“The speed of oncoming glacier melt in high-altitude regions is transforming life for people in the mountains,” writes Erin X. Wong (@erinxy) in ‘The Voice from the Mountains’ an essay on ICIMOD in @AtmosMag Volume 09: whose theme is KINSHIP.
“Protecting life in the mountains depends on keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels… [but] disasters [are] already starting to imperil mountain life today,” propelling “once-hidden mountain communities into the global spotlight”, Wong writes.
These include Wong’s interviewee @icimod glaciologist and founder of #SaveOurSnow Tenzing Chogyal Sherpa (@ten10zing92), whose childhood was intimately intwined with frozen reserves of ice in the mountains. He remembers “making tea with water drawn from reservoirs of melting ice, playing outside in the snow until his face turned red, building snowmen with his brother, and stumbling after monks as they skied expertly down the gentle slopes.
“It was only when Chogyal moved to Kathmandu and studied environmental science that he really saw the stark reality of how global temperature rise was impacting his mountains. ‘My home-town, my way of life, the Sherpa people—they’re all at risk,’ Chogyal tells Wong.
“Mountain communities’ traditional beliefs are in line with science: Changes in the environment are the direct result of pollution and overuse. Returning to a symbiotic relationship with the natural landscape can protect them,” says Chogyal.
“Unlike small island developing states, where sea-level rise impacts the entire country, mountain communities often live in rural, less populous regions of much larger countries, like China or India. They hold no seat at the United Nations, and they may be minorities in their own countries,” writes Wong.
“We’re in a very precarious position,” said Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk (@themessengerbt), who cycled from Thimpu to Everest and back to collect meltwater from a glacial lake, then cycled towards COP28 in Dubai, documenting the scars of other climate disasters he saw along the way.
“What we’re now seeing is this diversity of voices coming through—of experiences, of languages, of expertise, and an increase [valuing of] Indigenous and local knowledge,” said Carolina Adler (@drcarolinadler), of Mountain Research Initiative (@MtnResearchMRI).
“Saul Luciano Lliuya, a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide whose family lives below the glacial lake of Palcacocha in 2015 filed a lawsuit against German energy company RWE for its contributions to climate change, arguing that it should help pay for adaptation measures to avoid a future #flood.” The case will continue this year. “As a mountain resident who has chosen to fight for the future of his home, Lliuya has become an icon in climate advocacy.”
Follow SaveOurSnow to fight for the future of homes in the mountains in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: https://t.co/B60uOQaLzS
Read the full article: https://t.co/8IFGTuLt9p
#ClimateChange #Sherpa #Himalayas #Glaciers #SaveOurSnow
We believe in promoting social wellbeing in 🇧🇹 through environmental conservation, with people at the heart of our conservation values. If we have made any valuable impacts in your lives, or brought some significant progress in your communities, share with us in the comments:
Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation will be distributing ten posters with messages from Bhutan at #COP28 Bhutan Pavilion 📷
This is one of the posters featuring our climate advocate @themessengerbt#COP28UAE
This year, #bhutan will also be taking part in the discussions at #COP28#BTFEC , along with other agencies, will share our story on environmental conservation at #COP28UAE
🇧🇹For details, please visit: https://t.co/qDnpputFdM
🍃 Leading up to the #COP28 and to complement the efforts of the RGoB at Bhutan’s first Pavillion, we are delighted to bring you our 7th Symposium: Road2Dubai: The #Bhutan Story at COP28.
REGISTER: https://t.co/i4jrsw0MXa
In 2009, at COP15, Bhutan pledged to remain carbon-neutral forever.
Today, like its Himalayan neighbours, Bhutan is facing the brunt of #ClimateChange.
We partnered with #climate advocate Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, who will be biking through 4 of our member countries to #COP28 in UAE with a crucial message from the #mountains: 1.5 °C is too hot for the mountains; we need #emission cuts now.
👉https://t.co/EN5Wz0k2Zx
@themessengerbt@Newsweek #MovingMountains #FightFor1PointFive #SaveOurSnow
Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, a Bhutanese filmmaker, actor and climate advocate, is urging global leaders to make real on their commitments to make rapid and deep #emissions cuts.
Sign the Declaration to #SaveOurSnow 👉https://t.co/D3bvCvkhIC
#Everest70#Everest@themessengerbt
“Stop deforestation.
Transition to renewable energy.
Include climate studies in school curriculum.”
This is Bhutanese actor and filmmaker Jamyang’s message to the world leaders joining #COP27.
Had this wonderful opportunity to share my passion project with the ‘enthusiastic’ students of Wangbama Central School…such a joy. They asked great questions about the climate situation, while also making me enact a few of their favorite scenes from my old film 🤡 📚 👨🎓 🌏