On the sidelines of the UN 2023 Water Conference on 22 March 2023, at the UN Headquarters, with the participation of the Founder of Peace and National Unity – the Leader of the Nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, H.E. Emomali Ramon, a side event dedicated to 2025 as the International Year for the Glaciers’ Preservation was held. On 14 December 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A / RES / 77/158 declaring 2025 the International Year for the Glaciers’ Preservation and 21 March World Glacier Day, which will be celebrated annually.
The event was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Luis A. Arce- Catacora, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization Petteri Taalas, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Bruno Oberle, Deputy Director General of UNESCO Xing Qu and other dignitaries.
The event was a first step towards developing a partnership and jointly developing a roadmap until 2025. It discussed practice, research, science, and policy approaches to develop sustainable strategies to better manage the impacts of climate change on glaciers.
The event also served as a platform for stakeholders to discuss and identify unresolved gaps in understanding the links between glacial change and water resources, risks to society, and to state their commitments, partnerships, and key actions needed to increase access to critical information that will enhance society’s ability to adapt.
