Leh District

Experts say cold desert regions need special attention
Desertification at high altitudes increasing due to melting of glaciers, causing concern and a push to devise preventive adapation strategies. Posted on 06 Sep, 2019 10:38 AM

Greater Noida, September 5 (India Science Wire): Degradation of land, which leads to the process of desertification, is not limited to arid and semi-arid areas but is also visible in high altitude regions that get very little rainfall and are known as cold deserts.

A view of cold desert in Ladakh (Photo: Annu Anand)
Is it all downhill from here for Leh?
Rapid urban growth, scarce water resources and a high risk of natural disasters pose serious challenges for Leh's urban planning and governance. Posted on 09 Jul, 2019 02:05 PM

Across South Asia, small and medium-sized towns are rapidly expanding. Urbanisation has made inroads into the entire Himalayan region. Mountain urbanisation poses a need for assessments of emerging risks and vulnerabilities in environmentally sensitive regions.

The main bazaar of Leh (Image: Christopher Michel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
Saving Tso Moriri
Pristine Tso Moriri attracts hundreds of visitors, both winged and biped. Today, it is the human visitors that threaten the survival of this Ramsar wetland. Posted on 14 Nov, 2016 05:31 AM

Poised at a breathtaking 4,595 metres above sea level, Tso Moriri is a clear lake fed by multiple springs as well as snowmelt that drains into it from the nearby mountains. Of the streams that feed it, the two primary stream systems lie to the north and the south-west.

Black-headed gull is one of the 40 species of birds at Tso Moriri. (Photo: Keith Goyden)
Ice Stupas: Water conservation in the land of the Buddha
As Ladakh faces water scarcity, the Ice Stupa project aims to overcome this in an innovative manner--through the making of vertical ice mountains. Posted on 30 Sep, 2015 10:03 AM

Living in the mountains

Ice Stupa: Made from artificial glaciers, they store wasting winter water that melts & feeds farms when water is scarce (Source: The Ice Stupa Project)
Drinking water quality worst in Kerala: Report
News this week: NSSO says drinking water quality worst in Kerala, migratory birds desert flooded wetland and villagers protest against hydel project in Uttarakhand. Posted on 29 Dec, 2013 04:50 PM

Kerala scores worst in access to potable water: NSSO

House wells not safe? (Source: Wikimedia)
The inhospitable Indus
This photo essay illustrates how the historic river offers sustenance to the residents of the high Himalayas. Could 'development' end its age-old relationship with the people of Ladakh? Posted on 04 Nov, 2013 08:29 PM

Flowing through Tibet, northern India and Pakistan, the Indus is the western-most major river of the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. This basin extends over most  of South Asia from the Himalayas to the Vindhyas, excluding Peninsular India, and carries the rain that falls in this region to the Indian Ocean.

The Indus between Domkhar and Skurbuchen
Vacancy for the posts of 'Assistant Project Officers / Project Officers', Pragya, Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) and Leh (Jammu and Kashmir)
Pragya works for the appropriate development of vulnerable communities and sensitive ecosystems of the world.
Posted on 18 Oct, 2013 12:53 PM

For more information on the organisation, please click here.

For further details on the vacancy, click here.

Fall in love with Tso Moriri
A monastery, a village, rare bird species and a high altitude lake in Ladakh - this is the beautiful setting of Tso Moriri. Posted on 01 Aug, 2013 07:59 AM

This brackish lake is located 4,595 metres above sea level, an altitude to tax the lungs of the most dedicated trekker. With two wetlands - the Nuro Sumdo on the North, and the Pare Chu on the South - the lake is a breeding ground for many rare bird species. It is a day's travel from Leh and a popular destination for the avid birdwatcher.

Tso Moriri during spring time
Call for The Natural Building Apprenticeship, The Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), Ladakh, July 15-August 11, 2013
A course that includes 3 distinct threads: Earth construction, solar passive design & sustainable sanitation.
Posted on 04 Jun, 2013 05:18 PM

Offered by 

The Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL)

Location

Village of Phey, 18 km from Leh

Courses offered

The course shall be divided into two modules of two weeks each:

Artificial glaciers- a Tedx talk by Chewang Norphel
In the cold deserts of Ladakh, people are dependent on meltwater from glaciers to meet their needs Posted on 16 Oct, 2012 02:57 PM

Climate change however, has resulted in several of these local glaciers drying up. Chewang Norphel, a civil engineer, has pioneered the concept of creating artificial 'glaciers' that store water in the form of ice, and release it in the summer.

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