Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), the highest mountain biome, is a global asset and supports the lives and livelihoods of nearly 2 billion people. The region is an important repository of aesthetic, biological, and cultural diversities, and contains all or part of 4 of 36 “Global Biodiversity Hotspots....

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Autores principales: Chaudhary, S., Nepal, Santosh, Hussain, A., Bhuchar, S.
Formato: Capítulo de libro
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175791
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author Chaudhary, S.
Nepal, Santosh
Hussain, A.
Bhuchar, S.
author_browse Bhuchar, S.
Chaudhary, S.
Hussain, A.
Nepal, Santosh
author_facet Chaudhary, S.
Nepal, Santosh
Hussain, A.
Bhuchar, S.
author_sort Chaudhary, S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), the highest mountain biome, is a global asset and supports the lives and livelihoods of nearly 2 billion people. The region is an important repository of aesthetic, biological, and cultural diversities, and contains all or part of 4 of 36 “Global Biodiversity Hotspots.” The HKH is also referred as the “Third Pole” for having the largest concentration of frozen water in the world after the two poles, with an estimated 60 cubic kilometers volume of ice, and also for containing the headwaters of 10 large Asian river systems—the Amu Darya, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Salween, Tarim, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers. As such, the region provides varied ecosystem services to around 1.9 billion people living within the HKH and in the river basins downstream. However, the HKH faces various issues and associated challenges such as climate change, water-induced disasters, ecosystem degradation, high rates of poverty and food insecurity, marginalization, outmigration, and environmental changes. Yet, the region has a high potential for addressing these challenges in a sustainable way. This chapter discusses the existing issues, impacts, and associated challenges in the region. In doing so, we discuss transboundary landscape and river basin management, including springshed management, and the revitalization of traditional food systems as multiscale and nature-based interventions that can help in adapting to a changing environment, build transformative resilience, and deliver sustainable and inclusive development in the region.
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spelling CGSpace1757912025-07-25T03:21:21Z Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Chaudhary, S. Nepal, Santosh Hussain, A. Bhuchar, S. river basin management transboundary waters food systems nature-based solutions mountains Sustainable Development Goals climate change The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), the highest mountain biome, is a global asset and supports the lives and livelihoods of nearly 2 billion people. The region is an important repository of aesthetic, biological, and cultural diversities, and contains all or part of 4 of 36 “Global Biodiversity Hotspots.” The HKH is also referred as the “Third Pole” for having the largest concentration of frozen water in the world after the two poles, with an estimated 60 cubic kilometers volume of ice, and also for containing the headwaters of 10 large Asian river systems—the Amu Darya, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Salween, Tarim, Yangtze, and Yellow rivers. As such, the region provides varied ecosystem services to around 1.9 billion people living within the HKH and in the river basins downstream. However, the HKH faces various issues and associated challenges such as climate change, water-induced disasters, ecosystem degradation, high rates of poverty and food insecurity, marginalization, outmigration, and environmental changes. Yet, the region has a high potential for addressing these challenges in a sustainable way. This chapter discusses the existing issues, impacts, and associated challenges in the region. In doing so, we discuss transboundary landscape and river basin management, including springshed management, and the revitalization of traditional food systems as multiscale and nature-based interventions that can help in adapting to a changing environment, build transformative resilience, and deliver sustainable and inclusive development in the region. 2024-06-28 2025-07-24T09:52:11Z 2025-07-24T09:52:11Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175791 en Limited Access Elsevier Chaudhary, S.; Nepal, S.; Hussain, A.; Bhuchar, S. 2024. Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. In Schneiderbauer, S.; Pisa, P. F.; Shroder, J. F., Jr.; Szarzynski, J. (Eds.). Safeguarding mountain social-ecological systems, vol 2: building transformative resilience in mountain regions worldwide. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. pp.271-280. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-32824-4.00027-4
spellingShingle river basin management
transboundary waters
food systems
nature-based solutions
mountains
Sustainable Development Goals
climate change
Chaudhary, S.
Nepal, Santosh
Hussain, A.
Bhuchar, S.
Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title_full Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title_fullStr Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title_full_unstemmed Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title_short Safeguarding the Third Pole: problems, challenges, and possible solutions in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
title_sort safeguarding the third pole problems challenges and possible solutions in the hindu kush himalaya
topic river basin management
transboundary waters
food systems
nature-based solutions
mountains
Sustainable Development Goals
climate change
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175791
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