Abstract
The consequences of even small glacier decrease and changes of seasonal snow cover are critical for the functioning of meltwater-dependent mountain agriculture. In order to deal with recurrent water scarcity, different types of ice reservoirs, commonly called “artificial glaciers,” have been introduced in Ladakh and promoted as appropriate adaptive strategies to cope with changes in the cryosphere. The resulting seasonal ice reservoirs increase meltwater availability during the critical period of water scarcity in spring. We examine the efficacy of 14 ice reservoirs through a long-term analysis of their functioning within the environmental and socioeconomic context of Ladakh. Using multi-temporal satellite data (1969–2017), close range photogrammetry, and repeat field measurements (2014 and 2015), we provide an inventory and typology of these ice reservoirs and estimate storage volume of one selected structure, which ranges from 1010 to 3220 m3 of water. We extrapolate this volume to all ice reservoirs and estimate potential irrigation cycles of cropped areas, which vary between less than 0.1 in unfavorable cases and almost 3 in optimal cases and years. Based on interviews and field surveys (2007–2017), we discuss the benefits perceived by local smallholders, such as the reduction of seasonal water scarcity and resulting crop failure risks together with the possibility of growing cash crops. We argue that “artificial glaciers” are remarkably suited to the physical environment. However, their usefulness as a climate change adaptation strategy is questionable because climatic variability, natural hazards, and an incomplete integration into the local socioeconomic setting significantly reduce their efficacy.
Highlights
Meltwater from glaciers, snowfields, and permafrost is the most important source of irrigated agriculture in cold-arid mountain regions all over the world
Our study extends the sociohydrological discussion to water harvesting structures in Ladakh, commonly called Bartificial glaciers,^ which have been framed as adaptive strategies to climate change (Bagla 1998; Vince 2009; Clouse 2014)
Over the past 30 years, 14 seasonal ice reservoirs have been constructed in central Ladakh, located in tributary valleys north of the Indus (Fig. 1)
Summary
Meltwater from glaciers, snowfields, and permafrost is the most important source of irrigated agriculture in cold-arid mountain regions all over the world. The necessity of including socioeconomic dynamics in studying the evolution of human-water interactions has been stressed in the current discussion on socio-hydrology (Sivapalan et al 2012; Wesselink et al 2017; Nüsser 2017) Conceptual approaches under this umbrella term have the shared premise that human-water interactions are characterized by co-evolution of natural and social systems entangled in diverse feedback loops. (Schmidt and Nüsser 2017), serve to bridge the critical gap in water availability by providing ice reservoirs that melt earlier in the agricultural season. Such ice reservoirs have been constructed in several tributaries of central Ladakh over the past three decades (Fig. 1). In spite of the popularity of the term Bartificial glacier,^ the term Bice reservoir^ conveys their character and function more accurately because the ice bodies only exist for a few months, unlike glaciers in the strict sense, which are defined as perennial, moving ice bodies with distinct accumulation and ablation zones
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