Bhutan

GLOFs National Stakeholder Consultation Meeting

Most past risk reduction efforts around GLOFs have focussed on hydrological and geo-technical engineered solutions. Construction of channels for gradual and planned water release from glacial lakes and compiling inventories of glaciers and glacial lakes using GIS and remote sensing (RS) has been the most common response. Risk reduction measures such as appropriate early warning systems, awareness measures, coordinated preparedness and land use planning have however not found much practice in areas affected by GLOFs. Regional cooperation across the Himalayan belt that encompasses parts of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan has also been limited in this regard. The fact that hazards in the region are bound into a delicate relationship of cause and effect and together combine to increase risk in the region is also not sufficiently addressed. For example, an earthquake may render the glacial lake moraine (natural dam) unstable leading to a GLOF. Similarly, a GLOF renders land in its path unstable, accentuating the probability of a landslide.

Community participation in GLOF risk reduction in the regional context has hitherto received little acknowledgement, and subsequently, mountain communities continue to be at risk by the compounded effects of GLOFs and associated hazards like landslides year after year. Therefore, as part of the Regional Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) Risk Mitigation Project in the Himalayan Region, UNDP Bhutan is conducting a one-day Stakeholder Consultation Meeting on 29th August 2008 at the College of Natural Resources, in Lobeysa, Wangdue. The discussion is expected to take a comprehensive look at the problem of GLOFs in the Himalayan region through a sociological lens and with active participation of stakeholders. The initiative if funded by EU-ECHO and implemented by UNDP/BCPR.

UNDP will through this initiative create a platform which will allow for the development of national level initiatives though regional knowledge sharing and cooperation, which will enhance the understanding of social and economic risks associated with GLOFs and explore community based approaches for minimizing the impact of GLOF events.

The meeting will be attended by representatives of government agencies, private sector, Non-governmental Organizations, Community Based Organizations, International Agencies and regional organizations like Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).