After Pakistan, Bhutan is the second country that is vulnerable to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in the SAARC region. SAARC region has over 7,683 glacier lake of which nearly 3,000 are in Bhutan.
The glaciers are also said to be melting faster than in the past due to global warming Dr. O.P Mishra from the SAARC Disaster Management Center in New Delhi said SAARC region have been making tremendous progress in mitigating the risk.
SAARC Region also has a total of 125 potential glacier lakes. To develop a road map for regional cooperation a two day long SAARC workshop on GLOF risk mitigation ended in the capital yesterday.
“SAARC is the first region who adopted the Thimphu statement of climate change and it is now going to be implemented in the SAARC regions.” Dr. O.P Mishra said they working to mitigating the GLOF risk, developing capacity in technical and social aspect and also monitoring the initiatives.
During the workshop they also presented the constraints faced by the member states.
“SAARC countries need good coordination among its member states. Having early warning system in place and disseminating information, funding mechanism and having proper reconstruction carried out and timely interventions are the challenges the region face”
The SAARC region will draw a road map for Regional Corporation in reducing the GLOF risk.
