High Altitude Wetlands- Ladakh

Climate Change and Freshwater

Ladakh, in India's northern most state of Jammu and Kashmir, represents the westernmost extension of the vast Tibetan Plateau, covering an altitude range from 2700 to 7650 metres above sea level. Two major mountain chains, the Himalayas and the Karakoram, demarcate its natural borders in the south and the north respectively, whereas the Zanskar and Ladakh ranges run through it cut by the flow of the River Indus. It constitutes over 80 per cent of the Trans-Himalayan Tract in India and is home to a unique assemblage of flora and fauna in its High Altitude Wetlands. The region, popularly known as a cold desert, is characterized by severe, arid conditions. Temperatures may drop to- 40 C in the long winter months between December and April and may rise to 35 C in the short summer season from July to August.

Under the Regional Programme, WWF has taken on a new initiative of studying the relation of climate change with freshwater at this altitude. As almost all the lakes and rivers in the region are of glacial origin, at this altitude any changes in the size and area of the wetlands and water flow in the rivers can easily be related to climate change.

In Ladakh many obvious changes in the regional climate of the area have already been observed. Some of these changes are:

• Changes in rainfall pattern.
• Receding glaciers in the region.
• Rising level of glacial lakes such as Tsomoriri and YayaTso.
• Unusual floods in July 2005 and August 2006.

Climate change has very serious impacts both on the unique ecosystems of the region as well as on the local communities of Ladakh. On one hand the rising level of some key high altitude wetlands like Tsomoriri, has submerged important breeding islands near the lake where endangered migratory birds like the Black-necked Crane and Barheaded Goose would breed. On the other, events like the floods, which occurred in the year 2005 and 2006, claimed several lives along with causing massive economical destruction. The local community was caught unawares due to their ignorance about the changing climate. These events in the very recent past increase the urgency to design adaptation strategies along with raising awareness about the issues at hand.