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Begin New Search Topic Environment Political Geography Himalayas

1. Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Environmental Management on the Tibetan Plateau

Author:
Yangjee Sherpa, Hung T. T. Nguyen, Eveline Washul, and Lauran Hartley
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
This roundtable brings together social science researchers working with Tibetan and Himalayan pastoralist communities and climate scientists who have worked in the Himalayas and Asia to discuss how interdisciplinary approaches might enrich understandings of climate change in the Tibetan and Himalayan regions and contribute to knowledge of global climate change and community resilience. Organized by the CU-IU Climate Research Initiative on the Tibetan Plateau, this event is sponsored by the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center at Indiana University and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Pastoralism, Resilience, Community, Knowledge Systems, and Traditional Knowledge
Political Geography:
Asia, Tibet, and Himalayas

2. False Alarm over the Retreat of the Himalayan Glaciers

Author:
Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar and Vijay K. Raina
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Many activists and journalists warn that rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers due to global warming will have catastrophic consequences. The glaciers have been melting since the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, but the melting has not worsened recently. Satellite studies suggest that the vast majority of glaciers in the Himalayas are stable, a minority are shrinking, and a few are advancing. The retreat of the Gangotri Glacier, the source of the Ganges River, has decelerated in recent decades to 10 meters (33 feet) per year, at which rate it will last 3,000 years.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Glaciers
Political Geography:
Himalayas

3. Himalayan Impasse: How China Would Fight an Indian Border Conflict

Author:
Kevin McCauley
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
At the end of August, Chinese and Indian troops both pulled back from the Doklam region in Bhutan after weeks of tense posturing. The face off began in June when Chinese construction crews accompanied by soldiers began building a road. The area is sensitive to Indian national interests not only because of its ally Bhutan, but also due to area’s proximity to a narrow corridor connecting eastern India with the rest of the country. Beijing repeatedly ratcheted up the messaging to India, including the release of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal justification of China’s territorial claims against India (China Daily, August 3, 2017). If the two sides decide to face off again, forces on both sides will need to contend with the difficult mountain terrain and complex weather conditions. To prepare for such a contingency, both India and China have invested significantly in units capable of mountain and high-altitude warfare. An examination of the Chinese Military’s doctrine and training of such units provides important insights into how such a conflict would be conducted.
Topic:
Environment, Military Strategy, Territorial Disputes, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
China, India, Asia, and Himalayas