Support communities to conserve the Third Pole

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Source: Science Magazine

Original: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aef4024?af=R...

Published: 2026-03-05T07:00:10Z

The article calls for community support to protect the Third Pole, the area of ​​the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau with the largest ice mass outside the poles.[1][6] The region is warming more than twice as fast as the global average, and the Himalayas may lose up to 75% of their glaciers by 2100 under current emissions.[1] These water systems provide drinking water, energy and irrigation to nearly 2 billion people in South and Central Asia.[1][4][6] Support includes community-led climate change adaptation projects such as water management, glacier monitoring and sustainable livelihoods.[1] Communities connect with policy makers and scientists through workshops, field research and policy briefs to inform local knowledge to influence solutions.[1] Research and stories from the field are transformed into documents, reports and media to support real climate action.[1] The goal is to integrate science, policy and community engagement to strengthen resilience in this climate-sensitive area.[1]