Climate change in the Himalayan region

South Asia was the focus of the fourth Dialogue Forum on Climate Change and Security, which took place on 21 November at the German Federal Foreign Office. As well as discussing the effects of climate change in the Himalayan region, delegates paid particular attention to how the international community could support initiatives aiming to strengthen regional stability. After hosting events on the MENA region, central Asia and South America, the German Federal Foreign Office teamed up with adelphi, the Research Group Climate Change and Security from the University of Hamburg’s KlimaCampus, and the university’s Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) to invite experts to Berlin to discuss the impact climate change could have on security issues in South Asia.

South Asia – a region of paradoxes

The South Asia region is in many respects a region of paradoxes. Despite only amounting to 2.4 percent of the world’s land surface area, it is home to 17 percent of the world’s population. Environmental changes have a considerable influence on the way in which water, food and energy supplies interrelate. The region also has high levels of poverty. As the glaciers melt rapidly – a visible process that has already begun – this fine balance will be thrown further into flux and border regions in particular will be prone to tensions due to dwindling resources and increased migratory trends. The negative effects on the population’s health is an additional challenge that requires special attention. Climate change will therefore initially affect the region’s development chances, as Uttam Sinha, a researcher at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi, pointed out in a talk. He said warnings concerning cross-border security issues should therefore be treated with caution.

Academic and political dialogue prepares the way for regional integration

Michael Renner, a senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, presented various approaches for strengthening crisis prevention processes in ways that complement government activities. For example, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) can help improve the factual basis for forward-thinking policies and prepare common ground for South Asian states to better tackle the challenges of climate change in the Himalayan region. In this respect, approaches in disaster diplomacy, from peace parks to establishing efficient water usage, can benefit from more dialogue with the German government and the EU, as the subsequent discussion showed. Academic and political dialogue should be more closely linked and draw in other key players, such as politicians in South Asian countries.

The fourth climate and security dialogue is part of the German Federal Foreign Office’s activities to strengthen climate diplomacy.

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