Sleeping in a cave to save snow leopards and report on Himalayan climate change

Navin Singh Khadka, environmental journalist for the BBC. Photo by The Nepal Monitor.

Navin Singh Khadka is an environmental journalist from Nepal with a keen interest in how climate change is affecting the Himalayas. Currently based in London, he is an Environment Reporter for BBC News.

Navin has had some tough adventures doing his work. In today’s interview with The Nepal Monitor he not only talks about climate change coverage in Nepal’s media but also how he once battled altitude sickness to cover a story about risks faced by Everest porters (see story here) and slept in a mountain cave doing a story on snow leopard poaching.

Navin Singh Khadka at 4000m with Sherpa porters. Photo by BBC.

Asked what inspired him to become an environmental reporter and focus on climate change Navin says – “Environment has been one area I have been consistently and intensively covering since I began journalism more than one and a half decades ago. Wildlife used to be my favorite beat, and I have slept in caves in trans-Himalayan region to investigate, for instance, poaching of Snow leopard. But over the years I have witnessed how climate change is changing our natural environment, and that is how I was drawn into covering this phenomenal global issue. With so much of regional and global politics increasingly surrounding it, as a journalist, there is no looking back, I guess.

“Reporting climate issues for the BBC Nepali service is quite satisfying as I can reach millions of those very rural people who are already bearing the brunt of climate impacts but have no idea about climate change.” Read the full story here.

See Video of Navin talking about climate change in Nepal.

Herders leaving way of life as climate change affects them

A former nomad is now trying to earn a living as a weaver in Ladakh, Indian Himalaya, as climate change impacts her traditional way of life. Photo by Nisa Khatoon, WWF.

With the Copenhagen conference late last year I posted a few stories on how climate change is affecting the Himalayas and in consequence the local people and the wildlife. Researchers recently found dramatic changes in Ladakh, northern India where nomads made their living for centuries herding goats, yak and sheep. They found that many herders have abandoned this way of life as huge fluctutaions in winter snowfall threatens livestock. If there is too much snow the animals can’t reach the fodder and die of starvation.

But in this desert mountain land where 80% of farmers and herders depend on snow melt for water it is the increasing years of too little snow which leads to drought and changes in pastures. It also means frequent locust swarms destroying crops and traditional grasses which are replaced by unplatable new grass that animals won’t eat.

“The grasses have started to die out due to less level of snowfall in the region. It has been a continuing phenomenon for a decade or so, and now it has become alarming,” said Nisa Khatoon, a researcher with the World Wildlife Fund based at Leh.

Ladakh is a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India. The whole region is in the high Himalayas. The capital Leh is at 4000m. Ladakh's culture is based on Tibetan Buddhism and it is sometimes called "Little Tibet." Map from Wikipedia.

Today there are over 50 former nomad families in Leh, capital of Ladakh, trying to earn a living by newer means. “Some of them have set up small shops selling various items while most the women are working as daily wage labourers,” Khatoon said.

“Some of us have started tea shops and shops selling various items,” said Csawang Rigzin, who gave up his nomadic life three years ago. Now “we are not able to earn up to our expectation. We had high hopes when we came here but now we are shattered economically,” he said.

Thiksey monastery is one of the main Buddhist monasteries near Leh. Photo from Wikipedia.

“Many of the nomads sold off their livestock and went to the town to seek a better place but now they feel they are nowhere economically,” said Rigzin Chondol of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, which is active in the area. “Earlier a nomad family used to earn a good amount of money, which often used to be 50,000 to 60,000 rupees ($1,100 to $1,300) a year but now they are not able to make savings.” Full story here.

High school students rally against climate change impacts in town of Booni, northern Pakistan Himalaya.

Students from Booni High School in Chitral, northern Pakistan held a Climate Change Vigil rally a few days ago. The young people are concerned about massive degradation to the natural environment linked to global warming. For example the destruction of the village Sonoghor in June 2007 when a glacier overlooking the village burst and in the avalanche of flood water that followed, houses, orchards, crops and other property was swept away. As a result over 100 families were displaced and 38 houses completely buried under the flood.

It’s believed that global climate change during the first half of the twentieth century has impacted on the high mountainous glacial environment. Many of the big glaciers melted (and are continuing to melt) rapidly, creating a large number of glacier lakes. The burst of a glacier results in glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) when the water dammed by a glacier is released over time, anything from minutes to a few days. Glacial lake outburst floods can cause disasters to life and property downstream, resulting in death toll and destruction of valuable forests, farms and costly mountain infrastructure.

Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director of UNEP says. “The findings from our joint studies in the Himalayas, the roof of the world, reveals the extent of a new and alarming threat. It is not just the risk to human lives, agriculture and property that should worry us. Mountains are the world’s water towers feeding the rivers and lakes upon which all life depends. If the glaciers continue to retreat at the rates being seen in places like the Himalayas, then many rivers and freshwater systems could run dry, threatening drinking water supplies, as well as fisheries and wildlife. We now have another compelling reason to act to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

The students of Chitral are among many people in the Himalaya who fear for their lives, livelihoods, their environment and their wildlife as a result of the impact of climate change. At the end of the rally they passed several resolutions seeking action from their government, the world community and requesting education about climate change be included in their school curriculum. See more here.

Himalayan villagers and snow leopards won’t find too much to like from Copenhagen

Failure or the beginning of something better? Only time will tell. But the deal struck by world leaders at the end of the talks will not halt global warming and President Obama admits it just doesn’t go far enough. Not enough money committed to it  and the decision on targets for reducing carbon emissions by 2020 was put off.

I have to say I’m dissapointed after all the time, effort, energy, money and hype for this conference. I wonder how long before the Himalayas and the rest of the planet gets some real action? Read full story here.

Everest Declaration to protect home of snow leopard from more climate change impacts

Members of Nepal's cabinet wearing oxygen masks at their Everest Declaration Climate Change meeting over 5000m on Kala Pathar. Photo CNN.

Early in December in the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference Nepal came up with a 10-point declaration for dealing with the environmental impact on Everest and the Himalayan region caused by global warming.

A few years ago Peter Hillary warned that some areas around Everest are sinking, with Base camp, (used by his father Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay) having shed about 40 meters of ice.

The Everest Declaration was issued following the Nepalese cabinet ministers’ historic session held at the Kala Patthar base camp at over 5000m high. Full points to the ministers for going there and coming up with the Declaration. I was at Kala Patthar myself some years ago and found it hard to breathe let alone think 😉 I guess it helped that they had oxygen masks.

The Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumal Nepal said “Mt. Everest is an icon of world environment. The 2,700 kilometer east-west range of the Himalayas is witness to the culture, tradition and natural heritage of 1.3 billion people.”

Effects of global warming are causing increasing natural calamities, impacting wildlife as well as putting pressure on the nation’s socio-economic development.

The 10-point declaration includes strategies to raise national awareness on global warming and a government commitment to increase conservation areas in Nepal from 20 percent to 25 percent and consolidating 40 percent of forest area. We’ll watch and see how this progresses over the next year few years.

A journey exploring climate change in Himalayas

John Vidal, UK Guardian's Environment Editor

The UK Guardian newspaper’s John Vidal recently did a 1,000-mile journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The environment editor writes that he found “clear evidence of the terrible threat that global warming now poses to the millions who rely on water from the roof of the world.”

“Average temperatures across Nepal have risen 1.6C in 50 years – twice the global average. But here on the roof of the world, in what is called the “third pole”, they are already nearly 4C above normal and on track to rise by as much as 8C by 2050.” As Vidal points out this could mean collapse of glacial dams resulting in massive destruction of villages below. Read this excellent article on the challenges for people and the environment in the home of the snow leopards here.

Climate change in the home of snow leopards

With the UN Summit at Copenhagen starting now, there’s been some focus in recent weeks on the impact of climate change on the worlds highest mountain system, the Himalayas. A recent press conference called “Stop Melting Life, Save The Himalayas”in Kathmandu highlighted the threat of climate change on the lives and livelihoods of many people in Nepal. Local researchers have found that rainfall patterns are changing rapidly and that temperatures are on the increase leading to the dramatic retreat of Himalayan glaciers. There are grave concerns for what this will mean for the billions of people living in the basin of the rivers fed by Himalayas glaciers.

Opening of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit with 192 nations attending. Photo official Summit website.

A few days ago there was a historic Nepal Cabinet meeting high on the Kala Patthar Plateau (near Mount Everest) also focusing on this issue. Today many government ministers along with a group of famous Everest summiteers are organising a march in the streets of Copenhagen for next week. The march will carry the message of  “Save the Himalayas” and coincides with International Mountain Day. It is to be hoped that all this will help focus much needed attention on this fragile part of the world where the potential impact of climate change could affect not only keystone species like  endangered snow leopards but also the lives of billions of people.

Follow all the discussions and decisions of this momentous conference at the official website.

Himalayas getting warmer – Blog Action Day for snow leopards

Our thick fur doesn't like global warming.

This blog supports “Blog Action Day” today, October 15^th. It’s a global annual event uniting thousands of bloggers when today we post about climate change and global warming. What a great idea, to be linked to thousands of like minded people helping to bring ideas and action and learning about climate change across the globe. We are all in this together.

So just for the record. Snow leopards like the snow, they like the cold. That’s why they are snow leopards. They like it very cold up in their mountain habitats. They don’t have that thick fur, huge warm tail so they can spend time in the tropics. They are not happy with global warming. There is a lot of scientific evidence to show that the average temperature of the Himalayas is actually rising faster than many other parts of our earth. See The Age (Melbourne) article on receding glaciers in the Himalayas.

We CAN take action people. We CAN all do something. Turn the aircon off, eat less meat, drive a smaller car, drive less……it’s all doable. Think of those beautiful snow leopards and let them enjoy snow and cold for more centuries to come. Support Blog Action Day – 12,017 blogs – 155 countries – 17,875,239 readers.

Stop the presses! Gordon Brown, PM of the United Kingdom has joined the bloggers on this today and Greenpeace and Oxfam have also taken part. CNN has just done a feature story on Blog Action Day and not surprisingly Blog Action Day is the top Google search.

Home of snow leopard and flying frog under threat from climate change

Flying frog discovered in Eastern Himalayas. The frog shares a habitat with the snow leopard which is in danger from climate change according to a new WWF report. Photo by WWF.

The WWF is calling on governments attending the climate change talks in Copenhagen this December to commit industrialised countries to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels).

“There is no room for compromise on this issue,” says WWF Conservation Science advisor, Mark Wright.  “Without these cuts the Himalayas face a precarious future – impacting both the unique wildlife and the 20% of humanity who rely on the river systems that arise in these mountains.”

A report released by WWF International yesterday “Eastern Himalayas – Where Worlds Collide” makes us realise just how important and fragile the ecosystem of the Himalayas is.

It reveals the discovery of over 350 new species of plants and animals in the last ten years. An amazing number of animals and plants we never knew existed – including a beautiful ‘flying frog’ with huge webbed feet that help it glide through the air. Researchers also found the world’s smallest deer,  the miniature muntjac or leaf deer (jut over 60 cm or two feet tall).

These and the many other species found between 1998 and 2008 share the habitat of the endangered snow leopard in remote mountain areas of Bhutan, north-eastern India, northern Myanmar (Burma), Nepal and southern parts of Tibet.

The Report reveals despite these areas being remote they are experiencing massive population growth and demand for land which is threatening many habitats and species.  Another indicator of climate change in the region is the rapid retreat of glaciers. The WWF has launched a “Climate for Life Campaign” to bring the plight of the Himalayas to the attention of the world. They are working with local communities to help them cope with the impacts of climate change.

“This enormous cultural and biological diversity underscores the fragile nature of an environment which risks being lost forever unless the impacts of climate change are reversed,” said Tariq Aziz, the leader of WWF’s Living Himalayas Initiative.

“People and wildlife form a rich mosaic of life across this rugged and remarkable landscape, making it among the biologically richest areas on Earth. But the Himalayas are also among the most vulnerable to global climate change.”

Help the WWF in this campaign here.