KATHMANDU: The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is organizing an exhibition of photographs from the Himalayan region in Bonn from June 12 onwards. This comes in a statement issued from Bonn.

The exhibition  with the theme "The Himalaya – Changing Landscapes" will figure pictures taken as far back as late 1950s and the replicates shoot recently mountain geographer Alton Byers to find out the impact of rising temperature.

 The importance of the show lies in the fact that Austrian and Swiss scientists had  conducted extensive studies of the Everest region in Nepal over the years something which is recorded in pictures that demonstrate reality of climate change.

Mountain geographer Alton Byers revisited the photo sites in 2007 and took replicates showing many changes. In 2008, as part of its 25th Anniversary celebrations, ICIMOD united the old and new photographs in a photo exhibition: Himalaya – Changing Landscapes. This exhibition is now being displayed in a new format in Bonn.

The stunning repeat panorama views of mountains and glaciers are accompanied by photographs of the scientists conducting glacier research in the 1950s. In the second part of the exhibition, repeat photographs from renowned Swiss photographers Fritz Berger and Toni Hagen (repeat photographs by Alex Treadway) taken in the mid hills of Nepal and Pakistan show landscape and cultural and socioeconomic changes.

"Climate change is affecting people and the environment around the globe and this is especially evident in the Himalayas. The greater Himalayan region has the largest concentration of snow and ice outside the two poles. Warming in the Himalayan region has been much greater than the global average," statement said.

The statement issued also says Himalayan people contribute little to global warming, yet they experience some of its most severe impacts. Weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and extreme with prolonged dry spells and very strong storm events.

"This phenomenon is causing concern over the long-term reduction in total water supply. Global warming is likely to have far reaching consequences -- on water, agriculture, biodiversity, and the many other factors that provide a basis for people to survive," it further reads.

The ten river systems originating in the Himalayas serve around 1.3 billion people. The footprint of food and energy production of the Himalayan river basins reaches up to 3 billion people. There is a wide gap in the knowledge of the short and long term implications of climate change on the Himalayas. Most studies conducted have excluded the Himalayan region because of its extreme and complex topography, and the lack of adequate existing data, it said.

Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD has been quoted saying “Melting glaciers are just the tip of the iceberg. The changes taking place are alarming, and the time to act is now. Scientific evidence shows that the effects of globalisation and climate change are being felt in even the most remote Himalayan environments.

"The signs are visible, but there is very little in-depth knowledge or data available from the Himalayan region. Global measures of scientific co-operation and regional collaboration are needed to reduce this information gap. What happens in this remote mountain region is a serious concern for the whole world” he has been further quoted to have said.

For mountain people there are other drivers of change: migration, population growth, changes in land-use, and introduction and removal of species. On the other hand people have better access to roads, electricity, education, and communication. Remittances bring new prosperity, and tourism is increasing. But urbanisation, outmigration of men, and problems with waste disposal are also having a marked effect, statement said.