2025 is ‘Year of Glacier Preservation’
31st December 2024
The year 2025 has been declared the International Year of Glacier Conservation following a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in 2022, following an initiative from Tajikistan. NEW
The melting of glaciers has become one of the most pressing global environmental challenges.
Over the past two decades, glaciers in the Western Tien Shan—spanning Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan—have shrunk by 27%.
Antarctica is losing an average of 150 billion tons of ice per year,.
Greenland is losing 270 billion tons annually.
Experts predict that by 2050, glaciers will have disappeared from about one-third of the 50 UNESCO World Heritage Sites where they currently exist.
These glaciers collectively lose around 58 billion tons of ice each year – the combined annual water consumption of France and Spain.
The impact of this ice loss is already being felt, with global sea levels rising by 5% over recent decades.
Glaciers are crucial to the water supply, agriculture, and hydropower for nearly 2 billion people worldwide.
Their rapid melting poses a threat to these essential resources, affecting not only local communities but also ecosystems that rely on steady water sources.
Saas-Fee glacier. Image © PlanetSKI
In Tajikistan is a country heavily dependent on glacier-fed rivers.
More than 1,000 of the country’s 14,000 glaciers have already melted, threatening up to 60% of Central Asia’s water resources.
The potential loss of these glaciers would have profound consequences for agriculture, hydropower, and the livelihoods of millions of people in the region.
The International Year of Glacier Conservation is an initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of glaciers and the urgent need for their protection.
The UN resolution encourages countries to take action to conserve these vital natural resources and mitigate the impacts of their rapid disappearance.
As part of the initiative, a major international conference will be held in Tajikistan in 2025 to discuss:
- Strategies for glacier conservation
- Promote sustainable water management practices
- Facilitate cooperation between countries affected by glacier melt.
This conference is expected to be a crucial platform for dialogue and the development of global policies to combat the crisis.
The Canadian Rockies is another place where the problem is clear – especially since the region is a vital freshwater source for millions of people.
CBS News Climate Correspondent Dave Malkoff recently visited the area:
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