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Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security (2012)

Chapter: Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2012. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13449.
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Appendix E

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADPC     Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
AOT     aerosol optical thickness
 
BC     black carbon
 
CALIOP     Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization
CALIPSO     Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation
CRED     Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
 
DEMs     digital elevation models
DTM     digital terrain model
 
EF     environmental flow
EHP     elevated heat pump
ELA     equilibrium line altitude
EPS     expressed population signal
 
FAO     Food and Agriculture Organization
FUGs     forest user groups
 
GAR     Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction
GHG     greenhouse gas
GLIDE     GLobal IDEntifier
GLOF     glacial lake outburst flood
GRACE     Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
GRanD     Global Reservoir and Dam
GRUMP     Global Rural Urban Mapping Project
 
HKH     Hindu Kush-Himalayan
 
ICIMOD     International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
IPCC     Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
 
LIA     Little Ice Age
LLOF     landslide lake outburst food
 
masl     meters above sea level
MODIS     Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MSU     Microwave Sounding Unit
 
NATHAN     Natural Hazards Assessment Network
NDSI     Normalized Difference Snow Index
NGO     nongovernmental organization
NRC     National Research Council
 
OCHA     Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
OMI     ozone measuring instrument
 
POP     persistent organic pollutant
 
SAARC     South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SST     sea surface temperature
 
TP     Tibetan Plateau
 
WGMS     World Glacier Monitoring Service
WUAs     water user associations
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2012. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13449.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2012. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13449.
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Page 137
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Acronyms and Abbreviations." National Research Council. 2012. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13449.
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Scientific evidence shows that most glaciers in South Asia's Hindu Kush Himalayan region are retreating, but the consequences for the region's water supply are unclear, this report finds. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the location of several of Asia's great river systems, which provide water for drinking, irrigation, and other uses for about 1.5 billion people. Recent studies show that at lower elevations, glacial retreat is unlikely to cause significant changes in water availability over the next several decades, but other factors, including groundwater depletion and increasing human water use, could have a greater impact. Higher elevation areas could experience altered water flow in some river basins if current rates of glacial retreat continue, but shifts in the location, intensity, and variability of rain and snow due to climate change will likely have a greater impact on regional water supplies.

Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security makes recommendations and sets guidelines for the future of climate change and water security in the Himalayan Region. This report emphasizes that social changes, such as changing patterns of water use and water management decisions, are likely to have at least as much of an impact on water demand as environmental factors do on water supply. Water scarcity will likely affect the rural and urban poor most severely, as these groups have the least capacity to move to new locations as needed. It is predicted that the region will become increasingly urbanized as cities expand to absorb migrants in search of economic opportunities. As living standards and populations rise, water use will likely increase-for example, as more people have diets rich in meat, more water will be needed for agricultural use. The effects of future climate change could further exacerbate water stress.

Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security explains that changes in the availability of water resources could play an increasing role in political tensions, especially if existing water management institutions do not better account for the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. To effectively respond to the effects of climate change, water management systems will need to take into account the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. This means it will be important to expand research and monitoring programs to gather more detailed, consistent, and accurate data on demographics, water supply, demand, and scarcity.

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