‘A call to arms’: USask scientists to help launch United Nations glacier preservation year

By Chris Putnam

University of Saskatchewan (USask) water researchers will be front and centre at an event on Tuesday marking the official launch of the United Nations (UN) International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP).

Distinguished professor Dr. John Pomeroy (PhD) will speak near the top of the agenda in his role as co-chair of the UN advisory board facilitating IYGP discussions and activities.

“It is very much a call to arms, as we are in an extraordinary crisis,” he said.

The event will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 21 at 7 am Saskatchewan time and will be livestreamed. Pomeroy will speak remotely from the USask Coldwater Laboratory in Canmore, Alta.

In his remarks, Pomeroy, one of the world’s leading snow and ice hydrologists, will speak about the urgent need for action to preserve glaciers—which replenish rivers, lakes and groundwater to vast downstream areas such as Saskatchewan—in the face of global heating. There is still time to act, he argues, and the global response must include new policies for reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well as increased science and adaptation efforts.

Pomeroy will also speak alongside fellow USask Department of Geography and Planning faculty member Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace (PhD) at a side event titled Research and Monitoring in the Mountain Cryosphere. At that 10 am (Saskatchewan time) online event hosted by IYGP Task Force 3, the USask scientists and other researchers will discuss recent advancements in their field and why cryospheric research and monitoring are essential.

Two years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted a proposal by the Republic of Tajikistan to establish 2025 as a year for highlighting the importance of glaciers and advancing global efforts for their preservation. Pomeroy, who had previously made the case for a glacier preservation year at the COP26 climate change meeting in 2021, was chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as one of two co-chairs of the initiative’s advisory board.

“As co-chair of the UN advisory board for the IYGP, I am ensuring that we meet our objectives of raising global awareness about the critical role of glaciers, snow and ice in the climate system and the hydrological cycle, and the economic, social and environmental impacts of the impending changes in the Earth’s cryosphere, as well as sharing best practices and knowledge and addressing issues related to accelerated melting of glaciers and its consequences,” Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy is also helping propose the science agenda for the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, 2025-2034, recently adopted by the UN General Assembly.

Pomeroy’s other titles include UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability, director of the Global Water Futures and Global Water Futures Observatories programs, director of the Centre for Hydrology, and distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Science.

Schuster-Wallace is executive director of the Global Institute for Water Security, UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability and an associate professor in the College of Arts and Science.

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