PAPRIKA HIMALAYA
Most recent glacier inventories in the Hindu Kush - Himalaya (HKH) regions report since the 1950s an acceleration of retreating rates. Evidences for reductions in snow cover extension and significant shrinkage of glaciers have also been recently reported in the HKH region, leading to much concern about future resources and water availability. The region encompasses the headwaters of several major river basins largely fed by glaciers and snow packs and any reduction in freshwater availability in HKH countries will have serious consequences on the life of millions of people.
Description
PAPRIKA project “CryosPheric responses to Anthropogenic PRessures in the HIndu Kush-Himalaya regions: impacts on water resources and society adaptation in Nepal” is a four year project (2010-2013) funded by French National Research Agency - Planetary Environmental Changes (ANR – CEP 2009).
State of the art
Glaciers and snow cover changes are recognised as high-confidence indicators of environmental changes and reaction to climate forcing. However, the mechanisms by which the cryospheric system is affected by climate change are complex and not resulting solely from global temperature rises. Glacier dynamics is influenced both by local variables and by large scale features such as, in the HKH region, the South Asian summer monsoon driving precipitation but also by recent changes due to increasing anthropogenic pressure.
The recent observations of very high atmospheric concentrations of pollutants in the remote regions of HKH leads to new concerns about faster melting of the cryosphere and, hence, water dynamics (storage, availability) in the drier regions.
Aims
The PAPRIKA-Himalaya Project focuses on current and future evolution of the cryosphere system in response to global and regional environmental changes and their consequences on water resources in four main landscape units within Nepal.
It addresses the driving physical and chemical processes acting on the evolution of the cryosphere, their evolution in a changing climate and their impact on water resource dynamics at regional scale. It also addresses perceptions and representations of the water resource and of changes in water availability, on subsequent adaptations already implemented, and on territorial and social restructurings taking into account people's indigenous knowledge on the potential changes in natural resources and environmental hazards.
Program
PAPRIKA is divided into two main elements.
Element 1 (Water Resources Input, Climate and Anthropogenic Pressures on the Cryosphere, Climate, and Monsoon System) deals with a better understanding of physical processes driving the dynamics of the glacier/ snow / precipitation system in Nepal. It includes the development of new scientific knowledge in particular linked to the impact of BC on snow melting and delivers research results through the acquisition of atmospheric and glaciological data as well as the development of a modelling tool for the snow pack. Element 1 develops new scientific knowledge and implements the modelling tools (global / regional / local) and the downscaling methods used later in the projects.
Element 2 (Impact on the Water Resource System and Population) uses data and modelling outputs generated in Element 1 to provide a state-of-the-art integrated tool for analysing snow, glacier and water production responses to large-scale Monsoon dynamics and atmospheric aerosol loadings under different climate scenarios. It includes adaptation studies to understand effective perception of change by local communities and adaptation strategies.
Themes
- WP1 (Cryospheric resources: glacier melting and snow cover mapping) aims at quantifying the general trends of deglaciation.
- WP2 (Optically active material in atmosphere and snow: observation and modelling) addresses the variability of aerosol atmospheric concentrations and deposition in snow.
- WP3 (Climate and monsoon variability modelling) develops a clear understanding of monsoon dynamics and transport of aerosols.
- WP4 (Modelling the interaction between the snowpack, radiation, and the absorbing material deposited in snow) addresses the specific issue of enhanced snowpack melting due to the presence of absorbing material.
- WP5 (Integrated Atmosphere/Glacier/hydrology modelling) establish the methodology to form a water resources modelling hierarchy.
- WP6 (Perception of changes by populations and adaptation within the four Nepal geographic units) addresses changes in farming practices and social /territorial restructurings in the Himalayas.
- WP7 (Local communities Capacity building and dissemination) investigate how changes in natural resources and environmental hazards will be integrated to people’s traditional knowledge.
Targets
- To contribute to a more accurate assessment of glacier retreat and snow cover changes in the HKH region and a better understanding of the surface processes governing glacier and snow melt
- To quantify the relative contribution of seasonal snow cover and glaciers to regional water supply in the HKH region
- To evaluate the distribution and variability of absorbing aerosol particles from anthropogenic origin transported to the high altitude regions of HKH
- To establish and model the current energy budget of snow surfaces, including the effect of absorbing aerosols deposited in snow and their impact on water melting rates.
- To provide climate trends and scenarios at the regional level based upon an examination of results from an ensemble of models focussing on water availability and variability in the HKH region.
- To use these projections to quantify current and future water resource in the area of Nepal
- To study adaptation options of mountain communities to changes in water availability.
- To propose plausible adaptation strategies for changing risks, including analysis of their economic efficiency and benefits within the social welfare context.
Partners
French partners:
LTHE - Laboratoire d’étude des Transferts en Hydrologie et Environnement
LGGE - Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement
LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et l’Environnement
HSM - Laboratoire Hydrosciences
CEH - Centre d’Etudes Himalayennes
PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, Territoires
International partners:
DHM - Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal
EV-K2-CNR, Italy
ICIMOD - International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
NWCF - Nepal Water Conservation Foundation
TU - Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Publications
Click here for Paprika Himalaya publications.