Dushanbe conference to adopt glacier-decline declaration for U.N. General Assembly

A high-level conference on glaciers in Dushanbe is scheduled to adopt a declaration on glacier loss that will be presented to the United Nations General Assembly later this year, a speaker said.

The declaration is intended to build political momentum for measures aimed at stabilizing the climate and reducing global warming to preserve glaciers, the speaker said. Glaciers act as shared natural resources, the speaker added, and their accelerated melt affects water availability, increases flood and landslide risks, and threatens ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide.

"We have about 275,000 glaciers worldwide and holding up to 70% of the global freshwater," the speaker said, citing global glacier coverage and freshwater storage. The speaker also said that since 1975 an estimated 9,000 gigatons of freshwater have been lost from glaciers.

The speaker said melting glaciers are a major contributor to sea-level rise and that the Dushanbe conference will serve as a platform to raise awareness and generate political commitments. The speaker noted recent, rapid losses in some regions, saying that in 2022 and 2023 roughly 10% of Swiss glaciers disappeared.

At the end of the conference, the speaker said, participants are to adopt a comprehensive declaration that will "outline actionable commitments, partnerships, [and] initiatives to implement." The speaker said the document will be formally presented to the United Nations General Assembly later this year.

"We need to act now and the only way, to preserve our glaciers is to stabilize the climate and to reduce global warming," the speaker said.

The speaker provided the figures and outcomes during a single presentation; no formal local government action or vote was recorded in the transcript.