Prof. Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU) and Dr. Andreas Schild, Director of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has signed Letter of Agreement (LoA) for “Monitoring and assessment of changes in Glaciers, Snow and Glacio-hydrology in the Hindu Kush - Himalayas with a special focus on strengthening the capacity of Nepalese organizations (The HKH Cryosphere Monitoring Project)” on 31 July 2011.

changes in glaciers, snow and glacio-hydrology in relation to impacts of climate change on water resource management in the HKH region.

The Cryosphere Monitoring Project has been planned with the objective of achieving the following outcomes:

Relevant and reliable cryospheric data (glacier and snow) timely produced and used for water resource assessments by operational services and research institutions.

Relevant and reliable glacio-hydrological data and current and future water availability scenarios timely produced and used for water resource assessments by operational services and research institutions.

The multi-level remote sensing system at ICIMOD fully operationalized for sustained mapping and monitoring of snow and glaciers for basins and sub-basins in the HKH region.                               

Strengthened and acknowledged ICIMOD as Regional Cryosphere Knowledge Hub for storage, analysis, sharing and disseminating knowledge for relevant operational services and research in the HKH region and internationally.

Enhanced institutional capacity and competence of national partners in Nepal and the HKH region for sustained glaciological monitoring, glacio-hydrological modelling and scenario development and remote sensing of the cryosphere.

The duration of the project is 5 years. The project is supported by Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The other national partners of the project are Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), Government of Nepal, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), Government of Nepal and Tribhuvan University. As stated in the LoA the main responsibilities of KU in the project are to run M. S. by Research in Glaciology and conduct and monitor glacier mass balance of Yala Glacier, Langtang Valley, Rasuwa district and Rikha Samba Glacier, Hidden Valley, Mustang district. Beside glacier mass balance, hydrological and meteorological studies of the glacier basin will also be carried out. The M. S. by Research in Glaciology and glacier mass balance activities will be carried out by the Himalayan Cryosphere, Climate and Disaster Research Center (HiCCDRC) coordinated by Dr. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha under the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Science with the help of other national partners of the project.