{"id":147239,"date":"2025-05-31T16:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T16:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/147239\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T16:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T16:30:14","slug":"this-is-not-just-ice-glaciers-support-human-livelihoods-un-deputy-chief-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/147239\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is not just ice\u2019: Glaciers support human livelihoods, UN deputy chief says"},"content":{"rendered":"

She said that since 1975, glaciers have lost more than 9,000 billion tons of ice – \u00a0equivalent to a 25-metre-thick block covering all of Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt current rates, many glaciers may not survive this century, reshaping landscapes, ecosystems, livelihoods and water security on a global scale,\u201d she warned<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a mountain crisis \u2013 it is a slow-moving global catastrophe with far-reaching consequences for\u00a0planet and people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not just ice<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms. Mohammed was speaking a day after visiting the Vanj Yakh Glacier in north-central Tajikistan where she witnessed the \u201cbreathtaking beauty\u201d of this crucial mass of dense ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The glacier is a vital water source for many communities in Central Asia, feeding rivers and helping to sustain millions of lives and livelihoods.<\/p>\n

But due to climate change, it is melting. Quickly. Over the past 80 years, it lost the equivalent of 6.4 million Olympic sized pools of water.<\/p>\n

The International Conference on Glaciers\u2019 Preservation, held 29 May to 1 June in Tajikistan\u2019s capital,\u00a0is highlighting the ways in which glacier retreat threatens lives and livelihoods worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just ice. This is food, water and security for generations to come,\u201d said Ms. Mohammed.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our glaciers are dying\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Glaciers, along with ice sheets, store approximately 70 per cent of the world\u2019s freshwater, making them essential for human survival and economies. But five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur glaciers are dying,\u201d said Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO<\/a>), a co-organizer of the conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe death of a glacier means much more than the loss of ice. It is a mortal blow to our ecosystems, economies, and social fabric.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melting glaciers increase the likelihood and severity of floods and mudslides, in addition to impacting various industries such as agriculture and forestry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bridging science and action<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms. Mohammad said that the rate of glacier retreat means that the international community must take immediate action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time to act is now for our people and our planet,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The conference in Dushanbe has worked to elevate glacier preservation to the top of the worldwide climate agenda ahead of the UN COP30 climate change conference<\/a> in Brazil this November.<\/p>\n

Ms. Saulo emphasized that strengthening glacier monitoring and improving warning systems for glacier collapse will help \u201cbridge science and services.\u201d She also said that this must all translate into concrete action to slow glacier retreat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Tajikistan specifically, Parvathy Ramaswami \u2014 the UN Resident Coordinator in the country \u2014 said that they have focused on supporting farmers through training and knowledge transfer for local communities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[The training] means that more children are safe from disasters, they can go to school, learn and grow,\u201d she explained. \u201cFamilies and communities become resilient and prosper.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Deputy<\/p>\n

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (centre) with Model UN youths and Ambassador for a Day in Tajikistan.<\/p>\n

Intergenerational conversations<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Tajikistan, the Deputy Secretary-General met with many youth climate activists. She emphasized that actions to address glacier retreat must be intergenerational, much like the conversations which the conference encouraged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe global decisions we are shaping today will affect [young people\u2019s] lives. So to think that we can begin to shape a person’s future without them, really doesn’t bode well for the rights that they have to determine their future, their aspirations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In giving advice to younger generations, she expressed hope that young activists would continue to advocate for their vision of the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should continue to raise their voices, they should continue to have their courage of conviction, they should remember that this is about a life journey and they need to make every step count.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She said that since 1975, glaciers have lost more than 9,000 billion tons of ice – \u00a0equivalent to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-147239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114603401273173785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}