The second scientific and practical conference “Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw” brings together leading scientists and experts from Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Mongolia.

An international conference that began on September 24 in Yakutsk, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, finally answered the pressing question of how permafrost degradation is interacting with climate change. The second scientific and practical conference “Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw” brings together leading scientists and experts from Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Mongolia. This is the first such international exchange in more than two years, and further cooperation is expected in the fight against permafrost thaw and the threats of natural carbon emissions.

Importance for India!

Although the conference is taking place thousands of kilometers away, the topics to be discussed during the debates have a very strong relevance for India. Often referred to as the “Third Pole”, the Himalayas host vast areas of permafrost. Recent studies, based on infrared satellite data, have identified more than 200 rock glaciers in the Jhelum Valley of the Kashmir Himalayas. Such features of permafrost contain abundant ice and water, and their degradation can lead to serious destructive natural hazards such as landslides and glacial lake outburst floods.

Assistant Professor at Amrita School for Sustainable Futures in Kerala Dr. Remya SN, in a January 2024 study, was also clear of this sense of urgency: “In this ever-warming world, melting permafrost makes the region unstable and dangerous. Nearby settlements and important infrastructure.

Researchers also found rock glaciers located near glacial lakes like Chirsar and Bramsar in the Kashmir Himalayas during several field visits. These features increase the potential for GLOFs to cause large-scale destruction of surrounding regions. Frequent landslides are a factor in permafrost degradation and may be related to layers of melting ice below the ground surface.

Understanding Permafrost Degradation: Global Efforts in the Sustainable Development Forum

Organized by the Andrey Melnichenko Foundation, the Second Scientific and Practical Conference on Climate Change and Permafrost Thaw was held in the framework of the Fifth Northern Forum on Sustainable Development. International cooperation to monitor the role of permafrost in relation to the carbon cycle was a major focus during the conference.

The Melnichenko Foundation focuses on zero hunger, quality education and climate action. It seeks to support the promotion of nature-based solutions within the current global climate agenda.

The discussion of permafrost studies and opinions among leading experts on Arctic climate problems from the USA, Norway, Mongolia and Russia has become the most representative forum on this topic over the past two years.

Speakers presented research results based on observations of climate change in the Arctic region, provided scientific predictions of the effects of permafrost thaw, and offered scenarios for finding ways to reduce the risks of uncontrolled CO₂ emissions from natural sources. One of the main characteristics of cryolithozones in the Arctic region is the sequestration of large pools of carbon, which can be suddenly released into the atmosphere and thus produce effects comparable to anthropogenic emissions. However, the problems of this scientific direction are not studied enough.

According to the participants, the global discussion of climate risks without Russia is still impossible, and it is especially impossible regarding the problems of permafrost. On the other hand, without international cooperation, it is impossible to carry out applied research tasks with effective cryolithozone monitoring. At present though the level of communication is not very high.

Insights and collaborations from this conference could be valuable for India. Understanding the dynamics of permafrost can be important in assessing the level of natural disasters in the Himalayas. Knowledge sharing can help Indian scientists and policymakers to monitor the permafrost zone and find ways to manage associated risks.

A New Generation Takes Action: The Sister Ecosystem Initiative

While the discussions on scientific topics were informative and very important, the conference focused on the participation of the younger generation in climate action through the session “Sister Ecosystems: New Generation Environmental Initiatives”.

Three activists from Russia, Kenya and Uzbekistan became the first participants of the agreement, agreeing to consider Yakutian permafrost, Kenyan forests and the Aral Sea ecosystem as “sisters”.

The countries were represented by Yana Gorokhova, a schoolgirl – molecular geneticist (Sakha Republic). [Yakutia]Russian Federation), Karen Wanjiru Kimani/Ecologist (Republic of Kenya), and Jasmina Zumniazova/Biologist (Republic of Uzbekistan). He also emphasized on his experiences of how, despite his young age, he could succeed in developing environmental projects for the protection of the environment in his region.

“We don't just want 'sister ecosystems' to correspond to sister cities, but through such exchanges we want to establish as horizontal connections as possible among young eco-activists who are united by their concern. And the desire to preserve the planet for the future. This may be a good response to the visible fragmentation of the global environmental community that has occurred in recent years. This initiative is open to new ecosystems from different countries to be joined by their young representatives,” noted Tatyana Zhuravleva, Director General of the Melnichenko Foundation. In the next near future, around 10 new entrants will be added to the informal compact of sister ecosystems,” she said.