental changes.
