An assessment of socio-economic impacts due to melt water variability in Himalayan States

Studies linking the impacts of climate change on glaciers and meltwater availability, and associated impacts on livelihood of local communities are missing. This makes it difficult to understand the real impacts of glacier melting on local livelihood except oft quoted statements about the dependence of downstream communities. The proposed research is an attempt to quantify the degree of impacts of cryospheric variability on the socio-economic status of downstream communities and develop a modelling framework interlinking the climate change impacts on meltwater, local livelihood patterns in Himalayan states and adaptation options available to develop resilience among them.